Nice Video From Switzerland.
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stormbringer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S.W. Ontario
I was wondering how far they were shooting what with the extreme angle they were holding..
Only to see that they were shooting UP onto a mountain side...
Switzerland!! Mountains?? Who would have guessed!
Only to see that they were shooting UP onto a mountain side...
Switzerland!! Mountains?? Who would have guessed!
A country that put's the blue funk into any baddie that even contemplate invading it! No bloody wonder; the entire nation is an army and the geography is not conducive to invasion.
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
stormbringer said:
At about 1 minute 40 seconds you see the targets, and yes they are up on the side of a mountain. Who says you have to have flat land to shoot properly?
The end of the video has a few seconds of picnic and eating. They might make great watches and be obsessively punctual, but the Swiss know how to turn a day on the range into a social event.
The Swiss military system is a great social equalizer. Young men (women I suppose too) have a percentage chance of being drafted. They go to full time service for a year or two, and then have shorter and shorter periods of service as they get older, get more established in civilian life or become less fit. It is considered desireable in society to do military service. Years ago, only men and only those who had served in uniform could vote in elections!
The Swiss don't have a Regular/Reserve divide like other militaries - just full time or less-than-full time. Each group of soldiers moves through their service together, and extremely strong social bonds formed as a result. One guy I met in Montreal was best pals with Franz Klamer the skier. Not from championship downhill skiing or playboy jetsetting, but from weeks and months of sidehill mountain infantry training.
The legend that every Swiss home is armed, is a byproduct of their reserve callup system. To stay qualified for their reserve service, every soldier has to shoot so many rounds a year, regardless of where they were in the world. Someone told me they had to pay a tax for not qualifying, but there were exceptions for places that didn't allow SIG 550 "assault rifles". Yes there are rifles in every home, various vintages of issue military rifle used for 300m target shooting. The range in the video might be the Swiss equivalent of having a golf course in every little Canadian town.
Actually, that's not that case.
In Switzerland, the great majority of 300m ranges that any sizable small town has, are, or were subsidised the the Swiss military. Budget cuts since the fall of the Soviet Union are having a real effect in closing many of the smaller ones. All these clubs were equipted with electronic targets and monitors to really speed up the process. In comparison it's like comparing a modern bowling alley were everything is automated, compared to having to manually score, patch and show targets.
The Swiss Rifle Clubs abroad(not in switzerland) are a different story.
They are mostly on their own financially, with only some support in way of loans/cheap prices on K31s rifles and free Ammo in the way of 42 rounds of either GP90 5.56mm, for the people with PE90 types, or GP11 for the K31s.
These 42 rounds per shooter are the exact number of rounds a Swiss national needs to do their main two military shooting programs. They have to purchase all other ammo for pratice and for other club programs.
The Vancouver Swiss club is lucky in that BC Hydro is paying them some money for use of their land for power lines. They are much better of financially than any of the other Swiss rifle clubs in Canada. They also have some members who have worked extremely hard for a long time to make their club as good as it is.
Others are Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Thames Valley
Pictures from my BC trip:
In Switzerland, the great majority of 300m ranges that any sizable small town has, are, or were subsidised the the Swiss military. Budget cuts since the fall of the Soviet Union are having a real effect in closing many of the smaller ones. All these clubs were equipted with electronic targets and monitors to really speed up the process. In comparison it's like comparing a modern bowling alley were everything is automated, compared to having to manually score, patch and show targets.
The Swiss Rifle Clubs abroad(not in switzerland) are a different story.
They are mostly on their own financially, with only some support in way of loans/cheap prices on K31s rifles and free Ammo in the way of 42 rounds of either GP90 5.56mm, for the people with PE90 types, or GP11 for the K31s.
These 42 rounds per shooter are the exact number of rounds a Swiss national needs to do their main two military shooting programs. They have to purchase all other ammo for pratice and for other club programs.
The Vancouver Swiss club is lucky in that BC Hydro is paying them some money for use of their land for power lines. They are much better of financially than any of the other Swiss rifle clubs in Canada. They also have some members who have worked extremely hard for a long time to make their club as good as it is.
Others are Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Thames Valley
Pictures from my BC trip:
Last edited:
Kampfhamster
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Switzerland
maple_leaf_eh said:
While the swiss army really is an important organization for the social life in Switzerland (it's almost impossible for me to go to a party without bumping into some old friends from my time in the army) the service itself became more and more a joke in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This year only 60% of the 20 year old men were drafted due to the reduced size of the army.
Basic training isn't a year or two but only 21 weeks plus an annual three week course for about another 6 or seven years.
With the introduction of the Armee21 all discipline went to the dogs, quality of training is rather low (except shooting), there are no big training grounds available at all, exercises with units bigger then a battailon are impossible.
Speaking of "considered desireable in society to do military service": ask my boss how much he likes the fact that I'm not working for another 4 weeks a year while he still has to pay me a part of my salary. (I'm an NCO, so I have to do additional week every year)
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
My point of reference for those remarks was conversations with men in Montreal who were members of the Swiss Alpine Rifle Club, c. 1988. The Berlin Wall was still up and while most people understood the Soviets would not beat the West, armies are slow moving creatures and they still practised to defeat the Warsaw Pact.
I could be wrong, but I used up my one mistake for February yesterday while driving with my wife. So, everything I wrote above IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE !!
I could be wrong, but I used up my one mistake for February yesterday while driving with my wife. So, everything I wrote above IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE !!
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
There's a Swiss rifle club at Bisley, semi-autos are banned so they all use the K31, the ammo comes from the Embassy. Only two firing points on the 300m range.
I agree with Kampf, the Swiss Army isn't what it was. The obligatory service is very unpopular in the French and Italian speaking parts of the country.
You definitely don't get free ammo, it's quite expensive in fact. You only get enough free to do the qualification.
I've never been entirely convinced by these stories that the Germans didn't invade because they were afraid of the Swiss Army. I think it had more to do with the fact that invading a mainly German-speaking country that a lot of Germans visit frequently would have been politically unpopular in Germany. It would be like the US invading Canada.
Switzerland has to remain a neutral country because the french speakers favour the French and the german speakers favour the Germans. It makes it impossible to choose sides in a war.
I agree with Kampf, the Swiss Army isn't what it was. The obligatory service is very unpopular in the French and Italian speaking parts of the country.
You definitely don't get free ammo, it's quite expensive in fact. You only get enough free to do the qualification.
I've never been entirely convinced by these stories that the Germans didn't invade because they were afraid of the Swiss Army. I think it had more to do with the fact that invading a mainly German-speaking country that a lot of Germans visit frequently would have been politically unpopular in Germany. It would be like the US invading Canada.
Switzerland has to remain a neutral country because the french speakers favour the French and the german speakers favour the Germans. It makes it impossible to choose sides in a war.
CanadianAce
New member
- Location
- Edmonton, AB
Join a Swiss Club if you want a social shooting enviroment....
I belong to the Swiss Club and it is by far one of the most social clubs around. People are friendly as can be and the competitions are great.
If you are into prizes, nothing can beat the medals the cantons give out! They are amazing!
Some shoots are subsidized, but even those that are not are pretty cheap.
You don't need to have a PE90 or K31 to shoot fullbore, but they are preferred. Any open-sight rifle is acceptable so long as your willing to take a point hit. (I think 3 pts for most shoots) Most clubs have 'club' guns that you can use too. This way you can shoot and never actually need your own - but be prepared to do a lot of sighting shots.
Most clubs also have smallbore match and a few do crossbow and handgun matches.
If you are swiss or have swiss ancestors seriously consider joining. I'm not sure about all clubs, but most are always looking for more swiss members. They have a ratio they must maintain between swiss and non-swiss members. Besides the fondues are great and its a chance to practice your german and shooting. hehe
If you are interested in swiss shooting just PM me and I will see if I can help you out.
I belong to the Swiss Club and it is by far one of the most social clubs around. People are friendly as can be and the competitions are great.
If you are into prizes, nothing can beat the medals the cantons give out! They are amazing!
Some shoots are subsidized, but even those that are not are pretty cheap.
You don't need to have a PE90 or K31 to shoot fullbore, but they are preferred. Any open-sight rifle is acceptable so long as your willing to take a point hit. (I think 3 pts for most shoots) Most clubs have 'club' guns that you can use too. This way you can shoot and never actually need your own - but be prepared to do a lot of sighting shots.
Most clubs also have smallbore match and a few do crossbow and handgun matches.
If you are swiss or have swiss ancestors seriously consider joining. I'm not sure about all clubs, but most are always looking for more swiss members. They have a ratio they must maintain between swiss and non-swiss members. Besides the fondues are great and its a chance to practice your german and shooting. hehe
If you are interested in swiss shooting just PM me and I will see if I can help you out.
you're right !!! ALL THE TIME is the correct syntax 
