Shooting ranges in Switzerland are characterised by the widespread provision of targets at for service rifle training and qualification, along with a schützenhaus which serves as a community hub for local

schützenverein A Schützenverein (German for "marksmen's club") is a local voluntary association found in German-speaking countries revolving around shooting as a sport, often target shooting to Olympic rules or with historic weapons. Although originating as ...

(shooting societies), often including bar and cafe for social events. This results from long-standing connections with Switzerland's

militia system The militia system, also known as the militia principle, is a common organizational principle in Swiss public life. In the Swiss model of society, the militia system forms a central pillar alongside direct democracy, federalism and concordance.Ma ...

, which has led to strong civilian shooting traditions and liberal gun laws. The challenge of fitting ranges into mountainous Swiss terrain has led to a number of unusual designs, such as the Brünnlisau range, where shooters fire over a main road at targets on the other side of the valley. No permit is needed for an individual to transport an unloaded firearm to or from a shooting range.

Background

In support of national defence, most towns have a federal public range, which is often associated with local shooting clubs and societies. This supports both military training and target sport under Schweizer Schiesssportverband. The standard range distance is , which has led to Switzerland being historically strong in the ISSF 300m disciplines and CISM 300 metre events. Public ranges typically sell subsidised ammunition in Swiss military calibers including Gw Pat 90 rounds for issued service rifles. Such ammunition, if bought by minors, has to be used immediately and under supervision.

Distances

Federal public ranges tend to be 300metres, for the use of service rifles such as the

Stgw 90 The SG 550 is an assault rifle manufactured by SIG Sauer AG (formerly a division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, now known as SIG Holding AG) in Switzerland. "SG" is an abbreviation for ''Sturmgewehr'' ("assault rifle"). The rifle is ...

Stgw 57 The Sturmgewehr 57 (Stgw. 57 ) is a selective fire battle rifle designed by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now Swiss Arms, SAN Swiss Arms) of Switzerland. The Stgw. 57 assault rifle uses a Blowback (arms)#Roller-delayed, roller-delayed bl ...

or K31 as well as

standard rifle 300 m standard rifle is one of the ISSF shooting events. It is similar to 300 metre rifle but there are more restrictions on the rifle (quite similar to those in 10 metre air rifle). The course of fire is a three positions program of 3x20 shots ...

. Adjacent shooting clubs may also provide ranges at 50, 25 and 10metres to support smallbore rifle, pistol and airgun shooting. ISSF shooting has a high penetration in Switzerland, and target shooting at longer ranges (such as the 600-1,000yard distances used in

Fullbore target rifle Fullbore target rifle (TR) is a precision rifle shooting-sport discipline governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA). TR uses single-shot rifles, usually chambered in .308 Winchester, .308 calibre, with cir ...

) is unusual. The Swiss Fifty Calibre Shooters Association shoots to , but facilities for this are limited.

Design and Locations

Outdoor shooting ranges are typically located as far from population centres as is practicable, with the range space closed during shooting for safety. Due to the mountainous nature of Switzerland, unconventional designs have sometimes been required where civil defence considerations require a range facility, but other development cannot be entirely segregated from shooting activities.

Brünnlisau Range

One particularly noted example is the Schiessanlage Brünnlisau where shooters fire across the valley, and across a busy highway. The road is shielded from the firing point by a baffle wall, which prevents stray shots leaving the range safety envelope.

Target Technology

Swiss ranges were early adopters of

electronic scoring targets Electronic scoring systems or electronic targets are automated scoring systems used for sport shooting where the shot placement and score is automatically calculated using electronics and presented on screens to the organizer and shooters. The sco ...

(ESTs). Swiss EST manufacturer Sius Ascor has held the contract to provide EST systems for rifle and pistol shooting at the Olympic Games and ISSF World Championships since the 1990s. Sius maintain a range of Swiss-specific products.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Shooting In Switzerland , url=http://www.swissrifles.com/shooting/ , website=swissrifles.com , access-date=22 August 2023 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203164252/http://www.swissrifles.com/shooting/ , archive-date=3 February 2023 , language=en , quote=The Swiss take their shooting very seriously. They have a long history of marksmanship, and rifle ranges dot the country side. It is not uncommon to see someone on a motorcycle, with an assault rifle slung to his back, on the way to the range. ... The Swiss almost invariably shoot their rifles at 300 meters. Most ranges have replaced their old paper targets with electronic scoring. , url-status=live {{cite AV media , people = , date = 23 September 2016 , title = This Range Is Genuinely 100% Safe Otherwise It Could Never Have Been Built , trans-title = , type = Video , language = en , url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5capbhKlVA , access-date = 22 August 2023 , archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/r5capbhKlVA , archive-date = 22 August 2023 , format = , location = Brünnlisau, Switzerland , publisher = Bloke on the Range {{cite AV media , people = Tom Scott , date = 18 October 2021 , title = The shooting range where you fire over a busy road , trans-title = , type = Video , language = en , url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/2h1s6S4kotE , access-date = 22 August 2023 , archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/r5capbhKlVA , archive-date = 25 November 2023 , format = , location = Brünnlisau, Switzerland , publisher = Tom Scott

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...