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Obligatory for hunters

18/8/2021

In September, hunting takes place in Switzerland’s largest canton. But it’s not only during the hunt of the Grisons that sharp shooting takes place: in summer, hunters must complete their mandatory periodic training. A visit to the shooting range.

«Meeting point: parking lot, St Luzisteig shooting range. 10:30 a.m. Bring sound protection. It’ll be loud.» Claudio’s SMS is short, and the instructions clear. Memories of my time in the Swiss Army come up. The obligation: going to the shooting range Allschwiler Weiher once a year – lie down and load. Guns blazing. Clean the rifle and go home again.

Those military days are over. But when we enter the shooting range St Luzisteig in Maienfeld and put on the Pamir in addition to the protective mask, this uneasy feeling comes over me again. I always had that back then when sharp ammunition was involved. I always felt a little queasy in the pit of my stomach.

Big shots

Marco and Claudio are relaxed but concentrated.

I already met Claudio and Marco, the hunters I’m accompanying today, a few weeks ago on their new hunting grounds in the Calanca Valley during the preparations for the hunt.

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The two of them don’t seem to know things such as nervousness. In a focused but relaxed state, they watch the other hunters shoot and wait their turn. Four shots at a target 150 metres away. A minimum score of eight is required for each shot. This is the requirement to fulfil the «Schiessnachweis», or mandatory periodic training, for a hunting permit in the Grisons. A peculiarity of the hunt in the Grisons: shooting is done with bullets of at least calibre 10.2. And sky is the limit. To put this into perspective: the Stgw-90 assault rifle of the Swiss Army 5.56 mm calibre bullets. In the Grisons, theoretically, it’s legal to shoot at chamois, deer and stag with an armoured howitzer.

Shots are fired with at least 10.2 calibres.

In addition to the people from the Grisons, hunters from neighbouring St Gallen and Liechtenstein are also visiting the facility today. They’re easy to distinguish, shooting smaller calibre rifles, such as the .308 Winchester and usually using a silencer. Marco says that it’s only a matter of time before the use of a silencer is also mandatory in the canton of the Grisons for hunting and shooting. The opponents of a compulsory system have so far argued, among other things, that there would be additional costs for hunters since the silencer has to be purchased and the rifle barrel needs adaptation.

Hunters in the Grisons (still) shoot without a silencer.

Four shots, four hits: four times a score of ten

Claudio, meanwhile, gets ready for his four shots. Unlike military shooting with an assault rifle, the shooter doesn’t lie down; he sits on a chair. The barrel rests on a tripod, small cushions under the stock ensure the optimal position. Claudio’s grip is on point and he calmly readies his rifle, a Blaser R8 Professional Success.

The Zeiss scope, a Victory V8 (website in German), allows Claudio to magnify his target by a maximum of 35x. The target, which is barely visible to the naked eye 150 metres away, now appears about five metres away.

This is roughly what looking through the scope is like. — There’s not much to see.

Then two deafening shots follow, after which Claudio analyses his shot grouping on the target. The hunter seems to be satisfied. Two more shots follow, and Claudio has completed his training. Result: four times a score of ten. Mission accomplished! And Marco? Also four times the ten. Now both can participate in the hunt in the Grisons this September.

By the way, a heart is drawn on the target with a dotted line. It should be hit as centrally as possible. The same applies when hunting, so that the animal is dead immediately.

Four times a score of zero

I already want to pack up my camera and march towards the exit when Claudio asks if I don’t want to give it a try. I hesitate for a moment, because I didn’t like shooting before and have never been a good shot, but then curiosity gets the better of me. Stefan, who is responsible for operations at the plant today, lends me his rifle for four shots. In the picture above, it’s the camouflaged grey one with a silencer on the barrel. I hit the zero four times and once again have the certainty that I’m not fit to be a shooter.

Zero, zero, zero, zero. I’m a zero in shooting.

After the shooting range is before the hunt

Time to clean the gun. Again the memories of my military time come up; being in the Parkdienst (PD), which included the maintenance of my personal weapon. It’s crazy how some things stay with you for a lifetime. Burned in forever through countless repetitions. However, cleaning the Blaser R8, which costs between 8,000 and 10,000 Swiss francs with the scope, is a bargain compared to the 57 or 90 assault rifle.

Claudio disassembles the rifle into three parts – barrel, breech, pistol grip – and shakes the barrel a few times. That’s it. The breech looks as if this gun has never been fired. Since he’s going hunting with it in September, he forgoes the bit of lubrication at the end.

A final look down the barrel. All clean, all ready for the hunt in the Grisons, which will take place this fall from 03 to 12 September. and from 20 to and including 30 September.

Get more information on the topic from the Grisons department for hunting and fishing (in German).

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Patrick Bardelli

Senior Editor

Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.ch

From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.

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