| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Girl Beats Guys: A Swiss Teen Rifle Festival |
| 2005-01-25 |
| Via Marginal Revolution: The greatest shooting festival in the world for youngsters takes place every year in Zurich, Switzerland. Imagine thousands of boys and girls shooting military service rifle over three days amid an enormous fair with ferris wheels and wild rides of all kinds. You're at the Knabenschiessen (boys' shooting contest). <SMALL>**SNIP** It's September 13, 2004. In the U.S. on this date, the Clinton fake "assault weapon" ban sunsets. In Zurich, some 5,631 teens — 4,046 boys and 1,585 girls, aged 13-17 — have finished firing the Swiss service rifle, and it's time for the shootoff. Geschossen wird mit dem Armee-Sturmgewehr That rifle is the SIG Strumgeweher (assault rifle) model 1990 (Stgw 90), a selective fire, 5.6 mm rifle with folding skeleton stock, bayonet lug, bipod, and grenade launcher. The Stgw 90 is a real assault rifle in that it is fully automatic, although that feature is disabled during the competition. Every Swiss man, on reaching age 20, is issued one to keep at home. Imagine all those teenagers firing this real assault rifle while their moms and dads look on with approval, anxiously awaiting the scores. **SNIP** Ends: Zurich's youngsters who shoot military rifles have a lesson to teach Americans. It is a lesson of peace, thru strength???SPAN> family values, and responsibility, while gaining the ability to defend oneself and one's community from aggression. As was well known to America's Founders, who were enamored of the Swiss model, teaching the young to shoot is both a civic virtue and a wonderful sport. |
| Posted by:anonymous2u |
| #11 Nothing all that unusual about a femal winning the competition. After all, SSG Julia Watson, USMC beat all the competition many times, regardless of gender. A picture of SSG Julia Watson, best shooter in the world for several years Yes, she is a redhead. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-01-25 4:38:32 PM |
| #10 Nothing all that unusual about a femal winning the competition. After all, SSG Julia Watson, USMC beat all the competition many times, regardless of gender. A picture of SSG Julia Watson, best shooter in the world for several years Yes, she is a redhead. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-01-25 4:38:32 PM |
| #9 Congrats, DB! That's fabulous :-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-01-25 11:58:44 PM |
| #8 I qualified as a Sharpshooter in the Army and my daughter outshoots me. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-01-25 7:46:29 PM |
| #7 Yes, when I was a lad and spending my summers in Switzerland, I would see the citizen soldiers riding their bikes up the mountain roads to meet at their prescribed rendezvous points high up in the mountains. Later, as an adult, I was taking a training course there, and the instructor invited us home, and showed us his assault rifle and other gear he kept in his closet. Every male citizen is essentially on call and must report to the secret rendezvous points when the general mobilization order is given. He said IIRC that Switzerland could field 1 million men in two weeks using this approach. |
| Posted by: HV 2005-01-25 7:02:30 PM |
| #6 Kewl. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-01-25 6:45:18 PM |
| #5 Switzerland actually has a gun law. What most people don't know is that in Switzerland every adult male is legally required to own a rifle which can fire standard military ammunition, and is required to fire at least 100 rounds per year. Women have no such obligation, but are encouraged to participate as well. |
| Posted by: Steven Den Beste 2005-01-25 6:37:40 PM |
| #4 You shoot like a girl. :-) |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-01-25 5:22:32 PM |
| #3 I want a daughter-in-law like that. |
| Posted by: Mike 2005-01-25 4:42:28 PM |
| #2 Nothing all that unusual about a femal winning the competition. After all, SSG Julia Watson, USMC beat all the competition many times, regardless of gender. A picture of SSG Julia Watson, best shooter in the world for several years Yes, she is a redhead. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-01-25 4:38:32 PM |
| #1 Yes, as a youngan, rifle target-shooting was great fun. I coulda been a contender... |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-01-25 3:15:14 PM |
