Federal Rifle Festival: “It runs like clockwork”

“Attention – start”, it was said on Saturday morning at 7.30 am in the Hüslenmoos shooting range in Emmen. The Swiss Federal Shooting Festival Lucerne 2020 was opened with the first replacement – a year later and under completely different conditions than the shooting fairs in the last 100 or even 200 years. But the Lucerne organizers had successfully defied Covid-19. No “copy paste” from the originally planned party, a completely new concept with decentralized shooting in the home stalls was created from scratch. A slimmed-down program in which many highlights of the corona pandemic fell victim, but a program to which the organizers and the shooting clubs throughout Switzerland said a strong yes. “I am overjoyed,” said Ok President and Councilor Paul Winiker (SVP), “that the shooters share the joy of this festival with me. The motto was for 200 years . Now the whole thing is staged. Shooting will take place from June 11th to July 11th, and will be celebrated during the Schützen festival week from October 8th to 17th on the exhibition grounds in Lucerne. “

30 shots in four minutes

Around 1,600 shooters, be it with the rifle or the pistol, had registered for the opening shooting in Emmen – and also defied the sometimes horrific weather conditions. And this competition was tough: 30 shots were shown within four minutes of the end of the competition. A real challenge, this program is neither rehearsed nor shot in normal everyday shooting. A look at the shooting range shows the diversity of the shooters who have come: some with a heavy leather jacket, specially made headgear and specially designed shooting glasses, others in jeans, coach jackets and baseball caps, some waiting for the competition in a relaxed and happy manner, others are tense, yes, almost cramped.

Vanessa Annaheim finished her competition with a smile on her face and a good 251 points. The young woman from Burgdorf, who found her way into shooting through a colleague, came mainly because of the special program. It is interesting to take part in a shooting that does not correspond to a competition template. The Bernese found shooting through a young shooter course and describes concentration, precision and endurance as a challenge. For others, the shooting ended in the marquee. Not so for the Bernese woman: In the afternoon she is back in action at the local shooting club for the young shooter course. The 30-shot program for the carbine shooters is a particular challenge, as it has to be reloaded after each shot. “It’s easier with an assault rifle. You need more practice with the carbine, I have to look for my position again after reloading, »says Stefano Reiser. “But that’s what makes shooting so special for me,” says the 31-year-old from Sala Capriasca near Lugano. And the shooter, who lives in Emmenbrücke, was also more than satisfied with the 244 points he shot.

Nobody has to go home empty-handed

Even if the happy get-together in the «Träffschiebe-Beiz» was limited, the Corona regulations did not detract from the atmosphere. Whether with mineral water, beer or the official festival wine, the shooters did not miss out on talking shop after the competition. And with many of them the standard could not be missing, as with the FSG Densbüren. After all, you only have the opportunity to travel to a federal shooting festival every five years. And nobody had to go home empty-handed either. As a souvenir of the opening shooting, a wine carafe was ready for each individual. The more successful could even travel home with a wreath (from 267 points), a trolley with a knife, a backpack with a knife or a bath towel in their luggage.

“It runs like clockwork”,

said managing director Philipp Bühler shortly before noon with a smile on his face. He was right. The shooter’s DNA can be felt anytime and anywhere, be it at the entrance control, the ammunition issue, in the marquee or simply in the parking lot in front of the shooting range. Peaceful, friendly, helpful. Or for example with Josef Wyss. The former Lucerne Cantonal Council President (2019/2020) was in Hüslenmoss among the hundreds of helpers. With its own television station, the opening shooting was carried across the world via streams and social media. A sign that the contemporary spirit has long since found its way into shooting, and that shooting has developed more and more into a top-class sport in recent decades.