Swiss Youths Compete With Guns

Knabenschiessen!

That’s the name of a large youth shooting competition held annually in Zurich, Switzerland. Said to literally mean “boys’ shooting,” Knabenschiessen has been open to female participants since 1991.

The shooting competition takes place at long range, using Swiss SIG service rifles. 2014’s winner was 17-year-old Milena Brennwald, who is only the fifth girl to win Knabenschiessen.

The shooting event is clearly very structured and controlled, with safety a high priority. It serves to show how challenging and entertaining a shooting competition can be while also keeping everyone perfectly safe. We could do with a few more events of this nature here in the USA.

Although the tradition of this competition dates back to the 1600s, the first official Knabenschiessen was held in 1889. The Swiss have a long tradition of gun ownership, prompting many myths and urban legends about gun ownership in Switzerland. To learn more, check out these Swiss gun ownership facts.

More images can be seen on Imgur.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.