July 14; xgoo.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
Swiss Rifle Clubs* 
Prom The Nineteenth Centiwy. 
Shooting has been a national pastime in Switzerland 
from time immemorial. The conditions of the country 
and of the times have favored it so that the prohciency . 
of the Swiss in their arms of defense has become tra- 
ditional. Associations and societies for matches and 
prizes have existed for centuries. Many of the present 
rifle clubs are the survivals of local clubs established tor . 
practice with the crossbow long before gun powder was 
thought of, and preserve in their armories the records, 
"weapons and prizes of successive generations ot their 
members. The Federal Government, recognizing the im- 
portance of the proficiency of the population m the 
national arm of defense, has dovetailed the system o 
rifle clubs into the military organization on practical 
lines providing for the convenience of the public and the 
requirements of the State. The military organization is 
fully described in the pubHshed.text books on the sub- 
iect and although anv detailed statements of the methods 
are bevond the scope of this article, some few points must 
be noticed as explaining the connection between the army 
and the clubs. ^ . , , v,^ 
It has been said that in Switzerland every man who is 
not a convict or a cripple has to serve as a soldier; and 
although, the description may not be quite accurate, the 
system provides for the military training of the mass ot 
the adult population. At the age of nineteen all young 
men have to present themselves before the recruiting 
committee of their circle, and are subjected to a physical 
and educational test, according to the results of which 
they are drafted into the several branches of the service 
or put back for a period to develop or permanently 
"cast" as unfit. Exemptions are few, and do not extend 
as in some countries to the only sons of widows and 
other special bread winners. Certain employees of the 
posts, telegraphs and railways, although they have to go 
through the recruits' course, do not serve the further 
terms, it being considered that to draw upon the trained 
members of these departments might be to dislocate iin- 
portant organizations which would be fully occupied m 
public duties in a time of emergency. All those ex- 
empted have to pay a military tax, fixed on a sliding 
scale, according to means. A man who is convicted of 
criminal ofifense forfeits the rights of citizenship and the 
honor of. serving in the army. On attaining their twen- 
tieth year, recruits go into training for fifty days (the 
term varying slightly according to the arm of the service 
to which they have been attached) at the headquarters of 
the military division in which their commune or parish 
is included. Neai" the garrison town is a military rifle , 
range of sufficient extent to admit of volley firing, prac- 
tice at the long ranges, etc.; and at Wallenstadt and one 
or two other centers are musketry schools, where officers 
and non-commissioned officers undergo a more elaborate 
training in this important branch of their duties. The 
recruit returns to his village, taking with him his rifle 
and uniform, and even if he has not learnt something of 
it earlier, some acquaintance with his weapon. For the 
next twelve years he has to put in three weeks with his 
battalion every second year. He then passes into the 
Landwehr for another term of twelve years, during which 
he has eight days' duty every four years. At last he 
reaches the Landsturm, which entails but one day's in- 
spection in the vear, and one day's musketry course to 
keep his hand in. The Swiss military system, although 
it includes nearly the whole male population in its net, 
aims at a result causing the least avoidable inconvenience 
to individuals, and the least disturbance of the industry 
of the country. It is necessary that the recruit, between 
the periods he is called upon to leave his work and re- 
join his battalion' for training, should keep himself in 
practice with his weapon, and should what we call shoot 
his musketry course. It is here that the rifle club system 
comes in. When a man is with his battalion he shoots his 
course at the military range. But during the periods he 
is at home he does this at his village, a condition being 
that he must be a member of the local rifle club. Thus, 
unless he fails to fulfill the prescribed conditions, is he 
saved the trouble and expense of leaving home and at- 
tending at military headquarters. 
For this purpose every commune or parish vvhere a 
rifle club is established is' required by law to provide and 
maintain a rifle range for the use of the members. Each 
member of the club who fulfills certain conditions receives 
a grant from the Confederation, on the scale to be no- 
ticed later. In country districts, where the physical con- 
ditions are favorable, there is little difficulty in providing 
ranges; and as the community is interested in the ar- 
rangement, and everything is controlled by the popular 
vote, the matter is promptly carried through. In the 
neighborhood of towns, where the population is more 
dense and land valuable, and where the difficulties may 
be greater, the parishes are authorized when necessary to 
apply the "expropriation" law of May 1,1850, which pro- 
vides for land being taken up for purposes of public 
utility. That the general feeling and convenience is 
much in favor of sufficient accommodation being pro- 
vided, and that the club system is general, the following 
figures will show: 
In the year 1898, the latest for which statistics are 
available, 3.447 rifle clubs with 210,524 members existed in 
Switzerland. The total population is just under three mil- 
lions — the adult male population is not given separately in 
the statistical returns at hand — but, making allowance 
for women, old men and children, the figures indicate 
that a considerable proportion of the available men are 
included in the clubs. 
The latest figures of the rifle ranges, referring to the 
year 1895, are not complete, as the number inspected 
only is shown, suggesting that some few' may not have 
been visited, while the. past five years have probably seen 
some additions to the number. The statistics relate to 
2,735 places visited; Ofuthese 118 had a range of 300 
meters,^ 1,683 were of 400 meters, 500 of 500 meters, and 
434 of 600 meters, and upward. These figures do not 
include the military ranges at divisional headquarters or 
at the musketry schools. It will be seen that the 400- 
meter ranges, were by" far the most numerous, and this 
is. accounted for by the distance fulfilling the require- 
ments of the obligatory military course. Of these 2,73s 
ranges, 2,080 were what may be termed simple ranges, 
without butts or mechanical marking apparatus, and were 
probably lines marked out in front of a convenient hill, 
thus showing the advantages in this respect provided by 
the physical features of the country; 361 ranges had sheds 
and mechanical marking appliances — the vanishing tar- 
gets familiar at Bisley and elsewhere; 184 had these ap- 
pliances, but no sheds — butts presumably being unnec- 
essary;" while 110 were provided with sheds and ordinary 
marking arrangements only; 7.9 per cent, of the ranges 
were pronounced to fulfill all the necessary conditions 
of safety and convenience — i. e., proximity to the villages, 
etc. Of the balance 4 per cent, failed in respect to the 
position of the sites in the latter respect; the balance 
being nearly equally divided between the insufficiency 
of the arrangements for the safety of the public or of the 
markers. 
The number of communes or parishes in Switzerland 
is 3,18s, so that the figure 3,447 would give more than 
one rifle club to each parish, while the 2,735 ranges would 
seem to leave some .350 parishes unprovided for. 
These differences are accounted for as follows: The 
cities and towns have often more than one rifle club, 
and sometimes more than one range to meet the re- 
quirements of the numerous members; while neighboring 
small villages may select some convenient point on the 
boundary as a range sufficient for the residents. The dif- 
ference in the "'installations" at the ranges is also similarly 
explained. Near a town the arrangements are more 
elaborate and well appointed, the members being numer- 
ous and well to do, while a convenient hill and a couple 
of targets may suffice for the requirements of a small 
agricultural community., 
The conditions under which the Swiss rifle clubs receive 
the countenance of and support of the Confederation are 
contained in the decree of Feb. 15, 1893, subject to slight 
raodificaiions, relating to the firing exercises, published 
in the spring of each year in the musketry programme 
of the military department at Bern. 
Each club must number at least ten members. Certain 
standard rules have to be followed, while the by-laws have 
to be sanctioned by the musketry officer of the circle — 
who, with the members of the musketry committee of the 
territorial battalion to which the parish belongs, controls 
the work. Registers have to be kept according to pre- 
scribed forms, and an annual report of results has to be 
submitted. The management is in the hands of a com- 
mittee, with the usual president, secretary and treasurer, 
to which is added an important officer, in the person of 
the "Schiitzenmeister," or musketry captain of the team 
or club, who is specially charged with instruction and 
with the military side of the proceedings. 
Theoretically, a club may be entirely non-military. The 
members may be foreigners, like myself, or amateurs, or 
men exempt from military service, and they may shoot 
with any rifles and adopt what programme suits them 
best. In such case the club would earn no grant from 
the Federation.' But as most of the men in the parish 
have to shoot their mihtary course, the military side of 
the club is strongly developed. The annual programme 
is published early in the spring, and by the end of June 
every man of the Elite and Landwehr who is not called 
up to the battalion, and some of the armed Landsturm, 
have to shoot their military musketry course. Obviously 
it is convenient to do this at the village range close to 
one's own door, and nearly every one complies. Those 
•vyho fail are reported, and have to put in three days' duty' 
and shoot their course at rnilitary headquarters, bearing 
all the expense and inconvenience of the journey, and 
absence from the village and work. 
The obligatory course is as follows: Military rifles 
are used— -i. e., the 1897 pattern 7.5 mm. caliber for the 
Elite and Landwehr; the Vatterli 10.4 mm. for the Land- 
sturm. Firing conditions, military — that is, no rests or 
cover to be used, etc. 
Exercise I. — Five to ten shots kneeling at 300 meters;* 
target 1.80 m. or nearly 6ft. square. 
Exercise II. — Five to ten shots standing at 300 meters, 
at target as above. 
Exercise III. — Five to ten ish'ots prone, at 400 meters, 
at targets, as above. 
Exercise IV. — Five to ten shots kneeling, at 300 meters, 
target figure of a man, 1.80 by 50 or about 6ft. by 2oin. 
Each man has to fire at least five shots in each exercise. 
If he makes 12 points with the new rifle, or 10 with the 
Vatterli, on the 6ft. target, and three consecutive hits on 
the figure target he passes out and need not fire more 
than these obligatory five shots in each exercise. If 
not, he has to go on to a maximum of ten shots, and 
thus complete his course. Although the firing of ten 
shots at each exercise, even without hitting a target, puts 
a man through his course, his failure to score the neces- 
sary points is noted against him in a special column of 
the register, and if he escapes for the year he is the sub- 
ject of attention the next time he is called up for service 
with his battalion. The shooting, however, on the whole 
is good, and as the failure to score means paying for 
cartridges out of one's own pocket the man has' a direct 
interest in shooting carefully. 
The scoring on the 6ft. square target is as follows: 
Bullseye (25 meters, or nearly ro inches), 5 points. 
Inner (50 meters, or nearly 20 inches), 4 points. 
White ring (50 meters, or nearly 20 inches), 3 points. 
Blue ring (50 meters, or nearly 20 inches), 2 points. 
Corners, i point. 
Three decent hits, then, with the new rifle, or \\so bulls- 
eyes with the Vatterli, will score the necessary points, 
but the man must still fire the full five shots at each ex- 
ercise. 
Each member who completes these four exercises under 
the above conditions receives a grant of 1.80 francs. No 
^The arrangemenit for reca-uiting, for keeeping in touch with the 
men when they move from place to place while absent from their 
battalions, for securing: their attendance and shooting the course, 
are all based on an excellent system of registration, which, with 
a small and well-distributed population, is an undertaking of com- 
parative ease. 
»i 
=A meter is equal to Si28ft-, or, roughly, 1,1yds.. so that for pur- 
poses of calculation 300 meters may be taken at 330yds., 500 meters 
at 550yds., and so on. 
sThere is generally a walled stand behind the targets to take the 
bullet; hardly what can be called a butt. 
*The meter is 3.28ft., or, roughly, 1.1yds. 
ammunition is supplied free, but the Confederation issues 
It to clubs at, 60 francs per 1,000 rounds for the new rifle 
and at 40 francs for the Vatterli, the cost price, including 
all charges, being 85 francs and 50 francs per 1,000 re- 
spectively. A simple calculation will then show that 
unless the shooting is fairly good the man or the club 
can make little out of the grant, as it hardly more, than 
pays for the cartridges required for the obligatory course 
of the military members; 1.80 francs at the above rates 
represents, for the bulk of the members, thirty cartridges 
at 6 centimes each, the Landsturm getting rather more 
for the money. The best shot must use at least twenty 
cartridges, leaving him the value of ten cartridges, or 
60 centimes in hand. For the others, every cartridge 
they use over thirty, up to the forty maximum, has to 
Jje paid for by them or the club. If the grant hardly does 
more than provide service ammunition for the course, it 
prevents waste of ammunition and encourages good 
shooting; and even if the village rifle range were used 
only for the obligatory course of the service members 
it is a convenience and economy to the people and the 
State, as saving the loss of time which would otherwise 
be occupied in the member's journey to and fro, and a 
stay at military headquarters. If the member is in the 
service the results of the shooting are entered by the 
secretary of the club in the musketry book, which each 
soldier has to keep up, and on being verified by the 
sections chef, or staff-sergeant, of the parish, are again 
entered in the man's service book, as a certificate that the 
owner has gone through his course for the year. Those 
who fail to attend are reported to regimental headquarters 
and summoned in,. 
In 1897, 154,000 men went through the exercises and 
earned the grant under Course I. — that is, the obligatory 
course for the infantry of the Elite and Landwehr. One 
cannot say that they fired the obligatory course, as the 
figures do not distinguish between the members who thus 
fulfilled their military duty and private members, and 
others who might have shot the course and earned the 
grant for the club. The latest available figures show 
174,191 m.en in the Elite, 83,283 in the Landwehr and 
271,780 in the Landsturm. Of the first, about one-half 
are called up annually to their battalions and shoot the 
course there, while one-quarter of the Landwehr do the 
same. A portion only of the Landsturm shoot a course, 
and that with the clubs. The cavalry, engineers and ar- 
tillery come under different rules. A rough computa- 
tion indicates that a considerable number of men who 
are not obliged to do so join the course which is ob- 
ligatory only for military members of the club. 
In addition to the above, a grant of i franc (20 cents.) 
is made to each member who fulfills what is termed the 
"Facultativ" course, under conditions similar to the 
above. This course is optional, but no grant is earned 
unless the member has fulfilled the obligatory course. 
Exercise I.; Five shots standing, single shots- — 300 
meters at the 1.80-meter or 6ft. target. 
Five shots kneeling, single shots — 300 meters at the 1.80 
meter or 6ft, target. 
Ten shots (magazine) in forty seconds — distance and 
targets as above. 
The grant for the above course to each member is i 
franc (20 cents). 
Lastly, the clubs are encouraged to undertake special 
''tactical exercises," judging distances, firing at unknown 
■ distances, skirmishing, etc., for which special subsidies 
and certificates of honor are granted. The programme 
of these has to be sanctioned, and the operations super- 
intended and certified to by a member of the musketrv 
committee of the circle. 
Ordinarily the sums earned by a member go into the 
general fund of the club, to which the cost, of the car- 
tridges of the course may be debited. 
But these sums represent a share only of the ex- 
penses of the clubs. Practice and match ammunition 
are not included, and are purchased by the member 
on the range. There is a constant charge during the 
season for markers and other incidental expenses. The 
sale of the lead collected is some help, and a grant of 23 
cents per kilogramme (2.ilbs.) is made for cartridge 
cases returned. The balance is met by a subscription 
from the members. Like that of everything else in 
Switzerland, the management is thoroughly practical and 
economical, and the small sum subscribed, generally 
about 2 francs per member-annually, covers all ordinary 
expenses, while the well-to-do assist by donations to 
swell the annual prize fund. In many places the sub- 
scriptions cover insurance of members and markers against 
the risk of accidents on the range, the premia being 
small, experience showing that accidents are exceedingly 
rare. The average Swiss is remarkably steady, quiet and 
deliberate, and practice is carried on with admirable sys- 
tem and precaution. Care and economy are exercised in 
every detail. A low crop is grown on the range, and 
damage is as far as possible avoided by using perhaps the 
road for the firing point, and so on, for all damage has 
to be made good by the parish — that is eventually by the 
people themseh^es. 
The revolver clubs for officers and non-commissioned 
officers armed with the revolver work in connection with 
this scheme, and a revolver target is generally available 
at all the town ranges. According to the latest returns 
the number of these clubs in Switzerland was 51, with 
a total of 486 members. Members who fire 30 rounds at 
the 6ft. target at 30 meters distance, and 30 rounds at 
the same target at 60 meters, receives a grant of 3 francs 
each. Shooting matches among the officers are popular, 
and can be easily carried through in most localities,' 
wherever a wall or hill is handy, and much attention is 
now given to this arm in Switzerland, which is absolutely 
necessary if this somewhat difficult weapon is to be of any- 
real use. 
Lastly, musketry is not overlooked in the boys' 
schools, the cadet corps going through a course, and 
being rewarded with grants and prizes. And to com- 
pulsory education in the schools is added compulsory 
gymnastic training, which assists the physical develop- 
ment_ of the youth of the country and helps them when 
the time comes to shoot steadily and straight. 
The whole of the working of the above arrangements 
is controlled by committees, a committee of the clubs 
as already noticed, and a musketry committee of the 
territorial battalion to which the parish belongs. De- 
tailed rules regarding the filling in of the registers and, 
returns, the inspection of arms, and conditions of the 
exercises, precautions on the range, etc., are issued by the 
