Switzerland. Canton Zürich. Zürich. Every September, Zurich teenagers prove their marksmanship skills in a target shooting competition dating back to the 16th century. Called Knabenschiessen (boys’ shooting), the event used to be the sole domain of boys who were wrapping up a marksmanship course for defence purposes. It wasn’t until 1991 – the year Switzerland turned 700 – that girls were allowed to participate. Now, the competition is open to all 13- to...
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Switzerland. Canton Zürich. Zürich. Every September, Zurich teenagers prove their marksmanship skills in a target shooting competition dating back to the 16th century. Called Knabenschiessen (boys’ shooting), the event used to be the sole domain of boys who were wrapping up a marksmanship course for defence purposes. It wasn’t until 1991 – the year Switzerland turned 700 – that girls were allowed to participate. Now, the competition is open to all 13- to 17-year-olds living, studying or taking part in apprenticeships in canton Zurich, all of them vying to be crowned as the king or queen of marksmanship. Two teenage girls wait to shoot an automatic or semi-automatic assault rifle SG 550 during the Knabenschiessen. The SG 550 is an assault rifle manufactured by Swiss Arms AG (formerly Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft) of Neuhausen, Switzerland. "SG" is an abbreviation for Sturmgewehr, or "assault rifle". The rifle is based on the earlier 5.56mm SG 540 and is also known as the Fass 90 or Stgw 90. An assault rifle is a selective-fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. 10.09.2016 © 2016 Didier Ruef
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