TargetTalk

I will have several days free time after completing the Pilkington Germany Tour, from Okt. 29th to Nov. 2nd. I will be in the München area and may get a rental car. Does anyone have suggestions for things to do? I will have my FP, SP & AP so shooting activities would be attractive. I may be able to travel to nearby countries. Thanks.

Best Regards,
Slo cat

A few years ago, I did Euro delivery of my BMW in Munich, then drove it through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France before dropping it off back in Munich for shipment back to my dealer in the US.

My kids were with me and we all agreed, the absolute best part of the drive was the road from Innsbruck, Austria to Saint Moritz, Switzerland. It starts with the longest tunnel through a mountain you could ever imagine, then continues winding through the Alps. The whole way, it's twisty roads and breathtaking scenery, with castles on either side of the road every few miles. I was there in August and, at the time, there were more motorcycles than cars on the road, with riders going through the turns like you'd see in the movies, dropping their knees to the road as they took the turns. As you come out of Saint Moritz, you cross the tree line and suddenly it becomes all barren rock as you cross the divide. It's almost spooky.

Since returning, I've occasionally met other folks who've driven this road. Trust me, no one forgets it!

The only thing I can't say for sure is whether it would still be open in late October. It might already be snowed in; you'd have to check.

Wow! Thanks, Nichole. Your suggestion is very attractive to me. Mountain vistas and curving roads are my kind of things. Innsbruck, Austria to Saint Moritz, Switzerland, I'll check it out.

Now if I could only work in some shooting with this, I would be in hog heaven.

Best Regards,
Slo cat

Add 120 miles to your trip Steve and you'll find yourself in Lugano, Switzerland on Italy's northern border. Beautiful lake, fantastic Italian food and a great little gun shop with some REAL bargains on the older Hammerlis and SIGS.

More importantly, Lugano is just a few minutes away from the home of the Morini factory owned by the very gracious Francesco Repich.

You are one lucky bastard!!

Btw, it's perhaps worth mentioning that you do not need hotel reservations. By about 11 pm, there are always hotels that have rooms they're desperate to rent. They know they either get some money or none at all, which is an easy choice.

We never had any plans for the trip except for the day we had to be back in Munich to return the car. So instead, we'd get up each day and say, well, where to next? The trip to Saint Moritz happened only because I woke up one day in Innsbruck and got up early to wander the town while the kids slept in. There was a little shop that had posters showing the Alps and surrounding area. It made me realize, hey, we're right on the edge! Why not? :)

Typically, we'd spend most of the day on the road and when it got late, we'd stop in the next city at the first hotel that came up on the nav system in the car. Sometimes they'd be full, but usually not, and even if they were, they could usually direct me to someplace else. Often, they'd volunteer to call ahead for me to see who had a room. Only once did I have to try a third hotel before finding a room. Pretty typically, we'd end up paying only about 1/2 the regular rate -- and they'd be apologetic about asking that! And this was in August, which is supposed to be the peak vacation season there.

Better and Better. Thanks Paul and Nichole. Lugano sounds attractive too. If I can find a good deal on a pistol, I am not adverse to importing it using the ATF Form 6. Maybe an MG 2 is in my future? I got to shoot R.M.'s MG 2 and am impressed. But the Euro cost USD 1.25, not too good.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to where I can get in a little shooting in Austria or Switzerland?

Best Regards,
Slo cat

Steve,

Try logging onto and posting your question on the following forum:

http://www.pistoliers.com/gen_pages.php ... eneral.txt

The forum is mainly inhabited by Swiss pistol shooters in the Geneva area.
Even though everyone speaks French, I have often posted a question in English and received a reply from the many bi-lingual shooters on the forum. I'm sure they can recommend some Swiss shooting venues.

If you are going to be in Lugano, log on to:

http://www.ftst.ch/guestbook.php

This is a forum of shooters in the Ticino area of Switzerland (where Lugano is located). Once again, I have always received a response in English.

Another good source would be the owner of the Lugano gun shop I mentioned earlier. The name of the shop is Casarmi SA and is located at Via Ferrucicio Pelli #11, Lugano, SW. The owner is Alberto Broggini whose email address is Casarmi@ticino.com. He will likely be able to help you find a range or a local club. Alberto speaks perfect English.

Finally, there is a huge gun store in Fribourg, Switzerland (Freibourg on a German map). The name of the business is Armumerie P.A. Dufaux. This is one of the largest retailers of high end target shooting
equipment in Switzerland and it has a very well appointed indoor range downstairs. Their email address is info@freesport.com

And finally, if you go to Fribourg, take a side trip to Interlaken - a small resort town located between Lake Thun and Brienz. You’ll get an unforgettable view of Swiss lakes and mountains all in one view.


Good luck!!

I found out that I will not be able to bring my FP and SP to Germany, just AP. So any shooting will be limited to air.

If you travel to the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, the are several ranges but given the time of year, you may want a backup plan. A commercial indoor range with ammunition sales (and kit hire) is Brünig Indoor. The range fees are by the hour or day. The costs can be a bit higher than outdoor ranges but they did need to excavate in a mountain with state of the art ventilation and filtration systems. http://www.bruenigindoor.ch/ As you will see, it has well lit 25 turning targets and 50m (electronic) ranges plus 10m air.

The Thun/Interlaken area is wonderful all year round!

Enjoy your trip!

I was in the Munich area this past summer. If you don't already go, you should check out Neuschwanstein castle. There are trains that run from Munich to Fussen several times a day and from Fussen you can catch a handy bus to the castles. Wear tennis shoes though because there is a lot of hiking and hill climbing to be done. There is a bridge over a huge gorge that you can walk to and take pictures of the castle from. There are also several natural springs and a beautiful lake.

My husband and I went on a huge trip. We flew into Cologne and then went to Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and finally Berlin. Munich and Berlin were two of my favorites. Munich is VERY touristy though. In Munich I made my husband go with me on a goose chase for the Hauptschutzengesellschaft, the most fabulous 600 year old shooting club I've ever seen. I got to go on a tour but couldn't take pictures. They gave me a very cool commemorative pin.

Kristin,

Our Pilkington tour began on Oct. 21st and we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle the next day. Later in the tour we arrived back in Munich and toured the 600 year old Hauptschützengesellschaft shooting club. After the tour, we shot air pistol on their beautiful range. You're right, their clubhouse is like a palace. The Pilkington tour ended on Oct. 29th. See Scott's posting of the photos of this at http://pilk-uns.com/picsW/t5/index.htm

Slocat,

I'm green with envy.

Slo cat wrote:Kristin,

Out Pilkington tour began on Oct. 21st and we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle the next day. Later in the tour we arrived back in Munich and toured the 600 year old Hauptschützengesellschaft shooting club. After the tour, we shot air pistol on their beautiful range. You're right, their clubhouse is like a palace. The Pilkington tour ended on Oct. 29th. See Scott's posting of the photos of this at http://pilk-uns.com/picsW/t5/index.htm

Cool pics of the club! I wish I could have snapped a few myself. I got to watch a shooter shooting crossbow! I've never seen that before. He shot from a kneeling position on top of a table in full shooting suit. The stock looked like a precision rifle stock, but it was definitely a crossbow. Very cool.

I forgot to write that Gottfried Kustermann, the Hauptschützengesellschaft club president and famous rifle shooter, personally gave us the tour of his club. Definately a first class tour!

Several of the clubs we visited had permanent shooting benches for pistol shooters, and also had tables that could be set up just behind the line so that rifle shooters could shoot in prone and kneeling positions.

Best Regards, Slo cat