We’ve visited the “Collector’s Exhibition for Hunters, Marksmen and Admirers of Old Weapons” in Lucerne last weekend. While it was quite interesting and featured a wide variety of all kind of weapons, we didn’t buy anything – mostly because we were scared of the huge amount of paperwork that would await us if we decided to export a firearm. It’s a real shame because most of the exhibited rifles were in excellent condition and at a very affordable price. The highlight however was the sniper version of the K31 (ZFK55), but with prices ranging from 2,400 to 3,200 CHF which is why I’d rather choose a regular K31. As long as every piece bears the same serial number and the metal surfaces don’t look worn down, the K31 would be an excellent rifle at around 200 to 400 CHF.  Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to shoot photos at all inside the building.

The legal situation is still unclear to me or at least complicated. I could legally buy ordinance weapons or – with an acquisition permit – other kind of weapons according to the Swiss law. But as I live in Germany, I’d need to also acquire a German permit (which is considerably more paperwork) and import and export my weapon each time I cross the border to attend a competition or training.

Anyway, at the weapons exhibition I got the chance to try an air rifle with a pre-compression mechanism which was surprisingly smooth. I usually don’t care if it required much force to charge an air gun but as long as it doesn’t have impact on the muzzle energy of the bullet (and thus the precision) I surely welcome it. After all it allows to save the muscle’s ATP to aim at the bull’s eye. In fact it impressed me enough to consider the purchase of a decent air rifle in order to train in our garden. It might not reflect a real rifle in many ways but it’s something to start with. The only problem so far is the limitation of muzzle energy for free purchase. 7.5J is quite few compared to 16J of a regular model.