In order to guarantee this cherished neutrality, every eligible Swiss male between the age of 18 and 42 serves in the Swiss Military. On a person/square mile basis, only Israel fields a larger army. Swiss gun culture is deeply imbedded in Swiss society, and it's not unusual to see arms toted around in public.
Every man in the country is issued a rifle and ammunition which they keep at their home in case of national emergency. And throughout history, the rifles issued to the citizens are real serious business... dependable with world-class accuracy:
The first Swiss national rifle issued was the Vetterli, which was initially adopted in 1869. The Vetterli was the first magazine fed rifle adopted for universal service in Europe. While at the time of it's adoption, this firearm was the considered most advanced service rifle in on the Continent.
It was replaced in the late 19th century by the Schmidt-Rubin series of rifles. There were several models in this series, including the 1889, 1896/11, 1911 Rifle and Carbine, and the K31. The Schmidt-Rubin series was issued from 1889 to 1957, and many K31s stayed in service for decades afterwards.
In 1957, the Schmidt-Rubin series was replaced by the Stgw 57. The Stgw.57 was a truly marvel of Swiss craftsmanship, and considered by many to be the finest battle rifle ever constructed. Stgw.57's continued to be issued to Swiss soldiers until 1990, when it was replaced by the Stg.90. Numerous Stgw.57s are still in service with the Swiss forces today, as they expected to do so for for the short-medium term future.
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| 1878 Vetterli |
The first Swiss national rifle issued was the Vetterli, which was initially adopted in 1869. The Vetterli was the first magazine fed rifle adopted for universal service in Europe. While at the time of it's adoption, this firearm was the considered most advanced service rifle in on the Continent.
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| 1889 Schmidt-Rubin |
It was replaced in the late 19th century by the Schmidt-Rubin series of rifles. There were several models in this series, including the 1889, 1896/11, 1911 Rifle and Carbine, and the K31. The Schmidt-Rubin series was issued from 1889 to 1957, and many K31s stayed in service for decades afterwards.
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| Stgw.57 |
In 1957, the Schmidt-Rubin series was replaced by the Stgw 57. The Stgw.57 was a truly marvel of Swiss craftsmanship, and considered by many to be the finest battle rifle ever constructed. Stgw.57's continued to be issued to Swiss soldiers until 1990, when it was replaced by the Stg.90. Numerous Stgw.57s are still in service with the Swiss forces today, as they expected to do so for for the short-medium term future.
The Stg.90 (also know as the SIG 550) began limited service with the Swiss in the late 1980s, and went into full scale production in 1990. The Stg.90 may well be the most accurate assault rifle in the world, as well as one of the best.
There's currently one of these powerful 'assault rifles' in over half a million Swiss homes... just like Ukraine probably should have done.
And can you imagine robbing houses there for a living?
Wikipedia Swiss Rifles GunFunTV h/t Kirby