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This year, we had already a lot of birthday matches. Its common for a traditional shooter in Bavaria, that one has to organize an own birthday match or donate a separate target at another normal match, when one has a "significant birthday". And its important to donate 20-30 silver hatpins for the best bull's eye shooters on the honor target.

Recently in mid of September, we had a very nice birthday match of a good shooter-friend, who lives far in the north of Bavaria. Was a long trip for some shooters from Austria or south of Bavaria, more than 500 miles back and forth. And so we did the honor for the buddy, more than 50 friends showed up for the one-day-match with only 25 shots. 

We had very nice weather, so it was possible to take a big group picture.

                 Biggi.   

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Thanks for your plaudit to our birthday match events. We enjoy it always to be invited to a birthday match. Having a nice day with friends, beer drinking, Bavarian roast pork with dumplings, coffee and cream cake in the afternoon. 


Yep, and I made a big printout of the group picture for the guy who celebrated with friends.

And with a real good shot on the honor target, one can win one of those rare special made silver hatpins. These are handmade artwork at the request of the donator, design and execution like the birthday-person orders.

We love it to wear these with pride on our hats. And its a real expensive fun for the donator...     

The picture shows three hatpins, which were to win on birthday matches this year.

             Biggi.   

Thanks, Biggi. That photo reminds me of stumbling into Zeilhofen in a pouring rain on a Friday night about 20 years ago. I was completely lost, and needed a place to stay. I stayed (and ate!) here:

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The hospitality was so wonderful that I spent the weekend and got invited to a schuetzenfest and their grillfest. Beer, food, beer, friendship, beer. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had while traveling. Wonderful memories.

For those not familiar with Zeilhofen ( ), the population when I was there was 70. I'm sure almost all of the town was participating that weekend.

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Okay, here it is: Apollonia, a goddess from the old old days. Hand carved by by Herbert (hatpin on the left) in the size of 15" tall. Scaled down to the size of a silver hatpin. 

Manfred likes such stuff, he has nekkid ladies engraved on his feuerstutzen.        

          Biggi. 

Hi Froggie. Thank you!   

Yep, I like it to share our old-style Bavarian match events with the American single shot shooters. 
Glad you like it! 

           Biggi. 

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ledball wrote on Sep 25^th, 2012 at 1:59pm:


ledball, Amberg (located in North Bavaria, called Frankonia) was in the old days a famous town for rifle manufacturing. From 1801 to 1919 there was located the "Royal Bavarian Arms Factory". And a lot of gun smiths and gun makers lived there.

But nowadays, most of the tradition is gone. After WWI when there was not anymore the popular King of Bavaria and especially WWII when the occupying powers forbid all rifles and pistols (and took them to US), the old tradition died.

Only in South Bavaria and a part of Austria, the traditional friends revitalized 25 years ago the tradition to shoot with feuerstutzens and zimmerstutzens. Since the 1950s, in Germany were only held matches for air-rifle and .22 rifles. 

Nowadays we have between March and November a lot of matches in South Bavaria and Austria for feuerstutzen and zimmerstutzen. But in the region of Amberg, there are not much traditional shooters. Some ML-matches are held there, but not in traditional way.

                  Biggi. 

    Biggi..congrats on winning the gold..                           feuerbixler wrote on Sep 25^th, 2012 at 3:33pm: