1943 Tirol shooting badge in bronze - KK Gewehr

[jp60]

Hello, does this look to be original? 40.22mm x 40.22mm, for a small-bore shooting event in Austria?

[Don Scowen]

Yes it's genuine, & is from the Tiroler Landesschiessen in 1943.

It is a qualification badge rather than an award. The distinction being that there were more than one awarded as the badges were meant to denote individual shooting achievement at various levels in the state shooting contest, not competitive recognition over others . The Landesschiessen had the largest attendance of the shooting competitions with many top Third Reich officials attending including Himmler. As the contest grew in popularity from its inception in 1938, additional achievement levels were added. There were 6,000 competitors in 1938, 8,000 in 1939 and 10,000 or so participants in 1940, 16,000 shooters competed in 1941 and over 14,000 received various achievement badges.

Here is a very old thread which shows other badges from these events https://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/for...shooting-badge

Don

[jp60]

Thanks very much for information, Best Regards