Shooting in Greece

People who love shooting and guns are considered to be weirdoes in Greece, unless you live in Crete or Mani, where guns are almost a natural thing. As a result, the only way that you can enjoy shooting, is to join a shooting club and become an athlete. To get your gun owning permit, you must go through some seminars (in order to learn basic safety etc), then practice and participate in some matches, with guns supplied by either friends or your club. After you have completed the required number of matches, you can apply to the Greek Police for a permit.

The clubs that exist in Greece (and which are all members of the Greek Shooting Confederation) are practicing either the Olympic shooting or the Practical shooting (IPSC style). Olympic Shooting is done at 25 meters range with one target with either .22LR firearms, or with up to .38 caliber firearms. Various disciplines exist like :

        - Standard Pistol
          Targets are at 25 meters, the shooter fires 4 5-round groups
          with each group fired within 3 minutes, then 4 more 5-round
          groups with each group fired within 20 seconds and then 4
          more 5-round groups with each group fired within 10
          seconds. Targets are standard UIT bullseye targets.
        - 30x30 Pistol
          Targets are at 25 meters, the shooter fire 6 5-round groups, with
          each group fired within 6 minutes, then 6 more groups where the
          targets are facing away from the shooter, and then they turn
          towards the shooter, stay open for 3 seconds and the close again.
          They remain closed for 7 seconds and open again for another 3
          seconds. Each time the target opens, you may fire one round.
        - 3-6-8
          A speed discipline, where the shooter is called to fire 5 rounds
          to 5 targets set at 25 meters. These 5 rounds should be fired
          within 8 seconds. The shooter fires 4 such groups. Then the
          scenario is repeated at 6 seconds per group for 4 more groups and
          then 4 more within 3 seconds.

Practical style clubs organize matches which closely follow the IPSC style shooting, where the shooter moves around within a field, shooting at various targets, as faster and as accurately as he can. The end result is a function of the time it took him to complete the course and the score he shot.

Shooters can use their firearms inside designated Shooting Ranges, which unfortunately are very few. One exists on the Hemetus Mountain, east of Athens at the area of Vironas. This is a public one and is usually open every day except Mondays. Another one, owned by the oldest shooting club in Greece, P.S.E., is situated at Kesariani (a famous area, where 200 Greek partisans were executed by the German troops on the 1st of May 1944, during Nazi's occupation of Greece). This is a private range though, and not easily accessible to all shooters.

The military camp of Chaidari, west of Athens can also be used, but there are absolutely no facilities there, only frames where the targets are hanged.

There is also another range, located at Malakasa, a village about 50 km outside Athens, in the middle of a lovely pine-tree forest. By far, the best range around Athens, where both IPSC-style and Olympic-style shooting can be practiced. It is also owned by P.S.E. but it is too far away from Athens to visit frequently.

Given these facts, Greek shooters have not too many ranges to practice their hobby. The fact that shooting outdoors is illegal, even in the most remote areas, makes things even more difficult.

If you had fun, come back again!