Shooting range for hunters in Saxony-Anhalt.

The shooting range for hunters at the WaffenPro shooting sports centre in Zerbst offers five climate-controlled 25-metre lanes approved for up to 7,000 joules – so handguns and hunting rifles in all common calibres can be shot all year round. The facility is centrally located in Saxony-Anhalt, 30 minutes from Magdeburg, 25 from Dessau-Roßlau, 60 from Leipzig and 90 from Berlin.

To be honest: a 25-metre hall does not offer the distance for the classic zeroing procedure at 100 metres. What it does offer is a controlled environment for the check shot before the season, for mount and function testing after a change of optics, for practice shooting with a handgun and for everything to do with gun handling, trigger control and shooting position. For 300 metres, a partner range for long range is available through the club.

At 25 metres you can reliably carry out the rough adjustment of a scope, check the function of rifle, mount and ammunition, and document the point of impact under constant conditions. The electronic scoring display shows every shot immediately on the monitor at your lane – you see groups and shifts without having to walk to the target.

The fine adjustment to hunting distance then takes place in your hunting ground or on a 100-metre range. Many hunters use Zerbst for exactly this: mounting and rough zero in the hall, fine zero outdoors – saving ammunition, time and nerves. Long guns up to 7,000 joules are permitted; which calibres that covers in a specific case is settled with a quick call before booking.

More and more hunt organisers and hunting grounds require current proof of shooting practice before driven hunts; which form and which disciplines are recognised is regulated differently by the federal states and organisers. Speak to your range supervisor before training if you need confirmation of your practice shooting – and check in advance with the organiser what details they expect.

Regardless of the form: anyone who shoots regularly before the season shoots better and cleaner. The hall makes exactly that possible – on Tuesdays and Fridays also in the evening until 9 pm, whatever the weather. Available lanes are shown in real time in online booking.

In the course overview hunters will find practical and hunter training, long gun training with rifle and shotgun, and individual coaching with flexible dates. The trainers are DSB-licensed and the content ranges from shooting positions and breathing technique, through shooting from shooting sticks, to dry-fire training and shot analysis with the Mantis X10, which makes trigger behaviour and gun stability measurable.

For groups – local hunting associations, hunting cooperatives, hunting friends – we put together closed sessions, with a meal in the restaurant afterwards if you wish. Prices are in the current course overview or available on 03923 7381182.

The firearms school offers hunting licence shooting training to prepare for the shooting part of the hunting exam, including repeat courses for anyone retaking the shooting part. In the hall you train handgun and rifle: safe handling, loading and unloading, position, trigger, clearing malfunctions – the things exams are actually failed on.

The shotgun disciplines and shooting at moving targets outdoors are practised via the club's partner ranges. Exactly which disciplines your federal state examines is set out in the respective state hunting law; your instructor aligns the training plan with it. No prior experience is needed – many young hunters arrive before the exam with zero shots fired and leave with a steady position.

The coup de grâce with a handgun is the discipline hunters practise least and need most urgently; a 25-metre hall is the ideal environment for it. You train safe drawing and aiming, precise shot delivery at short distance, target transitions and behaviour after the shot – with rental firearms from Glock, CZ, Heckler & Koch and Walther or with your own hunting handgun.

The firearms school offers coup de grâce training as a separate module; hunters with their own handgun can alternatively book lane time and train independently or with a range supervisor. Revolvers in .357 Magnum and pistols in 9 mm or .45 ACP are within the approval.

With a passed hunting exam, the firearms certificate (Waffensachkunde) under § 7 WaffG is deemed proven; hunters therefore generally do not need the firearms school's separate certificate exam. Anyone who wants to apply for a firearms ownership licence (WBK) as a sport shooter, however – for example for a sport pistol that does not fall under the hunting need – requires the firearms certificate, club membership and proof of demonstrated need (Bedürfnis). The differences are explained in the guide Hunting licence or sport shooter.

Many hunters also join Freizeitschützen Zerbst e.V.: unlimited lane use from €200 a year, ammunition at club prices, access to the partner ranges for trap and 300 metres – and after twelve months, on request, the certificate of demonstrated need as a sport shooter.

Hunters with a valid firearms ownership licence book lane times online and bring their WBK and ID card; your own firearms and ammunition are welcome within the approval. For the handling of handguns and long guns – disassembly, cleaning, maintenance, reassembly – there are dedicated gun handling courses, also as a refresher for experienced hunters who want to get to know their new rifle.

And this is what a training evening feels like: you arrive at 6 pm out of the rush-hour traffic, the hall is climate-controlled, the lane is ready. Three check shots, then two magazines with the handgun, every hit immediately on the monitor. At 8 pm you are sitting in the restaurant, the target lies beside your glass, and the season can come. Free parking right at the centre, Zerbst railway station a short walk away.