chose to, yes?

And yes, up to a few years ago, that would have been possible. Then the good voters of Switzerland decided that maybe it would be a good idea to take away the standard-issued 50 rounds of ammo that they send you home with (of course, like in the US, these things only happen after people get killed).

As far as I know (and this part is heavily debated here), I could go and purchase ill-fitting ammo for the rifle, although it is illegal, many gun shops would probably sell a small amount (although, by law, such a sale would have to be recorded and only carried out after a real-time background check). But most would call the police if I'd asked for thousands of rounds.

If I'd be desperate to massacre people, I could slowly siphon off a couple of bullets each year during mandatory training (although it as a federal offense to remove ammo from gun ranges while in military service or on ranges tasked with military training).

So yes, technically, it would be possible. But it would be very hard to stock up on enough ammo from local sources needed for a massacre, and each individual act of acquisition would be illegal, compounding the sentence (dead people don't care, I know).

Most gun related deaths here are accidents or suicides, and when military weapons are criminally misused it's most often in the context of domestic violence. (Comes in handy for the ill-tempered folks who decide it's time to kill wife and kids.) After a spree of such incidents of domestic killings it suddenly dawned upon the good people of Switzerland that taking away the ammo might actually save some lives (and it certainly did, although I don't base that upon a scientific study, just upon how seldom "Guy kills kids and wife with military weapon"-headlines have become.

To be clear - this is not advocating for either side of the argument. I'm vehemently anti-gun, but I always feel the need to point these things out when comparisons of gun ownership are made. In many a conversation with relatives and friends back in the US, I get the impression that some think of Switzerland as "little America" when it comes to guns. That's simply not the case, and that's my point here.

with a 'culture' where gun ownership was high but gun violence was low -- the farming community my parents were raised in.

Thus my basic belief that gun ownership per se is not the root cause of such mass shootings.

I don't think switzerland has had a high murder rate in living memory -- is this the case? And if I understand you right, gun laws have been tightened over the years, in the wake of some mass shooting, is that right? If so, when did that shooting happen?

Also, I'm wondering why provide a militia with guns but no/little ammunition?

interesting point about the suicide rate. it seems a country/culture either has one or the other, rarely both. unless it's some kind of social collapse a la russia after the collapse of the ussr.

but you didn't answer the question about what the point of having a militia gun without ammunition (or much ammunition) is. if there's some kind of national emergency what would you do?

but interesting explanations, both cultural and practical.