IWA 2006

Held in Nuremburg, Germany every year, the IWA Show is where all of the European manufacturers announce new products. This year's IWA ended a few days ago, and I had my spies on hand.

Ragnar Skanaker, probably the most famous pistol shooter in world, was there, with an absolutely brilliant design for shooting glasses for both rifle and pistol shooters. Look to see these available from American dealers such as Pilkguns sometime in early May.

Gehmann was showing a new adjustable iris triangle front sight for rifle shooters.
Also announced was the marketing collaboration between Gehmann and Matchguns. It is hoped that the Gehmann interface and perhaps influence will minimize the technical problems that have plagued Cesare's many forward-thinking designs over the years at various companies. Another rumor going around the show was that Matchguns production was being moved to Spain from Italy. Time will tell if this be the case.

AHG Anschutz has a very fine looking bolt cover for use when transporting smallbore rifles with the bolt removed from the action.

AHG also announced a new deodorizer for shooting jackets and boots, which is very effective at removing the body odors present from hot sweaty shooting clothes not allowed to air properly during a busy travel schedule. The story is this product was developed for the funeral industry in particular for the transport of bodies prior to their being embalmed.

Walther had big announcements of its Hammerli acquisitions, and was showing all the current Hammerli line inside their booth. The new Walther SSP sport pistol was also heavily promoted there. Unfortunately this pistol has not yet made it to American dealers' shelves.

Feinwerkbau seems finally to have realized that many shooters are sick of the aluminum or laminated construction that modern stocks are made of and would like to have a modern gun with a traditional look. It is now offering its top air rifles in a very dark, walnut-looking natural wood. However, the wood is a stained beech to minimize costs.

Steyr was offering a new air rifle, the LG20. Based somewhat on the earlier and popular LG10 action, it is offered as a less expensive alternative to the top of the line LG110 action. The LG20 is available in wood stock configuration only, mostly in blue and gray laminate, but walnut will be available as well. The new LG20 will share the same cylinder design as the LG110, as developed in the LG100.

Norbert Ussfeller, in conjunction with AHG and Gruenig & Elmiger, is the is in his third year of production with his F27 rifle. It is believed by many to be absolutely the finest target rifle in the world. Each action is hand tuned and each barrel is carefully selected before being mated to the action. Top American shooters Jason Parker and Matt Emmons have recently purchased F27s for themselves.

Anschutz was celebrating its 150th year anniversary, with a new logo reminiscent of old Chevrolet hood ornaments. Anschutz was also celebrating numerous successes at the recently concluded 2006 Winter Olympics where nearly all biathlon medals were won using the Anschutz biathlon action. One of the hits of the Anschutz display was a music video someone had put together with a popular song “Push the Button” along with a sexy model and some Anschutz air rifles