IWA Part II

Well after three visits to IWA all I can say is this, it gets more and not less bewildering every year. Three days are non-stop and it’s no longer about separating the wheat from the chaff for me, but separating diamonds and pearls from their kin. As always, what stood out and what were the new trends?

RIFLES

I was inundated with plenty of press releases and invitations before I went to Nuremberg but until you hold and see the kit in your hands, what can a professional cynic do but wonder about what sounds too good to be true? First port of call was Sauer as I have a lot of current experience with both 101, 202 and 303 (semi auto) rifles so what did the latest 404 have to offer? Well, essentially it looks very similar to the 202 and has the same barrel change and bolt functionality! But the three main differences are a de-cocker safety on the rear of the bolt shroud rather than the previous over/under arrangement with opposing buttons in the trigger guard and rear tang for ON/OFF. No safety is perfect but de-cockers are as close as it goes and a quick slide of the catch up to the scope readies your rifle to fire from its inert state.

Proprietary scope bases are now integral to the receiver’s upper for what is realistically a way to make extra money from Sauer scope mounts. Most interestingly, the trigger now has a four stage adjustment for weight that is simply operated by turning a hidden dial under the stock to alter what is a sweet trigger into a 1, 2 or 3x lighter and even sweeter feel! Cleverly, the forend stud slides out of its position and becomes the tool to make all adjustments and change barrels so it’s a thoroughly well-conceived system. The specification and engraving options are equally extensive with a rifle in a calibre to suit all moods and quarry.

Next along German alley was the Mauser 98 Magnum which is a pure big game rifle with a stout build in the African favourites, one of the few places 375 H&H seems minimal. The rifle carries the original Mauser claw extractor for life or death reliability and is reassuringly smooth yet sturdy and is destined to become a modern design classic for the ultimate safari. Reverting back to ultra-modernity, there is now an M03 option in a GRS laminate stock, these Scandinavian laminates are taking over the world with their machining & finishing standards, quality and ergonomics. Finally their fixed barrel M12 now comes in the two options of better wood and a solid/heavy barrel.

Blaser has the R8 Ruthenium on display, Ruthenium being an extremely rare precious metal coating with a dark silver shade adding a sleek finish to the action with added durability, twinned with DLC carbon coating on the bolt to combat the harshest of conditions, discreet but with a little bling factor. Also a long range version in 338 Lapua with the GRS Sport/Varmint stock. The company were also displaying a new shop-in-shop concept for dealers who want to cover the full range of Blaser kit from clothing to luggage, not just the rifles and shotguns. It is reminiscent of the old style gunrooms of the Victorian era and with kit to match, is the sort of place you would love to have an afternoon to kill with a lottery win in your pocket.

CZ DOWN TO EARTH

At more down to earth prices, CZ was showing a synthetic stocked version of their 557 which I really took a shine to. So many mid-range polymer stocked rifles are ridiculously weak and flexible in use yet `claim` to float their barrels. CZ’s offering really does show some balls and I think it is both mechanically and ergonomically a winner, watch this space! Merkel have a specific ladies model of their Helix with optimised stock size, comb dimensions and grip radius to suit the arms, hands, shoulders and cheekbones of female shooters. They also seemed keen to display their larger capacity magazines and the ballended operating handle rather than the slim blade commonly seen before. It may well speed things up on an already fast action.

As well as conventionally walnut stocked sporters, Sabatti exhibited an interesting range of heavier barrelled target/precision rifles and were not ashamed to show some of the heaviest barrels I have yet seen on a factory rifle. They also have a Multi-Radial rifling pattern which is a sort of crossover between 5R and Polygonal tubes, promising easier cleaning, faster projectile speeds etc.

Sorry for being cynical and I don’t doubt the accuracy, but it’s not that easy to reinvent the wheel, just economise the way it is manufactured. They had some great laminate and polymer stock designs although one had a stock so thin yet a barrel so heavy, they might just as well bolt a bipod straight onto a barrel, is it a harmonic nightmare?

Sako’s 85 Carbonlight stalking rifle showed hand-laid carbon fibre on what will be a superlight yet conventionally barrelled gun and I’m sure it will sell well. There are endless large tactical rifles but nothing particularly new. The `tacticool` look has attacked the airgun world aggressively and there were a number of rimfires also showing the styling and ergonomic genetics of the breed which to be fair, for static, prone ambush hunting is nigh on perfect. I rather liked the “Savage 22lr MK-II TRR SR” as it shows plenty of Picatinny rails that will accommodate the increasingly demanding night vision market and corresponding illuminators etc. The Lithgow Crossover rimfire rifle now has a laminate stock option and will soon be accompanied with centrefire brothers in the range too. I was as always delighted by the 22lr Target rifles from a plethora of European manufactures. I will never own one but they are just so obscenely complicated and intricate I adore them for what must sometimes be unnecessary complexity, possibly purely in one-upmanship stakes. Grunig & Elmiger are just blissful to operate but probably take a week to clean and lubricate.

OPTICS

Optics are a favourite of mine and calling in to Zeiss saw new product at both ends of their stable. The Terra range of scopes with 2-7x32 or 3-9 and 4-12 x 42/50 have 1” tubes for honest simplicity and minimalistic reticles to match. The ED binoculars are compact, fuss-free design and the range is a great entry point into the Zeiss portfolio, ideal for the serious rimfire hunter and bolsters the simplified four tier ladder with the V8 on top. The V8 range is now completed with a 1.1-8x30 optic for dangerous and driven game. Kahles have further refined their Field Target scope with that huge parallax dial/rotor turret atop, now butter smooth and backlash free for the least possible rangefinding error on pronounced airgun trajectories.

Kahles also challenged me to spot the obvious mistake on one of their 3-12 tactical scopes to which I gave up in defeat before being shown the blatantly obvious windage turret to the left side of the saddle, a new twist on the ergonomics of an already superb optic. Talk about not seeing the wood for the trees! Further into the tactical market, Meopta have a new MeoTac scope, currently in 3-12x50 spec with hand filling turrets and a 1st focal plane reticule. We are set to see a lot more from Meopta in the UK and I heard some very interesting rumours and noticed raised eyebrows and delicate smiles when chatting on the stand, playing `Guess the new products in development` game. Fingers crossed, they sound great. They had a broad range of binoculars across the price spectrum and an interesting new spotting scope designed compact, for the hunter with an integral rather than separate zoom eyepiece with 20-60x magnification.

The showpiece optically was the Swarovski X5(i), an Austrian take on what the long range target or varmint shooter wants from a premium European glass maker whose image quality is second to none. With 5-25x56 and 3.5-18x50 models available with ¼ or 1/8 MOA adjustment, they take a step away from the 10mm (o.1mRad) clicks of old and offer 86-120 MOA of total elevation adjustment respectively, they really promise to deliver mechanical range. Still based on a 30mm tube which I found slightly sedentary, the turrets are BIG so it will be interesting to see the product in use but the internals have all been uprated and I’ll bet it will be popular. Schmidt & Bender showed the Polar T96 optic with market leading 96% light transmission alongside an expanding range of very military looking models with specifications to suit. I can’t wait for them to hit our shores.

ACCESSORIES

I was given a full demonstration by Hakan Spuhr of the huge number of scope mounting solutions they cater for, from grenade launchers to red dot sights on hunting rifles. But it was particularly interesting to see how their sporting rifle range is appearing with a far less intimidating, gracefully curved look that will still incorporate the unique 45° clamp arrangements and accessory mounts for items such as secondary red dot sights some hunters are experimenting with. Pete Walker showed me a BAT action that has a minute ball bearing race on the firing pin of one of its custom actions. This lightens re-cocking and action cycling effort and it never ceases to amaze me, the length to which manufacturers go to pursue accuracy in competitive environments where delicate gun handling is key!

Rather contrary to that ethos, he and Gary Costello of March optics were displaying a 416 wildcat of the normally 408 Cheytac benchrest rifle that was just immense; the bolt alone was a foot long, I’m not sure anyone has scales large enough to weigh it other than Vickers. GRS have a hinge unit making their Bolthorn Stock into a folder and also an early prototype scope mount with adjustable elevation control and patented tube clamping system. Sierra Bullets have a new TMK (Tipped Matchking) bullet that adds to the notably reliable standard SMK range but with new Ogive designs behind the green Acetyl point. Bore-whips from Bore-tips is a combination of the polyurethane foam swab and a neon orange polypropylene cord, rather like strimmer cable to enable pull-through solvent barrel cleaning.

CLOTHING

Clothing along with footwear is almost limitless at IWA and products that stand out are endless, fashion never sleeps. In the UK, companies like Seeland, Harkila, Deerhunter, Ridgeline and Swazi, remain favourites and the smock is definitely gaining favour over the zippered coat. Everyone offers the latest in breathability, waterproof and comfort but the trends I notice were for camo to be diminishing, Scandinavia is making their trousers a little more loose cut and stretch panels are almost as common on the trousers and coats as Kevlar panels and padded knees for crawl protection.

Harkila are also showing some nice game and clay shooting jackets in tweeds too. Boots are fascinating and I got the chance to de-bunk a few myths with a Wellington designer from Arxus and a chap at Lowa who answered questions I didn’t even know I could ask about ankle support. The technical reasoning for so many designs and styles was quite illuminating and they both `sold` me on the concept of why I need more footwear than Imelda Marcos. Base layers are becoming addressed more seriously as outer layers get lighter with companies like Helikon showing how military styles are without doubt moving civvy side and we aren’t just talking camo patterns, Coyote is the new black!