IWA OutdoorClassics 2022 Goes Ahead – But Many Big Names Are Missing

For many people – including HAM Publisher Stephen Archer – the IWA Show in Germany is the highlight of the airgun year. But while IWA OutdoorClassics 2022 – to give the show it’s full name – is going ahead from March 3rd, sadly it will be without many of the big names in the airgun industry.

European COVID restrictions have made it extremely challenging for attendees from outside the European Union to comply. (Trust us, it’s really complicated to explain in full). Sadly, this is the reason why Stephen Archer is not able to visit this year – to his great disappointment.

However, HAM hopes to bring you some coverage from the show, so let’s keep our fingers crossed…

On the bright side, around 950 companies ARE exhibiting at IWA OutdoorClassics 2022. They come from all sectors of the outdoor living, hunting, shooting and optics industries. So IWA 2022 will still be a big trade show.

Some European companies – like H&N, JSB, Umarex and Weihrauch, for example – will be exhibiting at IWA this year. We hope to hear news of any new introductions from them.

However many of the big names in the airgun world do not have booths at IWA for 2022, despite being stalwart exhibitors for many years. These include Air Arms, Brocock, Daystate, Diana, FX and Snowpeak, among others. That’s a huge disappointment.

IWA in 2019 was the last previous show. The show in 2020 was cancelled at the last minute, while the 2021 IWA show was replaced by a virtual event. You can see what we’ve all been missing if you look back at HAM’s coverage from the 2019 show.

So, keep your fingers crossed for as much information from IWA 2022 as we can rustle-up in the next few days. But don’t hold your breath…

One thing’s for sure. Everyone in the airgun industry will be looking forward to the resumption of normal service and the chance to have a “non COVID” IWA OutdoorClassics in 2023. HAM is already planning to be there…