Hohe Jagd 2026: Between Tradition and a Digital Turning Point
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Hohe Jagd 2026 once again illustrates just how broad modern hunting has become – and where it is heading. The Schuss & Stille team walked the show floors, passing the industry’s most established names: Blaser, Sauer & Sohn, Mauser, Merkel, Jakele, Steyr Arms – flanked by optical heavyweights such as ZEISS, Swarovski Optik, DDoptics und Leica. Through Sunday, February 22, they present new products, ideas, and philosophies – and invite the hunting community to engage in dialogue.
Between loden wool and laminate stocks, carbon fiber and walnut, heritage logos and touchscreens, one sentence can be heard again and again, half proud, half skeptical:
“Hunting is becoming more technical.” But Hohe Jagd doesn’t just showcase products – it reveals how today’s hunters decide what they truly need, what they believe they need, and what they simply want, because hunting is also emotion, pride, and identity.
Thermal & Night Vision Everywhere - and Suddenly It Gets Confusing
A walk through the halls makes one thing immediately clear: the hierarchy has changed.
The dominant question is no longer “Which scope is the brightest?” but rather:
Which combination of riflescope, mount, adapter, and clip-on actually works reliably?
This is exactly where the conversation with Jörg Burgstaller (Waffen Burgstaller) begins – Austria’s general importer for well-known brands such as SIGSAUER, Sabatti, GRS, Freyr Devik and many more. Someone who doesn’t read trends from brochures, but from real-world demand and user feedback.
Burgstaller gets straight to the point: “The hunting industry is clearly moving toward digital optics. Thermal and night vision technology dominate the show – monocular and binocular alike.” But his most important addition is a warning: “There are many new names entering the market – and not every new brand is a new manufacturer.”
In the firearms sector, Burgstaller sees few true innovations: “Many manufacturers refine their lines, introduce variants, new stock options, detail updates – but rarely an idea that truly reshuffles the segment.”
The Exception Everyone Is Talking About: Walther RS3
Walther RS3 – Burgstaller considers it one of the few conceptually interesting innovations – especially for mountain hunters: “The concept is exciting, but real-world usability and maintenance need to prove themselves over time.”
Whether it will appeal to the broader market, he leaves open.
“In ammunition, I haven’t seen much that’s truly new,” Burgstaller adds.
“Lead-free is still a topic, but no longer the big controversy it once was.”
When it comes to handguns, he notes dominant patterns: 1911 variants, Glock, polymer pistols. “That’s not a weakness – it’s proof that proven platforms have established themselves.”
The "High Priests of Glass" Go Deeper into Electronics
One of Burgstaller’s most telling remarks comes almost in passing: “You can see the major optics manufacturers moving decisively into electronics.”
An industry that once debated transmission values, edge clarity, and reticle philosophy now accepts that seeing while hunting is increasingly hybrid: traditional glass optics paired with digital support.
Burgstaller also observes a growing number of low-cost suppliers. His assessment is nuanced: “Many appear – but only a few have truly proven themselves in hunting so far. More often in military or sporting contexts.”
The Most Important Advice: „Come with a Plan - or the Selection Will Overwhelm You!“
Burgstaller’s most practical insight isn’t technical, but psychological: “If you come without a goal, you’ll be overwhelmed. Every booth explains why their product is the best. And especially with bolt-action rifles, the truth is: they all shoot.” Whether a €700 rifle or a €100,000 Ferlach custom, precision is rarely the differentiator. “The differences are in ergonomics, feel, philosophy – and yes, prestige.”
Where Things Go Truly Interesting!
Bixn Andy:„De zum Jågern“ in High-End Form
f one booth proves that technical depth doesn’t require loud marketing, it’s Bixn Andy from Kufstein, Tyrol.
Globally known for their precision triggers, the team uses Hohe Jagd 2026 to showcase more than trigger expertise: a complete hunting tool – the bolt-action rifle “De zum Jågern”, including a high-end titanium and carbon version under two kilograms. This is mountain-hunting philosophy in its purest form.
Bullpup Is Back
Since the presentation of the Walther RS3, the hunting community has been talking about bullpup designs again. But those who want to see how a bullpup can become a fully-fledged, versatile hunting system inevitably end up at TTS and the XCEED.
TTS representative Tobias Weinmann describes the XCEED as a short, bullpup-based bolt-action rifle focused on function, not effect:
Multicaliber up to .375 Holland & Holland
Short, well-balanced design with full performance
Quick barrel and action changes
Convertible from tactical to sporting setup
Fully adjustable ergonomics
5-round steel magazine
6-lug bolt system
Match-grade trigger
The XCEED is deliberately not a lightweight: around 4.2 kg bare, often 5–6 kg fully equipped. Weinmann: “In return, it’s extremely stable on target and pleasant to shoot – even in heavier calibers.”
Die XCEED ist laut Weinmann bewusst kein Leichtgewicht. Das Gewehr kommt auf rund 4,2 Kilogramm, jagdlich mit Optik und Anbauteilen sind es oft 5-6 Kilogramm. Weinmann: „Dafür ist die XCEED ruhig im Anschlag und angenehm im Schuss, selbst in stärkeren Kalibern.“
Akila: The Quietest World Premiere of the Show
One of the most exciting moments at Hohe Jagd 2026 happened without a big stage. Akila – known for high-end stocks from Slovenia – suddenly reveals: “We are now also a firearms manufacturer.”
Co-founder Alex Chikin, based in Carinthia, presents the new EWA rifle, shown in Salzburg for the first time as a tactical version. The hunting model will be unveiled next week at IWA in Nuremberg.
What stands out technically:
Straight-pull bolt action with three-lug locking system
Lever/impact mechanism in the bolt interacting with a hardened plate in the receiver – designed to ensure safe closing and easy opening even under resistance
Remington 700 compatibility
Tool-less disassembly, easily removable bolt head
Barrels currently sourced from Lothar Walther (Germany); in-house barrel production planned
Starting price approx. €4,000, depending on configuration
Manufacturing depth: everything in-house except the barrel
Akila delivers exactly what many hunters value in 2026: serviceability and modularity without the feel of a DIY project. And importantly: not just a rifle, but a platform.
Schmidt & Bender: "Slimming Down" as a Logical Response to Clip-On Reality
Modern hunting practice is clear: clip-on devices are everyday tools – and that changes optic design. Schmidt & Bender responds deliberately. Detlef Zeller explains: “Schmidt & Bender’s international reputation is deeply rooted in military and law enforcement – and hunters benefit directly from that robustness and usability.”
Temperature resistance: –40 to +60/70 °C
Oils do not thicken, seals are premium-grade
Waterproof to 7 m standard, optional 10 m or even 25 m
Turrets designed for glove use, tactile feedback with every 10th click
Lockable turrets on most models
META 3–18×42: Slim because clip-ons are assumed
Zeller presents the META 3–18×42 as a conscious return to a slim profile – not chasing maximum brightness at any cost, because many hunters now rely on clip-ons anyway.
Available in first and second focal plane:
FFP: modern, also attractive for sport shooting
SFP: clearly hunting-focused, classic reticles, slimmer adjustment systems
All scopes are fully manufactured in Germany, from the smallest screw to the lens.
The message is clear: Not bigger and brighter at all costs – but optimized for real hunting practice.
Between Steel and Screens: Way of the Hunter 2 - Virtual Hunting as Part of Hunting Culture
And then there’s this corner that glows and clicks. THQ Nordic, together with rifle manufacturer Strasser, invites visitors on a virtual stalk. Way of the Hunter 2 introduces a hunting dog for virtual tracking, more realistic animal development, and deeper biological detail.
It’s not a replacement for hunting – but it reflects how deeply ethics, wildlife biology, and realism are now discussed digitally. Release planned for 2026 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Hohe Jagd 2026: Less Noise, More Direction
Hohe Jagd this year is not a show of spectacle. It is a show of quiet, sustainable decisions.
Between the thermal wave and lightweight philosophy, between modular systems and deliberately slim optics, one thing became clear: Hunting is not being reinvented – it’s being refined.
The brands that stand out in 2026 are not those with the loudest marketing, but those answering real questions in the field: weight, handling, serviceability, durability – day and night, heat and cold. What was also striking was what didn’t appear: the urge to exaggerate.
Instead of bigger, brighter, heavier, many products return to hunting’s core:
function over effect.
A bolt-action rifle doesn’t need to be a status symbol.
An optic doesn’t need to be a lighthouse project.
They need to work – reliably, quietly, without demanding attention.
That is what remains from Hohe Jagd 2026: orientation.
Not as a final answer, but as an invitation to look closer – at your own hunting profile, needs, and limits.
And that is precisely why Hohe Jagd remains a must-attend event.
Not to buy immediately – but to understand where hunting is heading.
Quietly. Step by step. And with a growing awareness that good equipment doesn’t always need to stand out.
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