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Posted: 4/30/2023 2:49:25 PM EDT
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Attached File Attached File Attached File Just bought this gun in March, it's an April of 2022 production standard stock. Ever seen one crack there? Kinda disappointing after dropping $1600 on a new gun. I've got maybe 300rds through it. To the people that have had experiences with Steyr's customer service, how's it been? |
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Quoted: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133519_Gallery_jpg-2801238.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133750_Gallery_jpg-2801243.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_134531_Gallery_jpg-2801244.JPG Just bought this gun in March, it's an April of 2022 production standard stock. Ever seen one crack there? Kinda disappointing after dropping $1600 on a new gun. I've got maybe 300rds through it. To the people that have had experiences with Steyr's customer service, how's it been? There have been several threads on r/bullpup forum of a semi recent production Bad Batch of AUG stocks. Yours was probably in that window: https://www.reddit.com/r/AUG/search/?q=cracking&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1 From all accounts Steyr is replacing these stocks without any guff. |
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Quoted: There have been several threads on r/bullpup forum of a semi recent production Bad Batch of AUG stocks. Yours was probably in that window: https://www.reddit.com/r/AUG/search/?q=cracking&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1 From all accounts Steyr is replacing these stocks without any guff. Quoted: Quoted: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133519_Gallery_jpg-2801238.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133750_Gallery_jpg-2801243.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_134531_Gallery_jpg-2801244.JPG Just bought this gun in March, it's an April of 2022 production standard stock. Ever seen one crack there? Kinda disappointing after dropping $1600 on a new gun. I've got maybe 300rds through it. To the people that have had experiences with Steyr's customer service, how's it been? There have been several threads on r/bullpup forum of a semi recent production Bad Batch of AUG stocks. Yours was probably in that window: https://www.reddit.com/r/AUG/search/?q=cracking&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1 From all accounts Steyr is replacing these stocks without any guff.  I guess Im not the only one. Thanks for the link man. |
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Attached File And as long as I'm looking, I was a total AUG noob when I bought this.....is it standard for my receiver to not have that stainless (?) sleeve in one of the four tubes in the receiver that the operating rods slide through? |
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Quoted: https://i.redd.it/been-thinking-about-the-stocks-cracking-issue-v0-rriu1xokm9ba1.jpg?s=b59c55c92f9d935363e840106dca16b49f54d8d5 I guess Im not the only one. Thanks for the link man. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133519_Gallery_jpg-2801238.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_133750_Gallery_jpg-2801243.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_134531_Gallery_jpg-2801244.JPG Just bought this gun in March, it's an April of 2022 production standard stock. Ever seen one crack there? Kinda disappointing after dropping $1600 on a new gun. I've got maybe 300rds through it. To the people that have had experiences with Steyr's customer service, how's it been? There have been several threads on r/bullpup forum of a semi recent production Bad Batch of AUG stocks. Yours was probably in that window: https://www.reddit.com/r/AUG/search/?q=cracking&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1 From all accounts Steyr is replacing these stocks without any guff. https://i.redd.it/been-thinking-about-the-stocks-cracking-issue-v0-rriu1xokm9ba1.jpg?s=b59c55c92f9d935363e840106dca16b49f54d8d5 I guess Im not the only one. Thanks for the link man. Of course, happy to help. Please keep us posted on how Steyr responds. But it's overall not an AUG thing; there's 40 year old AUGs out there that still work fine with their OG stocks. It just seems to be some fuckup thats materialized this last yearish or so. More info: https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Are-AUG-stocks-still-cracking-/43-535189/ |
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Quoted: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_145512_Gallery_jpg-2801327.JPG And as long as I'm looking, I was a total AUG noob when I bought this.....is it standard for my receiver to not have that stainless (?) sleeve in one of the four tubes in the receiver that the operating rods slide through? |
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Quoted: 100% normal Quoted: Quoted: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/60275/Screenshot_20230430_145512_Gallery_jpg-2801327.JPG And as long as I'm looking, I was a total AUG noob when I bought this.....is it standard for my receiver to not have that stainless (?) sleeve in one of the four tubes in the receiver that the operating rods slide through? Thank you. When digging around facebook groups for cracked stocks I found the answer to that too. Kind of unusual its not also sleeved but whatever I guess. |
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Quoted: I think its sleeved on that side because that's the side where the gas piston is? Probably. I just filled out a service / warranty claim on their website; it would be nice if they just mailed me a new stock but Im betting they will want the old one back so there isnt defective ones out in the wild. I filled out the registration form and on one of the last questions it asks "how likely are you to recommend us to a friend?" And my response was "depends on how you handle the warranty claim Im about to file" 
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Quoted: Or a supplier was changed. Quoted: Quoted: I bet some bean counter changed raw materials to a cheaper variant but “in-spec” on paper … Or a supplier was changed. Yeah ... one or the other ... all these years without issues and now all the sudden ... baaam ... You are seeing this in the automotive and other industries that use polymers ... good quality polymers have increased in pricing ... many suppliers to keep prices the same have ventured into the Asian markets where the quality of poly isn't the same nor held even-though it meets the "spec" ... we saw this as a trial run one time in the industry I worked at ... within a year we went back to the original OEM ... Steyr should do the same ... |
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Quoted: If you notice all the cracked ones have 90° corners. The good ones have a inside fillet and those don't seem to crack. Fascinating, great eye. That is an interesting hypothesis. And this website does mention something to that effect (as one of many possible explanations): https://www.ecomolding.com/cracking-in-plastic-injection-molded-parts/ (II) Cracking caused by external stress The external stress mainly refers to the stress concentration caused by inappropriate design, especially the sharp corners. However there are a bunch of other reasons why cracks could form that are mentioned. |
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Well I just checked my two, one is about half a year old, the other about 1.5 yrs old. The older one has no cracks, but I don’t like how sharp the corners are. Bad design to have somewhat sharp corners on a lot of things- polymers, metals, whatever. I am amazed sometimes at how many things these days are still not properly radiused. Interestingly though, the newer rifle has clearly had someone at Steyr do a mitigation- they milled or drilled each corner of the hole. So the hole is no longer square, instead it is squarish with a semi circle at the corners. Not sure if they are doing this on a jig or literally just had someone get out a dremel and zip each corner. Now this is a well known method of stopping cracks from expanding. However it is clearly an afterthought on these stocks, so either they are continuing to build rifles using the “bad batch”, or they are continuing to use the same molds/polymer despite having ongoing issues. Now doing the circular holes in the corner should stop the problems, but is sure does look like shit. Obviously they did not want to take the financial hit from fixing the stock manufacturing procedure, so now we get this mitigation fix. |
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Quoted: https://i.redd.it/been-thinking-about-the-stocks-cracking-issue-v0-rriu1xokm9ba1.jpg?s=b59c55c92f9d935363e840106dca16b49f54d8d5 I guess Im not the only one. Thanks for the link man. Bottom right photo shows the drilled/milled corner mitigation I mentioned. That is an afterthought, a fix, and not how you would design a part initially. A proper design would have the corners radiused smoothly, and the takedown button would have its corners rounded as well. Instead they did a square hole, and drilled the corners to stop any cracks from occurring. |
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Here is my 1.5 year old rifle (22USA serial range): Attached File And here is the newer one (29USA serial range) with the corners drilled. Looking at how unevenly the corners were done, I am betting it was done by hand with a dremel tool: Attached File |
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Quoted: Here is my 1.5 year old rifle (22USA serial range): https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/23705/6E0ADA1A-9FFE-46FC-BB81-4B8F5F9E51F2_jpe-2805905.JPG And here is the newer one (29USA serial range) with the corners drilled. Looking at how unevenly the corners were done, I am betting it was done by hand with a dremel tool: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/23705/FF3B2DDB-10D3-4CC1-BD93-40563EB427EA_jpe-2805911.JPG To be honest...both squares look like they were Dremel'd out of a solid stock. |
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The corners issue is bizarre on all levels. -For 40 years they have been making the stock correctly -There is no apparent cost savings in having the injection mold make a square hole vs a square hole w/ rounded corners -It sucks up $/man hours to have a guy round the square corners by hand I'm not saying this isn't the explanation, its just very weird if it is. They what, needed a new AUG mold after the previous one wore out, and then forgot to have it punch a rounded hole for the takedown button? |
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Quoted: The corners issue is bizarre on all levels. -For 40 years they have been making the stock correctly -There is no apparent cost savings in having the injection mold make a square hole vs a square hole w/ rounded corners -It sucks up $/man hours to have a guy round the square corners by hand I'm not saying this isn't the explanation, its just very weird if it is. They what, needed a new AUG mold after the previous one wore out, and then forgot to have it punch a rounded hole for the takedown button? I tend to agree on the weird explenation.. A mold can be modified at any time before it wears out, and I don’t think money is an issue at Steyr. But that’s the same Steyr that still won’t modify a mold to include a brass deflector but rather sell a DIY kit  |
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I send them an email on Sunday with my warranty registration, a copy of my receipt to show I was the original purchaser of the firearm, and a picture of the crack. I gave up waiting for a response and called them today. The person that deals with warranty replacement parts is gone for a long weekend so he'll call me back next week (only 1 guy handles that I guess?) The whole thing is handled weird IMHO but whatever. If anyone else in the future reads this, so far my advice is just to call. |
| I had a Steyr pro hunter stock crack after about 100 rnds of 30.06. I called and told them and they wanted me to mail the cracked stock back to them which I did. They then sent me a new stock. The whole process was maybe 2 weeks. But then again, there might be a bunch of people calling in for the AUG stocks causing back ups |
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Quoted: I just looked at mine (a green NATO purchased last February) and it's cracked. I guess I'm calling them next week.  Is Steyr requiring the whole gun to be sent back or just the stock? You will have to send in the whole gun. Each stock is hand fit to the aug. There is aom general being able to swap them around, but for the best fit and finish you will want to send it to Steyr. |
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I am mulling over just doing the dremel corner modification myself on my slightly older AUG, just to prevent the issue from popping up. It is a half assed fix, but if it is the same method Steyr is doing, I guess it is fine… Kind of reminds me of the original Colt A2 uppers with M4 feed ramps. The did a lot of those feed ramps on uppers that were already anodized, so the M4 ramps were bare aluminum. Kind of weird to see it on a brand new Colt rifle, but there it was…. And it worked just fine. Just like I imagine dremeling the corners to prevent a crack from starting would. Just makes me wonder if other locations might be more susceptible to having a crack than they should, but they are less likely to have it happen versus the take down, which clearly is the most likely place for it to crack… |
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Quoted: Guess I better go check mine. If it is cracked, I don’t think I can have it repaired per WA state law now. Round needle files. However, it is NOT a receiver and not regulated by federal law. I'd drop ship it to an ID address and go pick it up if the state regulates it. |
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Quoted: I am mulling over just doing the dremel corner modification myself on my slightly older AUG, just to prevent the issue from popping up. It is a half assed fix, but if it is the same method Steyr is doing, I guess it is fine… Kind of reminds me of the original Colt A2 uppers with M4 feed ramps. The did a lot of those feed ramps on uppers that were already anodized, so the M4 ramps were bare aluminum. Kind of weird to see it on a brand new Colt rifle, but there it was…. And it worked just fine. Just like I imagine dremeling the corners to prevent a crack from starting would. Just makes me wonder if other locations might be more susceptible to having a crack than they should, but they are less likely to have it happen versus the take down, which clearly is the most likely place for it to crack… I would use needle files to do it - dremel could overdo it. |
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Quoted: I am mulling over just doing the dremel corner modification myself on my slightly older AUG, just to prevent the issue from popping up. It is a half assed fix, but if it is the same method Steyr is doing, I guess it is fine… Kind of reminds me of the original Colt A2 uppers with M4 feed ramps. The did a lot of those feed ramps on uppers that were already anodized, so the M4 ramps were bare aluminum. Kind of weird to see it on a brand new Colt rifle, but there it was…. And it worked just fine. Just like I imagine dremeling the corners to prevent a crack from starting would. Just makes me wonder if other locations might be more susceptible to having a crack than they should, but they are less likely to have it happen versus the take down, which clearly is the most likely place for it to crack… I'd say a small round file would be better then taking a dremel to it. That said, it would be good to figure out if this corer issue is even the issue or not. I'm tempted to email Steyr Austria to see if they even know about this issue? |
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Quoted: I'd say a small round file would be better then taking a dremel to it. That said, it would be good to figure out if this corer issue is even the issue or not. I'm tempted to email Steyr Austria to see if they even know about this issue? They very much know about this issue. Type ‘cracked Aug” into google, this has been going on for over an year now. |
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Quoted: Yeah, some people have had complete failures while firing. Quoted: Quoted: I could tell by the inflection in the voice of the lady I talked to in the phone they know it's an issue. Yeah, some people have had complete failures while firing. I've seen that after I did some research. Hopefully they dont have similar issues with their magazines. I'm not a big believer in polymer mags but I went with the standard stock because everyone says the mags are great and it does look more classic than the NATO stock. |
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Quoted: I'd say a small round file would be better then taking a dremel to it. That said, it would be good to figure out if this corer issue is even the issue or not. I'm tempted to email Steyr Austria to see if they even know about this issue? afaik, the stocks are made in Austria so they probably do know |
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