I'm a first time AUG owner. I've never fired one before either. Someone at my local; 2-gun used one and let me hold it and I liked it. Then I saw them on sale at PSA so I fo'ed on a standard (not NATO) AUG in black along with a bunch of waffle mags that were also on sale. The date stamp inside the stock showed "23" and the CS letter inside the box was dated 01-2024 so I assume this is new, current production, Made In The USA.

First impressions: It's small yet has some heft. (exact impression I had holding my baby daughter the first time) Not heavy but certainly not toy-like. It shoulders and points naturally even though I've been shooting AR's (and some AK's) for 35+ years and only touched a bullpup 2-3X in my life. It felt good to hold and not awkward and uncomfortable like the FN P90 I held a few times. Although I still find myself grabbing the mag instead of the pistol grip by accident. Old dogs, new guns etc...

Wasn't sure what optics to attach. First I put on an ACOG TA011. I like this optic but felt that a gun this small would be more like a PDW and was better off with an RDS. I attached an Aimpoint M5 that seems to work well because I had enough room to put an Aimpoint 3X mag (in a Larue flip mount) behind the RDS and, if needed, I had room in front for DBAL (IR laser, illum, etc). I have no idea where to put a light on the thing. Probably on the little side raid but I would have to use a cable switch. We shall explore that later.

I took it out to the range today to zero and function check. To be honest, the thing is so different and "weird" that I wasn't sure that it would even function! But it function 100% perfect with no jams or hiccups of any kind using a variety of .223 and 5.56 ammo (only 100 rounds total). I also did not expect any accuracy out of it. The trigger at best is TEDIOUS from the bench. It's listed at 10lbs but feels about 30lbs trying to shoot for groups. Standing unsupported combat shooting, the trigger is OK, like my old Glock 8lb work trigger. Certainly wont get any .13 splits but for an SD/HD gun, its fine for now but I will look into upgrading or improving the trigger ASAP.

Also using an RDS, even with a 3X mag is NOT easy. Not with my 50+ year old eyes. I had to wear reading glasses so the dot was somewhat round and not changing shape constantly. Anyway, the worst group at 100 yards, 5 shots, from sandbag rest, was with Winchester Lake City 55gr XM193 printing 3.15". The gun likes GECO 55gr FMJ and printed 1.50, 155, 1.70". Norma 55gr FMJ was 2.90 and 1.45. The gun really liked the Australian Outback (ADI) 55gr Blitzking load which gave me 2.05" (4 shots into .80) .95", and .875". I was not expecting to shoot sub MOA even if I attached an actual scope but with an RDS I was very pleased.

I will do a quick field-strip and cleaning later and look for any usual wear or problems but so far I think it's a keeper. I will try to update this post if anything new comes up.

p.s. I have no affiliation with Steyr, PSA, or any company and anyone. I'm just some dude...

edit: I've done a good 1 hour cleaning of the rifle, mostly checking for wear, etc. It seemed freakishly clean for 100 rounds. Even the mags appeared clean unlike AR mags that get black on the top and follower after just a few rounds. In fact the only way to determine that the rifle was even fired was a little brass residue on the bolt face. Basically, the rifle looked like I had chambered and unloaded a few rounds without firing. The bolt body was even clean and oily like when I installed it before shooting. Really the only sign of actual firing was in the gas cylinder, piston and piston spring which were all dirty. The piston was a little hard to get out and I had to use a punch to tap it out gently. It all cleaned up nicely except for the top of the piston which has some discoloration. The barrel cleaned up nice and easy also with only 5 or 6 patches.

The only concern is the slight bit of play between the receiver and the plastic stock. Basically with the stock in my shoulder, pulling in on the front pistol grip causes the receiver to push into the stock a tiny bit under spring tension. Maybe 1/100th of an inch but I can feel it and hear it. It's not the side to side "wobble" or slop as is typical for AR's but a slight in and out movement that makes a popping noise.

Any advice, cleaning/operating hacks, tips, or feedback will be appreciated.

Put a couple hundred rounds through it to make sure the stock isn't fragile. If it can make it through 300 rds or so of full power ammo, you should have a good one.

Thanks. I've read about the stocks cracking here and on reddit and am concerned. I saw a small "crack" coming off the corner of the take-down bolt, going towards the ejection port but after countless minutes staring at it with a magnifier, I think it's a scratch. If I could figure out how to remove the take-down bolt, I could look at it from the inside to be sure. Anyway, I will be watching the "scratch" to see if it grows. So far it's ok. The stock material seems much harder than "Glock plastic" which seems more flexible and less prone to crack.

Removing the takedown bolt is super easy. There is only one piece of spring steel holding it in.

Welcome to the club man It's an addicting platform.

In terms of weapon light mount, I've used the PupLight mount for the last ~8 years and I'm extremely pleased with it. Very ergonomic, looks cool, and puts the light far forward enough that there is no barrel shadow. Works with any 1" tactical flashlight (Surefire / Malkoff / Modlite / Armytac / etc).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256460575581





Here it is on mine:

Since tha AUG scope dont have an adjustable diopter, I run a Vortex Strike Eagle 1x8x24 on my 20 inch, and a Vortex Venom 1x8x24 on my 24 inch Aug.

* get the red trigger springs. this will get the pull weight down to around what a mil spec AR trigger is
*operate the charging handle palm up
* don't worry around movement in the stock. my 40 year old AUG has about 1/8" of front to back play and nothing negative has ever come of it
*the recoil springs are retard strength level strong when new. if the CH is hard to pull back, leave with the bolt locked back for a week or two


**how did you spend an hour cleaning it when there is pretty nothing to clean after only 100 (or 300) rounds? wiping down the bolt and guide rods and running a patch or two down the barrel is pretty much it

I bought one from PSA last week. Picked it up from my FFL on Monday. I have been lusting after an AUG for years. To be quite honest, I am underwhelmed!

I'm busy at work, so haven't had a chance to take it apart clean it etc, so maybe this weekend my opinion will change. I plan on taking it to the range Sunday afternoon.

Thanks. I will give it a try. I assumed there was a way to disassemble everything...

That looks about perfect. Does the gas plug/cylinder not get too hot or melt the mount?

Good point. Since my eyes have joined the rest of my old-ass broken down body, I need glasses. Some scopes I can just adjust the eye piece but like my old Aimpoint 3X mag, I have to use reading glasses to get a crisp and clear image. Getting old is hard...

In 2-gun matches, I'm running them in reading glasses since I still use irons on my pistol and need them to see the sights but I have to adjust the scope otherwise it's a little blurry.

I'll say give it a chance. My AUG will not replace all my AR's, some are "high dollar" Noveske and Larue. I doubt I will be shooting 2-gun with it any time soon. But all the SBR's and AK/AR pistols look like silly novelties now since the AUG is shorter, has 16" ballistics, and easily outshoots them. Also coming home from the range with clean gun/mags is kinda nice.

Bullpups are probably not for everyone but I think the AUG is a standout so far.

My AUG has the factory "donut of death" optic and it works fine, it is a reliable and lightweight rifle and has nothing added, no lights, lasers, nothing, in order to keep it lightweight.
While it may be a bit old school compared to a decked out AR it is the rifle that I would want to carry if walking a long distance

Thanks for the advice and info.

I spent an hour "cleaning" a clean rifle. But I had to look all over for dirt and carbon even though there was very little. The barrel and the gas plug/cylinder, piston and spring were pretty much all that was dirty. But I had to check everywhere I could reach not knowing what gets dirty or not.

The mounts aluminum, so no worries about melting. It gets warm but nothing crazy.

btw, if you have a Glock, the included cleaning rod and brush are perfect for cleaning the gas chamber. The tip of the rod before the slot is the exact size of the piston opening on the AUG (it's almost like the AUG and Glock were issued to the Austrian army at the same time and this was done in purpose )

Good advice, thanks. I have lots of those Glock cleaning rods...

I used a light off the angles rail and just used my thumb from my firing hand to turn it on/off. May not work for you. I took it off after putting on a handguard that it didn’t fit with.

One thing to remember with red dots is this. Even with perfect vision, your dot will be blurry. You focus on the target threat and superimpose the dot onto the target I would assume you have a slight stigmatism, that is why you were seeing the misshapen dot. One thing to add, a green dot or radical will help to a degree with the stigmatism blurriness.

Yes. I understand that an RDS is not a target scope. But I wanted to print the best groups possible with what I had. Back a few years ago before I needed glasses to read it was no problem and I could see a clean round dot. But now, just like I need glasses to read, I need glasses to see a clean dot. Running and gunning fast, using the RDS like it was meant, it's no problem. But trying to shoot a group with the 2MOA dot "exploded" into a 4MOA starburst that is changing shape is hard. But with my 1.25 cheapo readers, the dot turns nice and round and crisp again, especially under the 3X mag and I can shoot groups again.

I'm over 300 rounds now and everything is running fine.

I shot some Norma 77gr target ammo and it shot great. POI was about 5" high but 5 shot groups were hovering around 1MOA! How can a 1:9 barrel shoot 77gr ammo? I'm sure it's on the ragged edge of stability and maybe if it was colder out and less humid they may bust loose. Has anyone else had any luck shooting 77gr from your 1:9 barrels?

Haven’t tried. But I’ll give it a go next trip to the range and see what happens.

Yup, my 1:9, 20" barrel shoots 77gr better than my 1:7, 16" FN made barrel

I’ve had the NATO stock version for a few months now. Probably 500 rounds though it.
I like it. Has a tr24 in LaRue mount that is a perfect match for this gun, but I’ll probably change to a fixed mount to save a little weight and get rid of levers that scrape knuckles.
Added a magpul sling and a surefire scout light works ok if I need it.
The red springs were worth the money and help improve the trigger.
It is absolutely the cleanest semiautomatic rifle I’ve ever shot. After the first 100 rounds I really scrubbed the barrel and saw very little copper, everything else just wiped off.
It shot as good or better than my AR’s with 55-75 gr ammo.
Very happy with it.

Same/similar experience. I briefly mounted a Nightforce NX8 but it was too much scope and the mount interfered with the knuckles/charging handle. I put back the Aimpoint.

I may try the red springs and that 20/20 sear but I'm worried about maintaining it's drop-safety, not that I plan to drop the thing but I'm just worried about altering it too much.

I've since shot some S&B 77gr and IMI 77gr Razorcore and both shot pretty well. Averaging under 2MOA! I probably have shot about 500 various rounds (from 50gr to 77gr) total and going strong.

Go for the Red springs, it’s a factory part and doesn’t effect the drop safe part of the trigger.
I agree with not wanting to alter the factory aspect to much. The only other thing I plan to do is add a suppressor gas plug if I can ever get one.