I’m trying to better understand the history of how the Aug receiver is made and which versions used what process and am having a hard time tracking down the right answer. From what I understand the original STG77 with integral scope used a sand cast receiver as well as the Aug A2. After the assault weapons ban happened and the lull in Aug availability it’s been said that when the Aug A3 SA was launched using Sabre to manufacture the barrels and receivers, Sabre used forgings that they machined the rest of the way (partially confirmed by that link below about Sabre selling a bunch of anchor Harvey unfinished housings when being liquidated). After Sabre got into trouble and Vltor took over the reciever machining, people were saying Vltor used machined billets for their A3 SA receivers and once Steyr USA fully took over manufacturing in-house, all the A3 M1s went back to sand cast receivers since then but at this point I’m not sure of a couple things:

1. why did Sabre use forgings in the first place if the military Aug was sand cast from the start?

2. Is it confirmed that Vltor did NOT use forgings for their receivers? This to me is most odd since setting up a way to get forgings and then not getting anymore but instead hogging out tons of extra aluminum to build receivers from a block of billet doesn’t seem that efficient and on top of that, just looking at the geometry of the receiver it makes it difficult to machine from a single block id think. Also, Sabre had a good manufacturing process going from my understanding so why even change it to begin with? I’m wondering whether it’s possible that Vltor used the same forgings too but just machined them further hence the better final finish, or if they literally made them from a solid block instead.

3. I assume the forging dies weren’t originally made for Sabre’s civi Aug sales since those would be a lot of $ up front, so which military used forged Aug receivers and why did they use forged receivers instead of the simpler and presumably good enough sand cast receivers that Steyr has used from day 1?

4. Why did Steyr ultimately switch back to sand cast but only starting on the M1?

If anyone has some good info I’d love to hear. I’m by no means doubting the folks that posted this info up on arfcom/m4 carbine but would really just like to better understand the material’s history behind the design with some reasons as some of these decisions seem odd at the surface level

Links:


https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Steyr-AUG-A3-M1-Receiver-Questions/2-548713/

Whttps://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?112026-2012-Steyr-AUG-A3-(vltor)/page33

With the advent of CNC machining, billet can be cheaper that forging.

Below info are accurate to the best of my knowledge having been into AUGs for more than a decade:

Sabre Receiver A3 Rifles - Forged receiver - Sabre USA Barrel (CL & Button) - 13x1
Sabre/Vltor Receiver A3 Rifles (early) - Forged receiver 7075 T6 - FN USA Barrel (CL & CHF) - 13x1..
Vltor Receiver A3 Rifles (late) - Forged receiver 7075 T6 - FN USA Barrel (CL & CHF) - 13x1
Vltor Receiver A3M1 Rifles (early) - Forged receiver 7075 T6 - FN USA Barrel (CL & CHF) - 13x1
Vltor Receiver A3M1 Rifles (mid) - Forged receiver 7075 T6 - FN USA Barrel (CL & CHF) - 13x1 & 1/2x28
Vltor Receiver A3M1 Rifles (mid) - Cast Austrian 'SWD' marked receiver - FN USA Barrel (CL & CHF) - 13x1 & 1/2x28
Vltor Receiver A3M1 Rifles (late/current) - Cast USA receiver - Steyr USA Barrel (nitride & CHF) - 1/2x28

Below is a link to ForgottenWeapons' Vltor tour talking about the 7075 T6 forging for Vltor's AUG receiver: https://youtu.be/rhBorr-vrlk?si=pBDeIKm3VunDeVHU&t=615

The info on the more recent receivers being USA cast receivers was confirmed by a CNC tech at Steyr in the FB group.
The cast receivers having the same "date wheel" marking as the more recent stocks (2020-2024) likely means the stocks are US made as well. This is likely why the other thread mentioned only the US AUGs are breaking stocks while the Austrian AUGs are fine.

Side note, Steyr USA has been pumping out AUGs...
2008-2019 | 12 years = 1USA to 15USA prefix (~15000 guns)
2020-2023 | 4 years = 16USA to 34USA prefix (~19000 guns)

2021 rifle production number per ATF's Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report (AFMER), indicates Steyr USA have imported and/or produced exactly 9,444 rifles. I'm pretty sure most of that are AUG rifles. IMO, they really need to slow down on the production and focus more on quality control.

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This is excellent history! Thank you!! That does help clarify some stuff indeed. Any idea of the casting house in the usa making these? I see a number of people reporting issues with stocks cracking. Do the cast usa receivers have any known issues besides just being finished rougher than the older ones?

I have an original 0% forging.

That’s actually super cool. Any idea why they chose to go away from them? Was it really just a cost thing to move from forging to casting?

I do not know. Steyr stopped using the particular forging that I have in the early 2010’s after receiver production changed from vltor to abrams.

The switch to cast receivers occurred right after a huge audit and shakeup occurred in Alabama. I have to assume that it was more cost effective to use the castings from Europe over the Canadian and American sourced material. Also, Steyr brought manufacturing of the receivers and barrels in house rather than use outside entities. That’s either due to quality control or costs. You decide.

Strangely, or maybe not, shortly thereafter reports started showing up of cracked stocks… Again, you decide what happened.

Thank you. Who is Abrams in this saga? Does the above list need to include another maker to replace Vltor after a certain date? Also, is Steyr USA themselves milling and finishing the receivers now? Not vltor nor Abrams?

Just to confirm, is every vltor Aug A3 SA forged 7075 T6?

Any idea of the aluminum used for the sand cast receivers?

Yeah, I’ve been reading about the stock issues and it’s honestly super shocking and seems there hasn’t been any mention or actual fix put out (at least not that I’ve seen thus far). To me it seems that this would be costing them far more than they saved or at least switch back to Austrian stocks until the formulation/mold was revised. Pretty big bummer :(

Abrams is the parent company of VLTOR and Milkor in Tucson, AZ.

Can anyone post pics (or direct me accordingly) of the receiver construction visual differences?

I don't know who is doing the more current cast blank receivers in the US.
From what I know, there's nothing else wrong with the recent US cast and machined receiver. It is just the US stocks being problematic.

The internal machining steps on the areas they did the milling work are definitely due to them rushing things.
Austrian guns having similar casted receiver or ones using the same SWD receiver blank are no where near as rough from what I know.

FYI, from my testing, the FN CHF CL barrels and Sabre made button cut CL barrels are not as accurate as the nitrided barrels.
About 0.5-0.75MOA worse. Not a lot but figure I point this out. My Austrian preban CHF CL barrels shot the same as the nitrided barrels.

As posted earlier, yes, I believe all AUG A3 guns have forged 7075 T6 receiver.
The cast receivers started to show up when the Stg77 40th anniversary guns were introduced (which uses the A3M1 receiver).

I've been trying to find out about the type of aluminum used for the cast receivers but I can't find anything.
I have Steyr's own book on their AUG (only in German) and I don't see anything mentioned about material used.
At least I've seen a couple pictures of Austrian soldiers using their AUG A1's integrated scope to block strikes from wooden batons during training.
I figure if that is what they are teaching the soldiers to do then the material must be strong enough.
AFAIK, all Austrian AUGs have cast receivers which I'm sure it is plenty good. We have to remember all the stress areas have steel parts as well.

If you mean the Aug A3 SA, I think you’re right and all of those are forged based on the previous replies. The most recent Aug A3 M1s are cast from what I understood.

10-4. Very interesting about the barrels too! I have heard that the current non-CL barrels are pretty nice at least and very accurate. They are still CHF, just nitrided instead of CL, corrext? Is the current barrel finish used on Austrian military Augs too, or are they all doing CL barrels for the military?

no the current Austrian barrels are chrome lined, in fact all AUG bbls except the U.S. bbls are chrome lined. Steyr US couldn’t get the chrome lining process right (leading issues) and decided to go the cheaper route of nitrate rather than have an experienced company do it right. Also the nitride bbl suffer from the same steyr US QC issues as the rest of the US AUGs. That said Steyr US is perfectly capable of making a great AUG or at least an Austrian spec AUG but they are more interested in quantity over quality.

That’s correct. There were only 10,000 Anchor Harvey forgings that SDI and Vltor relied on to make the AUGs. The A3 was discontinued long before the 10,000 receivers were made. The very same forgings were used for many M1 guns as well as all the A3s with the difference being that the A3 had the “hump” milled off. The A3 forging is a direct exterior copy of the A2 forging and the A2 is just an M1 with different top rail interface. Even more interesting is how the SF was originally an A2 cast receiver…

iirc the CL barrels (assuming all else like barrel steel being equal) lasts longer in heavy FA use. But the CL has to be done properly since it is another layer inside the barrel and must be even. All my PSA FN CHF CL barreled uppers can print MOA or less with good ammo and I have yet to shoot one out. With nitrided barrels you just have to worry about getting the barrel correct and nitriding process doesn't change (potentially screw up) the rifling or inside geometry.

Just yesterday I shot several sub MOA groups with my brand new 2024 M1 A3 nitrided barrel. But I'll check back in 10K rounds...

Steyr USA couldnt get the CL correct or just not under the price point. Seems like everyone is doing nitride barrels and you have to look for CL.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Steyr-AUG-A3-M1-Receiver-Questions/2-548713/?r=6031004&page=1&anc=6031004#i6031004

No they literally couldn’t get the process right despite having a direct line and access to people who arguably make some of the best cold hammer forge chrome lined barrels available in the world today. Ironically enough, they hid the fact that they started using nitride & actually raise the prices of the barrels.

I have the second 40th anniversary model made and it most definitely has a billet receiver and it is not cast.

Do you mean forged? Do you happen to have pics of the underside of it you could share here?

Didn't Abrams acquired Armalite too?

Yep, as mentioned, I started to notice the SWD marked cast receivers when they introduced the 40th Anniversary rifles.
It is a mixture of both cast and forged for those guns (apparently less than 1000 rifles made).

And FYI, it isn't billet. It is forged.
They start with an AUG A2 forged blank with external geometry pretty much intact already, then they just mill off the material they don't need.
If it is a billet, they would be milling everything they don't need starting from a rectangular aluminum chunk.

yeah I'm not sure it's forged. evidently the sabre  guns were but I thought Vltor was using billets by 2017. If you have proof I would be interested as a forged receiver would make me happy. Not dogging on You but there is a lot of differing opinions on this. If it helps my receiver has no markings on the bottom of  it.

I don't think they will let me post a pic but maybe I could IM you one.

It is good to question things and discuss. I totally understand.

The YT video I linked above (https://youtu.be/rhBorr-vrlk?si=pBDeIKm3VunDeVHU&t=615) does show Vltor using forging. The picture above also showing forging.
If you could share with us, where did you see pictures or videos of them using billet?
If there are no pictures and no videos, it could very well be someone else misusing words (thinking billet=forged) or was misinformed.
It doesn't make much sense for anyone to use billet on an AUG receiver when the receiver has so many curvatures (single curve and double curves) which will be very time consuming to mill and for the curving surfaces to not having much milling marks.

None marked receiver as you described are not too common but those are Vltor made forged receivers.

Sure! That would be sweet to see.

Sure! That would be sweet to see.

That does make me happy. So you are saying no one ever did a billiet AUG receiver.

still trying to post a pic.

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There it is.

Does anyone know why these forgings were originally created? Did Canada decided to adopt the Aug for something and then also wanted a more durable receiver so contracted a forging house to make these for their guns and then offer the extra forging for sale for civi guns? Still want to understand why forged Augs exist in the first place.

AUG has had different companies make their receivers since  the get go. Now that they have a factory here we got some Vltor receivers and the Sabre receivers that are from Anchor Harvey. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

In the early 2000’s steyr arms Alabama was steyr Austria in name only. They were essentially only an importer. In fact the earlier steyr importer, GSi sort of became Steyr Alabama due to familial relations…

Because of that, when bringing back the AUG it was an exercise of handing the technical data to Sabre defence and asking them to make them entirely, while steyr marketed and sold them.

After the shenanigans with SDI, steyr took a similar but different approach by using FN and Vltor then Abrams.

Today steyr Alabama has different management including new ownership from the mothership and things are different.

Just talked to Steyr and all of their receivers are cast or forged. I for some reason thought that Vltor was making them from a billet but not so they are made from forgings.

Steyr web-page that sells barrels states "Like all AUG barrels currently being produced, these barrels are cold-hammer forged in Steyr, Austria before being machined and assembled in the USA".

I like the barrel on my AUG. It cleans up very quick and easy which is a good sign of quality to me and has produced sub-MOA 5 shot groups with one load.

All else being equal, I'd rather have an MOA nitride barrel .vs a 1.5MOA CL barrel. I have no idea about comparable durability though.

Cast OR forged? Is there a difference? Forged is under pressure (like hammer forged?) and cast is just pouring molten aluminum into a mold? I guess more complicated designs may need to be cast? Is one better?

My receiver looks forged like an AR lower. Two halves of hot aluminum "smashed" together under pressure...It has the forge mark "line" running down the middle and has the date wheel cast/forged/whatever on the bottom with a "21". I assume it was cast/forged in 2021 even though the rifle is "made" in 2024 (date stamp inside the stock says "23"). Is there a way to tell if my receiver is cast or forged? It's definitely NOT billet.

This AUG stuff is all very confusing yet fascinating

Is there a way to tell if my receiver is cast or forged? It's definitely NOT billet.

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I'm trying to show all the cast/forge marks. If I had to guess, I'd say it was cast, especially since it's kind of a complex part to forge. But I know almost zip about such things.

The top part of the receiver looks fine without rough spots, etc. and I am happy with the rifle...but it would be nice if it was cleaner metal work.

edit: I spoke with someone at Steyr today and the gentleman told me that receivers are US made and stocks are Austria made. I did not ask him about cast/forged, etc since he seemed a little reluctant to talk about it.

Your receiver is definitely cast. Compare to the pic I posted above. The spine running down the center of the underside will be narrower also than a forged receiver. Nothing wrong with a cast receiver. Think about all of the Austrian cast receivers that have ten of thousands of rounds of  full auto through them.