Well, I had a hell of a day at the range with the Aussies yesterday.  

We spent the better part of the day firing their AUGs.  We had some M16s that the Aussies fired a little, but most of us just wanted as much trigger time on the AUG as possible.

I found it to be a pretty likeable weapon.  The 1.5x optics were real nice.  They reticle consists of crosshairs with a small hollow circle in the center.  I found it to be conducive to pretty reasonable accuracy at 100 yards.  Other than shooting at paper targets, I was able to make a water bottle at the end of the range dance.  I also found that the scope was at a comfortable height for me, and I didn't have to bend or stretch my neck in any akward positions.

The trigger is certainly interesting.  You apply a little pressure, and you squeeze off single shots in semi auto.  Apply more pressure, and you fire in auto mode.  The difference in pulls were fairly easy to distinguish between, although I did catch myself firing a couple of few shot bursts that I didn't intend to a time or two.  At the base of the trigger, there is a small pin that you can pull down on that will limit it to semi auto fire only.

The charging handle is in a fairly intuitive place, partucularly if you like H&K stuff.  It has a button on the top of it that you press to release it when at the rear position.

One thing that I found to be a little strange was the position of the magazine.  Mag changes took some getting used to when we were doing live fire drills.  I kept finding myself wanting to reach for and insert a new mag into the magwell in front of the trigger guard that wasn't there.  Even if a bullpup platform is the only type of gun you've ever trained on, I still don't think mag changes could be performed as quickly as say an AR.

I found that the rifle shouldered very well with my longer arms, and the forward folding grip was nice as well.  Some guys like to leave it folded up, but I prefered leave it down.

The 30rd magazines were easier to load than an AR mag, and the clear round count ability was nice.  The polymer construction jkept making me think of those DPMS mags, although I'm certain the mags would hold up to solvents well as they are in military use and were surely tested for this.

At the end of the day most of the folks got in the "pit" at the end of the range, while a few others burned through multiple mags on full auto so the sound of bullets cracking overhead could be experienced.  For those that have never had rounds fly by them, it has a very strange sound, especially when striking things around you.  Much louder than you would think.  And of course if the gun firing is at any sort of a distance, the report from the muzzle will follow the hissing cracking sound.

My overall impression of the AUG was very positive.  While I still think the AR is superior in a few ways,  I wouldn't say that the AUG is lacking.  It could just be because the AR is what I'm used to.

If they ever get imported again and are affordable,  I would buy one.  I would be disappointed when I pulled the trigger all of the way back and didn't get any bursts out of it though

ETA: It will be a while before I could get pics posted as I used a disposable camera, and have to get the pics rendered onto disc when I have them developed before I can get them on the net.  I know, I should have brought my digital, but I didnlt want to mess it up.

WHERE

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THE

PICTURES

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