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Posted: 4/30/2006 1:08:53 PM EDT
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I bumped into Steyr's AUG and that rifle looks awesome! Especially the AUG A3 variants! http://www.steyr-mannlicher.com/index.php?id=641 first of all, have anyone in here shot with the A3? Second, which one is the best with, durability, accuracy, maintanance, overall quality, and velocity in mind? PS: For those who don't like US made stuffs: And please be objective, don't hate it because it isn't an american, hate it because You didn't invented it, and in that case, You didn't invent the AR15 eitherhis |
We didn't? |
I want an objective answer on this one
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I have not shot the AUG A3 ( only a handful of lucky people in the U.S. have because it is not for import or sale here) A few industry types and FFL/SOT have had the chance to shoot one, but the only thing we can own here is the AUG A1 semi auto, AUG A2 with a detach scope mount ( which is very rare) or the AWB "sporter" model Steyr USR. And a few people have transferable full auto AUGs. I own two AUG A1s and I think the AUG is a great rifle, and is just as good as a AR15 or HK93. |
Maintance is great with the AUG. It field strips in seconds. It easier to clean than the AR15. and I have never had a jam. Of course I never had a AR15 jam either. Most of the AUG is polymer. The stock polymer and the mags, and most of the trigger pack. If I had to choose between my 20" Colt HBAR with open sights or 20" geen AUG with the AUGs standard optic I would take the AUG over the AR15. Chris |
 We get it - you like the AUG. |
AR15/M16/M4 design is so old that everybody want or copy it. remember, cool doesn't mean good and cooler doesn't mean better 
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Soldiers, i.e. users, seldom pick bullpup rifles. Of the non-bullpup rifles available, those soldiers who have the flexibility to pick what they what out of all that are available, have chosen an M16 variant an overwhelming majority of the time. There is a reason for that and it doesn't require bashing the AUG. I like the AUGa1. I think it looks cool and feels nice. It has some innovative feartures and I'd happily own and shoot one if I could. But the bullpup design creates some inherent deficiencies that mitigate against its use as a general use weapon. 1. The AUG and most other bullpups are set up as right handed weapons. Most can be converted for a lefty, but it require swapping out parts and is an armorer level job. To my knowledge, only the FN F2000 is instantly useable by a right or left handed shooter. Any shooter, right or left handed, can pick up and instantly use any M16 variant without any changes at all. At worst, the sling is on the "wrong" side. This is important because you may have to fire from the other shoulder. You may suffer wounds or even something as simple as dirt in your eye that prohibit firing from the strong shoulder. It is common to switch to the left shoulder when you have to shoot around the left side of a wall or barrier so you don't expose as much of the body and head to enemy fire. You can't do this with a bullpup. 2. Because of the placement of the magazine, mag changes will never be as fast as they are with the M16. However, to be fair, I don't think any rifle allows mag changes as quickly so the bullpup is not much behind any of the others. 3. Sights. The AUG was really the pioneer for widespread issue of optical sights as the primary sight. They did a good job, which would have been improved only with tritium/battery/fiberoptic illumination of the reticle. They put backup iron sights on the top of the optic. They suck. So do the backup irons on the TA01NSN. They suck. I'll say it again. They suck. If you are comparing both, they both suck. No real difference there. Where iron sights on a bullpup really suck is when you are comparing them to standard iron sights on a conventional weapon like an M16. The reason is sigh radius. Nothing you can do about it. To be fair however, since magnified and/red-dot optics are becoming the standard they really don't suffer in comparison. 4. Available real estate for add on accessories. Why do we have all these rails on the high speed rifles? To accomodate IR lasers, visible lasers, white lights, NODs, grenade launchers and whatever else anyone can think of that needs to be bolted on. A conventional rifle just has more room to mount stuff and still have room to hold on. For these reasons, the M16 is far from dead. If/when technology advances to the point that the add-ons can be combined into small enough units that the real estate issue becomes moot, then maybe something like the F2000 will take over. Maybe not. |
Heckler and Koch make a piston version of the AR/M16. Leitner-Weise and POF also make piston systems that are for sale to the public. The systems all seem to work fine, but some people claim it's a solution looking for a problem, since the AR/M16 system is already extremely reliable. The piston systems do appear to make it run much cleaner in the action, by all reports, however. I am actually a big fan of various bullpup systems - like the AUG, FAMAS and F2000, so I'm not arguing with you about that. But the AR/M16 system is a VERY reliable system, and still today is an excellent weapon that can easily survive a comparison to various bullpups. |
| There is a good chance there will be no AUGs. As stated in another thread, the US State Department has sancitoned Steyr for supplying weapons to terrorists. As such, they are prohibited from importing anything to the US, and the US Government is prohibited from doing business with them. |
VERY GOOD STATEMENT 
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Does that still apply if they were made in the USA?
They might be banned from importation, but what about domestic manufacturing? WIZZO |
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I had a legal A2 AUG up until last year. Kind of miss it now but it has a good home (new owner makes suppressors for a living). I never had a problem with my AUG. I kept it all those years as it was a fine bullpup specimen. ARs are more versatile, and parts are everywhere. AUG parts dried up a long time ago. |
Thanks for a very honest, and thoughtful post. Most of the time there is a AUG or bullpup on ARF.com people will blast the AUG because they dislike the trigger, mag change, polymer consturction and the issue of shooting with a weak or left hand. Too often it comes from people who have never handled or shot a AUG beofre and the only bullpup they have ever seen is the Bushmaster M17. I have said in other AUG threads the AUG is a great rifle that was FAR a head of its time. It features a quick change barrel, folding foregrip, and standard optics. All of this was in 1977. Thirty years later we are adding these same features to the AR15/M16 system. And Steyr is updating the AUG to the A3 to add new optics, four way rails for flash lights, IR lasers, and grenade launchers. As others have said the M16 is clearly the weapon of choice around the world. But a person can be very lethal with the Steyr AUG with a little traing. Mag changes can be very fast with the AUG with a little practice. Trigger tamer will take out the slack out of the trigger. AUG A2 and USR rifles can use different optics and red dots. This means the only knock about the AUG is the ablilty to shoot behind cover with the weak hand. This can be done, but the weapon is not up to the shoulder and it is not as accurate of shot as a M16, AK47 HK, or SIG rifle. Chris |
The .gov will still be barred from dealing with them. I'm trying to find the thread with the specifics in it. They may still be able to sell what they make here, but the import ban covered everything, to inlude parts. I'm sure that Customs and the BATFE won't make it easy on them to get stuff in. A sanction like this would kill Glock since most of their parts are still imported. |
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