Civilian Steyr AUG available soon
Steyr is finally releasing a civilian semi-automatic AUG (AUG SA) which should be out in January next year (2009).
Sabre Defense Industries will be producing the rifle.
The newly produced AUG rifles are expected to be ready for distribution by January 2009. “We were honored to be selected by Steyr-Mannlicher, Gmbh to manufacture the AUG in our state of the art facility. In the process of making this icon of assault rifles, we have blended the proven and classic features with modern manufacturing techniques to make this what we believe to be the best AUG ever produced.”
The design appears to be an AUG A2 with a A3 style top rail.
Currently AUG magazines are available in 10, 30 and 42 capacity and cost either $35 or $38 depending on capacity and color. With possibly of another assault weapon ban you will probably want to budget for a lot of magazines.
Steyr also sells a AUG SA NATO stock for $499. This allow the AUG to use AR-15/STANAG magazines. If you already own a AR this may be a cheaper option than stocking up on AUG magazines.
UPDATE: It will cost $2995.
Hat Tip: Ahab
Nice timing…
very coool
reminds me.
Imi tavor would be a nice civil model…
Lindoooo!!
At $2995 plus $499 for the stock to take standard magazines, that’s about $3.5K, plus shipping and transfer.
They have priced themselves out of the market. Also, there is an excellent American-made clone out there for less than half the price.
$3000? HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!!
I’d pay about $1500 for one – max. Let’s be honest, there’s less in a AUG then there is in SIG556. (As an aside: If only SIG hadn’t used a 7″ twist, I would have bought one hours after then election.)
I am very interested! Where can I purchase one in CA?
I recently purchased the AUG A3. Very excellent weapon. When compaired to the MSAR version, the guns are very similar. The optics rail on the AUG has no gap underneath, there is a 3 inch side rail, and the STYER AUG logo. Shooting however is a different ball game. The AUG has more balance to the weapon when firing, just is alot smoother. The composit material of the AUG, almost completely eliminates the felt recoil. Big difference when compaired to the MSAR. Long story short, the AUG is a civilian version of a combat weapon, the MSAR version is a very similar sportsman shooter version. Price of AUG is 800.00 more than MSAR. AUG is better suited towards shooters, MSAR version is better suited for gun owners who like the experience of assult type weapons.
Like the article says, it looks exactly like the A2 with an added A3-style top rail. What is the point of forking out $2300 for an “A3″, if all you get is an A2 with an extra rail? $500 extra for a stock that takes NATO mags. At $2800, it would actually be worth it, if the thing actually came with the A3 quad rails and looked like the pictures I get when I google “AUG A3″. Lack of rails and proprietary mags are really the only deal-breakers here.
Short-stroke piston system makes the AUG A3 as reliable as an AK-47, just like the G36, the SIG556, the HK 416 and almost all modern assault rifles manufactured in the last 20 years. (M4 not included). Even civillian AR-15s can now be upgraded with short-stroke piston kits, It is a wonder that the US Army doesn’t at least start with the piston upgrades for the M4 already, or at least switch over to the HK 416, which is essentially the exact same thing as an M4, except with the piston. (Thats really the ONLY difference between the M4 and HK 416 internally)
And bullpup is definitely the way to go, as a 16 inch barrel should have the same power and accuracy as the AR-15/M16/M4, except in a shorter and lighter rifle. Amongst well manufactured barrels, length is really the best indicator of power and accuracy, sure there is twist rate and fitting, but length is really where it counts. (Longer barrel means gasses act on the bullet for longer making it go faster). Case of point: Ever seen a short sniper rifle? Me neither.
Still, when quad rails become availible for the A3, count me in.
Edit to the above:
Just realized that there is a difference between the HK416 and the M4: The barrel of the HK416 is much thicker than the M4’s barrel, even in the same caliber. The reason being that the additional piston added to the HK416 adds additional stress to the barrel that can warp it during rapid fire. Hence HK compensated by making the barrel thicker and stronger. Doesn’t really apply to the AUG article, but I should make certain to get ALL my facts straight before posting.
All in all the AUG A3 does look so very temping though…