#Austria

Join James Reeves of TFBTV as he takes you inside the renowned Austria Arms store in Vienna, Austria. In this special episode, James gets into the top five handguns that dominated the Austrian market in 2024. We’ve got pistols like the Beretta 92, The Glock 19, the Walther PDP, CZ-75, and even some shockers from companies like Canik. Get an exclusive look at each model’s features, design, and what makes them the favorites among Austrian gun enthusiasts. Whether you’re a firearms aficionado or just curious about the latest trends in handgun technology, this video is packed with insights, expert commentary, and up-close views of the best-selling firearms in Austria this year. Don’t miss out on this unique exploration of cutting-edge handguns straight from the heart of Europe!

The Photo Of The Day can be chosen for a variety of reasons, and bullpups are always popular. This baby is now 47 years into service, which is quite remarkable in itself. The StG 77 (Sturmgewehr 77) denotes the Austrian Armed Forces’ adoption of the Steyr AUG in 1977.

Join James Reeves as he meets with Black Trident in Austria to talk about concealed carry in Europe. Together, they delve into the top 5 most popular carry guns in Europe, using sales data from Black Trident’s holster line. This conversation reveals surprising trends and preferences in the European firearms market. Discover which models from renowned brands like Glock and Heckler & Koch make it to the list and understand what makes them the go-to choices for concealed carriers across Europe, while some other brands don’t make the cut. Don’t miss this deep dive into the world of firearms, where data tells a compelling story of popularity and preference in Europe.

Photo Of The Day: The silhouette of this Steyr AUG almost looks like an airsoft rifle. We’re in Daboya, Ghana, in Africa, and it looks rather hot outside – even without fur. The image portrays an Austrian dog handler, working with Ghanaian soldiers during an objective raid.

The iconic Steyr AUG has been in service with Austria’s Bundesheer since 1977, and now the Austrian Ministry of Defense has announced a major upgrade for the rifles. In a statement, Austria’s Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said that 14,400 modified Sturmgewehr 77 A1 MOD would be issued and that the value of the contract to Steyr Arms was more than 20 million Euros ($21 million).

For gun nuts, it’s now officially AUGtober! Off to Austria then, to take a look at what’s going on in Lake Traun, or Traunsee, a lake in the Salzkammergut (Salzburg area). The lake has a maximum depth of 191 meters, and it’s a popular tourist destination, with medieval castles and other attractions. In our Photo Of The Day, we see members of the Austrian Jagdkommando combat divers with their Steyr AUG A3 SF rifles. This bullpup is used by Austrian Jagdkommando Special Forces and uses a 3x optic housing, which is lower than normal to make it more comfortable to use the red dot sight on top. The A3 SF version also has additional side rails, scope covers and an external bolt release.

Bubix GmbH is an Austrian firearms manufacturer whose first product, a subcompact pistol called Bubix Bro, was launched at the end of the past year. While having a lot of features common for a modern pistol such as a short barrel recoil action with a tilting barrel lockup, the Bubix Bro also features some rather unusual design solutions like the grip safety on the front strap of the grip or the takedown button inside the trigger guard. Let’s take a closer look.

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” That’s probably the most common mistake in photo taking, but in this case, I think the photographers did an excellent job. Just imagine the blast from what the Austrian Army calls the Überschweres Maschinengewehr M2, or üsMG M2 for short. The rest of the world calls it the Browning Machine Gun M2, in caliber .50 BMG.

The rich history of Austrian firearms development goes back well before the 20th century. Being the 14th most armed country in the world, Austria is responsible for bringing us some of the most popular firearms for both military and civilian use with offerings like the Steyr AUG, and Glock pistols. While it may not seem like it, Austria does have a surprisingly small but dedicated group of firearms owners who own and shoot guns for self-defense, hunting, and of course fun! Today I speak with Sebastian Unger who is the brains behind the OpenTop 11/22 now produced by Fletcher Rifle Works here in the USA. Sebastian spent many years developing this innovative product and it is somewhat of a homegrown product here at TFB as many of you readers have given Sebastian feedback over the years which has helped him refine the concept to make it something truly unique and useful for many people. Today on the TFB B-Side Podcast, Sebastian and I talk a bit about the 11/22 receiver as well as his experience with firearms in his home country of Austria.

Photo Of The Day: Picking up or getting a delivery of a new firearm is always exciting. Here we witness the Hochgebirgs-Jägerbataillon 23 in Austria as they get their new Barrett M82A1 rifles in .50 BMG. This rifle is also used by the Austrian Army SF Jagdkommando.

In 2019 TFB were the first to discover the new Heckler & Koch HK417P model. To the best of our knowledge, this is the rifle we’re looking at in the front row. The HK417P was made for Austria and is a combination of the HK417 assault rifle and G28 precision rifle. It is a semi-automatic only rifle.

Some Concertina wire to keep intruders off.

Austrian Kampfschwimmer with Steyr AUGs getting ready to jump out of a perfectly fine C-130 Hercules.In the late 80’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released a suitable song for this Photo Of The Day. It was named “Free Fallin'”. The chorus goes:

Three years ago we featured a unique homemade reimagining of the popular 10/22 rifle. At the time the 11/22 OpenTop receiver was just the fevered dream of long-time TFB reader and fan Sebastian Unger from Austria. Today, he is happy to announce that along with Fletcher Rifle Works in the United States he is finally able to offer the 11/22 OpenTop receiver for sale to Stateside customers.

One of the most significant new products in the recently published 2021 catalog of Austrian VOERE Präzisionstechnik GmbH is a dedicated LE iteration of their M2 bolt-action rifle called M2 Police Edition. This is a short action rifle available in .308 Winchester or 6.5mm Creedmoor calibers. Let’s see what features this rifle packs.