Solidsnack.
Well-Known Member
For the past 6 months or so I have been using my Steyr A3 M1 AUG as my primary rifle. I've become quite fond of it and reached conclusions about it that I hope are valuable to some of you here.
I'll try to be brief as I could probably write a novel about my opinion of the AUG but the tl;dr is that I think it's a fantastically underappreciated rifle in the US and it's a good fit for far more people than you might think.
So the #1 upside to the AUG is that it's compact and just damn shootable, especially off hand, crouching or in awkward positions. Barricade work is much easier than traditional rifles plus using it in and around a vehicle is a dream compared to anything else I've tried. Plus my 133lb wife can shoot it offhand easier than any other gun I own because all the weight is next to the body rather than out front like a traditional rifle. The compact nature means it flops around a lot less when slung tightly, this is valuable to me as hiking with a rifle that flops around is a pain in the neck.
Something not often talked about with the AUG is the long term durability of the system. I've seen examples with 10k rounds on them with very minimal signs of wear, much less than an AR or even an AK (which is my first love). These rifles just run and don't break. The barrels are cold hammer forged, made by FN and even a 20" barreled AUG is just shorter than a MK18 which is incredible in my opinion. There are no gas rings to worry about and since it's a short stroke gas piston, the receiver stays much cleaner than an AR. The only real wear item, the bolt cage, is usually less than 50 bucks to replace and the bolt itself usually lasts 2-3 times longer than an AR's bolt.
With the pistol brace ban making AR pistols alot less appealing lately, I think a lot of people are taking a second look at the AUG and rightfully so, it's compact, ergonomic, and handy all while maintaining a 16" barrel or 14.5" if you prefer. There's no need to register anything or pay 200 bucks for a stamp and you still get a rifle that is short, compact, handy, easily accepts all optics and can be made lefty friendly for under 20 bucks.
Something alot of people seem to not know is that Magpul makes dedicated AUG mags that are just as high quality as any AR mag and they're available year round directly from Magpul. You could always buy a "NATO AUG" to use AR-15 mags but I don't recommend them as they're more expensive and have less aftermarket support and you'll lose the bolt release. Plus the Magpul AUG mags are about the same MSRP as a Gen 3 windowed PMAG.
Historically AUG's have been a 1700-2000 rifle depending on model, color, and configuration but lately they've been going on sell for 1500 brand new which is the cost of many mid to upper tier AR-15's and much easier to stomach than 2k. Bereli and PSA run a sale about 2-3 times per year on the AUG so there's no need to pay the 1900 that some people ask for used ones.
There is also the myth that they don't run steel cased ammo very well but in my experience with a brand new, out of the box AUG, it ran steel cased ammo just fine on the regular gas setting with no break in needed. It's quite obvious it recoils a little softer but it runs fine and locks back on the last shot. I've owned 2 different AUGs and both have ran steel cased ammo on the normal setting with all available mags in temps from 12° to 95° so I think it's safe to say it's a myth.
The downsides are that the aftermarket support is about 1/100th what it is for the AR although, in my opinion they're best enjoyed with an optic, sling, and a case of ammo. Though aftermarket triggers, brass deflectors, mag releases, and parts to make it a suppressor host are all available on the US market.
The stock trigger isn't the best, it's about the same weight as a milspec AR trigger but it's a little more squishy. I think many people exaggerate how bad it is because it's historically been popular to crap on bullpup triggers.
Personally as someone who grew up shooting Mosins, it's not a problem for me and I'm still able to shoot under 2 MOA with my stock trigger. Again, aftermarket triggers are available and make the trigger quite good for about the same or less than a LaRue MBT.
A stock AUG isn't the most lefty friendly gun but can be made shootable for wrong handed people and the lack of a rail section on the very end (like an AR-15) leave something to be desired for mounting IR lasers and so on but again, solutions for this exist, it's just not as readily available as for an AR-15. I have a 3d printed bras deflector that I paid 11 bucks for that makes my rifle lefty friendly.
What draws me to the gun is that it just works out of the box and doesn't need this or that to run right, it just works and works and works with very little maintenance, also what I love about AK's. It's a really underrated design though it does seem to be gaining popularity since the brace ban.
I think if you're looking for a rifle that is good to go out of the box, maybe something that needs a sling, optic and a paint job then you should seriously consider the AUG.
There's a whole lot of opinion you didn't ask for, thanks for reading 😂
I'll try to be brief as I could probably write a novel about my opinion of the AUG but the tl;dr is that I think it's a fantastically underappreciated rifle in the US and it's a good fit for far more people than you might think.
So the #1 upside to the AUG is that it's compact and just damn shootable, especially off hand, crouching or in awkward positions. Barricade work is much easier than traditional rifles plus using it in and around a vehicle is a dream compared to anything else I've tried. Plus my 133lb wife can shoot it offhand easier than any other gun I own because all the weight is next to the body rather than out front like a traditional rifle. The compact nature means it flops around a lot less when slung tightly, this is valuable to me as hiking with a rifle that flops around is a pain in the neck.
Something not often talked about with the AUG is the long term durability of the system. I've seen examples with 10k rounds on them with very minimal signs of wear, much less than an AR or even an AK (which is my first love). These rifles just run and don't break. The barrels are cold hammer forged, made by FN and even a 20" barreled AUG is just shorter than a MK18 which is incredible in my opinion. There are no gas rings to worry about and since it's a short stroke gas piston, the receiver stays much cleaner than an AR. The only real wear item, the bolt cage, is usually less than 50 bucks to replace and the bolt itself usually lasts 2-3 times longer than an AR's bolt.
With the pistol brace ban making AR pistols alot less appealing lately, I think a lot of people are taking a second look at the AUG and rightfully so, it's compact, ergonomic, and handy all while maintaining a 16" barrel or 14.5" if you prefer. There's no need to register anything or pay 200 bucks for a stamp and you still get a rifle that is short, compact, handy, easily accepts all optics and can be made lefty friendly for under 20 bucks.
Something alot of people seem to not know is that Magpul makes dedicated AUG mags that are just as high quality as any AR mag and they're available year round directly from Magpul. You could always buy a "NATO AUG" to use AR-15 mags but I don't recommend them as they're more expensive and have less aftermarket support and you'll lose the bolt release. Plus the Magpul AUG mags are about the same MSRP as a Gen 3 windowed PMAG.
Historically AUG's have been a 1700-2000 rifle depending on model, color, and configuration but lately they've been going on sell for 1500 brand new which is the cost of many mid to upper tier AR-15's and much easier to stomach than 2k. Bereli and PSA run a sale about 2-3 times per year on the AUG so there's no need to pay the 1900 that some people ask for used ones.
There is also the myth that they don't run steel cased ammo very well but in my experience with a brand new, out of the box AUG, it ran steel cased ammo just fine on the regular gas setting with no break in needed. It's quite obvious it recoils a little softer but it runs fine and locks back on the last shot. I've owned 2 different AUGs and both have ran steel cased ammo on the normal setting with all available mags in temps from 12° to 95° so I think it's safe to say it's a myth.
The downsides are that the aftermarket support is about 1/100th what it is for the AR although, in my opinion they're best enjoyed with an optic, sling, and a case of ammo. Though aftermarket triggers, brass deflectors, mag releases, and parts to make it a suppressor host are all available on the US market.
The stock trigger isn't the best, it's about the same weight as a milspec AR trigger but it's a little more squishy. I think many people exaggerate how bad it is because it's historically been popular to crap on bullpup triggers.
Personally as someone who grew up shooting Mosins, it's not a problem for me and I'm still able to shoot under 2 MOA with my stock trigger. Again, aftermarket triggers are available and make the trigger quite good for about the same or less than a LaRue MBT.
A stock AUG isn't the most lefty friendly gun but can be made shootable for wrong handed people and the lack of a rail section on the very end (like an AR-15) leave something to be desired for mounting IR lasers and so on but again, solutions for this exist, it's just not as readily available as for an AR-15. I have a 3d printed bras deflector that I paid 11 bucks for that makes my rifle lefty friendly.
What draws me to the gun is that it just works out of the box and doesn't need this or that to run right, it just works and works and works with very little maintenance, also what I love about AK's. It's a really underrated design though it does seem to be gaining popularity since the brace ban.
I think if you're looking for a rifle that is good to go out of the box, maybe something that needs a sling, optic and a paint job then you should seriously consider the AUG.
There's a whole lot of opinion you didn't ask for, thanks for reading 😂
