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Thread: Steyr AUG Z 5.56/.223

  1. #1
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    Steyr AUG Z 5.56/.223

    Just a few impressions on it so far. I have not had much opportunity to see how accurate it can be, but hopefully within the next month or so a part two can be written with suggestions on what works.

    I first saw the straight-pull Steyr at Bisley when they began importing them a few years ago. They were a very expensive rifle, the model I looked at was £1400 from recollection, so about £1200 was RRP at the time, although I may be wrong. Overall, it wasn't going to endear itself to many potential buyers as the price was similar to that of a decent AR-15, and this is probably why they seemed a bit thin on the ground to begin with.

    Prices began tipping eventually and now sit in the £750/£799 bracket new. This is around what I see more basic AR15s from the better builders go for S/H. When the Steyr appeared, there seemed to be quite a few cheaper ARs about from various makers which appear to have vanished now; Cactus Arms and Sabre spring to mind possibly, although they all seemed S/H too.

    So, this came from Sportsman down in Exeter. They have these, plus self-loading models in stock which are cheaper for some reason. Good service as usual; it's an amazing American size shooting shop, well worth visiting.

    It came in a basic cardboard box, supplied with 10rnd magazine and manual. I think they came with 10/20/30rnd included originally and still might at cost. The manual is OK, albeit a bit basic, but I worked it out without much trouble. They come screw cut as standard with thread protector; watch that, it works loose when firing. Not sure what sized thread.

    They are basically the AUG A2 in civilian/Police format, but with a few differences. It has no quick change barrel feature on most models and no flash suppressor. Not sure what other differences there may be, apart from obvious lack of gas parts.

    The build quality is very good with virtually everything being plastic, including the trigger unit. It is quite high strength and has a quality feel. The receiver and barrel are the main metal parts.

    Mounting options are good as far as optics go. It includes a weaver rail which is removable for fitting the proprietary factory optic. I managed to fit a 16X50 without trouble in medium mounts, but used a 10X42 for most shooting which worked well. I now have a SUSAT to go on it. Smaller conventional scopes do unusually well with the rifle, but I thought something more original would be fun.

    In terms of accessories, you are a bit stuffed. They do not really take a bipod without investing quite a bit of cash. The A3 has a railed handguard for adding accessories and I'm not sure why it hasn't been offered on UK spec models. They have sling fitments as standard which accept quite a variety of different options, a cheap and effective one being an SA80 sling.

    Ergonomically I think they are very good. It still beats the SA80 with the new vertical grip fitted, and certainly the original green handguard. Not sure how it fairs next to Tavors or the Famas, but I would be impressed if they had the balance of this. These are usable with the grip folded, but don't try and fire a self-loading version like this. The lack of bipod can be quite limiting, but it does work well for any freehold position.

    The trigger and general mechanics are fairly poor. I find the trigger usable, although it takes care to use it accurately. Cocking effort is quite high in comparison to other, conventional straight-pull designs, and it'll limit you in rapid-fire shooting. It extracts everything I have tried, including RG (sometimes a bit tightly), and favours commercial .223.

    Easy enough to field-strip and maintain. It comes apart with one button, and the trigger unit is removable if required. Some lubricant in the right places helps it cycle. Pity the barrel doesn't come out.

    They have a 20" inch, chrome-lined barrel with a 1/9 twist rate. Try either a 69gn SMK or Scenar with Viht N140 and you should get excellent groups. Most loads intended for AR-15s group well from the AUG. 73gn is about the maximum bullet weight which will suit the barrel, although some people have had success with heavier 75gn or 77gn bullets.

    I am quite pleased with it overall. They are more of a fun rifle, unless you hunt, but I will find a niche for competitive shooting with it.

    Also worth mentioning after-market work isn't really available, but the trigger tamers can easily be fitted at home, if you can obtain one. Mark Bradley did offer various modification, but has apparently stopped.

    Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by Korium; 04-05-2013 at 03:12 AM. Reason: Corrected a few points.

  2. #2
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    Nice review, I know someone with one of the early ones with the green furniture and had a go on it, had a Ta31 Acog instead of the Susat fitted and a 30 round mag, with the bottom portion of the mag that stuck out of the magwell sprayed with black paint so you couldn't see the rounds! Bit odd!

    I've no idea how he modded it, but he seemed to have tapped and drilled a hole in the barrel quick release slot and put a hex head bolt in there, and voila, quick release barrel. Saw him remove and refit it as he showed it to me to demonstrate it.

    I found it nice and easy to use though I thought the trigger was very heavy. Don't know if it helps you, but he stuck an AR15 A2 style flash hider on it so it looks a bit more military looking if that's your thing. Would have one myself if I had another slot spare.

  3. #3
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    Bought a 30rnd mag new from Sportsman today: £50.
    Best stick to Austrian surplus mags with that cost!

    Quote Originally Posted by Hairydavey View Post
    Nice review, I know someone with one of the early ones with the green furniture and had a go on it, had a Ta31 Acog instead of the Susat fitted and a 30 round mag, with the bottom portion of the mag that stuck out of the magwell sprayed with black paint so you couldn't see the rounds! Bit odd!

    I've no idea how he modded it, but he seemed to have tapped and drilled a hole in the barrel quick release slot and put a hex head bolt in there, and voila, quick release barrel. Saw him remove and refit it as he showed it to me to demonstrate it.

    I found it nice and easy to use though I thought the trigger was very heavy. Don't know if it helps you, but he stuck an AR15 A2 style flash hider on it so it looks a bit more military looking if that's your thing. Would have one myself if I had another slot spare.
    I had a look at the ACOG. More practical and mounts out the box.
    They do mount a bit high on these unfortunately which put me off; I hate being stuck with a chin-weld on rifles. The SUSAT came in very cheap, and the optics are as good as anything more recent I have seen, despite being manufactured in the mid 80's.

    It doesn't suffer much muzzle climb, but I would like to replace the thread protector since it works loose so easily. They take moderators quite well, but the extra cleaning would be a nuisance.

  4. #4
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    hi

    i seem to remember a fair bit of recoil for its size and the trigger felt like it 4-5 lbs....great looking, compact and very pointable though

    Gary.
    Rapid 7 / 10-22 ATN 2 Stiller Predator .204 Pulsar N970 Tikka T3 semi custom ATN MARS thermal.204 Tikka T3 Semi.223 Wylde IOR Operator Lawton 6mmBR Kahles Gen 3 - Stiller 6.5 x 47 Bushnell BDX - Winchester Red Performance SX3 12g

  5. #5
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    I use an ACOG on mine and it works well on the range, i even used it on a fox last month, although for fox work i prefered the Leupold 3-9x50 i used to have on it. The rifle is just the job if you're shooting from inside vehicles though

    The mags in this country are ridiculously expensive, i tried getting them in RoI but neither of the Army and Navy stores i went to had any (desipte it being the nations service rifle ). In the end i got mine from the States and for the cost of 2 30rd mags here i got 3 x 30rd, 2 x 9rd and a 42rd!

    I've got an A2 muzzle brake for mine but its only for show, whenever i use the rifle i run a Predator 8 sound mod on it which seems to balance the rifle more or less neutrally, something which can't be said of an AR! I've fitted the Trigger Tamer to mine also and it breaks at around 4lbs but its still a messy trigger compared to an SGC AR for example.

    Mark

  6. #6
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    You haven't found a load for one, Mark? I can't find any details of one online.

    Quote Originally Posted by Blackstuff View Post
    I use an ACOG on mine and it works well on the range, i even used it on a fox last month, although for fox work i prefered the Leupold 3-9x50 i used to have on it. The rifle is just the job if you're shooting from inside vehicles though
    Probably should have fitted an ACOG myself. After the SUSAT had the mount modified, it probably sits higher overall, and what I really liked was being able to get a good cheek-weld whilst using a scope; a lot of bullpups can't manage this.

    It looks funny as Hell on the rifle. Because they have no eye relief, it has a long reach-back mount which sits it roughly at the start of the ejection port. Has to come off to fit in a case too.

    It would be an excellent scope for a flat-top AR, but the Steyr rail is just a bit too high.

  7. #7
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    Yeah the trigger is the main negative point, mine measured at 12lb out of the box! I have a Trigger Tamer now (very easily installed yourself) but the pull is still about 7-7.5lb

    Cracking little rifle though, very comfortable to shoot and gets plenty of attention at the range. Superb for a practical rifle discipline if you fancy something different from an AR or an AK.

    I wonder if anyone knows where I can get hold of a 'tulip' style flashhider just to authenticate the look.

  8. #8
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    Just fitted a" neu" trigger to mine. Trying it out this weekend. It certainly feels a lot crisper.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by martindl99 View Post
    Just fitted a" neu" trigger to mine. Trying it out this weekend. It certainly feels a lot crisper.
    Still not done this. I seem to have found a load it likes, but the group was around 1/2" an inch (100m). The trigger was probably to blame, I had a perfect position from a rest, with virtually no crosswind.

    Hopefully it will do well at 300 yards this weekend, but since it is Bisley, I wouldn't be surprised if the wind leaves me guessing. The scope could be a little better set-up too.

    The action is easing up, and it is becoming very pleasant to shoot.
    If they could easily fit a bipod, and came with a better factory trigger it would be a marvellous choice of rifle.

  10. #10
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    Steyr AUG Z SP

    Hi there.

    I'm another Steyr AUG owner in the UK. Taken it down Bisley a couple of times this year and really enjoy shooting it.

    Can I ask how to get a trigger tamer, neu-trigger or magazines from America?

    I'd like to get something for the trigger as soon as possible and a few spare mags would also be good.

  11. #11
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    very good question how do you get the tamers in the uk

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ASHCROFT View Post
    very good question how do you get the tamers in the uk
    Import them. I can probably answer most accessory questions, and quite a few technical ones, so PM me if you need something specific. The old trigger-tamers are not about any more, or as far as I know. The current trigger improvement most use is the Neu-Trigger, and they are sold on Gunbroker.com.

    Just make sure the seller does international sales. You will need to ask them via a message, they virtually all list no in their sales adverts. I am fairly certain it will fit this model of AUG, but I need to check as I believe these things were designed for the Microtech copy, although some have them fitted to Sabre Defence A3 AUGs which were built for Steyr with many genuine parts.

    Re magazines: they are cheaper from Austria. Getting U.S exports of AUG mags would be very difficult; any part is hard enough.

  13. #13
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    thanks for the info, i picked up some mags from germany via some info on an older steyr thread on here at half the cost of uk ones

  14. #14
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    I contacted the guy who designed,makes and sells the neu trigger and will not post out of the usa.
    The ones on gunbroker are his so you cannot get those either??

  15. #15
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    will not post out of the usa
    I use........http://www.myamericanshopper.com/
    Pistol & Rifle Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club. <StrathRPC at yahoo.com> or google it.
    No longer Pumpin Oil but still Passin Gas!

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