Steyr Aug ?

[Gabriel Suarez]

I sold my last AUG btw.

I do want to make a point here that will likely be missed as the discussion is drifting. If you are concerned about range, you are likely no longer in an urban or CQB setting. And if that is the case...what advantage will the compactness of a AUG provide. None that I can see.

In the urban setting, a 200 yard shot is a long shot...most police rifle contacts (the best example of the application) are well inside 100 yards. So hyper accuracy, penetration, weight, and suppressability might be more important than a flat trajectory out to 500 yards,

[45Smashemflat]

I see the AUG as a narrow niche weapon. (And I have one…)

It’s useful when you have a need for a shorter weapon in a home or vehicle AND the need to potentially get outside of these locations and reach out a bit farther than a SBR will. Think rural, farm household kind of application. Can you do about the same thing with an SBR or a AR pistol? Sure….

My AUG is my house rifle. I was my truck gun too, until I built a AR pistol. Just one perspective.

[Yondering]

I sold my last AUG btw.

I do want to make a point here that will likely be missed as the discussion is drifting. If you are concerned about range, you are likely no longer in an urban or CQB setting. And if that is the case...what advantage will the compactness of a AUG provide. None that I can see.

In the urban setting, a 200 yard shot is a long shot...most police rifle contacts (the best example of the application) are well inside 100 yards. So hyper accuracy, penetration, weight, and suppressability might be more important than a flat trajectory out to 500 yards,

Good point.

My locale is different from most; very rural with lots of mountains and valleys, but also lots of farm land and long sight lines in the valleys even near the towns, and we spend most of the summer months shooting long range out to 1,000 or more. My interest in the AUG (years ago, when they were popular here) was more about the vehicle; access in and out mainly but maneuverability was in the back of my mind as well. I think SI (maybe Nichols?) did a class working with vehicles and rifles at one point, and I regret missing that and may well be thinking about the dynamics wrong. Regardless, for me the AUG was very cool but wasn't what I needed at the end of the day.

[Gabriel Suarez]

...for me the AUG was very cool but wasn't what I needed at the end of the day.

Kinda the case for most of us. Now an AUG made by normal people (not the ones that think they sit at the right hand of the Father), at a comparable cost to a good M4, that takes NATO M4 mags, that has a degree of modularity, a good trigger, and the Suarez accessories...that would be awesome. But reality dictates we are better off learning a new Kata than pursuing that.

[Wiseguy04]

I see the AUG as a narrow niche weapon.

That’s all I really saw it as too (got to handle one a few times at a range).

It’s perfect for that very rare scenario where you have to get out of a vehicle quickly and then rapidly engage targets at 500m (unlikely). And if I’m in a rural setting (long range), I’d opt for a slightly longer rifle (M-4) with a better trigger (AUG trigger is terrible).

[Yondering]

I will say, as cool as the AUG was, that my several different 12.5" "short-recce" AR15 setups (pistol braced and SBR configs) in 6.5mm and 6mm Grendel chamberings are lighter and smaller than the AUG while being capable of good hits at approximately double the distance (think 800-1,000 yards, rather than 400-500). IMO those are a better modern solution, and the AUG is behind us a few years.

I wanted to clarify this, for LawDog or anyone else wondering - my comment about "double the distance" refers to a combination of ballistics of those cartridges and accuracy of the rifles. The AUG shot OK, but IMO ran out of accuracy before the 5.56 ran out of range. The AR15 platform, on the other hand, is accurate enough to take advantage of cartridges with longer reach.

[45Smashemflat]

Yondering, I have to agree. My AUG is “user accurate” and I’m sure most folk would not volunteer to let me take a poke at them at 300, but that was after some parts swapping and other work. The AR is much easier to make “sniper accurate” with much less muss and fuss.

That said, I’m a gun nerd, so I have a few platforms just because I want them/intrigued by the design/engineering.

[BillyOblivion]

Though I think it really benefits from aftermarket parts that are difficult to find, if available at all.

If we were to list out the rifles that this is true of we'd need another server to hold the list.

The AR pattern rifles are only "better" because so many people pounded on the design for so long and those parts went from aftermarket to "standard".

[Brent Yamamoto]

If we were to list out the rifles that this is true of we'd need another server to hold the list.

The AR pattern rifles are only "better" because so many people pounded on the design for so long and those parts went from aftermarket to "standard".

True, but bullpups pose challenges that aren’t present on most “standard” rifles.

Shooting from the left shoulder is a big one. That can be done with just about any standard design, not so with most bullpups out of the box.

The bullpup also benefits a lot more from a vertical forward grip than a standard design. Shoulder transfers can be done with just about any standard design by gripping the magazine. The stock forward grip of an AUG works great for Orangutan arms, but my average arms (I’m 6’ with normal length arms) was a struggle. Given the cases where that technique is necessary, if you struggle with it, that effectively means it’s impossible to count on under real pressure. But adjust the grip to the rear about an inch, it handles like a dream.

I considered slings effectively unusable on an FS2000 without developing one for myself.

Any tool can be made to work. And any tool can be optimized to work better. But for some things, some techniques, it’s easier to “make do” with standard designs than it is with bullpups. They NEED certain things for some of our basic requirements.

But point well taken. Everything can be optimized and I have yet to see a rifle out of the box that didn’t need something to make it work best for me.