Steyr AUG (Civilian Version)

Caliber: .223/5.56mm (Some models not take STANAG magazines)

Price: $1800-$2200 (Depends on configuration, optics, etc)

The best bullpup rifle you can buy that actually works and isn’t made by a certain merchant country in the middle east. The AUG is an old but still rather futuristic looking firearm even by today’s standards. All of the mechanics bits and boops, magazine, and extractor are in the butt-stock area while the trigger, barrel, and charging handle is right in front of all that shit. This results in a rifle that is shorter than any AR-15 in the market while still keeping that 16 inch barrel or greater length for good accuracy and range (and more importantly to stay within spec of federal gun restrictions with regards to barrel lengths on rifles).

I put at least 150 rounds through one during a range session and had no issues with reliability when it comes to feeding and ejecting rounds. What was kind of baffling however are the controls themselves which are very unorthodox especially if you are used to more traditional rifle setups. AR bums are going to throw a hiss-fit with the cross-bolt safety which you have to push from one side to another like a Remington 870 safety. The magazine release is right at the back of the buttstock which is not as quick as ejecting a mag from an AR or AK style rifle. The charging handle isn’t anything to write home about either. It’s at least less clunky than an AR style charging handle. Just becareful if you are using an large (as in wide) optic on your AUG as the charging handle can scrape your hand with the optic being close by as you try to chamber the next round in. So in the quick run down of things, you have to ditch all of your habits and skills just to operate the AUG effectively.

What you get from relearning all those quirks is a low recoil, comfortable, and arguably more reliable platform than your typical AR style rifle. Oh and it’s just as accurate as any other intermediate rifle. I wager if you put some sort of longer barrel with that fold-able bipod attachment, it could even make a great marksman rifle. Speaking of which, the barrel is one of the easiest bits to remove from this rifle. Thus, cleaning isn’t as tedious as cleaning an AR-10 or AR-15. And since it’s so futuristic looking, you could probably in theory use to larp like you’re in some cyberpunk dystopian scifi shit…wait what?! Uh never mind. Point is, it looks so fucking cool. I wish I could buy one but it’s way out of my budget. I’m just glad I got to try one out.