AUG-Z-A3 Police QCB

A legendary weapon not only of special forces, manufactured by the Steyr-Mannlicher arms factory, is here. We present the semi-automatic rifle STEYR AUG-Z, almost unique in being widely adopted by many armies, employing the Bull-pup system.

The history of the STEYR ARMS factory goes deep into the 19th century and, especially during the years of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, is closely linked with the work of Czech gunsmiths. For this reason we can also trace the roots of the popularity of this brand’s rifles in our country.

Since its introduction in the mid-1970s the AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr) rifle has become literally legendary. A concept older than 40 years remains highly relevant today. The Bull-pup layout significantly shortens the overall length of the weapon while retaining barrel length. The military version of the AUG is designed as a modular system that allows easy and quick exchange of the main parts of the weapon and conversion to a light sniper rifle, a light machine gun or a short carbine.

The assault rifle AUG successfully passed many military tests consisting of being run over by heavy vehicles, firing with the barrel and bolt filled with water, mud or sand, and firing with the barrel obstructed by another bullet. The trigger and ejection mechanisms have withstood hundreds of thousands of rounds without failure. The AUG remains in high demand, especially in countries with climatic conditions that place extreme demands on a weapon’s reliability and accuracy.

The AUG is currently adopted as a standard assault rifle in various versions by the armed forces of the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Netherlands, Ireland, Cameroon, Luxembourg, Morocco, New Zealand, Oman, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Uruguay and New Zealand.

At the same time, the AUG in various versions is fielded by special units and police commandos in the following countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, the United States, Serbia and the United Kingdom.

The civilian version of the base model, the semi-automatic rifle STEYR AUG-Z, is characterised by the following basic features:

Barrel:

• The heavy barrel of the STEYR AUG-Z rifle is cold-forged on a mandrel (so-called blank forging) from first-class chrome-molybdenum steel. Only the barrel undergoes the forging process; the chamber is produced by very precise machining. This technology, less common among today’s manufacturers, guarantees long service life and excellent accuracy of the barrel.
• The inner surface of the barrel of the STEYR AUG-Z semi-automatic rifle is lined with a thick, very durable layer of hard chrome. The inner surface of the cartridge chamber is treated in the same way. This finish guarantees very long service life and perfect function of the barrel and chamber, which is counted in tens of thousands of rounds.
• The rifling twist rate of the barrel is 1 in 9 inches.
• Steyr-Mannlicher performs individual quality control of the barrel immediately after it is removed from the forge. It is electronically measured to determine whether the barrel is 100% straight. If it is not, the barrel is not straightened afterwards, as is common with many other manufacturers, but is rejected from the production cycle. Periodically a rather severe test is also carried out in which a projectile of the given calibre is rammed into the bore and another round is fired into the same barrel. The result of the test must be deformation or cracking but not rupture of the barrel.

Trigger mechanism:

• The trigger of the STEYR AUG-Z semi-automatic rifles is characterised by a longer, smooth travel. The longer trigger travel is the price paid for the original military trigger, where a half-press of the trigger fires a single shot and a full press fires a burst.
• The distance from the trigger to the front of the trigger guard on the STEYR AUG-Z is sufficient not only for comfortable shooting with gloves, but a whole hand easily fits in the space between the trigger and the guard.

System:

The STEYR AUG-Z rifle is characterised by the use of the Bull-pup system. In practice this means that, unlike conventional rifles, the action is located behind the trigger mechanism.
• The most notable advantage of the Bull-pup system is the possibility to fit a longer barrel while keeping the overall length of the weapon short. Comparing the STEYR AUG-Z with perhaps today’s most popular representative of a conventional assault rifle—the standard M16—we conclude that for approximately the same overall length the AUG-Z’s barrel is about 20 cm longer. A longer barrel means more accurate shooting, lower muzzle blast and a shorter flame.
• The STEYR AUG-Z semi-automatic rifle uses a gas-operated system with a dynamic rotating bolt.
• The AUG-Z bolt locks into the barrel with 8 robust lugs.
• The gas pistons that transfer energy are also coated with a layer of hard chrome.
• The AUG-Z system uses a gas regulator that allows adjustment of the gas flow to maintain function of the system even with non-standard ammunition loads or under heavy fouling.

Safety:

• The STEYR AUG-Z is equipped with a manual safety integrated into the rear of the pistol grip.
• The safety selector of the AUG-Z is ambidextrous and therefore can be operated with either the right or left hand.

Stock / fore-end:

• The AUG-Z stock is made of a durable polymer reinforced with fibreglass.
• A folding front grip is attached to the end of the fore-end.
• The stock’s comb has on its underside a protrusion that can be used as a support when shooting. The lower part of the stock comb is prepared to accommodate a cleaning kit.
• The AUG-Z is supplied standard with right-side ejection. By a very simple exchange of the ejector and blanking of the right ejection port, however, a fully functional left-ejecting version for left-handed shooters can be obtained.

Surface finish of metal parts:

• The external surface of the barrel, the bolt carrier and the Picatinny rail of the AUG-Z are coated with the unique MANNOX layer, which protects the steel parts 100% against corrosion and other adverse influences.

Magazine:

• The AUG-Z comes standard with a double-column magazine.
• The AUG-Z magazine is transparent, allowing immediate visual verification of the number of rounds.

Due to its design and shape of the stock, shooting the STEYR AUG-Z is surprisingly pleasant; the felt recoil resembles that of a small-calibre rifle. The STEYR AUG-Z is unsurprisingly very accurate even at distances around 300 m.

Parameters:

• Caliber: 5,56x45 (.223Rem)
• Barrel length: 508 mm
• System: Gas exhaust extraction from the barrel
• Overall length: 665 mm
• Magazine capacity: 10 rounds
• Sights: without sights
• Picatinny rail
• Stock: Polymer
• Overall weight (empty): 3,1 kg