Courtesy of Tactical Life

Let’s travel back in time to 1977. Jimmy Carter was in the White House, KISS was the biggest band in the world, the first “Star Wars” film had just hit theaters, and Steyr Mannlicher designed the short-stroke, gas-piston-operated Steyr AUG, which was adopted by the Austrian Army as its official battle rifle under the StG.77 (Sturmgewehr 77) name. Now, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that bullpup, Steyr Arms—Steyr Mannlicher’s U.S. subsidiary—is introducing the STG 77 SA, a limited edition model that closely emulates the look, feel and operation of the original AUG.

The 5.56x45mm Steyr STG 77 is touted in the press release as the first U.S.-built production AUG to come standard with a 20-inch barrel. The barrel is cold-hammer forged and profiled to the original 1977 specs, while the muzzle sports a tulip-style brake with the original “hex” check nut. But the thing that’ll immediately jump out at you is the integrated, original-profile 1.5X scope, something AUG purists have been after for years.

The optic is clear, sharp and bright in spite of its smaller diameter. The scope features a circle-dot reticle, but unlike the original optic—which required you to use a special tool to adjust windage and elevation—the Steyr STG 77 reticle can be adjusted with a coin. In addition, a set of three-dot post-and-notch backup sights are integrated to the top of the scope housing.

Sticking to the original AUG as much as possible, the Steyr STG 77 is designed without any rails, but the scope can be removed and replaced with any of the five standard Steyr Picatinny rails that are available for the AUG A3 M1, the company says.

Continue reading on Tactical Life

Photo courtesy of Steyr Arms