| Introduction: |
After being forced to sell my baby, (a P90TR) in times of
financial distress, I had been racking my brains, trying to
decide, once I got back on my feet, what AEG I wanted to get.
I REALLY loved my P90TR, it was literally my baby, I held
it and squeezed and gave it a name :) But I thought I should
try something different. I have always liked the ergonomic
styled, "space age" looking guns, AND I wanted something
that could be used as a spotters weapon, that already had
a scope rail. The AUG civillian seemed the perfect choice.
As it turns out, it was...
Along with the AUG's stock appearance, (My AUG pictured above
is NOT stock) I had come to appreciate the look of the "Phantom"
or "Shadow" AUGs that were available from several
different online retailers. I did not however want to pay
the outragous price to get one pre-modified. So I decided
to build a Phantom AUG myself, starting with the main component
in all the pre-made Phantoms, the First Factory Phantom Suppressor
kit. I will not be giving details of that kit in this review
though, as there is enought to say of that kit to fill its
own review. So look for the FF Phantom kit review coming soon
the Accesories reviews page.
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| Operation: |
Included "Iron Sights": The AUG Special
Receiver Type comes with a 2 piece flip up iron sight
set. They are plastic, and not too fancy, but they serve their
purpose well. That purpose being, giving you something to
aim with until you can get a proper scope or sight for it.
You simply attach one to the front of the rail, and the other
to the back. Flip them up and your ready to aim. Depending
on the scope and/or rings you get later, these flip up sights
may be left on, even after you install the scope rings.
Hop up adjustment: The hop up adjustment wheel is
in the same location on this replica as it is on most Tokyo
Marui AEGs. Inside the "breech". To access the wheel
you have to pull back on the charging handle to open the breech.
Here was the only problem I had with the gun so far. The charging
handle wont pull all the way back, and therefore it wont lock
into the open position. Not a big deal really, but what that
means is that I can't adjust the hop up easily by myself.
Its difficult to hold the breech open and hold the gun with
one hand and adjust the hop up with the other.
Magazines Fit and Function: The Magazines ( bought
extra standards) were larger than I expected them to be, but
they still fit in my vest pockets, so no matter. The good
thing is, no need to go to G&P for Mid-Caps on this one.
The standards hold 80 rounds. So I have 4 mags, holding a
total of 360 rounds. More than enough to last a skirmish.
The Standards also are fairly inexpensive, at 19 bucks a pop
at most HK retailers. If you are a High Cap user, the AUG
high caps hold 330 rounds. Being the standard mag purist I
am, I can't recommend them though.
When I first put a magazine into the magwell, it was a pretty
stiff fit. You have to really slap it in hard. This is a bit
annoying to get used to at first, but at least you know they
mags aren't going to fall out. The next part may be a hindrance
to some, but I overcame it with practice and the right equipment.
Mag changes can be awkward. The mag release button is nowhere
near your hands. Since your trigger hand is in front of the
magwell, and your leading hand is even further forward, that
makes reaching not only the mag release, but reaching the
magazine itself a challenge without practice. One thing that
does make it easier though. A sternum strap style sling/harness.
I have a Chalker Sling, and using such a sling, that holds
your weapon at your chest, makes making mag changes with the
AUG much easier. You can let go of the gun, letting it hang
at your chest while you remove and change mags.
Trigger Fire Selector: The AUG does not have the standard
select fire switch. Instead, the fire selector is built into
the trigger pull. If you squeeze the trigger half way, it
fires semi auto, if you pull past the semi auto point, it
switches to full auto. This works very well especially if
your firing consecutive semi auto shots as cover fire, then
have to switch to full auto bursts when someone moves, there's
no pause in the transition, you just squeeze harder on your
next shot.
Battery: The AUG is designed to use the "Mini
type" 7 cell, 8.4 volt, 600 Mah batteries. I got my battery
in a package deal from DEN, its a standard Sanyo pack. I was
able to get about 14 standard mags out of it on the first
charge. (that's1120 rounds) I don't know about you but that's
plenty enough to last me a day at the field. If you absolutely
want more battery capacity without modifying the gun or using
an external battery, at BatterySpace.com
they have 1100 mah Nimh minis. You'll sacrifice a little ROF,
but you'll have more shots per charge.
Installing a Scope: I wanted a scope that wasn't really
long with a long front hood. I also wanted a scope with the
ability to adjust down to 1X power, so when I wanted to use
the AUG in CQB I could do so without removing the scope. I
believe no AEG under 400 fps NEEDs any more than 3X-4X power.
So I picked a
Bushnell Banner 1-4 X 32 Dusk & Dawn. The scope has
a 32mm objective lens but the OD of the the rear lens is 40mm.
With that size of OD, you MUST use double high or sight through
scope rings, to make the scope clear the rail itself.
Vertical Hand Grip: The included fold up hand grip
makes this gun quite easy to handle, I used to scowl at vertical
grips on rifles, (especially on M4s and M16s) but this rifle
may have changed my mind. I really like it. One thing I should
mention though is that the TM Steyr AUG has a history of the
vertical grip snapping off easily under stress. I usually
treat my guns like children in the field, and protect them
as if they were babies. (IE I tuck it to me if I think I'm
going to fall or roll) so I'm guessing (hoping) I'm never
going to have to test the stress to failure level of the vertical
grip. For now all I can recommend is that you NEVER use the
vertical grip to prop your gun up over a ridge or other cover.
Fold the grip in if your going to lay the gun barrel over
a ridge or bunker.
Stock FPS, Range and Accuracy: Stock power chrono'd
to .67 joules (270fps with .20 gram bbs). I have not actually
tested the maximum effective range yet, but I'm guessing it
should be about 110 feet using .20s. As far as accuracy goes,
I have had no problem hitting man sized targets at less than
75 feet. When I get to a place and time when I can make an
actual accuracy vs following shot test, I'll amend this review
to reflect that.
Sling options: The AUG comes with pre-installed metal
sling swivels, one at the end of the stock on the left side,
and one at the top front of the receiver. These make installation
of any standard over the shoulder sling very easy. I already
has a BHI Chalker Sling so I went with that, which works,
with some caveats, quite well on the AUG.
Field Stripping: The AUG breaks down into 3 main pieces
for cleaning. The Upper receiver, the barrel assembly and
the lower receiver/stock. It can be done without tools and
is quite easy. Just behind the vertical foregrip is a slide
lever, while holding this lever in the downward position,
you twist the barrel assembly counter clockwise and remove
the barrel assembly, vertical grip and breech all in one.
Then just above to the front of the magwell is the receiver
take down button. You press it in about 1cm from the left
side, and the entire upper receiver just slides right out.
You can also remove the upper receiver with the barrel assembly
still intact.
In the full field stripped state you have access to cleaning
an lubrication of the muzzle and breech, the hop up, the charge
handle spring, the trigger return spring and the magwell.
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