Make sure the gas piston rings are present, and that they are correctly staggered.
M
M
AUG A3 Woes
Several years ago I bought a Steyr AUG A3. Normally I do a lot of research before I make a purchase but this time I didn't and came to regret it. It wasn't until I got it home that I realized that it was produced in the US under license by Saber Defence. They were raided by the feds and went out of business in 2013.
The problem I'm having is failure to eject. The cartridge extracts from the chamber after firing, rotates 90°, and just sits there to get crushed by the bolt. Sometimes a fresh round manages to sneak by and make it into the chamber, sometimes not. This happens every second or third round. The longest string of fire without a malfunction was five rounds, and that was only one time.
So far I've fired over two hundred rounds through it. Several different brands all brass cased. I've cleaned it, fired it wet, and dry, and tried both gas settings. I've tried different magazines and both stocks, the USA version with a proprietary Steyr magazine and the NATO stock with AR15 magazines. I've let other people shoot it. I detail stripped and inspected the bolt, ejector, and extractor. I checked headspace and reassembled the bolt with an o-ring under the extractor to boost extractor tension.
So far nothing has worked. Making things more frustrating is the difficulty in getting to my closest rifle range. I go pistol shooting locally every week or so but I can only get to the nearest rifle range once or twice a year. This means I can take something with known reliability and have a good time or take the AUG and spend two hours prying crushed cases out of it.
I'm not ready to give up on in yet. It's a compact little rifle with a softer recoil than an AR and is quite accurate. Any ideas ?
The problem I'm having is failure to eject. The cartridge extracts from the chamber after firing, rotates 90°, and just sits there to get crushed by the bolt. Sometimes a fresh round manages to sneak by and make it into the chamber, sometimes not. This happens every second or third round. The longest string of fire without a malfunction was five rounds, and that was only one time.
So far I've fired over two hundred rounds through it. Several different brands all brass cased. I've cleaned it, fired it wet, and dry, and tried both gas settings. I've tried different magazines and both stocks, the USA version with a proprietary Steyr magazine and the NATO stock with AR15 magazines. I've let other people shoot it. I detail stripped and inspected the bolt, ejector, and extractor. I checked headspace and reassembled the bolt with an o-ring under the extractor to boost extractor tension.
So far nothing has worked. Making things more frustrating is the difficulty in getting to my closest rifle range. I go pistol shooting locally every week or so but I can only get to the nearest rifle range once or twice a year. This means I can take something with known reliability and have a good time or take the AUG and spend two hours prying crushed cases out of it.
I'm not ready to give up on in yet. It's a compact little rifle with a softer recoil than an AR and is quite accurate. Any ideas ?
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
'Cat, you sent me off to the safe to have a look at my MSAR.
The ejector isn't kicking the case off the extractor? In an AR, the ejector itself would be the culprit.
Or is the casing escaping the extractor before getting kicked?
Moon
The ejector isn't kicking the case off the extractor? In an AR, the ejector itself would be the culprit.
Or is the casing escaping the extractor before getting kicked?
Moon
I've inspected the gas rings. They were fine but it wouldn't hurt to change them.
The ejector is indistinguishable from those on my AR's. It feels like it has the same tension, didn't have any burrs, and wasn't shaving any brass. I could change that as well. The parts aren't expensive. Either the ejector is failing in a way I don't see or the spent cartridge is catching on something before it can get out of the way of the bolt.
The ejector is indistinguishable from those on my AR's. It feels like it has the same tension, didn't have any burrs, and wasn't shaving any brass. I could change that as well. The parts aren't expensive. Either the ejector is failing in a way I don't see or the spent cartridge is catching on something before it can get out of the way of the bolt.
Unless there is something visibly wrong with them, leave them alone. Changing them is unlikely to help, and changing them unnecessarily merely subjects the rings or the piston to the possibility of damage or loss. I mentioned them only because some users don't even know they are there, and a replacement piston might not have any installed.I've inspected the gas rings. They were fine but it wouldn't hurt to change them.
I suspect that your malfunctions are caused by short recoil. Try using the plug setting that aligns the smaller hole with the exhaust port, which will retain more working gas. Gas is regulated in the AUG by adjusting the exhaust --not the intake. This is just the opposite from many other gas-operated autoloaders.
M
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
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