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. Lastly, 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; it’s a limited edition model that closely emulates the look, feel and operation of the original AUG.

Details on the Steyr STG 77

Steyr touts the 5.56x45mm STG 77 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, Steyr designed the STG 77 without any rails. However, users can remove the scope and replace it with any of the five standard Steyr Picatinny rails available for the AUG A3 M1. The hard-anodized aluminum receiver is smooth on the right side. Meanwhile, the left side features an A1 charging handle with the forward-assist button at its top rear. Just as the OG AUG lacked the bolt release that is now standard on current iterations, the STG 77 charging handle is used to overcome the internal bolt hold open on the A1 trigger pack.

More Features

The Steyr STG 77 also maintains the original color scheme with its OD Green furniture. The stock accepts Steyr’s translucent mags. It also features the company’s bullseye logo laser engraved on its right side, along with “STG77 40th Anniversary.”

All the internal improvements made to the AUG over the last four decades—like the upgraded firing pin parts—are included in this limited-edition STG 77. Also featured here is a QD sling swivel on the front of the receiver. The original AUG sling swivel was pinned in place.

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The 40th anniversary Steyr STG 77 ships with one AUG 30-round magazine with a matching OD Green floorplate. This is a limited production run through the rest of 2017, so you’re gonna want to get in on this. The MSRP is $2,625. For even more info, visit steyrarms.com.