[Schuey2002]

I recently saw a picture ( I forgot where, :( ) of the Steyr Aug Light Machine Gun, as was wondering if anyone has any information on this particular rifle. There was a small blurb about it having a 24" heavy barrel and that's all..

Also, were any imported into the U.S., and if so, how many ? :)

[SteyrAUG]

I had one up until a year ago when I sold it for a truckload of cash. :D

Here's some details:

The HBar:

http://remtek.com/arms/steyr/aug/aug24/standard/aug24s2.gif

http://remtek.com/arms/steyr/aug/aug24/standard/deployed.jpg

The HBar T:

http://remtek.com/arms/steyr/aug/aug24/special/24hbsp.gif

Steyr is a rather progressive company which, while continuing to produce high-quality arms of traditional design, is always at the forefront of advanced development as well. Having already been responsible for producing the highly-touted 5.56mm AUG assault rifle, it didn't take long for the Austrian firm to come out with a companion piece designed for sniper applications. This is the AUG/HBAR-T (heavy barreled automatic rifle with telescopic sights).
The HBAR-T shares the assault rifle's synthetic stock of bull-pup configuration; however, the AUG's carrying handle cum optic sight has been deleted to make room for a scope base. The same Kahles ZF69 6x [commonly used on Steyr SSGs] is then fitted to the HBAR-T and the receiver thus modified is complemented by a 24-inch, cold hammer-forged heavy barrel with integral bipod.

I don't know exactly how many were brought in as full auto "preMay" dealer samples. Mine was a pre86 registered conversion.

[Schuey2002]

Thanks for the info, Steyr Aug. I had a feeling that you'd know something..:)

OBTW, I was under the impression that these were open bolt rifles, is this correct, or were they closed bolt rifles like normal AUG's ??

[max popenker]

AUG Hbar is a closed bolt rifle. Basically, it is the same AUG assault rifle, since every AUG has a quick detachable barrel. Just half-a-minute of action and you can convert your assault rifle into handy carbine or a king-sized HBAR...

[SteyrAUG]

As Max pointed out closed bolt.

Also the addition of a 24" HBar and 42 round mag will convert any standard AUG to this config.

[Schuey2002]

After searching through some of my old gun mags, I found a copy of Machine Gun News ( vol. 10 No. 6, pg. 24), and it had a paragraph on this rifle..
I'll quote the article..

"Several readers have written in to Raffica about the open-bolt Steyr Aug Light Machine gun. We had been unable to locate any information on the LMG. This rare beast was only imported in small quantities ( two or three that we know of ) by Guns South Inc. (GSI). Those that we have seen were pre-1986 dealer sample guns. Recently, Jim Boris and I had the opportunity to put an LMG next to a regular AUG heavy barrel closed bolt machine gun. We found no receiver differences, but there were some real interesting differences on the bolt and trigger pack. One point of interest is that the receiver is clearly marked "LMG."... "

It even shows pictures of trigger packs,bolts, the different firing pins, different firing pin supports, and the differences in the firing pin shafts of the two..

So, according to this, the LMG and Hbar Augs are slightly different..;)

[SteyrAUG]

Well keep in mind my LMG was a title 2 conversion.

I found what you are refferring too though, it is the LSW.

http://www.steyr-aug.com/accessories.htm

Steyr 5.56 mm AUG Light Support Weapon (LSW)
Description
One of the three versions of the Steyr AUG is a Light Support Weapon (LSW). All the details relevant to its action and operation are given in the section dealing with Austrian rifles and the data here refers to the LSW version only.
There are variant models of the LSW: the type firing only from a closed bolt (see below) is known as the Heavy Barreled Automatic Rifle (HBAR). The model firing from an open bolt is known as the Light Machine Gun (LMG). Both open and closed bolt types are generically known as the Light Support Weapon (LSW). All types use a barrel group with 178 mm pitch of rifling. A muzzle attachment acts as a flash hider and reduces recoil and muzzle climb during automatic fire.

There are two basic versions of this weapon; the LMG has the usual carrying handle and built-in optical sight of the AUG family, although the magnification is increased to x4. The LMG-T has a different receiver assembly which has, instead of the carrying handle and sight, a flat bar upon which any telescope sight or night vision device can be mounted. In addition both types can be furnished with modifications which change the operation of the weapon so that it fires from an open bolt. This modification involves the substitution of a new hammer mechanism block for the standard type and changing the cocking piece in the bolt assembly; these components can also be supplied to permit modification to existing weapons; the conversion can be done in less than 1 minute. In the open bolt mode there is no change in the firing characteristics of the weapon.

[Schuey2002]

Roger that. :)