Steyr Pistols

[TimboKhan]

Why isn't there more discussion of Steyr pistols? I just saw a Steyr pic in a different thread, and thinking back through my time here at THR, I think that might be the first pic of a Steyr I have seen.

I shot one a while back, and I remember that I didn't care for the wierd triangular sights, but that everything else seemed nice enough. So, whats the story? How do Steyrs sell? Any major problems with them? How many of y'all own them?

 

[Hokkmike]

I have a Steyr M-40. I like it fine. I think they are an orphaned not much regarded brand. A lot of those "so called" magazine new gun catalog sections don't even include them. I don't know why.

 

[rellascout]

Steyr is its own worst enemy.

They have had a total of 5 distributors in the past 4 years. They have had to sell off their entire inventory twice in the last 3 years to CDNN because of their changes and internal issues.

They have zero marketing. They have almost no name recognition.

I used to own 3 Steyrs but my S40 frame sustained damage and it took over 8 months to replace it. During that time they had importation trouble due to their selling of 50 Cals to Iran and therefore sold them all including the replacement of my original S40.

They were nice guns and I like them much more than any other polymer pistol I had handled but in the end a company that is always having internal issues is not a good thing IMHO.

 

[fletcher]

They have zero marketing. They have almost no name recognition.

Exactly the problem. While I don't like the look of their pistols, I've heard nothing but good things from owners. Steyr just doesn't know how to sell their product.

I did hold one at the last gun show and it felt very ergonomic.

 

[Storm]

Steyr has had a difficult time establishing a market in the US. They have jumped from distributor to distributor who have often not offered the customer support necessary. In the last year or so Steyr has set up a presence right in Cumming Georgia, SAI, or, Steyr Arms Inc.. The guns are assembled and serviced right at this facility and the customer service is now wonderful. Steyr also suffered some bad luck at the SHOT show with some legal difficulties that prevented them from exhibiting. This was around the same time that an English newspaper erroneously reported that Steyr Sniper rifles were killing troops in Iraq. Also at around this time Steyr changed ownership. Fortunately the new owner (Stery is a large industry making many, many things) is a shooter/hunter so they have indicated that the re-org will involve a renewed strong committment to firearms and establishing the US market. Also around this time the inventory of pistols and rifles were sold off to CDNN who sold guns retailing for close to $600 for $350. New guns will go back to retail but many folks got some great deals from CDNN which has spread word of the guns. Due to the limited US market there has been difficulties with aftermarket items for these guns, but that should change. A lot has conspired to keep Steyr from being more mainstream, but with any luck at all things will change.

For much more on these guns I highly recommend going to the Steyr Forum at http://www.steyrclub.com/index.php I own Sterys and love them. They are very accurate, lower recoil/muzzle flip, extremely well built, and modular. There were some extraction problems with earlier guns but the bugs have mostly been worked out, and, as I've said, the customer service is excellent.

I've been shooting Steyrs for 20 years (the older GB) and they are my favorites.

 

[Noxx]

I hope they don't disappear before I grab one or two. I have not shot one, but from handling, I like them, I even like the funky sights, where most do not, and the price is very acceptable.

ATM they're just down so far on my list of "guns that need bought" that it may be a while yet.

 

[10-Ring]

The few Steyr pistols I've shot have been nice guns. Once you get use to those trapazoid sights, you should be fine

 

[Snowdog]

I posted a similar question about Steyr a while back.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=301786&highlight=steyr

I agree that their products represent some of the greatest values on the market today... though so few know about them.

 

[TimboKhan]

So, basically what I ahve gleaned from the responses so far is this: Good Guns, Horrible Marketing, good CS, some bad luck.

 

[rellascout]

So, basically what I have gleaned from the responses so far is this: Good Guns, Horrible Marketing, good CS, some bad luck.

Not bad luck. It is poor management. I personally disagree 100% about the good CS. They were horrible when they setup the shop in GA. They could not find their ass if you let them use both hands.

It only got worse once the company was sold. It maybe better now but I do not anticipate Styer's market share going up. They have missed their window of opportunity too many times.

There is almost no after market accessories for these pistols. You can find a handful of vendors here and there but not in the mainstream.

When you look at Sigs new P250, Rugers SR9, new HKs, Glocks etc... there are too many mainstream polymers for Steyr to be successful IMHO. When you take this into account there is a good chance that these pistols will disappear from the US market again.