Literally, a firearms icon: this is the Steyr AUG, arguably the most successful and popular Bullpup rifle ever built. The concept has been adopted by a number of national armies, starting from the AUG native Austria, and apart from the twenty or so countries that adopted a version of the AUG, there has been a lot of interest since the 1970’s in this type of service rifle.
Major countries have in fact adopted a local built gun using this configuration, like France, with the FAMAS, UK with the SA80, Israel with the IWI Tavor, China with its QBZ-95 – and more.
However, very few of these guns were ever offered in significant numbers as semiautomatic only and civilian legal versions, and none of the ones that are or have been, are even remotely as widely available on the market as the AUG – both as past versions on the used guns market, and brand-new rifles presently available from the manufacturer.
This has stirred a large interest for aftermarket accessories, and among the various manufacturers, Corvus Defensio in Austria has established itself as the de-facto leader in all things AUG, offering the best quality, performance and affordability.
All4shooters has already reviewed CD’s Case Deflector for the AUG and I also received the Charging Handle and Enhanced Release Button – I will review them in a full package article on how to enhance the AUG to full performance specs… and a full review on the upcoming match trigger pack, presented officially at this year’s IWA, is also coming! But, for today, let’s take a look at the picatinny Receiver Rail from Corvus Defensio.
I received the Receiver Rail in the A2/USR version, as that is the gun I have available, but all features are shared with the technical differences needed to maintain compatibility with the specific version of the gun the user owns.
Corvus Defensio AUG Receiver Rail, A2/USR version: details
First of all, the AUG Receiver Rail is a longer and continuous Picatinny rail that replaces the shorter stock Picatinny rail, or the original 1.5x Swarovski scope, that shipped with the A2 or USR versions. It allows mounting various aiming optics and devices, and other accessories, and it also provides two QD Integrated attachment points on both sides of the rail. The sling can be mounted in a better position to avoid snagging in the gas port or interfering with the operation of the charging handle.
Being longer than the stock rail (23 Picatinny slots compared to 16), and extending almost to the ejection port, it also allows for the use of optics with very short eye relief – like Trijicon’s ACOG scopes.
And Corvus Defensio’s AUG Receiver Rail also provides a machined mounting groove that is M16 carry handle interface compatible, for direct attachment of Trijicon ACOG scopes, resulting in a lower overall mounting height, and corresponding easier use when using additional top or side optic mounted red dot sights (reduced offset).
The AUG Receiver Rail is CNC machined from 7075 aluminum bar stock that is hard-anodized in matte black, weighs 147 g, is 260-mm long and offers about 23 cm of sight line when using open iron sights (not included).
It is mounted using the A2/USR interface on the original AUG receiver and thanks to the hollowed out portion under the rear of the Picatinny rail, the reinforcement bump, or “hump”, on top of the polymer stock can be kept and is completely covered by the rail. It is compatible with both right and left handed ejection port versions of the AUG.
A note for compatibility: some early A2/USR rifles do not have a threaded hole on the receiver in addition to the spring loaded detent pin, the AUG Receiver Rail still works in these low serial numbered guns, but cannot be securely fastened using the provided screw.
I installed the AUG Receiver Rail without any issue, and actually found that the zero of the Aimpoint CompM5b I had on the original stock AUG rail shifted by a mere 3-4 MOA – I’m surely lucky, but did not expect this to happen. I mounted the red dot optic with a 3X-Mag-1 and TwistMount interface; just for kicks, I also mounted a front facing LaserMax Spartan green laser aimer and the added Picatinny real estate allowed to have enough space for it to be effective.
I tested the AUG Receiver Rail at the range in a couple of shooting sessions and found it to be a much more useful addition to the AUG than previously thought, especially for the QD sling points and increased rail space. The MSRP is 228 euro directly from Corvus Defensio’s website, plus shipping; within EU, shipping is free with a purchase of 300 euro or more.
For more information:
Corvus Defensio, accessories for AUG
