Thread: At least it's a nice colour green - NZDF choose AR to replace Steyrs

Originally Posted by ZG47

It was my understanding at the time that:

NZ was offered a very good deal, i.e. cheaper than the Absolutely Useless Gun, on the M16A2; because the USMC had yet to adopt it BUT the Aussies put the kibosh on that because they wanted the AUG manufacturing rights. Din Collings later advised me that the AUG purchase was finally swung by a butter deal.

The Steyr is lower quality in every way than the L1A1 and M16A1/2! Critical parts can become unserviceable after fewer than 1,000 rounds. The cocking handle is exposed and vulnerable to breakage. The rifle is excessively vulnerable to dust and dirt and, so far as I am concerned, the decision to adopt it was a treasonous act, constituting deliberate endangerment of NZ military personnel and those whom they are assigned to protect.

"Deliberate endangerment" Not a chance... Having used both weapon extensively I would grab a Steyr over a A1/A2 any day especially one of the same manufacture date. Never seen a cocking handle break and it is in fact in a far more "usable" position for combat then the AR platform. I am sad to see it go as I would have loved to move to the enhanced Steyr as the our Aussie brothers are, but with a price tag in excess of 6K it was never going to happen.

It is annoying to see all this hate towards a weapon that is very capable and as I have said has served us well. In saying that bring on the LMT! as evolution of people, weapons and other equipment is a fact of life and we must just get on with it.