Review: Microtech Small Arms Research STG-556

[BDBGoalie]

I've been shopping around for a tactical long gun for a while now and the bullpup design has always intrigued me. I went into Blackwing for some shooting this weekend and they had a used one. Of course I had to shoot it. That led to paperwork and less bike parts this season.

The MSAR STG-556 is a clone of the Steyr Aug A3, but with some differences. They reverse-engineered the weapon but changed a few things they felt needed changed.

Pros:

The weapon weighs around 7.2lbs, which is similar to an M4. It feels heavier because the overall profile is shorter, and more of the weight is in the rear. Once you get used to that you get the benefit of a very well balanced weapon that is weighted in a manner that does a very good job of not pulling under rapid fire. The recoil also goes directly back and give a much different feeling than an AR. Bringing the weapon up and on target is very quick and feels natural. The weapon just comes up and almost snaps into place.

Field stripping the weapon is ridiculously easy. Barrel un-snaps and pulls out. Receiver separates into the upper, bolt carrier, and stock assemblies. The trigger group comes out of the back of the stock in an assembled unit. It is very easy, and the separation allows you to clean the star chamber without swearing and using a metric ton of pipe cleaners.

The weapon is also very modular. Most all the parts on the exterior are quick dis-connectors, and have multiple attachment points built into the stock.

The factory trigger is set at 9-11lbs, so the pull is a bit heavy. It is a smooth consistent pull back, so the extra weight is not an issue. Ratworx makes a replacement trigger pack that replaces the stock unit with a adapted AR trigger group that allows adjustments (~4.5-8lbs).

The charging handle is a bit stiff but smooth once it is moving. It operates very similarly to a MP5 bolt-catch in locking and releasing.

The ejection port is directly next to your head when firing. You are not in danger of catching brass, but you will smell a bit more powder than normal. It does not bother me. The extractor seems strong and kicks the brass away without issue.

I had zero malfunctions while running through ~100 rounds. I did fail to seat a magazine properly once. Guess the big boy pants were in the car for that round. But it shot very reliably. I even ran a magazine half .223 and half 5.56 and it did fine with that.

I think it a beautiful looking weapon as well. But that may be prejudice from lugging around packs and M4s. I'm also much more of a tactical person.

Cons:

MSAR is now bankrupt. They are no longer producing these weapons, and their parts supplies are limited. I'm told they still service their weapons, but I can not validate that claim. A company called Ratworx provides lots of spare parts as well as aftermarket parts. Blackwing covered it under their lifetime warranty so I figure I'm covered both ways.

Aftermarket parts are available, but not nearly as much as AR parts.

Although this weapon is a clone, they did not exactly clone the AUG. That means that all parts are not interchangeable. Some are, but consider that most likely will not be.

The magazines are proprietary. They say it will accept Steyr magazines, but I've heard that it will cause feeding issues. You can change out the stock to accept AR-style magazines.

The bolt did not lock to the rear when using the cheap .223. It did lock back when firing the 5.56. I'm not sure if this is normal or a problem, but it is not a major issue either way.

Magazine changes are slow until you figure out the form, which I have not yet.

The sight rail is not very long which gives it a less desirable sight radius. I was still very accurate with BUIS, but it did accentuate my mistakes and movements.

Overall I like the weapon, and the price I picked it up for was too good to say no to. It definitely has a flaw or two but the benefits outweigh them by leaps and bounds IMO. I will try and give some notice before I hit the range again, so if anyone is interested they would be welcome to run a mag through it.