[Mini-14 and dirt]

For your viewing pleasure: A Mini-14 being covered in dust.

http://youtu.be/WcfqZFWpk9s

H

[US-Made Steyr AUG A3]

I've got one of the new A3s also. It's rapidly becoming my favorite rifle.

A few comments:

The throw lever on optics mounts is a problem. If you can reverse the mount, run it with the lever on the right. That will clear the CH and give you more room w/o busting your knuckles.

The mag release does take some getting used to, but you can run your hand up the back of the mag to give yourself a positive reference for position.

Index finger position and the safety. I keep my index finger high enough to feel the edge of the safety when the safety is off. If the safety were to be accidentally applied, I should feel it protruding, hopefully before I need to shoot.

The AUGs design is pretty impressive. There is a lot of steel in that little gun. All the bearing surfaces are steel. The barrel runs in a steel sleeve in front and the steel trunnion in back. The CH clips forward in a steel insert, as does the barrel latch. The operating rods are steel (not sure if stainless or hardchromed steel) and run in steel bushings in the receiver.

H