One thing I have noticed is the AUG carries very well compared to an AR. Being much more compact, and balanced better it is hardly noticeable, and flops around much less than the AR.
While we were up near our Top Secret T&E grounds, we visited our Top Secret Rifle Accuracy Testing Facility (located 1 mile North of Wells off of Highway 93) and I did some load development testing. To say the AUG performed better than I expected is an understatement. In the next week or so I will do an article on load development alone, but as a teaser, can you say sub minute AUG?
After we finished up with load development, we received a call from my good friend Ryan, stating that ground squirrels were out. If you are a redneck like myself, ground squirrel season is the highlight of the spring. I figured what could be a better way to get acquainted with the AUG than to shoot small varmints with it. Within a few minutes of getting into the fields, the AUG scored its first confirmed kill on a squirrel, and the first of over two hundred this trip alone.
Coming from the AR platform, I found the AUG much easier to shoot offhand than my AR. No doubt, due to the center of balance being behind the firing hand. However, this is where the creepy trigger really showed itself. The weight itself is manageable, but due to the length, and creepiness in the trigger it took quite a bit of concentration to get off a good shot. The Giant Ginger told me that through his electronic ear muffs "The sound of you taking up the slack in the trigger is annoying as fuck", as I was stacking it like you would do a double action revolver. This itself was quite the challenge, but I ended up getting pretty proficient at it.
The best shot of the trip for me is down below. I was walking a fence line and noticed a large group of squirrels out in the distance. I decided to give it a go offhand, and below is the result. I connected on my second shot, which measured out to be 274 yards....offhand....with an AUG.....with an 8 pound 10 ounce trigger....and a 4 power ACOG. I would rather be lucky than good anyday.
As of this trip, the AUG is definitely becoming more of an extension of my hand. It is easy to carry, very fast handling, and proving to be "Minute of Squirrel" accurate, which is my criteria for any of my rifles. The biggest downside I would have to say, is that shooting at small targets, at distance, the trigger definitely detracts from accuracy. I have been able to successfully work around it so far, but here within the next week I will be changing some things up a bit to hopefully fix this.
EZ