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Now that Microtech Small Arms Research (more commonly referred to as MSAR) has passed the sixth month anniversary of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and appears to be, by all accounts, completely defunct, a retrospective is in order for the company's sole and decidedly polarizing firearm, the STG-556. MSAR and the STG-556's origins MSAR was originally incorporated as a subsidiary of Microtech Knives in 2005, and after two years of research and development, the company debuted the very first generation of the STG-556 at the 2007 SHOT Show. The firearm was built around expired patents from the original Steyr AUG A1, though significant modifications, such as a bolt stop release button and forward assist, were adopted in its design in an effort to update the weapon platform. Priced near $1700, it was billed to the public as a comparatively affordable, American-made bullpup rifle available in both select-fire and semi-automatic flavors. Although no burst-fire or fully automatic law-enforcement variants of the weapon were ultimately produced, the rifle did see success with its numerous semi-automatic models. Chambered primarily in 5.56 NATO, the STG-556 entered the popular sporting rifle market and into direct competition the ever-popular AR-15, FN FS2000, FN SCAR, and the updated Steyr AUG A3 itself. MSAR's rifle differentiated itself from its competitors primarily through its availability and price point. While its scarcer European competitors frequently sold for well over $2500, the STG-556 was produced in large numbers and widely available for 75% to even 50% of that cost, offering up its unique bullpup platform to a considerably larger audience. Although it would never take any significant ground from the huge popularity of the AR-15, the STG found a comfortable niche between American- and European-made rifles chambered in 5.56 and became a common sight at gun shows across the United States. Specifications and reputations The STG-556 was produced in several configurations, with 16" and 20" barrel groups being the most common (with 1:8 and 1:9 barrel twist rates, respectively) and 14" and 18" barrels manufactured in much smaller numbers. The firearm's stock and body were constructed of high impact resistant polymer, just like the AUG, and were shipped in O.D. Green, Tactical Black, and Desert Tan. Unlike some other manufacturers, MSAR never officially labeled "generations" of the STG-556, but several alterations were made to the firearm in an attempt to refine it throughout its four year run. Amongst other minor distinctions, the original iteration of the rifle came with a large forward assist, while the second eliminated fluting on its bolt carrier, and the third removed the forward assist and allowed compatibility with original Steyr AUG magazines. The fourth generation finally changed the barrel threading to a standard 1/2×28 right-hand twist and squared the receiver lock, making the rifle compatible with E4 stocks introduced by MSAR that allowed the use of standard AR-15 magazines in the weapon. A move by MSAR to focus on limited and special edition product runs, a model heavily favored by parent company Microtech Knives, led to the restricted manufacture of a number of expensive specialty items for the STG-556. This included the aforementioned 14" and 18" barrel varieties and very small numbers of conversion kits that modified the rifle to chamber 6.8 Remington SPC and 7.62x39mm ammunition. 500 STGs were also released as part of a Gebirgsjäger O.D. Green Limited Edition package, and while considerably higher priced than a vanilla STG-556, some critics noted that the only defining characteristic of the Gebirgsjäger rifle was O.D. Green parkerizing on visible metalwork. The company also made plans for a special pistol-caliber STG-556 and a handgun referred to as "Archangel", but the projects were eventually abandoned. Current estimates for MSAR's STG-556 production run suggest approximately 1,000 first-generation STG-556s were built in the company's first year. This number quickly ballooned to several thousand for subsequent models of the rifle, with at least 5,000 "fourth-generation" STGs rolling off the assembly line. Perhaps unsurprisingly, MSAR suffered from allegations that its heavy production runs were leading to large oversights in quality control, and indeed, many STG owners have complained of persistent breakdowns in earlier generation rifles. This has led to a mixed reputation for the STG-556 among owners. Indeed, the STG-556 has found as much repeated praise as it has criticism. Commonly lauded are its compact size, light weight and balance, price point, and overall medium-range accuracy. However, it is just as frequently critiqued for its difficulty with feeding low-pressure and inexpensive ammunition, heavy trigger pull, radically (and sometimes dangerously) inconsistent manufacturing, and mixed customer service experience. It would seem that the latter two criticisms are responsible, in part, for the precipitous fall of STG-556 sale prices in late 2010 and early 2011 before the collapse of MSAR that July. At least one former MSAR employee has hinted that the company's poor resource management and quality control led directly to the fire sale of remaining STG-556 stock and inevitable bankruptcy of the company. Final thoughts While unverified reports of MSAR biding its time until a return to the market have abounded, there has been no official word from the company regarding its future. Both of MSAR's former web addresses have vanished, emails and phone calls to its offices are unreturned, and Microtech Knives makes no mention of MSAR on any of its web pages. With the end of Sabre Defence's production of the AUG A3 and the nearly dead-on-arrival TPD AXR, MSAR's closing means, for however briefly, the end of AUG clones in the United States for the foreseeable future. review
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