Steyr GB - The First Glock Victim
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
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The Steyr GB was an interesting pistol born in the late 70's and was shelved in the late 80's. The Steyr GB is a 9mm gas delayed blowback pistol that went up against the Glock 17 in the Austrian military trials and lost. Little did the world know just how influential the Glock 17 would become in the decades that followed.
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I own the Steyr GB for decades and it runs perfectly, after 100.000 shots, still no problem when it's warm. BUT keep away any oil or grease. Fire the Steyr GB complete dry. That was a construction point from Steyr. All metal surfaces are hardened or hard-chrome galvanized, so wear is no question. Greetings from Austria!
I have one I inherited from my Uncle. He bought it in 1989 and barely fired it. I have 5 magazines total and after noticing how much magazines go for I will never let go,lol. I enjoy shooting it and I can hit very well with it. Like I said before You have Awesome taste in firearms. We own many of the same models but I can only dream of owning as many as you do. Hope you get well soon. Stay Awesome Tim.
I remember reading about the Glock pistols when I grew up. This super "plastic" pistol that would be "invisible to metal detectors" and how that would make airline travel so dangerous because of hijackers with "invisible" Glocks. Sensational media. Good times.
Naw, dad had a lot of men's mags (not the porn kind) lying around. Some of them where all over the Glock.
Die Hard 2 came yeeeeeears later.
Yeah think it was described as ceramic in die hard. I remember the news hysteria of the plastic gun tho
a williamson porcelain
It seems a common theme in life is people not knowing what the hell they are talking about while simultaneously making decisions or shaping public opinion about said things.
"That "thug" pulled a Glock 9 on me. You know what that is? It's a porcelain gun, made in Germany. It doesn't show up on your metal detectors and costs more than you make in a month." John McClane, Die Hard 2.
I purchased my first GB in the 80’s when it first came out. I now own two and still shoot them frequently. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the cumulative round count but it’s a lot. I’ve never had any problems with the guns. Perhaps yours has a weak magazine spring, I don’t know. Extremely reliable, easy to maintain, accurate etc. no complaints at this end.
What is the weight of the slide and gas system nose piece separate from the gun? Want to calculate inertia.
Looking at the barrel when he took it apart, he is missing the o-rings in those two grooves. I wonder if that is why he has reliability issues.
Original owner.. shoots flawlessly perfect reliability and accuracy just keep it dry (designed for military use conditions) and avoid cheap lead. Notice the mussel flip is tiny as it’s a big gun with excellent ergonomics even with gloves. The 18+1 capacity advertised as the highest capacity 9mm ever made.
They were introduced into limited service in 1972 in the Austrian army. I've been told the British SAS acquired some at the time, as they wanted a more accurate, higher capacity pistol than the Browning Hi Power. At the time, the SAS were doing a lot of undercover work in northern Ireland, so they wanted the best pistol possible & trained on them a lot. Allegedly they were very popular & effective. Can't confirm any of this, but the guy I heard it from was pretty reliable.
Every time he says piston cup...I start looking for Lightning McQueen. LOL
He did what in his cup?
HA
Hang in there, hope y'all continue to recover. I deeply appreciate your willingness to take up the fight with us.
I inherited this pistol from my father. I have never fired it but I have seen prices on this weapon increase significantly then when he first purchased this weapon.
And magazines are imposible to find (at least here, in Spain). Curious thing is the two I have seen for sale had no cardboard box, but a blue plastic case, with the Steyr logo, and that same red velvety panel folding it in place.
J Garcia Sampedro if you see those the same magazines because I have heard that they are selling for 200 to $300 a piece here in the United States.
Not even at that price. A guy was trying to sell one of these pistols a couple years ago with just one mag, at "as new" prices, and saying "mags are cheap". He's probably still trying, unless some unlucky soul bought his tale.
J Garcia Sampedro the pistol in the United States is very hard to come by and I have seen it on sale from $800 to $1,000. The magazines or what I was referring to in terms of the two to $300 category. The problem with the pistol was as I understand it the feeding ramp butt crack after continued use.
Is not common here, either. Have seen two for sale, plus one at police auction. All looked barely ever fired. But without available magazines, even at half the prices you mention (450 euros the most expensive) are rarely sold.
And since our laws aren't exactly gun-friendly, keeping one just for collecting is not an option most of the time.
Thank you for another classic Mac video, I've always wondered about the Steyr GB,
Glad to have you back! Flu this year kicked some serious butt.
Yeah, it's a bitch of a bug this year. Today I have no voice. The damn thing keeps kicking you when you're down. You think you're feeling better and after a couple of hours you're right back in bed feeling like crap.
Military Arms Channel took me almost 3 weeks to fully recover from it this year. 1st week was death, 2nd week felt better off and on, and the 3rd week is when I started to feel human again.
Basil Brockles same here, sucked big time
I'm from the future. Our flu season is worse. Stock up on toilet paper and masks.
"Missed one for the homies." Lmfao
Milsurp Mike goals for the year... Obtain the 10 major WWII producers of the M1 carbine, a Brownells Retro, and fill some more holes in the collection. Tim makes a video on some rare 1980's Steyr... Guess what I am trying to find on Gunbroker and Proxibid now. Thanks Tim for contributing to my Gun ADD.
LOL. Don't you dare blame me for that. Hehe. Don't buy right now because I've heard my videos tend to cause a flurry of traffic and bidding on similar firearms from history. I don't know if it's true or not, but I wouldn't over pay for one.
After looking, I think I will have to wait it out and try to get a deal from a Proxibid Auction (basically what I did for the HK VP70Z)... They are going for more than what I am willing to pay on Gunbroker.
Actually have a Rock Ola receiver Carbine (has an Inland barrel) on the way to join my Winchester, IBM, and Postal Meter.
While I am not on Tim's level, I do have a decent collection and really only started collecting in 2010... Plus I have worked a boatload overtime the last couple years, so I have been "investing".
Finnish Mosin, Yugo Mauser, and a k31. Im broke so no more historical firearms.
I bought one of these new and still have it. I love mine. I was told when I got it in 1985 ish that it liked full power loads, lighter practice ammo may cause problems. Sure enough, I had several(3-4) extraction failures in 500 rounds. Then I switched over to hotter ammo running at close to 400ftlbs of energy and did not have any failures. Another thing is it is way more accurate than most other handguns.
Ah the Steyr GB... The very first handgun I ever purchased. Loved that thing! Kinda miss it...
That looks half way between a 92fs and a cz52
looks like a cross between renee zellweger and rodney dangerfield
I've always thought this handgun was way more attractive looking then the Glock
TrEVILlyan 95 Most every gun looks better than the Glock.
45 Auto yes, I despise them
It takes skill to beat the Glock in an ugly contest. Even Hi Point is a coin toss.
efred22 stfu grammar nazi
Steyr guns are typically unique and beautiful.
I purchased one of these in 1985 at a cost of $150. It was imported by Gun South, I believe, and so marked on the slide. Mine has been a good shooter, reliable and accurate, over more than 30 years, though I don't shoot it much anymore. I don't think you noted what a long barrel - 5.35" - it has or that it also has hexagonal rifling - first I ever saw. It's a bitch to clean as it leaves powder residue all around the outside of the barrel forward of the gas "bulb" and inside the gas chamber. Getting the reside off the barrel on the frame side is a bit or work.
The Smithsonian's American History building at the DC Mall had a display of all the pistols in the 1984 trial. The GB is in there, along with the folded sheet metal slide Sig p226. The only other place I have ever seen one is as Charlie Sheen's pistol in the Clint Eastwood movie "The Rookie".
When he said it was gas operated, I was thinking that must be a bitch to clean lol thanks to your comment, you confirmed it.
Yep. Cleaning my barrel is kind of a pain. And don't fire unjacketed rounds out of it. Fouls up those gas ports pretty quickly.
I bought mine new in 1985 at a retail cost of approx. $500-550. I wonder what their value is now.
Keep doing what you do and show us more oddballs from your collection. Those are my favorite Mac videos
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them.
Great audio for the gun shots. It makes me think that I'm on the range. Almost like I can feel the air in my headphones. Keep it up!
Mine came with no manual or anything and so far this was the best video I was able to reference for disassembly and reassembly
90 seconds I’m and I want one already. The recoil management looks godly. Plus the smg style magazine is really neat.
Back in the 1980s we had monthly service pistol matches. An old club member had a Steyr GB , he pretty much won every match, for years !! That fixed barrel gives fantastic accuracy. Too bad it is no longer made.
I think the GB is super cool. I wish Steyr would improve on the design and bring it back.
Paul Harrell Has a love for this pistol. Also a former Marine. Great people both MAC and Paul :)
Stargazer80able Paul is awesome
my boy paul
I thought Paul was in the Army
@@mhans928 I thought so too, but he RARELY mentions any specifics of his experience. And, having seen enough of his videos, he might be one of those people who use "Army" as a generic term for all of the Armed Forces so as to not confuse viewers more.
@@brentreeve7554 I just assumed it as he has a combat infantry badge during his opening video. I believe that is only a badge the army awards.
And the terrible Rogak knock off of the Steyr GB pretty much killed it in the US market along with an unfortunate price increase...
That thing was ejecting spent brass into the next county.. could barely see it coming out. Nice to see one of these working. Get to feeling better MAC!
Hey MAC, I re-subbed your channel due to recent events. You & Eric n' Co are "keeping it real" right now compared to so many out there. Good on you lads, keep it up!
Thank you. We're glad to have you back. We're trying to fight these antigun laws anyway, and every way we can.
I had one of these in the late '80s. Had been daydreaming about it and then happened to come across somebody who had one for sale. Couldn't wait to buy it off of him and didn't blink at the asking price of $375. I wound up dumping it about 6 months later for $200. It could only get through one of the two magazines shipped with it without jamming, and if you could find a spare magazine, it would set you back more than $100. After striking out with Gun South (the distributor). The proximity of the metal trigger to the firing chamber mean that the trigger would also get VERY hot after just a couple of magazines through it. Team Steyr evidently embraced being clever for its own sake rather than being clever in practical terms. I had to concede the Glock design was superior simply because it was unconventional in the aspects that made the most sense to be.
I sold one in 1984 at Hill’s in Raleigh. The Beretta won because the Italians promised to do something about the Mob but never did. We should have stuck with the 1911. All the shooters considered the glock as crap.
My Steyr has never failed to function properly every time. But then I do not shoot Fiocchi ammo. I have even fired PMC target ammo with no failures. I have owned this pistol for over thirty years and carried for duty during that time. It is still my go to pistol.
Great review as always, Mac! Thanks for once more demonstrating to a jaded public how much we truly owe Gaston Glock! WE LOVE YOU, GASTON ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I actually owned one of these pistols in the pre-Glock days. We used to put up with a lot of crap from our pistols that we wouldn't now, because the alternatives weren't much better. But even at that, the Steyr was considered an odd duck, and if you bought one, you better love it, because you weren't going to sell it anytime soon. Nobody wanted it. Not that it was a bad pistol, we all thought it looked funny, and it shot the 9mm cartridge which, at the time, most of us hated, except oddly enough in a Browning Hi-Power or CZ75, were it magically became an okay round provided you had a bunch of them.
If you were a red-blooded American male in the pre-Glock days you favored a revolver or a 1911 Colt, or if you had to have more shots, the Browning. The very cool kids would occasionally have a CZ-75 with the original spray paint Iron Curtain style finish and the rich kids had HK P7's. This didn't leave a lot of room in the market for the Steyr, which was a big pistol with high capacity magazines that cost a fortune to buy more of.
The Glock then came on the scene and after a few years, changed everything about what people wanted. But the Steyr GB was always a slow mover, even before Glock came about. It was sort of in the same oddball category as a VP70 if I recall correctly. You saw them in the case from time to time but nobody you knew owned one.
I can't believe I've been subscribed to you guys for the past 4 years, I've definitely learned a lot more about firearms since I stumbled across this channel. I believe the first video I saw was when you got invited to the IWI facility in Israel, wish I could have gone on a tour when I went over later that year. Love the videos and all the content you produce on here.
On a side note.... would you come to Australia and tour the lithgow facilities if you ever got invited?
That was the first centerfire semi-auto pistol I ever fired. That was back in 1985. I was 14 or 15. My dad and I were at an outdoor gun show at Black Canyon (now Ben Avery) shooting range north of Phoenix, AZ. Good memories.
I’ve shot at the Ben Avery range. It’s where we did the 1000 Man Shoot.
Thanks for the knowledge of the Steyr GB and get well soon guys. MAC for life
6:55 "He did what in his cup?!"
Pissed in cup
Kachow
Ayee 😂😂
While admiring that rare stayer beauty, a P7 is coming out. Nice clean lines, they knew how to design beautiful pistols back then.
Great video never seen one of these before. Get well soon tim.
The styer is a high quality piece brother. Thanks Mac. .nothing like the smell of gunpowder to make you feel better
Excellent chose for review. Thanks Tim
Feel better MAC!!! We need you on the range!
I bought one back in the 80's and still have it. I loved the grip design and the fact that although it carried more rounds than others of it's time, it felt slimmer in the hand. And due to the gas operation, it had the fastest lock up time and could fire those hot 9mm rounds the Israelis made for their Uzi submachine guns. It is very accurate with its polygonal rifling and fixed barrel.
Mine fires flawlessly as long as I don't let it get too dirty. Then it will start to malfunction. Oh, and lead bullets are a no-no. Unjacketed rounds foul up the gas ports too quickly.
But, otherwise, oh, yeah.
That's a very nice pistol MAC!!!!! Thanks for sharing. Love it
Get well Tim. Thanks for the video.
Great video, interesting pistol. Hope you are feeling better soon.
I believe the magazine is squeeze tapering the rounds to get the fijiometry correct so that the magazine can gently taper backwards instead of curving Fords like you'd see in a smg
Hope you all feel better. Good video, have a good weekend and thank you.
That thing ejects casing with authority! I love fixed barrel designs. I want one
I know why it didn't win..it didn't take Glock mags ;)
Michael G I know it's more difficult to design a firearm to reliability use a double feed mag but I wish glock had. Loading up a 15 round G21 mag SUCKS! And that's coming from someone who used to load 50 round Galil mags.
If only they had known...
Ok son, that's REALLY getting old and annoying.
Well said lol
Tim should have a look at Steyr later offering The A1 lineup (M9-a1, L9-a1, C9-a1, S9-a1)
I love these videos with unique guns!
Very cool pistol. Now I want one!
I hope y’all feel better soon!
I had a Steyr GB back in the 1980's - what a jam- o- matic!
Yeah, I think it’s luck of the draw or perhaps they’re ammo specific. Mine isn’t what I would call reliable.
Great video and excellent history lesson as well.
Steyr pistols are nearly undestructable. I've a Steyr m1912, family heirloom from my great grandfather, who was a general in the austro-hungarian army. It is 104 years old and still works perfect and I like it far more than any modern day Glock. No austrian gun enthusiast would chose a Glock over a Steyr.
Feel better soon Tim
Thanks!
Several years ago, I had the chance to pick up a Bruce Gray longslide P7. Every time I see you shoot your P7s, I kick myself for not buying it when I could've.
Oh wow, that would be cool. I'm sorry you missed it.
It was in excellent condition, and I can't say enough good things about Gray's work. I swear it looked like it came from the factory with that slide.
wait... you put 18 rnds in the mag! what have you done with Tim? He only uses 15 rnds because of his OCD.... ;-)
Jackal's Outdoor Channel They got to him for speaking out. This is his way of giving hints.
Must be the flu...
Gasbremse sounded quite good, heard worse butchering of german words by americans. :D
7:58 you could have at least sourced a Gen 1 Glock 17 with box and stayed with the 1980's theme.
I like that GB! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Take care and I hope you get better soon. Make sure to manage your symptoms and have a balance between rest and movement.
I fired one of these at a range once, It was a sweet shooting pistol.
My guess would be the GB lost against the Beretta because it's harder to change the barrel. I believe this gun is very beautiful and sexy. greetings from sLOVEnia
Ha! I saw what you did there, s - LOVE - enia, haha... Ight, Imma head out
Currently bidding on one on Gunbroker. I’m curious: does the hindered reliability come with the fact that it was designed specifically to garner interest from militaries that shoot 9mm NATO, which is loaded hotter than most commercially sold 9mm? The hotter load would cause the bullet to leave the barrel faster, not only leaving more pressure in the chamber for the blowback action, but also causing the pressure to drop faster in the delaying piston.
Thank you. Any chance for a Steyr M9-A1 torture test?
Please.
"For my homies" You're awesome mac
What you mean is that it's the double *feed* magazine. Double stack magazines are usually double stack single feed. I think you probably know that most non compact semis are double stack which refers to the column of cartridges and not the feed lips.
I enjoy the “History “ videos. Thanks.
The flu bug for an excuse for missing, good one. Interesting piece. Thanks MAC.
I owned one and I loved it.
I was seriously considering buying one of these, but the reliability problems combined with the rarity and high cost of spare mags made it easy to reconsider my choice. It looks cool, has historical significance and holds 18 rounds of 9mm in a double feed magazine, but I really don't need another 9mm when my Hi-Power is doing just fine.
Steyr BG does not have reliability issues. The one he has has reliability issues
I notice the muzzle flip is quick and snappy.
Looks a lot like my Sig P230 fixed barrel, which kicks hard as well.
I was thinking a tungston piston sleeve to add weight, but that would change the timing.
No rail, so there's really no way to add weight up front.
Guess it is what it is. Sleek though, looks nice.
I shot it couple of yrs ago and I still remember it's shoots louder than other 9mm guns, I don't know why
Very interesting stuff, thanks
I think I want one of those now. Damnit Tim! Get better soon, btw.
Neat gun, cool take-down, Might pick one up!
I love the Steyr GB, I have always wanted one but the magazines are hard to find for less than $200
I know it's not technically a p7, but in my fantasyland it's a giant p7! I would love to see ballistics tests considering the longer barrel... I'm glad to see fixed barrel pistols making a comeback, just wish any of them were close to affordable... Feel like weapon innovation is like computer-tech innovation at this point, were the price point people are willing to pay for gucci or new or whathaveyou has exed out any practical adoption... At least with firearms, usually these things have a quality point at least to the pricetag... lol not so much with computers.
I bought one in 1984, but sold it ten years later. It was a great pistol, though it tended to not cycle with some hollow point ammo. I wish I still had it, actually.
Great vid. Have you ever heard of Zigana pistol?
Get better soon Mac.
Can you take a look at this new 9mm pistol: Sarsilmaz SAR9.
It`s a combination between a Clock and a Heckler & Koch.
Looks cool, reliable and affordable and is from Turky.
I only know about this gun from The movie The Rookie with Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen!! Sheen used it from mid movie to the end!! Thought it looked cool!!
I've always wanted to add a GB to my collection. One day I intend to. My dad used to have a P7, and it was a great gun but it did get hot very quickly . The propellant gas that's bled off out of the barrel goes right out and is contained inside the slide and the dust cover of the frame. Dad's P7 was one of the later ones that had the plastic shield added inside the top area of trigger guard to help protect the shooter's hand from this heat buildup. I've always wondered, since the GB seems to contain most of the bled off propellant gas inside that steel sleeve/muzzle cap, rather than letting it go out and contact the frame and slide directly, does the pistol get as hot to hold with extended shooting -- and sounds from this video like it doesn't.
Most of the gas in the brake piston bleeds out the front once the slide moves back about a quarter inch. The barrel gets smaller behind the very end and gives it a large gap to escape from.
I have a Steyr GB with the “military” parkerized finish. I also have a factory muzzle brake for it, it fits on by replacing the regular piston cup. Mine is reliable enough, but the outside of the barrel gets pretty dirty and can carbon up similar to an M-16 bolt. Double action trigger is very heavy, single action adequate. When Steyr first contracted with a US company for commercial sales, they came up with a GB clone in stainless steel, the Rogak. That’s the one that jammed when it heated up. Not the Steyr made GB. That’s a whole different story. I would have chosen the Beretta it Glock over the Steyr .
off topic but Do you remember Fetla's Trading Post. God i miss that place i was a kid in a candy shop bought a sks for 69 buck wish i wood have bought the hole crate full.
I do! I miss that place, there was no place like it.
Always liked this pistol. Shot one in the 90's and enjoyed it. Feel better guys. It's OK to take some sick time.
I own one of these!!! I have the orginal box and everything. I haven't shot it 😕though. It's still in it's box.
Same here Chris i have the next gen with the diff hammer , very smooth shooting gun ! I’ve looked on line and they go for a lot of money !
I owned a few Steyr GB's when they were widely available back in the late 80's and 90's . Honestly felt they were real POS back then. I find it odd that these are selling between $800.00 to well over $1000.00 today.
There are many firearm and knives that totally sucked back then but yet they demand high prices today.
I still remember the firearms and knives from back then and wouldn't pay what they demand now.
Now the awesome H&K P series are brilliant firearms!. Too bad it was weird to use that squeeze cocking firearm. But I can understand the collectors value today. Kinda like the Colt Python which I purchased and owned several back in the 80's and 90's. They sold used for just a bit over $350.00 ! Now look at the selling point. Crazy how many times I have said "if only I hadn't sold them" . Dang it!
Just joined the GOA, used your link.
Thank you for supporting a true no compromise lobby group.
If you don’t shoot fully swaged ammunition this gun will lock up until you work on it for a week. With the right ammo this gun will eat box after box and will tear the center out of the target until you get bored. I keep mine in a holster with two extra mags in case shtf and I hope that never happens, but that much 9mm in a shoulder rig is comfort.
That p7 was so dirty. I had to migrate my eyes.😢
Hmm. Any idea why you're having reliability problems? No experience with these personally, but from what I've read/heard, reliability is never really an issue with these guns. Could be be an issue with the mag(s)? Thanks for the video, though. I've always been interested to trying one of these.
I'm nostalgic for 80s Chinese cardboard. :(
Internet User lol true! But I was more thinking about the cool things that came in it that we can't get any more.
First learned about this pistol from Gun Jesus. I find it very interesting.
Hey great Channel, quick question have you guys finished the Beretta PX4 Storm Gauntlet test?
"Decocker" Gets me all the time :-)
Please do a a Steyr l9a1 maybe gauntlet it as well