The thing is this : Sig Sauer 226, barrel lenght 4, 4" vs 5.3/8" in the GB.Round capacity 15 plus one in the Sig vs 18 plus one in the Steyr. Initial velocity 360 m/seg in the Sig vs 420 m/s in the old Steyr. Weight of the Sig 964 grs vs 845 grs of the Steyr .Recoil is better in the Steyr (there are some videos), range (50 ms vs close to 100 in the Steyr) and accurate is better in the Steyr (Paul Harrel´s opinion not referred to the Sig 226 but to the Beretta 92 FS) . And that´s without talking of the gas operated system which is an advantage if you use modern unleaded bullets . That´s the reason why the Commander of this former SWATT officer (the unknown author of the letter) had a different opinion in favour of the Steyr GB. In any case I accept and respect the SWAT officer´s opinion of the Steyr GB as a service pistol in harsh conditions of use. The Sig Sauer 226 is a great pistol, there is no doubt, but, at the end, every pistol expert checking the Steyr GB ends trying to buy that "old model" of austrian pistol.
Nicolas, I appreciate you taking the time to watch the video. Glad you enjoyed it. You cover quite a bit, and your comment seems to originate from a collector / gun forum perspective. So in no particular order: -Every pistol expert isn't trying to buy a GB. They are buying, and have bought, Glock 17 & Glock 19 pistols. This assessment can be verified by either looking at total sales world wide. Or by ORG adoptions world wide. Pick one. -Using the velocity numbers you provide (I am not inclined to verify them), Newtonian Physics would indicate the recoil in favor of the SIG. MV=MV. However… -Perceived recoil is a different matter. Of course the GB being a very large and heavy pistol, the perceived recoil felt by the shooter is likely less. Due to mass, more than recoil system. At least enough to be considered statistically significant to the shooter. -Having shot the GB, I would say the recoil impulse is different. It doesn't seem to recoil softer. I would guess it cycles the slide faster. I can't prove it here, nor am I inclined to test out the theory. Because… -Who in the real world is actually debating the perceived recoil of a 9mm round chambered in a full sized, service sized pistol? The answer is no one. It's a 9mm handgun. As long as it's not a compact, they are ALL pretty controllable. This is common sense. -The recoil system…personally I don't think it's an advantage for serious, duty use. By design, it craps where it eats. Both carbon fouling and hot gases. One of three things eventually happens: 1. It shuts down from FOD. 2. It becomes so hot, the user has a hard time holding onto the weapon (The HK P7 is notorious for this). 3. More heat, and more gas equals more wear somewhere inside the design when compared to tilting, Browning lock formats. -Now…let's get away from objective data points and use your same "collector logic" to actually kick the GB square in the nuts. In 1982 when the Austrian Army was testing the GB against Glock (Among others), Glock as a gun company was an unknown entity in the firearms world. If the Glock 17 (17+1) and the Steyr GB (18+1) where neck in neck in competition? Why would the Austrian Army pick an unknown company, with an un-proven design (At the time)? The answer is they wouldn't have. Even if the Glock 17 was marginally better than the GB, the Austrian Army procurement folks would have just picked a gun from a known entity, with a proven track record, and established production facilities: Steyr. But they did not. Instead they went with the Plastic guy making knives and shovels out of his garage. Why? The reason is clear: The Glock 17 ran rings around the Steyr GB in multiple categories during selection. It's a cool gun. We are glad to have it in the reference collection. And Steyr should consider themselves fortunate that they have a such a loyal and enthusiastic user base made up of folks such as yourself. But the verdict is in: The GB is a failed design, and rightfully so. The best gun won in Austria and on that SWAT team Regards, Marky John1911.com
That's fair statement, Nicolas. What collectors deem collectible is usually attributable to immutable traits and X-factors from history. Regards, Marky P.S. My opinion is worth what you paid for it. Nothing more.
Hi I'm from Austria and own the GB more than two decades. The Steyr might be everything, but not a junk. The GB is a very high quality made Handgun, with Polygon barrel, hard chrome surface in and outside the barrel. Full steel made including all parts from the magazine and designed to shoot without any grease or oil. By the way the Glock has won the Austrian Bundesheer trail only because of the cheap price even against Beretta 92 and HK P7. The GB would have cost twice as the Glock. So the penny counter made this deal. Mine GB has more than 100K rounds through it and all is still origin . At least I've never found a pistol which can compete in precision and accuracy. No issues in cycling or extracting. Distances of 50-100 meters are no challenge for the GB. From the serial no. mine is from the last series. My negative opinion from the GB is, that Steyr has failed to lunch more models and calibers combined different options. The actual GB is way to big for civilians and detectives. Greetings from the Steyr and Glock country Austria.!
This is a pretty fantastic comment. If you are so inclined, we would LOVE to post some detailed pictures of your Steyr GB after 100,000 rounds. Full feature story. We'll write the text. You just supply photographs. Complete picture and broken down to show internals. Also..if you could provide some idea on maintenance schedules, cleaning schedules, spring replacement schedules, broken or worn out parts, and the type of shooting you engage in? That would be fantastic. Think you can email me through my website? -Marky
@@John1911 Hi John. Agreed, I will arrange a report based on my experience with all positives and negatives from the Steyr GB. Including holster alternatives and pictures.
There has been no response or follow up from Herbert. Unless that changes, I would consider the comment just that; a passing comment. Nothing more. Regards, Marky
So... they literally thought they had to remove the gun's factory finish? It likely weakened the frame and changed the tolerances. I'm inclined to not blame to gun.
Special thanks to the SWAT officer that reached out. One, it was an interesting story. And two, it's a breath of fresh air to receive an email that is constructed and written so well. A significant number of messages people send me look like some kind of satellite message fragment from a ballistic missile submarine. Kinda not exaggerating on that point. -Marky
I have mine since about 1997. I shoot it regularly and have never had a problem with it. The one I have is one of the last ones made. The ones that have the rounded hammer are the the ones that they had lots of problems with. Mine has the straight pointed hammer. Too bad they got all the bugs fixed after it got the bad reputation.
I hadn’t heard about their being a generational upgrade to this pistol. Also keep in mind, I am sure that SWAT team shot them a lot more than the average consumer does. Look at it like this. It’s not an apples to apples comparison, but might help prove the point. Let’s say there is a world where you have the same exact set of tires on your car as a race team uses on the track. And the team isn’t happy with that tire because it has to pit sooner than some other tire. But you get 40,000 miles out of your same tires no problem. Is it a bad tire? Should you dump it just because the the team doesn’t like them? No. It’s a use case issue. -Marky
Shooting and volume are the factors that make or break guns for SWAT teams: read that as people who get paid to shoot a lot and often. A Toyota Camry is a great car. People can own and run them for 20 years, and do. Doesn’t mean it’s a good car for LE Mans. I am still waiting on the pics, maintenance records and video from the commentator who claimed to be able to document his GB’s service history. I expect he will never come through either. Final note: remember, it’s a gun. Not your sacred honor. Don’t take any of this personally unless your last name is Steyr. Regards, Marky
Exactly, scarcity does not imply quality or worth. I think this applies to many guns, especially ones that are no longer made and/or available for import.
Scarcity does help value in the open market later. Look at how many cars in "x-spec" that didn't sell well. Now they bring top of the market in that genre. -Marky
The thing is this : Sig Sauer 226, barrel lenght 4, 4" vs 5.3/8" in the GB.Round capacity 15 plus one in the Sig vs 18 plus one in the Steyr. Initial velocity 360 m/seg in the Sig vs 420 m/s in the old Steyr. Weight of the Sig 964 grs vs 845 grs of the Steyr .Recoil is better in the Steyr (there are some videos), range (50 ms vs close to 100 in the Steyr) and accurate is better in the Steyr (Paul Harrel´s opinion not referred to the Sig 226 but to the Beretta 92 FS) . And that´s without talking of the gas operated system which is an advantage if you use modern unleaded bullets . That´s the reason why the Commander of this former SWATT officer (the unknown author of the letter) had a different opinion in favour of the Steyr GB. In any case I accept and respect the SWAT officer´s opinion of the Steyr GB as a service pistol in harsh conditions of use. The Sig Sauer 226 is a great pistol, there is no doubt, but, at the end, every pistol expert checking the Steyr GB ends trying to buy that "old model" of austrian pistol.
Nicolas,
I appreciate you taking the time to watch the video. Glad you enjoyed it. You cover quite a bit, and your comment seems to originate from a collector / gun forum perspective. So in no particular order:
-Every pistol expert isn't trying to buy a GB. They are buying, and have bought, Glock 17 & Glock 19 pistols. This assessment can be verified by either looking at total sales world wide. Or by ORG adoptions world wide. Pick one.
-Using the velocity numbers you provide (I am not inclined to verify them), Newtonian Physics would indicate the recoil in favor of the SIG. MV=MV. However…
-Perceived recoil is a different matter. Of course the GB being a very large and heavy pistol, the perceived recoil felt by the shooter is likely less. Due to mass, more than recoil system. At least enough to be considered statistically significant to the shooter.
-Having shot the GB, I would say the recoil impulse is different. It doesn't seem to recoil softer. I would guess it cycles the slide faster. I can't prove it here, nor am I inclined to test out the theory. Because…
-Who in the real world is actually debating the perceived recoil of a 9mm round chambered in a full sized, service sized pistol? The answer is no one. It's a 9mm handgun. As long as it's not a compact, they are ALL pretty controllable. This is common sense.
-The recoil system…personally I don't think it's an advantage for serious, duty use. By design, it craps where it eats. Both carbon fouling and hot gases. One of three things eventually happens: 1. It shuts down from FOD. 2. It becomes so hot, the user has a hard time holding onto the weapon (The HK P7 is notorious for this). 3. More heat, and more gas equals more wear somewhere inside the design when compared to tilting, Browning lock formats.
-Now…let's get away from objective data points and use your same "collector logic" to actually kick the GB square in the nuts. In 1982 when the Austrian Army was testing the GB against Glock (Among others), Glock as a gun company was an unknown entity in the firearms world.
If the Glock 17 (17+1) and the Steyr GB (18+1) where neck in neck in competition? Why would the Austrian Army pick an unknown company, with an un-proven design (At the time)? The answer is they wouldn't have. Even if the Glock 17 was marginally better than the GB, the Austrian Army procurement folks would have just picked a gun from a known entity, with a proven track record, and established production facilities: Steyr.
But they did not.
Instead they went with the Plastic guy making knives and shovels out of his garage. Why? The reason is clear: The Glock 17 ran rings around the Steyr GB in multiple categories during selection.
It's a cool gun. We are glad to have it in the reference collection. And Steyr should consider themselves fortunate that they have a such a loyal and enthusiastic user base made up of folks such as yourself.
But the verdict is in: The GB is a failed design, and rightfully so. The best gun won in Austria and on that SWAT team
Regards,
Marky
John1911.com
@@John1911 Thanks for your expert opinion. In any case a plastic pistol like Glock, being efficient as a service gun is not a piece of a collection.
That's fair statement, Nicolas. What collectors deem collectible is usually attributable to immutable traits and X-factors from history.
Regards,
Marky
P.S. My opinion is worth what you paid for it. Nothing more.
Hi I'm from Austria and own the GB more than two decades. The Steyr might be everything, but not a junk. The GB is a very high quality made Handgun, with Polygon barrel, hard chrome surface in and outside the barrel. Full steel made including all parts from the magazine and designed to shoot without any grease or oil. By the way the Glock has won the Austrian Bundesheer trail only because of the cheap price even against Beretta 92 and HK P7. The GB would have cost twice as the Glock. So the penny counter made this deal. Mine GB has more than 100K rounds through it and all is still origin . At least I've never found a pistol which can compete in precision and accuracy. No issues in cycling or extracting. Distances of 50-100 meters are no challenge for the GB. From the serial no. mine is from the last series. My negative opinion from the GB is, that Steyr has failed to lunch more models and calibers combined different options. The actual GB is way to big for civilians and detectives. Greetings from the Steyr and Glock country Austria.!
This is a pretty fantastic comment. If you are so inclined, we would LOVE to post some detailed pictures of your Steyr GB after 100,000 rounds. Full feature story. We'll write the text. You just supply photographs. Complete picture and broken down to show internals. Also..if you could provide some idea on maintenance schedules, cleaning schedules, spring replacement schedules, broken or worn out parts, and the type of shooting you engage in? That would be fantastic. Think you can email me through my website? -Marky
@@John1911 Hi John. Agreed, I will arrange a report based on my experience with all positives and negatives from the Steyr GB. Including holster alternatives and pictures.
@@herbertfoelser3845 Can you send me an email? -Marky
I am interested in this as well, especially disassembly and reassembly pics and the holster options.
There has been no response or follow up from Herbert. Unless that changes, I would consider the comment just that; a passing comment. Nothing more.
Regards,
Marky
So... they literally thought they had to remove the gun's factory finish? It likely weakened the frame and changed the tolerances. I'm inclined to not blame to gun.
Opinions may vary.
Glad you liked the video.
Regards,
Marky
Special thanks to the SWAT officer that reached out. One, it was an interesting story. And two, it's a breath of fresh air to receive an email that is constructed and written so well. A significant number of messages people send me look like some kind of satellite message fragment from a ballistic missile submarine. Kinda not exaggerating on that point.
-Marky
I think you had to much fun making this video. HAHAHA. Keep up the good work. 😎
I did. Stories like this need to be told before they are lost to history.
Regards,
Marky
I have mine since about 1997. I shoot it regularly and have never had a problem with it. The one I have is one of the last ones made. The ones that have the rounded hammer are the the ones that they had lots of problems with. Mine has the straight pointed hammer. Too bad they got all the bugs fixed after it got the bad reputation.
I hadn’t heard about their being a generational upgrade to this pistol. Also keep in mind, I am sure that SWAT team shot them a lot more than the average consumer does. Look at it like this. It’s not an apples to apples comparison, but might help prove the point. Let’s say there is a world where you have the same exact set of tires on your car as a race team uses on the track. And the team isn’t happy with that tire because it has to pit sooner than some other tire. But you get 40,000 miles out of your same tires no problem.
Is it a bad tire? Should you dump it just because the the team doesn’t like them? No. It’s a use case issue.
-Marky
Ive never had a problem with the Steyr Gb, and ive had it since 1993 🤔
Shooting and volume are the factors that make or break guns for SWAT teams: read that as people who get paid to shoot a lot and often.
A Toyota Camry is a great car. People can own and run them for 20 years, and do. Doesn’t mean it’s a good car for LE Mans.
I am still waiting on the pics, maintenance records and video from the commentator who claimed to be able to document his GB’s service history.
I expect he will never come through either.
Final note: remember, it’s a gun. Not your sacred honor. Don’t take any of this personally unless your last name is Steyr.
Regards,
Marky
I have had mine since 1984 and never had an issue with it besides it getting hot after 200 or so rounds.
They do get hot, yes.
Marky
Exactly, scarcity does not imply quality or worth. I think this applies to many guns, especially ones that are no longer made and/or available for import.
Scarcity does help value in the open market later. Look at how many cars in "x-spec" that didn't sell well. Now they bring top of the market in that genre.
-Marky
john1911.com/swat-team-review-steyr-gb-pistol/