For more information, visit https://www.lithgowarms.com.
Lithgow Arms is bringing the ATRAX to America. Lithgow Arms has a 100-year heritage of making arms in Australia. For the last 30 years Lithgow Arms has been producing the bullpup rifle based on the Steyr AUG design for the Australian military. Its latest iteration is the semi-automatic ATRAX, which is a complete redesign of the original military bullpup.
The author had an opportunity to see the new Atrax at the 2017 SHOT Show along with a bunch of other appealing sights.
Overview
The ATRAX rifle will be made in the USA with a combination of Australian and American made parts. The standard version will have a 16-inch barrel and an overall length of 27½ inches weighing in at just over 7 pounds. If you want to go with a 20-inch barrel standard with the DMR (designated Marksman Rifle) variant, the overall length increases to 31 ½ inches.
SPECS
ATRAX
- Caliber: 5.56 mm
- Weight: 7.17Lbs
- Barrel length: 16”
- Overall length: 27.56”
- MSRP: $1,999
ATRAX DMR
- Caliber: 5.56 mm
- Weight: 7.47Lbs
- Barrel length: 20”
- Overall length: 31.57”
- MSRP: TBD
The Atrax has numerous rails for attaching a wide range of accessories.
IMPRESSION
This rifle does not suffer from the typical bullpup trigger and weight is distributed so that the center of gravity is directly in the middle of the rifle. This makes a rifle that is easy to both shoot and carry. The empty cases can be ejected from either left or right side of the rifle. However, with the ejection port in a relatively forward position, with the addition of a case deflector one can operate the rifle left or right-handed without the necessity to change ejection port orientation.
The standard Atrax comes with a compact 16-inch barrel.
The gun has been lightened considerably through the use of polymers. The rails on the sides are at 90° which is a welcome improvement over the original Steyr AUG design. This will allow easy mounting of lights, lasers and bipods. This and other design changes result in a rifle that is over a pound lighter than its predecessor. The fluted barrel is removable by simply pushing one retained button to either the right or left side. Incorporated into the flash suppressor is a QD mount for a sound suppressor.
Lithgow has partnered with Magpul and will be providing two Magpul PMAG 30 AUS GEN M3 Window magazines with each rifle.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
The ATRAX is slated to be available mid 2017 with the first shipment of 300 rifles landing second quarter. MSRP for the Lithgow Arms USA Atrax is $1,999 in the base configuration. Keep an eye out for a full review of this exciting new rifle.
For more information, visit https://www.lithgowarms.com.