[SHOT 2025] Steyr Monobloc: The Barrel And Receiver Are One Piece!
Steyr Arms had a variety of guns on display at SHOT Show 2025. Their unique Monobloc rifle is the star of the show, but there were plenty of other interesting things in their booth as well. Keep reading for all the details.
Steyr @ TFB:
TFB Review: Steyr Scout Mk II Steyr’s New AUG 77A1 MOD “Nightfighter” For Austrian Armed Forces TFB FIRST LOOK: The New Steyr Scout Mk II POTD: Austrian Army – Sturmgewehr 77 A1 MOD (Steyr AUG) The Steyr AUG 24″ HBAR Barrel Is Back!
The Monobloc is new to the US market and has a very unique design. The action and barrel are machined out of one solid piece of steel. That’s right, the barrel is not separate from the action in any way. It is also a modular design, where the barreled actions can be swapped out along with magazines and bolt heads where necessary.
This is not Steyr’s first gun to feature this construction method. Apparently, Steyr made double rifles with both barrels made out of one piece of steel. Unfortunately, that knowledge was destroyed in World War 2. As German-speaking countries are known to do, they set the engineers loose and told them to figure it out again. The Monobloc is the direct result of that project. The barrel and action assembly is formed around a mandrel as a single unit. Steyr doesn’t mess around with quality control, and to quote Jim Barton “It’s either perfect or it gets scrapped.”
This is a very high-end gun, with features like leather pads made from the same leather used in Rolex watch straps. An aluminum chassis supports the action in both wood and synthetic stock models. It also has a hand cocking system as part of the safety mechanism, and a great deal of effort went into making it easy to use even for people with reduced hand strength. Set triggers are an option, and decocking the gun resets that trigger back to the heavier setting. All of those features come at a price though; the MSRP is $5,900.
Some other guns on display included the updated Pro Hunter 3, which has an improved stock over the last generation. It has rubber pads made into the stock which will not come out. The THB heavy barreled rifle was there too, as was the Scout II in FDE. I have written about that gun previsouly and am extremely fond of it.
We can’t talk about Steyr without mentioning the AUG. A version with the new 9mm conversion kit was on display, as well as a few other types. The 9mm kit replaces the bolt, trigger pack, and barrel. It feeds from a clear waffle magazine with the same external dimensions as the standard AUG mag.
One final little surprise was the Spartan Precision CP Brace, shown here supporting the SSG M1 in .338 Lapua Magnum. That little brace spans between the legs of the tripod to set up an alternate firing point. The top of the tripod is still available as a mounting point for the rifle if the shooter needs to be standing, but this lower mount is at sitting height. That is a great convenience feature for people who spend long hours on the gun, but the rear leg of the tripod can work as a rear support for the rifle stock. This configuration with a small squeeze bag braced against the stock was extremely stable. There was none of the wobble that comes from having an unsupported stock when shooting standing on a tripod. This is a very clever product and I think we will be seeing more of this soon among precision shooters and military/LE snipers.
