Advanced Combat Rifle-Steyr

The last entry submitted was the Steyr ACR, another fléchette-firing weapon. The Steyr differed from the AAI in the details of the round, which used a plastic shell casing to reduce weight. The firing mechanism was quite complex as a result, moving the entire chamber as opposed to just the bolt. When fired, the chamber would move down where a new round would be pushed in from the rear, forcing the spent cartridge case forward out of the chamber where it would drop out through an ejection port behind the pistol grip. The chamber would then move back into firing position on a spring, where it would lock in front of a fixed breechblock. On firing, the sabot traveled down the barrel with the fléchette and was quickly "stripped" off upon exit. This was found to present a hazard in combat, where the sabots could hit other soldiers or bounce off the ground when being fired prone. Like the AAI weapon, the Steyr was limited to three round bursts.