Where it Started

Our company, Steyr Arms, has a storied history that stretches back to 1864. The Austrian city of Steyr that inspired our brand’s name, has a much deeper history in weaponry.

Famed for its knives and armor through the Middle Ages, the town rose and fell under succeeding rulers and dynasties but remained an icon of the iron trade and smithing. The Roman Empire employed the nearby iron mines, leading to the development of blacksmithing in local industry. By the end of the 16th Century, Steyr was manufacturing muskets for the Hapsburg Imperial Army, soon to be used in the Thirty Years War.

As the timeline stretched through decades, Steyr continued crafting firearms. Today, the company is woven into the fabric of gunmaking, a name synonymous with reliability and precision throughout the world.

In this, our 160th year of business, something is stirring in us. We feel the weight of history and the urgent need to start telling our story again.

Our town. Our people. Our guns.

So, we’re stepping out from behind the workbench to share what made Steyr who we are today, in an effort to ensure it doesn’t become a relic of the past.

In the coming months, we’ll explore the little-known history between Steyr and legendary authors, professional hunters, military, law enforcement, and adventurers. We’ll explore how our gunmakers in Austria still stand as preservationists of the craft. We forge for those who demand the best.

Like you, Steyr is a living chronicle. Only when the greatest steel dulls and the finest leather softens can we create the stories worth retelling.

We’ve got 160 years of history. Now let’s go make more.