[SHOT 2026] Hands On with Steyr’s New AT Pistols

At SHOT Show 2026’s Industry Day at the Range TFB had the privilege of getting early access to the range to cover the ceremonial First Shot of SHOT. One of the benefits of this was we were able to get hands on as soon as the range went hot and I was able to put a couple of magazines through Steyr’s new AT family of 9x19mm pistols.

The line is separated into defense: ‘ATD’ and competition: ‘ATC’ models. Steyr worked with Slovenia’s Arex on the pistols and launched them back in September. The ATD line are high-end duty-style pistols, they come with a 4 inch barrel, there is a standard model and a model with a compensator. Like the competition models, both ATD variants have optics-ready slides. They have aluminum frames, feed from 18-round magazines (with optional +2 baseplates) and have a frame-mounted safety-decocker. Steyr says they’re aimed at special forces operators and have passed NATO’s STANAG 4512 testing requirements. 

Steyr’s ATC pistols are designed to be high-performance competition guns. They have all-stainless steel construction, developed with practical shooting sports like IPSC, PPC and USPC in mind. The steel-framed ATC pistols are available in 5 inch and 6 inch barrel configurations with the two ATC Rock models having bright orange grips, ported barrels and compensators. They have crisp, flat-faced triggers with excellent brakes and frame-mounted safeties rather than safety-decockers. For those not wanting a ported barrel and compensator option there is the ATC Base 5. The pistols’ slides are interchangeable across the whole range, as are the single-action and single-action/double action triggers found in the various models.

The first shot of SHOT was actually fired from a Steyr ATC Rock 5 by SAS veteran Christian Craighead. Speaking to Craighead after he fired the first shots of SHOT 2026 he explained that he’s genuinely excited about the new pistol. He then, completely off the cuff, gave us a run down of his favourite features of the pistol praising the decocker, controls, machining and ergonomics of the ATC Rock. He noted how the AT pistol’s features reminded him of one of his favourite pistols, the classic SIG Sauer P226, and that in his opinion the new pistol surpasses it.