Bullpups

This topic is rarely discussed here; thought it was time to get opinions. I've held a couple, but never shot one. What are the pros and cons? How do they feel when shooting? What are the preferred manufacturers and calibers? Would you buy one again? Every weapon has inherent limitations based on size, weight, design purpose, etc. What are the limitations of bullpups?

I would have to say the biggest issue with the bullpup is the trigger pull. Later designs are much better thanks to customer demand. Accuracy is typically right there with conventional weapons, depending on the sights of course. With three different weapons I had no problem ringing the steel out to 500 yards. Some fieldstrip ridiculously easy, others are quite complicated.

I have Walther G22, Keltec RFB, Keltec KSG, MSAR STG-556 (AUG clone), FNH PS-90, and FNH FS-2000. If they come out with a Tavor in 7.62 NATO I'll be all over it! If you're in the Shreveport area, give me a yell.

Thanks! What's your opinion of the MSAR?

I love mine. I've only had one fail to fire, I think it was mad at me cause it hadn't been out of the safe in over a year. MSAR had a lot of management problems and filed for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. They reorganized in (I think) South Carolina and started producing rifles again, but potential customers had lost faith in them and they dropped the firearms division.

Would I buy one? Like "boxers or briefs", depends! If it was from the middle of the first batch (uses Aug magazines), yes. If it was from the second production batch (M16 mags), no. For one thing, they used a different supplier for the forged trunnions & had problems with cracks. I would also be concerned about replacement parts, I don't know how compatible they are with a real Aug.

When I bought mine, it had the sight rail. I bought the optical sight from them, the customer service guy asked how far I was from New Orleans, I'm in the opposite corner of Louisiana. He said he visited once & liked Cajun food. So I sent him some Southern hospitality, two boxes of each kind of Zatarans. He took the box & walked down the assembly line and tossed in a bunch of spare parts & shipped it back. So I've got a nice pile of spare​ parts should I break something.

It is one of the rifles that was hitting at 500 yards.

Bump

I want to see how this will survive on the market. Theyre dropping it in 308 first.

https://deserttech.com/product_overview.php?product_id=4&load=product_overview

Pros:
Short overall length, great in a vehicle or clearing a building
Ergonomics usually better, although feel weird at first
Mag changes awkward at first
Sometimes pickey on magazine (the FS-2000 can't use plastic mags)
As accurate as comparable conventional rifle with optics
Did I mention they're short?

Cons:
Trigger not so great on earlier designs
Short sight radius with irons
People that tell you it isn't accurate with that "pistol length barrel"

I had a MSAR aug clone. I moved it on as I felt it was overgassed, way to much recoil IMO. Build quality was good.

I have a Tavor 21 (not the x95) and really like it. Much smoother shooting than the MSAR.

I did a 870 bullpup conversion, bullpup unlimited if memory serves me correctly. I did some fitting and a simple mod to improve the trigger, also cleaned up the stock 870 trigger parts while I was at it. Nice but the KSG is superior, and probably cheaper. I find my example of the KSG to be well made and very well fitted. It is a Keltec, and I have had some issues in the past with some of their offerings. I like the KSG and plan to keep it.

I bought the HTA P90 clone stock setup for 10/22. Well made and pretty much a drop in fit from what I can tell. HTA extended mag release, bolt catch and charging handles are a must. Would recommend this over the ZK22.

Recently got a rapejacket ZK22 stock, not as nice as the HTA, and the trigger needs work out of the box as the safety blade in the trigger is rubbing on the stock. Simple fix, and I expect to fit these kinds of things. Not a drop in...

Working on an AK based design, similar to the (forgot the name) that some Russian gun design bureau came up with in the 70s-80s. Not much done there but some sketches.

I also have the KVAR sold bullpup ak kit, trigger leaves alot to be desired, but I have a fix in mind for that. These kits look rare these days.

Also have a Kushnapup stock, got it used. Nicely made, mine will have a 7.62x39 rifle in it, not a Saiga 12. Halfway done on that, lost momentum when I moved.

I had a PS90 for a while. Well made, shoots very nice. Not really sure about the use for 5.7 ammo, so I moved it on. Mags loaded easy, and the top mount did eliminate many issues that others have with bullpups.

Pros for any bullpup is barrel length vs overall length. Weight is usually about the same as a conventional rifle but it is closer to the operators body so handling is usually improved.

Cons: design is only valid for rifle rounds, as most pistol rounds do not need a 16" barrel. Mag changes are not lightning fast. Tactical loading the KSG is not easy, but it holds 15 rounds.

A SBR bullpup in 10mm would be interesting... Might be too short to be of much use. 12" barrel x95 lightweight in 10mm running glock mags with Kriss style extensions to add capacity. If it was 5lbs I would jump...