Probably every person, even a little interested in weapons, heard about bullpup rifles. This very unusual weapon causes a lot of controversy between experts - some lead to their many advantages, while others emphasize the disadvantages. Let's try to deal with both the first and second.
Weapon Features
To begin with, we’ll immediately say that bullpup, or “goby, ” differs from conventional weapons in layout. With any conventional machine gun or rifle, the store is located between the trigger and the barrel. However, bull-dad is just the opposite. The designers moved the store - now it is between the hook and the butt. Unusual? Of course. However, it was such an innovation that made it possible to achieve important advantages that gunsmiths have always sought. Alas, at the same time, it brought additional problems that the arrows had not encountered before. We will tell you more about both the first and the second.
Main advantages
Of course, the main advantage that bullpup rifles and rifles boast is compactness. It is impossible to reduce the barrel length below a certain limit - this affects the range and accuracy of the shooting. However, the new scheme allowed to solve the problem. For clarity, we compare the SVD and the IED created on its basis. The length of the first is 1220 mm, and the second is 980. The length of the trunks is 620 and 520 mm, respectively. That is, with a decrease in barrel length of 10 centimeters, the total length of the weapon was reduced by 24 centimeters. Of course, it became much more comfortable to handle it, there are fewer problems when carrying it, and the firing range has changed very slightly.
Another important advantage that bullpup sniper rifles boast is the almost absent recoil arm. Features layout allowed to sharply reduce the toss of weapons in the conduct of automatic fire and, accordingly, increase accuracy.
Finally, if you have to fire from an embrasure or a car window, or an armored personnel carrier, reloading a weapon is much more convenient.
The main disadvantages
Unfortunately, it has a weapon and a number of shortcomings that cast doubt on the potential of the new layout.
For example, the fact that many bullpup samples when shooting from the left shoulder throw cartridges directly into the arrow’s face is very inconvenient. We have to solve this issue in different ways - from rearranging parts to moving the store from side to side or even up.
Since the shutter is much closer to the shooter, powder gases are ejected directly into his face. This causes particular problems when conducting automatic firing indoors.
Lying down (and during the battle no one will stand at full height) replacing the store is very problematic - it is located too close.
Getting used to the new center of gravity is quite difficult. If in classic weapons it is between the hands, then in the "bullpups" - between the pistol grip and the shoulder.
In addition, long magazines or drum shops are often used in battle, allowing you to increase the time between reloads. When using bullpup design machines, this becomes almost impossible.
Also, a sharply reduced length makes aiming over an open sight less accurate. You have to install an optical or collimator to solve this problem.
All this casts doubt on the possibility of further transfer of weapons to a new layout and gives indisputable trump cards in the hands of opponents of such weapons.
The world's first bullpup
Few people know, but the first weapon with a new layout was created more than a century ago - back in 1901. It was then that the English gunsmith Torneycroft set himself the task of developing a carbine specifically for cavalry, which would have a minimum length, while not reducing the range of aimed fire.
The result of his work was a carbine less than a meter long! At the same time, he had a seventy-centimeter trunk - a very good indicator. The designer placed the store right in the butt, and during reloading the bolt moved over the butt crest. For comparison, we cite the popular at that time rifle Lee Enfield, released 6 years before the invention of the first bullpapa. Its length was 101 centimeters with a barrel length of about 50 centimeters. The difference is very noticeable. With the same length, the new rifle had a significantly greater combat range.
However, there were also disadvantages. For example, I had to abandon a 10-charge store, switching to a 5-store. But even this was not the main problem. It is much worse that reloading weapons was inconvenient, even standing on solid ground. And about riding a horse during the battle there is nothing to say. This was the reason that the Torneycroft carbine remained only an experimental model and a topic for active discussion in certain circles.
A few words about the "Thunderstorm"
Some examples of bullpups are widespread - they are not only adopted by the armies of the world, but also presented in films, computer games. So to learn more about them will be interesting to anyone who is fond of weapons.
First, let's talk about OTs-14, also known as the Thunderstorm. Developed in Russia in the early 90's, it was created on the basis of the Tiss assault rifle, the basis for which in turn was the 1974 Kalashnikov assault rifle. Usually it is supplemented with a grenade launcher - simplified "GP-25". The simplification is that the grenade launcher … does not have a trigger! Yes, shooting from it and the machine gun is carried out with a single hook - there is also a fire mode switch. Thanks to this combination, it was possible to create a really powerful combat complex, perfectly suitable for conducting urban combat and cleaning rooms. If desired, you can install a flashlight, a silencer, a laser sight and an optical sight on it.
Illustrious Steyr AUG
Much more famous around the world is the Steyr AUG, an Austrian modular rifle. It is not only easy to disassemble, but if necessary, the standard barrel can be replaced by a specialized one, turning the machine into a sniper rifle or light machine gun.
There is no open sight - instead, it uses an optical, one and a half times. Convenient design, unusual appearance and good fighting qualities led to the fact that the rifle is in service with 40 countries and is actively exported by Austria.
Notorious famas
Famas, a French rifle, is almost as famous. Although her fate was much more sad. The semi-free shutter, originally presented as a real breakthrough, was not very reliable. And the ammunition is very picky machine. An open sight was not initially provided for - optics were mounted on a portable bracket. As a result, after the French plants produced 400 thousand barrels, it was decided to curtail production. Convenient layout, compactness and several shooting modes, including shooting with cut-off, did not save 3 rounds at a time.
British Gunsmith Error - L85
Another very famous bullpup automatic rifle. Developing it, the experts decided to take as a basis the AR-18 - an American rifle from Armalit, which also produced the M-16, AR15 and several others. Despite the rather successful scheme of the original machine, after a serious alteration, all the advantages were lost. As field tests showed, the L85 received a whole bunch of important flaws. For example, low reliability and frequent failure of individual nodes. The large mass, although it reduced the power of recoil, significantly complicated the process of working with weapons. Finally, the ammunition was delivered inaccurately, which often led to misalignment of ammunition. Subsequently, the German company Heckler and Koch upgraded most of the L85s that were released, turning them into the L85A2. However, the reviews still remained very controversial.
Now let's talk a little about the different types of weapons created in the bullpup layout, so that the reader can figure out a little in the midst of such unusual weapons.
Sniper rifles
To begin with, we mention the most famous Russian development among bullpup sniper rifles. Of course, this is the aforementioned IEDs - a shortened sniper rifle. Created on the basis of SVD, it retained almost all the advantages and the overall device. But there was a high-quality muffler, significantly reducing the volume of the shot.
It was developed primarily for special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which often have to work in the city. Therefore, the design was revised, allowing you to fire both single shots and bursts! Of course, a powerful cartridge in combination with a light weight rifle led to the fact that accuracy became seriously affected. However, the solution can be called correct - the automatic fire mode is used only in extreme cases, when the enemy crept up to the sniper too quickly, posing a serious danger to him. At such distances, high accuracy is not too important, but the automatic mode gives the shooter at least some chance of survival. Moreover, in order to blur the whole queue, it is not necessary to switch the “flag” - it is enough to push the trigger to the end.
Fans also modified the Mosin rifle: the bull-pop-layout was not very successful. But the weapon received certain advantages, although, of course, it did not go into circulation.
If we talk about bullpup rifles for snipers, then it is worth mentioning the German Walther WA2000. The first samples came off the assembly line in 1982. The modular system will allow it to be rebuilt for firing with.308 and 7.62x51 caliber cartridges. It is no coincidence that it was equipped with two trunks and two shutters. It has excellent ergonomics and compactness - these are the main advantages of German weapons, which are in demand among professionals around the world. Alas, to achieve this result, I had to seriously fork out: the cost of one rifle was about 10 thousand US dollars. In total, with low resistance to dirt, this played a fatal role - the rifle was produced for only a few years, after which it was discontinued.
Pneumatics
But the bullpup air rifles took root. And the conversation is not about children's toys, but about powerful hunting weapons, which allows you to effectively and completely silently beat small game - from duck to hare. Alas, the cost of a PCP bull-pop rifle is most often simply astronomical - 70-80 thousand rubles and more. True, buying it is quite easy - you do not need to issue special permissions, register weapons.
Only in our country dozens of very successful models are produced. The most famous manufacturer was LLC "Demyan", which has been operating for more than ten years.
One interesting example is the Ataman bullpup rifle. It is produced in various modifications and for different ammunition. High accuracy of the battle is ensured by a rifled chrome barrel. Weapons weighs only 3 kilograms. But the pressure in the tank is simply huge: the working indicator is 300 atmospheres. So, an experienced shooter will easily make an accurate shot at a great distance, having shot, for example, a hare or a partridge.
Quite popular and rifle "Huntsman" bullpup from the company ROCK. These rifles are considered one of the best not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Suitable for firing different types of ammunition, depending on its purpose. These bullpup air rifles will be a good choice for both hunters and ordinary athletes who like to shoot at banks or targets in the shooting range.
Widely known in certain circles and the rifle Kral bullpup. The choice here is simply huge, starting with sniper rifles and ending with shotguns. So such a weapon would be a great opportunity to get used to the real, military.
Finally, hunters and athletes will surely enjoy the Matador air bullpup rifles from EDgun. The assortment of the company also has pistols and a huge selection of accessories for improving and servicing weapons. A wide choice will allow each potential buyer to choose the option that suits him.
Prospects for the bullpup system
Arms disputes about the future of this arrangement have been ongoing for a long time. Alas, as practice shows, many countries, burnt by the widespread use of rifles and bullpup rifles, still return to the standard layout. So, it has long been rumored that the French government intends to abandon the Famas rifle by switching to conventional assault rifles.
Israel, having armed its soldier with TAR21 assault rifles in 2004, is now actively selling these weapons to civilians - apparently, weapons will subsequently be carried out.
So we can say with certainty that the future of mass small arms remains with the usual layout, and not with the bullpups.
