What’s a bullpup air gun?

If you’ve looked at any air gun dealers or manufacturers website lately, you’ve likely seen a fairly radical looking gun called a bullpup.

A bullpup isn’t a brand name or model of one specific brand. “Bullpup” is a name that describes a type of configuration for air guns, and for conventional rifles too.

So what’s the deal with bullpups?

According to pyramydair.com, the most commonly-recognized definition of a bullpup is a rifle which has the magazine and the action located behind the trigger. This gives the gun a pretty unique, if not radical, look.

But what’s the reason for configuring a gun this way?

The idea for a bullpup didn’t originate with air guns. Instead, the idea first came to life in 1901 when the British military began using the bullpup-configured Thorneycroft carbine. The Thorneycroft featured the same length barrel as England’s Lee-Enfield rifle, but the gun itself was more than 7 inches shorter, and 10-percent lighter.

Then, it the 1960s, the Austrians developed the StG 77, which saw many improvements in performance over the Thorneycroft, which tested so poorly that the Brits abandoned it.

Bullpup-configured conventional rifles are now standard issue for armed forces in Austria, the UK, Australia, China and Israel, as well as numerous national police forces all over the world.

Air gun manufacturers got into the bullpup configuration, and even though these type guns don’t dominate the air gun landscape, they are growing in popularity, and almost every air gun manufacturer now has at least one bullpup model in their lineups.

And bullpup airguns are built in the same way as their conventional counterparts, with a shorter overall length, but barrels that are the same length, and sometimes even longer.

Keeping the barrel length the same provides bullpup air guns with the same power and accuracy of conventional models. Losing overall length, which almost always results in a gun that is also lighter, allows hunters and shooters to maneuver more easily into stands and blinds, and makes it easier to carry, either slung over the shoulder or in a backpack.

The bullpup configuration also makes it easier for hunters to get in and out of a vehicle, and it’s easier to store it.

For hunters hiking into public land and hoping to get away from the crowds, every bit of weight saved helps tremendously, so the bullpup is a great option for those hunters, as well as any other hunters looking for an air gun that’s lighter, easier to get into and out of tight spaces, and easier to carry overall.

In all honesty, I bought a bullpup simply because it’s unique and vastly different than any of my other air guns.

Any time I run into other hunters in the field while carrying it, the bullpup immediately becomes the topic of discussion, and I love sharing my thoughts on air guns in general. And I’m always happy to add another gun to my collection.

Once I hunted with it, I was glad to see that it performs just as well as my conventional air guns.

Bullpups look fairly radical, but they are just another tool in a hunter’s toolbox to help you pursue wild game. Give one a try.

The post “What’s a bullpup air gun?” first appeared on CarolinaSportsman.com.