The Pros & Cons Of Bullpup Firearms

With anything great comes its own set of disadvantages. We’re here to discuss the perks and potential drawbacks of the bullpup platform.

The most distinctive aspect about any bullpup firearm, be it a shotgun or rifle, is that their magazines, receivers and actions are positioned further back than what is considered to be conventional. That is, these guns’ actions are found behind the triggers and pistol grips as opposed to being located in front of them. As we’ve previously discussed here, bullpup firearms and their alternative configurations are nothing new in the world of firearms. Conceptually they date back over a century.

Straight to the Point – The Advantages and Disadvantages

For duty and military use, bullpup firearms finally became popular after the end of the Second World War. At this point in time, modern armies were moving away from heavy, low capacity infantry rifles and replacing them with lighter and handier assault rifles chambered for intermediate cartridges. This new crop of military rifles made more sense for maneuver warfare. Keep in mind that the assumption during the Cold War era was that troops would roll in armored personnel carriers across Eastern Europe.

As with anything else in the world of guns (or life), everything comes with  trade-offs and this includes bullpup firearms.

Benefits Of the Bullpup Platform Explained

Designed With Maneuverability in Mind

The strongest argument in favor of bullpup firearms is that their alternative design philosophy results in a weapon that uses space very efficiently. The overall firearm is inherently condensed and becomes an overall shorter package because the action and magazine-well occupy the same exact space as the stock. It’s no different than living in a high-efficiency studio apartment where one room serves many functions. Having the action positioned in the rear also means that the breech of the barrel sits further back. This helps the bullpup’s overall length because its muzzle does not protrude as far forward as the muzzle of a conventional rifle with the same barrel length.

This is one of the reasons the Tavor rifle became the choice of many units of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). Given Israel’s geography, much of the IDF’s operational environments consist of dense close-quarters urban terrain, so having a highly maneuverable weapon is a strong advantage. Outside of tactical situations, the bullpup’s compact build also makes it easier to stow away or carry.

Their Compact and Balanced Design is Ideal For Home-Defense

For the civilian at home, the bullpup’s size is an advantage for home-defense scenarios, especially when it comes to moving around corners and rooms inside a dwelling. Also, because the action and magazine are set to the rear of the firearm, there is something to be said for a bullpup’s center of gravity being closer to the shooter’s body and thus easier to hold for a long period.

Think about how much easier it would be to hug a 15-lb dumbbell against your chest versus holding it with your arms outstretched and fighting gravity. The same physical phenomenon applies to firearms. Think also about interacting with objects in your home around the firearm. It is much easier to control a bullpup in a ready position with a single hand than a conventional rifle. You can open or close a door, dial a phone, or move someone while maintaining a useful amount of control of the firearm. 

The Potential Limitations Associated With The Bullpup Platform

Fixed Length Of Pull

The bullpup’s biggest advantage can also be its biggest drawback. Since the action and magazine are crammed into the stock area, these firearms almost universally have a fixed length of pull (LOP). LOP refers to the distance between the back of the stock to the trigger itself and stock length is the biggest variable that affects this measurement. As a rule of thumb, bullpup rifles don’t typically have collapsible stocks the way AR-15s or other conventional defensive rifles do. Bullpups are one size fits most, and changing the size means changing a part–usually the buttplate.

Limited Rail Space

Another potential drawback of a bullpup rifle is that their shorter overall lengths mean that they have shorter overall rail spaces for mounting optics and supporting equipment like tactical lights; bullpup real estate is at a premium. Fortunately, nowadays the industry is chock-full of all types of rifle optics big or small, which makes this only a minor hassle (but one to keep in mind). Regardless of how you set up your own optics and support gear, space will run out sooner on a bullpup.

Certain Ambi Limitations

There are other aspects of bullpup firearms that seemingly come up in their “cons” column, and these are their triggers and the fact that they’re not as ambidextrous friendly as other guns.

Most bullpups, be they IWI’s Tavors or other competitors’ models, can easily be converted to fire from the left or right side in order to ensure that the brass doesn’t eject towards the user. And yes, this does mean that bullpup firearms will be much more restricted to the user’s primary shoulder than a conventional rifle. Modern bullpup rifles can be switched from “right to left” mode in a matter of minutes. They’re nothing like the first generation of post-war bullpups which were designed for right handed shooters only. In fairness, post World War Two conventional rifles were also designed for right-handed use too. Everyone in every military or police force was simply right handed. And if you weren’t, the army issued you some right-handedness.

This leads to the next point: bullpup triggers.

Bullpup triggers have a bad rap for not being as smooth or user-friendly as those found on more conventional rifles, and the “linkage” connecting the actual trigger shoe to the rest of the action sitting behind it often gets the blame. While a bullpup trigger linkage may not be as smooth as a good conventional trigger, the reality has more to do with military and government procurement than the fundamental design concept of placing the action and magazine further to the rear.

After all, “official” buyers looking to outfit a police or military force with fighting rifles aren’t as concerned with the individual rifle’s trigger pull. Especially not the same way a private citizen who spends time shooting matches would care. Agencies and organizations check off boxes in their requirement lists with considerations like how ‘safe’ the trigger is for a (potentially) conscript soldier, not how smoothly the trigger operates for a sophisticated shooter. This is one of the reasons why many firearms have heavy aftermarket support when it comes to upgraded triggers–not just bullpups.

Choose the Platform That Best Suits Your Needs

Everything in firearms comes with  trade-offs, and bullpup rifles aren’t any more immune to this than other guns. It’s fair to point out that these types of firearms may not be for everyone. The customer is always right in matters of taste. Unfortunately, there are many myths and misunderstandings that still plague the bullpup platform. Bullpups are erroneously compared to conventional rifles, with preference and hearsay standing in for objective information. Both long-gun styles have their nuances the way pistols and revolvers have theirs. Fortunately, IWI offers its customers proven bullpup firearms, such as the Tavor X95, Tavor 7, and the TS12 bullpup shotgun.

Prior training and history with one design or the other will always leave a strong impression on someone’s preferences, much like how someone’s first firearm tends to remain one of their favorites. However, we shouldn’t allow biases and personal preference to overrule consideration of good tools just because a user simply has less experience with one style vs another.