Accuracy of regular size rifle vs. bullpup

[Mikepr]

For me the long size matters only with open sights, you CANT aim with the rear sight near your nose !

So we have optics

Lets measure then, the distance from the back sand bag or shoulder to the front sandbag, bipod or hand, its about the same at both types

So the benefits of BP are 1. keep the mass and the center of gravity closer to body, not front weight, 2. Geometry, assume the gun as a cue of biliard, we try to put our hands at the edges and that what for ? If we keep the cue at the middle like long gun, a small angle at the back moves the front end of the barrel (cue) the double
for example, try to put the bags at the ends of the gun, the gun will be stable, but if the front bag goes near the trigger the front end (barrel) will be very sensitive even at breath

 

[elh0102]

Lot of criticism of BP triggers, probably well deserved. I appreciate good, match quality triggers. I can attest, the Veteran is an exception to the lousy triggers on many bullpups, it is excellent. 

 

[Willie14228]

Lot of criticism of BP triggers, probably well deserved. I appreciate good, match quality triggers. I can attest, the Veteran is an exception to the lousy triggers on many bullpups, it is excellent.

This has a lot to do with quality but I do agree, That being said with new tech available I believe the Bullpup trigger systems are going to find themselves up to par with any other match trigger system. 

 

[shambozzie]

The trigger issue of being bad on bullpups is very subjective. Has a lot to do with particular gun and tuner. This all go back to the old argument of tune or no tune. Early in my airgun venture i got a chance to shoot a Paul Watts tuned springer. Set me on the path of what the hell. Any gun manfactured will benefit from a tear down, cleaned, (big one here, proper lube ) along with the other secret things they do. Everybody need to eat. I help feed Charlie at Georgia airgun, David Slade, Ernest Rowe, AZ, and John in Pa. If your gun perform well out of the box i applaud you. However, if you ever get a chance to shoot or own a gun touched by one of the above or others please do. Bad trigger myth gone

 

[elh0102]

For me the long size matters only with open sights, you CANT aim with the rear sight near your nose !

So we have optics

Lets measure then, the distance from the back sand bag or shoulder to the front sandbag, bipod or hand, its about the same at both types

So the benefits of BP are 1. keep the mass and the center of gravity closer to body, not front weight, 2. Geometry, assume the gun as a cue of biliard, we try to put our hands at the edges and that what for ? If we keep the cue at the middle like long gun, a small angle at the back moves the front end of the barrel (cue) the double
for example, try to put the bags at the ends of the gun, the gun will be stable, but if the front bag goes near the trigger the front end (barrel) will be very sensitive even at breath

I follow what you are saying, and the geometry is as you state. But, here is the rub. For benchrest, the balance point doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference, as the front mechanical rest and the rear bag will be placed for maximum support, and, you are usually using a light pull trigger, which makes a difference. But now, consider position shooting, in which I will include hunting. A between-the-hands balance is not the preference for many such shooters. Most position shooters and hunters need more weight out front for stability. 

 

[Babaganoush]

For normal air gun ranges in the smaller calibers I don’t think rifle or pup style makes much of a difference. 

Getting into the larger airguns with some decent recoil the style may affect shooter accuracy 

There is a reason why snipers haul around a heavy as hell 50BMG. Imagine firing a 30” skeletonized ultra lite 50BMG......the thing would probably rip your fingers off and dislocate your shoulder before sailing over your back. 

 

[Mikepr]

For me the long size matters only with open sights, you CANT aim with the rear sight near your nose !

So we have optics

Lets measure then, the distance from the back sand bag or shoulder to the front sandbag, bipod or hand, its about the same at both types

So the benefits of BP are 1. keep the mass and the center of gravity closer to body, not front weight, 2. Geometry, assume the gun as a cue of biliard, we try to put our hands at the edges and that what for ? If we keep the cue at the middle like long gun, a small angle at the back moves the front end of the barrel (cue) the double
for example, try to put the bags at the ends of the gun, the gun will be stable, but if the front bag goes near the trigger the front end (barrel) will be very sensitive even at breath

I follow what you are saying, and the geometry is as you state. But, here is the rub. For benchrest, the balance point doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference, as the front mechanical rest and the rear bag will be placed for maximum support, and, you are usually using a light pull trigger, which makes a difference. But now, consider position shooting, in which I will include hunting. A between-the-hands balance is not the preference for many such shooters. Most position shooters and hunters need more weight out front for stability.

I try to tell my opinion to some of my friends but "you cant teach old dog new tricks" some of them cant even put their face at the right place to aim !

For me the extra weight front of my hand make the aim difficult, hunting position

As for the front mechanical rest and the bag at the back is the same at both guns, the difference is the BP minimize the movement at the front of the barrel

 

[Cranky1]

I have a streamline 22, r5m long 25 and Uragan compact22. The streamline and edgun are much easier for me to shoot groups with off a bench. The Uragan compact is the easies to shoot offhand followed by the edgun. I personally like the pull pup, especially a longer one. If I was going to bench shoot mainly it would be a regular rifle or longer bull pup. For a stalking squirrel gun I would go with something really short, Uragan compact or Lelya/ Leshiy. All good for 75ish yards on squirrels. 

 

[sonny]

The bobcat and impact have won and placed high in extreme bench rest. Both essentially have a 24 inch barrel and then some on the 700mm barrels today. I believe its an acquired skill and at airgun distances at least, its a toss up. I shoot both bp and traditional equally.

 

[saxon57]

I have a fx wildcat. 25. First time taking it out I shot a five shot group at 50 yards. It was a very small ragged hole, I was amazed! The trigger is the best I've ever tried. Not sure what the most accurate is, I just love my wildcat.

 

[Twitterzone]

You're absolutely right to consider the rifle's design when aiming for accuracy, especially over longer distances. The placement of the eye relative to the barrel can affect how you align your shot and maintain consistency. Professional snipers often opt for traditional rifle configurations because they provide a stable shooting platform and familiarity in critical situations. As for my experience, I found that using a more conventional rifle layout helped me improve my accuracy at extended ranges. It's all about comfort and muscle memory, which play a huge role in precise shooting.

 

[rokonman]

I have both in Airguns and real guns. I won’t be shooting groundhogs at 700yrds with my bullpup no matter how much money I dump into it. Bullpups were designed for close quarter combat. Yes, at airgun distances you can develop the skills to be very accurate with a pup, but it’s way easier with a traditional rifle. Nothing good comes from having a scope that far above the bores axis. But that’s what it takes to have a comfortable repeatable cheek weld for accuracy. Guys who love bullpup airguns convince themselves to be accurate with them and do what it takes. I know, I am one of them. But when I pull out one of my traditional air rifles and shoot 100yrds, it’s so easy. They just lay in the bags or handle on a bipod so much better.

I own more powder burners than Airguns. On average my Airguns are more expensive per unit. I think we can call them real guns. Southwick Saturday!

 

[jps2486]

Depends on the guy pulling the trigger

 

[JungleShooter]

Traditional rifle configurations [...] provide [...] familiarity in critical situations. A more conventional rifle layout helped me improve — [...] it's all about comfort and muscle memory, which play a huge role in precise shooting.

Yupp, to me you seem to be pointing in the right direction:

Non-bullpups shoot with better accuracy because:
▪︎ from previous shooting experience the shooter has more familiarity with that layout of a rifle

▪︎ the shooter feels more comfortable because of that past experience

▪︎ the shooter has developed muscle memory for the traditional layout




But for people like me who have very little experience with shooting traditional rifles — this does not apply....


️ It seems to me that it is not the design of the gun itself that makes the difference in accuracy/precision.
Instead, it is the shooter and their past experience with traditionally shaped guns: The more experience with the traditional shape — the larger the perceived difference in accuracy/precision between a bullpup and a traditional rifle — for that particular shooter....


Matthias

 

[mubhaur]

For accuracy I would pick traditional style rifle every day

 

[Emu]

IMPORTANT NEW discovered FACT:

Vulcan 3 700 mm ( call it bullpup or not) is EXTREMLY accurate at 330 yards.

 

[coastal drifter]

My opinion is it's not the weapon but the shooter. I have seen people that can hit a 6 inch target at 50 yards with a snub nose revolver that most including myself couldn't hit with a long iron (off hand). Lots of bull pups have won the EBR. I can shoot my Impact just as accurately as my Boss. Both are great precision built guns with great triggers.

 

[Solo1]

First of all there is a big difference between shooting an air rifle and a 308. Probably bigger than a 308 to a 50 bmg.
Now just shooting air rifles the difference comes down to 2 major factors and several smaller ones. Weight and balance are the big ones and will be different for different people. I shoot a ghost in field target and am almost as steady as benched. I can also shoot a revere but am slightly better with the ghost mostly because of weight. Without going much deeper it really depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the shooter either can be as accurate as the shooter can be.

 

[JimD]

I am also of the opinion that it matters more what you are comfortable with than the style of the gun. I like bullpups and I shoot them in the 30 yard challenge informal competition here. I'm not great but I did shoot a 200 last year. My best this year is a 199. Both with bullpups.

I built a new bench which is about twice as heavy (but still only 38 lbs) and noticed I shot my taller Caiman better off the new bench than my older P35-22. The P35-22 gave me a 200 last year and a 197 in relatively few targets so far this year. But on the new bench I was shooting in the 180s. I think I have traced this to the new bench being a little (maybe an inch) shorter than the old. The Caiman is tall and was a bit of a reach for me off the old bench but is comfortable on the new one. I think I was putting a little too much of me on the P35 on the new bench because it is a little shorter. I've switch the bipod to a taller one on the P35 and it seems to be helping.

This isn't the style of a gun changing, both are bullpups, but just getting more comfortable/better situated behind them can make a difference.

 

[wooferocau]

I have both in Airguns and real guns. I won’t be shooting groundhogs at 700yrds with my bullpup no matter how much money I dump into it. Bullpups were designed for close quarter combat. Yes, at airgun distances you can develop the skills to be very accurate with a pup, but it’s way easier with a traditional rifle. Nothing good comes from having a scope that far above the bores axis. But that’s what it takes to have a comfortable repeatable cheek weld for accuracy. Guys who love bullpup airguns convince themselves to be accurate with them and do what it takes. I know, I am one of them. But when I pull out one of my traditional air rifles and shoot 100yrds, it’s so easy. They just lay in the bags or handle on a bipod so much better.

I have some of the finest rifles money can buy...
Accuracy International AWSM...AXMC... 338lap, 300wm
DSR-1 ....338lap
Sako TRG42 TRG22 338lap,308
Unique Alpine TPG-1 300wm ,308
Desert Tech SRS 6.5cm, 300wm,338lap
Desert Tech HTI.375 Cheytac,50bmg

As well as many customs.

I shoot regularly out to 3000 mtrs.

I can assure you that "Bullpups" are as.... and in some cases more accurate at distance than "conventional " rifle configuration!!!

Bullpups ( DSR 1...SRS...HTI ) are exceptional at distance far exceeding any of my "Long " guns in regards accuracy

"Bullpup" 1200YDS