Conventional sporter rifles, carbines, bullpups, or semi-bullpups? I’ll talk about the guns I gravitate to for field work.
Love a Compact Hunting Rig
I am frequently asked what I look for in a hunting rifle? There are the nonnegotiable requirements of accuracy, appropriate power, reliability, and ergonomics. For me, there is a second level of attributes that could be considered key preferences, such as sound suppression, adjustability, and compactness. As a matter of fact, the latter is so important as to almost reach the level of a baseline requirement. This “quasi-requirement” of compactness can be achieved using carbines, semi-bullpups, or bullpups.
A carbine is essentially a short barreled rifle, typically less than 18″ LOA, and the stock is usually of smaller dimensions and more minimalist. Bullpups were an acquired taste for me, as my preference had run towards traditional sporter stocks with a carbine length barrel. Bullpups are in many ways, the polar opposite of this aesthetic. But there is a good reason the design has become so prevalent, it works! The semi-bullpup is a great option in my opinion, because it provides the benefits of a bullpup but fits and shoots like a carbine.
In the most basic terms, a bullpup is defined as an airgun with an action that is located behind the trigger instead of in front of it, and the receiver is shifted to the rear of the buttstock. This allows a full length barrel (as opposed to a carbine length barrel) to be used while the overall length of the gun remains compact. Many bullpup airguns use a similar one piece stock design, often a thumbhole stock with a pistol grip. The trend for bottle forward designs has gained a lot of traction over the last few years, serving the dual purpose of onboard air storage and the guns forestock.
With the action moved behind the trigger, in many of the earlier designs the loading port and the cocking mechanism were also positioned toward the buttstock. However, most modern designs have moved the cocking mechanism into a more standard position further forward. This makes loading and cycling the bullpup much faster and easier to accomplish. The semi-bullpup has the trigger positioned forward, but the receiver is not moved as far back on the buttstock.
Pros and Cons
In my experience there are advantages with the bullpup and semi-bullpup design in a hunting application. They are generally more compact than even a carbine but can still implement a full length rifle barrel and a larger air storage. This may or may not result in a lighter gun. However, my experience has been that even with a heavier bullpup the weight is distributed so as to distribute the weight into the shooters center of gravity, providing a stable hold for offhand shooting.
Another significant advantage is that the shorter overall length of the bullpup and semi-bullpup is more maneuverable in confined spaces. This might be shooting from inside a vehicle, a blind, or when moving through very thick brush. These guns are also much easier to travel with, which is important to me when heading out on the road. There is often a need to travel by air and to check multiple guns with my baggage, and I can pack a bullpup into a much smaller hardcase, or even pack two or more bullpups into a standard sized case.
The disadvantages associated with PCP bullpups are that depending on the design the cheek-weld might be uncomfortable and the line of sight suboptimal, however most of the current models have addressed these ergonomic issues. It was also a common perception that the triggers on some bullpups could be pretty sloppy with a lot of creep and overtravel related to the linkage components used between the trigger and the repositioned action. This may be true in budget level guns, it has been addressed in most modern gun designs, especially the guns like the BRK Ghost Bullpup and Brocock Sniper Sahara semi-bullpup that I’ve been hunting with this year, with the triggers on a par or even exceeding many full sized premium rifles.
My caliber preference for compact rigs used to hunt small game is .25 or .30 caliber, applying the same rationale I’ve mentioned for hunting rifles in the past. In a high power gun, these larger calibers are fairly flat shooting, hit like a sledgehammer, can be exceedingly accurate, and the projectiles carry well for longer range shooting. And since the bullpup and semi use a full length barrel and often has a high volume air storage, their efficiency and performance with a larger caliber is comparable to a full sized rifle.
There are several ways to carry these compact guns in the field. You can use a standard rifle sling with a swivel mount in the stock and attached to either the fore stock mounted swivel or via a bottle-band up front. I have also found that the 3-point slings developed for tactical firearms can work well on many bullpup configurations. The standard sling is more comfortable to carry over longer distances, but the 3-point systems deploy faster.
The scopes and other optics I use on my hunting bullpups are diverse, though I gravitate towards more compact optics. I have a hard time justifying a large, heavy, high power scope on an otherwise compact gun. Unless long range shooting is the order of the day, such as when shooting prairie dogs for instance, magnification greater than 9x is not that useful. On the other hand, most (although not all) higher magnification scopes tend to be quite large. In most settings, this higher magnification is not worth the inconvenience of a larger and heavier scope.
Compact guns, especially for small game hunting always rate high with me, be they carbines, bullpups or semi-bullpups. They are easy to move around with, in my opinion they are easier to shoot offhand than most full sized rifles, they take less room to pack when space is at a premium, and some (but not all) are ergonomic and very shootable. Of the three styles, at this time my favorite bullpup is the BRK Ghost, and my favorite semi-bullpup is the Brocock Sahara, both in .30. I still love my elegant Huntsman’s Classic styling but find myself reaching for a bullpup or semi-bullpup more often than I would have ever imagined, based on form following function!
What’s Up Next?
We’re getting into summer, and hunting slows down a bit. I plan to get out for some target shooting, and deciding which gun to use at Extreme Bench Rest this year. I’ve got my range set up on a friends farm about an hour south, and plan on spending a couple days per week on the bench. Not only to get in some BR practice, but also because there are a lot of new guns to try out!
I also recently sat in on a discussion for an upcoming editorial piece in Airgun World Magazine, in which the topic was the potential impact of the current trade environment on the global airgun market. It was written more in the context of how it impacts the British businesses, and my part was small, but it will be an interesting read.
And a final note: if there is anything in particular relating to airgun hunting that you’d like me to take a look at, shoot me an email and I’ll put it on the list. Hope everyone enjoys the warm months ahead, and keep coming back, should have some interesting content coming at you!
