9 replies to this topic

[Krieger22]

I've seen lots of discussions on the pros and cons of bullpup assault rifles, but never one concerning sniper rifles. So, what do they bring to the table? I know they can be shorter (like any rifle with such a design), but are there any other benefits?

[Destiny]

Less affected by the thing you are mounting it on, i.e. terrain.

[Hobbesy]

They don't necessarily have to be shorter. A bullpup design allows you to have a longer barrel since the bulk of it is in the rifle, which means a higher muzzle velocity for whatever you're shooting. The only real offsets to having a bullpup system, is that the weapon isn't as balanced as a rifle normally would be since all the weight is in the back. This is pretty bad for assault rifles and such, seeing as how it contributes to muzzle rise, but this isn't as much of a problem for a sniper rifle seeing as how you're not exactly going to be spraying full automatic enough to get the effect. The biggest disadvantage I can think of off the top of my head would be the trigger pull, which has been talked about quite a bit for bullpup rifles tooled for accuracy. This could probably be tweaked to the shooter's preferences, though.

One thing to note is that most bullpup sniper rifles are automatic, and issued to special forces. This is because bullpup weapon excel in close quarters situations, and urban combat. The great thing about a bullpup weapon in an urban environment, is the magazine. While it's normally pretty awkward to reload something that's bullpup, it's not so much in a cramped space since the weapon is so short. It's pretty obvious what the other benefits would be, especially with assault rifles since the lack of weight in the front makes the gun easier to swing around and traverse in a limited space, but also that you can have a full sized assault rifle or sniper rifle in the same situation which makes bullpup weapons incredibly versatile.

Edited by Hobbesy, 04 July 2011 - 10:28.

[Chyros]

Like all bullpups, they are more ugly than other weapons .

[Krieger22]

One thing I've thought of. Why are bullpup sniper rifles invariably more obscure than non-bullpup ones?

Edited by Krieger22, 05 July 2011 - 10:23.

[Destiny]

Blame video games for only showing all the cool LOAD MAG AT FRONT MIDDLE SNIPAH RIFULESSS. I'd say the gun industry doesn't have much experience in the bullpup sniper rifle yet, but...yeah

Edited by Destiny, 05 July 2011 - 15:00.

[Camille]

Chyros, on 4 Jul 2011, 14:42, said:

Like all bullpups, they are more ugly than other weapons .

funny, i think they look more interesting and futuristic

[ΓΛPTΘΓ]

A bullpup layout sniper rifle will have more disadvantage than advantage for military sniping usage.

Firstly, the MAJOR disadvantage. Accuracy is not only affect by the length of the barrel, a bullpup designed weapon system will have difficulty implementing a good free floating barrel in the design therefore greatly hampers accuracy.

Secondly, a rifle with most the weight at the back can make aiming more difficult than a more balanced rifle, where at extreme range makes all the differences.

Thirdly, snipers often hand load the rounds in the chamber and a bullpup designed weapon makes inspecting the chamber and loading in prone position very difficult.

Fourth point, the additional weight at the back and lack of weight at the front makes firing large calibre rounds far less controllable, where most snipers will use rounds from 7.62 upwards. It might be fine for a few shots, but for a prolong engagement the sniper might have to take multiple follow up shots, if the recoil control is more difficult, it would affect the follow up shot being on time or 1 second late.

5th, firing large rounds will kick up dirt, bullpup design will bring the muzzle closer to the shooter and the dirt being kicked up closer as well.

[Chyros]

You also can't catch the rounds that the weapon ejects. Some snipers do this to prevent the ejected rounds from giving them away. Although they only do that with bolt-actions.

Edited by Chyros, 10 July 2011 - 09:29.

[Destiny]

If they wanted to they'd just use a spent shell casing bag :|