My only experience with bullpups are from using the Muzzelite kits on my Marlin Camp 9 and a Mini-14. It's a strange feeling at first, but you get used to them very quickly. To me it's a great way to make a short, easy to handle and well balanced rifle without shortening the barrel. People always seem to want short carbines, as shown by all the shorty AR-15's being sold. To me, that just reduces velocity and sight radius and gains nothing in return.
The drawback to the bullpup kits, and from what I've heard, the factory models also, is the trigger linkage. It's pretty hard to get a smooth, precise trigger when everything is connected by linkage. Until they solve that problem, I don't think they'll ever be popular.
I can totally see a bullpup for hunting. The shortness and balance would be a bonus in heavy brush. Just cuz it looks tacti-cool doesn't mean you have to hang all the tacti-cool stuff on it and turn it into a rooney gun. My Muzzelites only have optics and that's just because the sights that come on the kits aren't all that precise.
The drawback to the bullpup kits, and from what I've heard, the factory models also, is the trigger linkage. It's pretty hard to get a smooth, precise trigger when everything is connected by linkage. Until they solve that problem, I don't think they'll ever be popular.
I can totally see a bullpup for hunting. The shortness and balance would be a bonus in heavy brush. Just cuz it looks tacti-cool doesn't mean you have to hang all the tacti-cool stuff on it and turn it into a rooney gun. My Muzzelites only have optics and that's just because the sights that come on the kits aren't all that precise.