Oh joy! Another ugly, Bull-pup replacement for the AR15 because people still believe a 16” barreled AR is somehow Too Long? Uhh, ok. And with the incredible savings in length comes absolutely NO WEIGHT savings! Weighing in at 8lbs, it’s like carrying a full size AK47 around! Not to mention, while people complain incessantly about triggers, somehow they just don’t care about the awful feel that a Bull-Pup trigger musters. With a long trigger bar and excess parts adding to inconsistent pull weight, and mushy, grittiness to boot. But it’s ok… because you will no longer trip over the barrel, right? I mean because that has always been a big problem, right? LOL!
I’m sorry. Just having a go. I’ve just never been a fan of Bull pup design. From the first time I saw the Steyr AUG in Die Hard, as a kid I immediately thought, “what an UGLY rifle!”. And they just are. But for those who like them, by all means. Go mashugana!
So I get it, you love bullpups! No need to beat a dead horse!
Aesthetics are debatable. To me, Glocks are as visually appealing as a 2x4 but they do the job and are a known commodity. I have a G17, no need to buy more of them and yes, it's an ugly but functional piece of plastic.
Beauty is in the eye of...I find that the various bullpups have interesting looks and especially designs. If you were a firearms designer and was given the assignment, "Full length barrel in the shortest possible OAL for getting in and out of vehicles and tight CQB", not manyother ways it could be accomplished. I find it interesting how the various designers actually customized everything on a bullpup, the stock, the action, magwell, etc. they definitely have more personality than an AR or AK platform rifle. IMHO, once you are familiar with the AR and AK plaforms, all of the rifles that fit into those platforms are basically variations on identical, that's what makes it a platform. How different is a $450 PSA home build AR from a Daniels Defense functionally?
Bullpups are all different, which for many of us make them a bit more interesting.
On a related note though, my HD weapon of choice is a 12ga. I have the Beretta 1301 Tactical. It's OAL is 37.8" I live in a three story townhome. My entire house is super narrow, tall and steep staircases and narrow hallways. The longest engagement distance I could ever face inside my home is probably 15' but I would likely engage in a narrow hallway or stairway. I recently bought the new Smith & Wesson M&P12 Bullpup shotgun. It's OAL is 27.8" a full 10" shorter than the Beretta. The short OAL makes a big difference in my situation in my home. If I had a large home with wide open spaces, it wouldn't. I've practiced drills in my home with likely scenarios and the shorter than most SBS OAL on the M&P 12 is demonstrably better for maneuvering and not leading into a room with the barrel of the shotgun that can be grabbed and possibly wrestled away from me. Really not much to grab on the M&P 12. In my case, a bullpup shotgun makes perfect sense.
Triggers? Yes, my ARs and even AK with the Tapco G2 will be superior. With the popularity of the Hellion, someone will be making a better trigger for it, just like they have for the Tavor X95. I have several ARs, an AR pistol, shotguns, plenty of handguns. I don't intend to replace my ARs with the Tavor or the Hellion. ARs are boringly predictable (that's part of what makes them great) and a genius-designed platform, it would still be my gun of choice for any real life, non range situation and I obviously still enjoy shooting my ARs at the range. The bullpups to me, are a fascinating design exercise and I will likely acquire both the Tavor X95 and the Hellion because, why not? Guns get pretty boring if all you do is own and shoot the same old thing. If you saw my collection, I would definitely call it esoteric because variety is the spice of life. I don't think bullpups are operationally as good as the AR or AK, but that doesn't make them any less fun to own or shoot.
I have had some guns that I regretted. A semi auto Uzi was one. It was REALLY heavy (wood stocked model) that weighed in at over 11lbs. It shot the anemic 9mm (in a rifle) cartridge which for outdoor fun on a 100 yard range was incredibly boring to shoot. It had the absolute worst trigger I have ever encountered on any firearm. Even after a $300 trigger job, it was still horrendous. I always wanted an Uzi, I had shot plenty of FA Uzis so I bought one. It was a terrible gun in the configuration I had to own it in (non collapsing shoulder stock, 16" barrel, grip fin, etc.) Great gun as a 10" barrel SMG, a ton of fun to shoot, but awful, horrible gun as a PCC plinker. Even with all of that, I don't regret buying it because I was always curious what it would be like to own my own Uzi. I'm glad I did. Unlike a lot of gun owners, I tend to want to explore and try/own different firearms, calibers, designs, ages and types of firearms, that's what makes gun ownership interesting to me. Maybe I'lll regret buying the Tavor and Hellion. But I can always sell them if I hate them, probably for not even much of a loss. At least then I'll know what I would have missed.