#Bullpups

Over the weekend  Headstamp Publishing launched their second book –  Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020, written by Jonathan Ferguson of the UK’s Royal Armouries. The new book launched its Kickstarter campaign on the 12th April, it follows Ian McCollum’s book on French military rifles which has recently begun to ship to backers.

The British Army is set to receive up to 44,000 upgraded L85A3/SA80A3s over the next four to five years. Jane’s 360 Infantry Weapons reports that the UK Ministry of Defence are moving forward with a large contract with Heckler & Koch to upgrade a substantial number of L85A2 rifles.

If I asked you what the first first bullpup rifle was, what would you answer? The Steyr AUG? British EM-2 from the 1950s? The Faucon ‘Balanced Rifle’ from 1911 or maybe the Thorneycroft carbine from the early 1900s?

The Steyr AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr) is a fantastic bullpup known the world over for its reliability and distinctive look. The rifle really does have some great features, and in this video we take it apart to try and show what makes this gun so unique.

Big news at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting 2016, importer Lithgow Arms USA will be bringing the EF88/F90 improved bullpup assault rifle to the USA. The F90 is a variant of the Steyr AUG developed for the Australian Defence Force to replace the F88 (their designation for the AUG) bullpup rifle.

I am an unabashed bullpup rifle afficianado. While I shoot an AR/ARAK in competition, I am constant pulled back to bullpups as a solution to many problems, especially home defense. Hank Strange gets his strange on shooting the two side-by-side. 

Thanks to Henry Reed for this tip.

Masterpiece Arms is displaying this offensively colored bullpup with no plaques or press releases partnered with the mock-up. Working with Charles St George they are working on a gun that is visually similar to his earlier design, the Bushmaster M17S, but chambered in .22 Magnum.

Steyr is celebrating their 150th anniversary, having first established 1864 in Austria. They have also recently moved into a new facility. Thirdly, they are offering a new AUG A3 receiver design, currently titled the “M1”.

Although this isn’t the first year I’ve heard rumor of FN halting production of the FS2000, the conviction has been much stronger recently. With so many forum threads starting up on the subject, including a confirmation from reputable source, I decided to call a few people that have been reliable in the past. On speaking with FN directly, I found the FS2000 Tactical and CQB (above) versions remaining on the FNH USA website is no mistake. The FS2000 is between runs but future sales have not been canceled.