BULLPUP DESIGN PROBLEM — NEED ADVICE!!!
I am designing a bull pup rifle.
It would look something like the EDGUN, But all the mechanism is totaly of my own design.
In the Autocad drawings, I see that the loading port is located very near the shooters eye.
My Question:
Does this present a safety problem?
What if you forget to close the loading port, and pull the trigger?
Does this happen, and can you get injured?
There would be an air blast and maybe the bullet gets ejected out the loading port, causing an injury!
The gun will be .357 caliber and 200+ foot pounds energy.
Am I missing something here?
It might be a poor idea to Bull Pup such a powerful rifle?
Any comments from you bull pup owners would be welcome.
Mark
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Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
YN,
Great minds think alike…and we do too! 😆
I’ve actually seen a slug that got ejected in an open bolt firing. It didn’t turn into a high speed projectile or anything like that but then this was a regular gun not a bullpup so it wasn’t close to anyone’s eye to start with. The slug didn’t go far and didn’t carry enough energy to “put yer eye out” but it might have scrtched your eye etc. I was surprised that the slug came out too but I guess it all depends on how well loaded the slug is when you forget to close the bolt. This only happened a couple weeks ago so it is timely that this post question comes up now.
My personal failure was last year and the slug stayed in place because I had fully seated it ahead of the air port but then dislodged or failed to close the bolt. Good thing the bolt was well made and the double keys in the breach housing stopped it. I’ve heard of others (and talked to one victim) who have had far worse outcomes. Nothing like a bolt coming out the back of the gun and into your teeth to ruin a good day at the range!
I see Jerry suggested something similar but even simpler. 😳
Just make a peice that sticks out from bolt stopping the cover from closing unless its rotated – when cover is up you cannot get cheek weld so know there is something up.
Air Blast isnt very nice – but I dont see a projectile in the barrel ahead of the breech opening and the air port coming back out through the same opening you placed it in.
Wow Jerry!
That sounds like a good idea.
If the Cheekrest isnt in place, the gun is not ready to shoot.
Thanks for the clarification.
Buba b:
Your right, some sort of an interlock between the bolt and the hammer might be easy, the two parts are close together. Maybe a rod that is moved by the bolt locking over, that moves a hammer blocker.
Or Maybe Something like the transfer bar on a ruger handgun but the transfer bar is operated by the rotation of the bolt handle.
Good ideas are everywhere!
This is the power of collaboration, provided by this forum!
Thanks!
Mark
The cheekrest I had in mind isn’t all that complicated. Just think of the top of a stock being cut off and the a hinge put on the left side. The folding top of the stock is hollowed out to make room for the steel parts of the gun. Oh the right side there is a notch cut that fits over the bolt handle stem when the bolt is closed and turned down to lock it. If the bolt is in any other position the top of the stock can’t fully go into shooting position because it hits the open bolt handle.
Jerrys idea of a check piece that would need to be locked into position , maybe releasing a lever thats stops the hammer being released , would be intresting and not to hard to design , tricky to build LoL.
A simple solution would be to have a slot in the top of the hammer . If you did fire the gun without cocking the probe forwards, the hammer would collect the probe and with the probe being longer than the travel of the hammer would ” nearly “seal before the valve fully opens . Its a tricky bit of timing and design ,and what the blast of 200+FPE will do with this crap idea is another thing .
Or just put a magazine in it , which would dissipate any blast , bit of a big mag thou ! 😯 .
L8r 😀
Jerry:
So it does happen!
Those sound like good ideas.
It might be complicated to design an interlock that will prevent a discharge unless the bolt is closed. But maybe it can be done?
I see….., the cheekrest is a “Blast Deflector”.
A fixed blast Deflector would be easy to build. It could direct all the blast to the side. It would need to be tall enough to get your fingers under, so you could place the bullet in the port.
What about making the loading port open to the right side, so the blast was directed away from the shooter?
People may be getting away with this safety problem because of low power (under 30 FPE) designs, but at 200+FPE, it may be a real problem?
In order to figure out where and how to mount the scope, I drew up my Leapers scope and drew an eyeball at the correct distance from the rear of the scope. Then Iam looking at how close the eyeball is to the loading port. Thats how I discovered the problem.
On another subject:
Thinking about how to incorporate a “T” shaped “Charging Handle”, like on an AR-15, to cock the hammer — wouldnt that be cool?
Mark
You have some very valid concerns there. I’ve witnessed guns fired without closing the bolt and did it once myself. It happens. And yes, there will be a dangerous blast of air and the bullet will probably be ejected.
Perhaps you can design in an interlock that prevents the trigger from being pulled with the bolt open. Or, you could incorporate a folding cheek rest that covers the loading port. The cheek rest might even be designed such that it does not close completely unless the bolt is closed all the way.
Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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How about a sliding cover that shields the user when it is in place.
Perhaps it could be activated/deactivated by the cocking lever?
It would look a bit like the port cover on a spring powered sidelever airgun???