I've never fired the bullpups, but the few people I know who have really like it. I have never heard of any of them being a match rifle, though. I can see they'd be fast to get on target and effective in a close-in environment (say, less than 50 yds).

Back in the olden days, a gun was really an edged weapon (like a pike) with a bullet fired out of the end. The poor sod carrying the thing got his one shot and then hacked at his enemy. This theory reached it's maximum development with the British and the Brown Bess--with tactics to match the design of the weapon. Dense company of men in ranks with sequenced fire followed by bayonet work in close. Muskets and then rifles continued with the alternative use as a pike through WWI, the last war where generals though it was a good idea to use bayonet charges against machine guns.

Since then bayonets have been rarely used except as a last resort or under extraordinary circumstances. Given a bayonet situation, I'd rather have an '03 Springfield than a bullpup design. In other words, is the bayonet now as much a relict of former tactics as a saber?

B