In the history of warfare, weapon advancements have stayed priority to gain an edge in battle. By re-arranging the conventional rifle configuration to a bullpup design, a more accurate and compact rifle is created. Simply moving the trigger and action in front of the magazine may reduce casualties by increasing standard issue firearms effectiveness. Since the bullpup design allows for such advantages, the configuration should be considered for a government contract to implement into service.

The most influential piece written on the topic of bull pup versus conventional rifle design is the “Biomechanical and Performance Implications of Weapon Design”. Taking volunteers that ranged from no experience with guns to veteran shooters, the study concluded that there are significant advantages to the bullpup design over the traditional. While the majority of participants preferred the conventional, the evidence in the experiment clearly noted the bull pup design allowed for better accuracy overall. 

This increase in accuracy allows for a more likely shot at hitting center mass on an individual’s body, which in turn makes the shooter more effective. Increased effectiveness on the battlefront can be directly related to stopping power, or the potency of a single bullet. This potency power gives more security to a soldier who would also be down range from enemy fire. With the priority of the military to have as little casualties, while also carrying out tasks at hand, the bullpup rifle configuration allows for this. 

Another advantage of the “new school” design is the flexibility aspects. As “The Evolution of Israel Weapon Industries’ TAVOR” points out, with minor changes in configuration, the TAVOR bullpup rifle in particular can be switched from a standard issue version to a larger round. This would then increase stopping power and the weapon’s overall effectiveness multiplies. The rifle still improves its accuracy by the placement of the trigger in front of the magazine and action, allowing for a shorter more mobile firearm. This mobility increases ease of use from simple tasks such as getting in and out of vehicles, to clearing rooms with hostiles. As the Israeli article notes, creating a more functional weapon was a priority when the Israel Weapon Industries was contracted to introduce a new standard issue rifle. The diagram below found by a simple google search displays the basic layout of the more recently developed bullpup style

The opposition to bullpup rifles argue that the action is too close to the shooters face, but with advancements in firearm technology the probability of the action catastrophically failing is much lower than years prior. Assuming the accident is potentially deadly due to the action failing to trigger the ammunition correctly, it is just as likely in the conventional set up. The track record that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have with the TAVOR is a testament to the success of the bullpup rifle configuration in a large scale military force.

The number one priority of this research has been to present findings that will decrease casualties for the US military. As the bullpup rifle configuration has proven, in both service and shooting range experiment, the shorter rifle configuration allows for advantageous functionality. Improved accuracy, mobility, flexibility within the internals, this configuration could save lives.
