Bullpup calibre choice

[averageplinker]

Hello all,

With lower cost bull pups coming onto the market I am beginning to be tempted. I am hankering after one in .22 but am thinking that with the loopier .22 trajectory and the inevitably high scope, hold over and under are likely to be exaggerated.

Can anyone who shoots a .22 bull pup impart their experiences? Is it ok out to say 30 yards before the effect is noticeable? Does anyone shoot bull pups on both calibres who can compare/contrast the 2?

Cheers

[Brian.Samson]

Hello all,

With lower cost bull pups coming onto the market I am beginning to be tempted. I am hankering after one in .22 but am thinking that with the loopier .22 trajectory and the inevitably high scope, hold over and under are likely to be exaggerated.

Can anyone who shoots a .22 bull pup impart their experiences? Is it ok out to say 30 yards before the effect is noticeable? Does anyone shoot bull pups on both calibres who can compare/contrast the 2?

Cheers

I don't personally shoot a .22 Bullpup, but I do give almost daily advice to hunters setting up their rifles for hunting at my indoor range (many of those have been Bullpup designs, which seem to be in vogue at the moment).

It does depend on the scope height, but as an example, even with a scope mounted 2.5 inches above the barrel, you won't see a massive difference with your holdovers.

With a 2.5" scope height, shooting 16 grain diablos, zero at 27 yards and hunting with a .22 is a complete no-brainer.
Aim dead on for anything between 12 yards and 30 yards and you'll hit within 1/4". Effectively, if it's less than 30 yards - put crosshairs on living thing, pull trigger, go and pick up dead thing.

35 yards is going to be about 1 mildot of holdover. Beyond that range estimation becomes more critical.

If you limit yourself to 30 yards, it's literally just point and shoot. Couldn't be easier.
Stretching that to 35 means you need to holdover by a mildot - if you zero at 27 yards with that setup, there's no holdunder (unless you have a very steep elevated target).

Any more than 35 yards, and you might find things easier with a .177, although you can stretch things a little further by going to a lighter pellet - JSB Express or JSB Express RS (Also sold as Falcon Accuracy Plus)

[averageplinker]

Many thanks for the comprehensive answer.

[Rich]

If I get a bullpup it would mainly be used for standing shots, where the target distance is likely to be within 30 yards and much of it at 20 yards, so 0.22 cal makes sense. I don't think I'd plan to use a bullpup for the type of shooting that goes out to 50 yards or so, such as HFT and FT.