Tom, I didn't take your comment badly, it was the truth. I should not have been so abrupt myself but I was tired and did not consider my words sufficiently.
I have tried the AUG, the Bushmasters (M-17S and the"Arm Pistol") , the CIA AK conversion and the FAMAS (in passing) and a few others, so I have some understanding of this type of weapon. The only, the single advantage of the bullpup is it's short overall length versus the barrel length. If I were in a position where the LENGTH of my rifle was utterly critical and I wanted a full power rifle as opposed to a submachinegun or other very compact firearm I would use a bullpup, but frankly, unless I am being transported in a car trunk (and a sub-compact car at that) I don't see where it would be an issue. It might be convenient under certain circumstances, like fighting from inside a car or some such, but it would hardly be critical.
The downsides of the design are numerous;
Increased complication of the weapon, primarily due to the long trigger system (up to 12")
Poor balance, you put the bulk of the weapons weight BEHIND your hands, not between them.
Poor mag replacement ergos, you change mags under your face.
Excessive height, try getting in a low prone with an AUG.
Reduced ambidextrous usage, mostly you either have to take the weapon apart or do Yoga moves to fire left-handed.
Unsuitable for hand to hand combat, unless you play cricket it's not even a good bat.
I could go on but the point is that current bullpups are poorly designed for combat, mostly because they are conventional weapons altered to put the action in the butt-stock rather than being designed from the ground up as proprietary designs. I am sure I could probably design a bullpup that would be far better than anything I have seen thus far, but many of the problems would remain and such a weapon would likely require radical departures from conventional designs (like the G-11 or worse) so you have all new problems making it a reliable battlefield weapon.
All of which would go to doing one thing, making a short weapon with a long barrel which, IM (not so) HO, has little purpose in the first place except under very special circumstances.
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