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Benjamin Akela For Hunter

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DRAGON64:
I believe that 'bullpups' have been discussed ad nauseum, yet I feel compelled...  I picked up an Akela in .177 not quite a year ago, and I am looking at tuning the rifle to shoot the Crosman 10.3gr pellet to Hunter legal FPE range and velocities.  I also picked up an SWFA fixed 16X42 scope for the effort.  I have an 8-32X60 on it now, but the rifle balances like &^^& with such a heavy and forward facing mount.  I am kicking around the idea of a HUMA regulator, and maybe a hammer spring mod; although I am not a fan of cutting springs.

Has anyone else whot an Akela for Hunter, or maybe successfully run a bullpup?

22Jim:
What others have done should not sway your decision, as they won't be shooting your rifle. There is a reason that bullpups are not seen in large numbers in the hunter class  and not being a bullpup person I can't answer why. That said, if you can consistently put 9 of 10 shots inside a 1.5 circle at 55 yds from your FT position you can compete with just about anyone in Hunter Class. The catch here is "from your FT position". I know many bullpups are extremely accurate from benched or fully supported positions but they seem to lose this precision with a less stable platform. We have a shooter in central CA (Martin) who used a Daystate Pulsar for about a year in our matches. He consistently finished in the top 3 at most of our matches shooting against some of the best Hunter Class shooters in the country. He is now shooting a Air Arms Ultimate Sporter getting the same results. I can only assume that he found the AA easier to shoot in the varying conditions encountered in FT.

I know many of the Akela's are very accurate rifles. Get it set up to your liking and campaign it for a season. The worst that will happen is you will have a lot of fun, get tired of answering questions about the rifle and ultimately we will have someone with enough experience to answer the question of "why don't more people shoot bullpups in FT  ;D

Good Luck
Jim in Amherst

After posting this response I went out and was looking at our updated website and I found a great explanation that will shed some light on the question!
  https://sites.google.com/site/sacvalleyairgunclub/general-topics/half-guns-and-artilleries  Look at the accuracy section

DRAGON64:
Excellent reply Jim, and extremely appreciated.  I like the Akela, but would prefer a Marauder, which was not available at the time of purchase, and I am hoping it will work well for me.  My issue at the moment is getting the balance right.  I currently have an Optisan Viper 8-32X60 mounted on the rifle, and it is very forward facing, making the rifle quite nose heavy.  I love the scope, but I do not wish to fight it while shooting, something I am sure I could manage, I just do not wish to invest the time.  That is why I am picking up one of the SWFA fixed power scopes. 

The article you liked to was quite informative, with regards to the use of a full size rifle, or a shorter bullpup sized rifle.  There were some differences between the two that I need to take into consideration, such as shot count, and rifle stability.  I hope the SWFA will help with the stability, as it will not be as forward facing, nor as heavy.  As for shot count on the higher power settings, I believe HUMA has a regulator now that will help with count and consistency, all of which will take some to tune in

DRAGON64:
So I just received the SWFA scope, and it is a MUCH better fit on this 33" Akela than the Optisan was; forward momentum is moved to the rear, and eye relief is actually moved forward... I can actually get a full cheek weld.  I should mention as well, I had already mounted an SWFA S.S.A.L.T scope mount on the Akela and the the combo really helps to align the eye.  I will try to get some pics up of my proposed Hunter set-up soon.

DRAGON64:
The present configuration is a probably the 'tallest' rifle I have ever fielded, as I usually build with a scope closer to the bore, so this should be interesting...

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