The Problem with Bullpups

I’m not going to lie, I have a love hate feeling towards bullpup rifles. On one hand they’re usually slower to reload, not friendly to left-handed shooters (as somebody who practices shooting with both hands this is annoying), and the triggers usually suck. On the other hand bullpups allow you to bring a full power rifle cartridge to bear without having to lug around an extremely long firearm. Needless to say I’m interested in the IWI TAVOR:

It looks like the perfect combination of ugly as sin and not really being all that ugly. Unfortunately this rifle is looking to have the same problem other bullpup rifles have:

The projected MSRP (for models without optics) will hopefully stay under $2k.

As The Firearm Blog stated this likely means the MSRP will be right around $1999.99. I wish a reputable manufacturer would release an affordable bullpup rifle because the price is always what gets me. It’s hard to justify spending $2,000 or more on a Steyr Aug when I can get an AR-15 for less than half the cost. The PS90 costs between $1,500 and $2,000 and it’s chambered in an expensive and almost impossible to reload anemic caliber.

I imagine some money could be made by a manufacturer who brings an affordable (let’s say under $1,000) and reliable bullpup rifle to the table.