I have a lot of guns and certainly have a lot of rimfires. But one thing I didn’t have was a bullpup rifle. And before everyone jumps in to tell me all the reasons NO ONE should have a bullpup, I don’t care – I wanted one. They are short, cool looking, and I have plenty of more conventional stuff. So I wanted something for fun, not something that was my only gun. Also thought it would be fun when taking people to the range – a chance to shoot something they would see if sci-fi shows.
We don’t have a lot of options in Maryland due to FSA13’s enumerated bans (AUG) and the centerfire OAL restrictions (PS90, Tavor). And the options we do have are very pricey (DesertTech, FN2000). For a fun gun, I was looking to spend a lot less money. And, I will admit, the affordable bullpup shotguns (KSG) don’t do it for me. So what was the best bullpup I could buy for the least amount of money?
As an Appleseed instructor, I have a lot of parts laying around from building loaners and rimfire rifles for myself. While the 10/22 platform isn’t the only one I own, I do have a bunch of them and had enough spare parts to build a rifle around. I started evaluating options for bullpupping that platform.
Polymer 10/22 Bullpup Options
The HTA 90/22 (https://www.hightowerarmory.com/products) seemed like a good option – cool looking (I am a fan of the P90 look). lots of reviews, good user community with tips on improving the trigger, well thought out controls, and affordable (less expensive than what I bought). I had read some comments on it being a pain to clean (have to take the whole thing apart to clean it properly), having a relatively high bore axis (it is a bullpup so, yeah, most do), and the fragility of the dummy suppressor (which you can just leave off). I don’t honestly have a good reason for NOT doing the HTA 90/22 except that a bunch of people already had them and the cleaning issues. Maybe I will do one in the future.
I also checked out the Red Jacket Firearms/Aklys Defense ZK-22 (https://aklysdefense.com/products/zk-22). It seemed very similar to the HTA 90/22 in terms of price (under $300), stock style (sitting inside a polymer clamshell and requiring complete disassembly to clean), and P90-ish styling (although not as faithful to the original design). The trigger seemed better but I didn’t like the safety set-up (lack of access to the cross-bolt safety for drop safety) or the lack of a bolt hold-open. Maybe that is just Appleseed’s obsession with making a safe rifle coming through (bolt back, safety on, chamber flag in) but those were a big deal for me.
One option I only barely considered was the Muzzelite Bullpup Stock from the 90s. It is shockingly still for sale, super cheap ($115), and a similar polymer “clamshell case” design to the other two but without any pretense of looking like another gun (unless you admired the Muzzelite Ruger AC556s from the original Total Recall movie – which I did). But the reviews talked a lot about the incompatibility with 25 round mags, poor trigger, no charging handle extension, no rails, fitment issues between the halves, kinda cheap looking, and rudimentary sights, and many other unflattering things. Despite being one of the originals, it was just too dated to me. Makes me wonder if someone could go back and revamp the design.
An option that was just announced at Shot Show 2022 is the Desert Tech Trek 22. Seems to be another polymer clamshell design in the same price range ($300) but has some really interesting features that the other polymer 10/22 bullpups lack: 2 spare 10-round mags in the stock, M-Lok forend, low bore axis, improved trigger leverage, access to 10/22 action controls, and very streamlined. The grip is odd for a bullpup – more like a traditional stock grip than an AR. I wasn’t aware of this design at the time and it will not available till late 2022 according to the company (assuming it is not vaporware) so it was not on the list. But seems like an interesting option.
Metal Gear Solid
But then I found something completely different from these “plastic fantastic” bullpup stocks. A company called Center Balanced Systems made aluminum chassis systems for a wide variety of rifles and shotguns: Mosin Nagant, AK, SKS, Saiga…and the mighty Ruger 10/22.
Their designs are certainly different from anything out there – many seem tailored to look like futuristic space guns or movie guns over more traditional designs. And if the design was durable enough for centerfire rifles, I figured a bullpup 10/22 should last forever.
It was clear from the website that while they had a lot of products, they considered themselves more of a developmental shop (a lot of discussions of stuff they were working on that don’t seem to have happened) but that the designs were, ahem, mature (since the website seemed to be from 2010 at the latest).
There were several things I found attractive about the design:
- Price was very similar to the ZK22, HTA 90/22, and new Trek 22
- Drop-in units with no mods required to the 10/22 (didn’t have to replace the magazine or bolt release or any other parts as some other bullpups require)
- Supposedly a good trigger – they claim their Compound Leverage Trigger makes the trigger lighter than the stock trigger (unlike many bullpups); they warned that using it with a lighter 10/22 trigger (BX or other match trigger) might be TOO light (under 1 pound) but I had a stock trigger pack to use anyway
- Forward mounted (left side) non-reciprocating charging handle – this was a priced option, but one I felt would improve operation of the rifle
- Relatively low bore axis for a bullpup and a modern conventional top rail (no exaggerated height sighting system to look like a P90 or crappy iron sights)
- More optionality – for some of the stocks you can swap grips to any AR grip (more on that later) or choose from different style built-in grips, black finish or raw aluminum, side rails, tapered or bull barrel adapters, left side charting handle, etc.
- Storage for a back-up 10-round magazine in the stock (even has a small locking mechanism)
Ok, let’s place an order!
I will admit that I had some moments of panic after I ordered because I was worried that the company might no longer be in business. The main website and its low-res content looks a bit dated, although the “sales” website is more slick and worked correctly. I received an order confirmation immediately, the kit shipped in about one business day, and was delivered by the end of the week. Couldn’t have been more satisfied with the process.
Space Gat
The kit arrived well packaged and with all of the promised components. The initial steps of installation went exactly as described in their YouTube videos, so I will not repeat that here except to say there were no fitment issues.
I assembled it and was immediately impressed! I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea in terms of looks, but I think it is pretty hot (it turned heads at the range as well). It scratches my bullpup itch, shoots very well standing, was very reliable with all of my mags (several varieties of 25 round mags and 10 round mags – and most drop free, except for the TI 25-round mags which are more “fitted” on purpose). While the mags looks like they get in the way, your hand never touches them - it's like a thumbhole stock without being one.
I found the controls easy to access and use – even the bolt hold open. Having two safeties (a trigger safety and the main safety) makes it easier to make the rifle safe when adjusting sights and such.
The bullpup trigger was lighter than the stock trigger as promised – 3.5 pounds using my trigger scale and I feel a defined break point between the first and second stage. I haven’t tried it with a match trigger yet. It does have a long reset though – longer than the stock trigger (TANSTAAFL). But easy to shoot.
Similar to the polymer clamshell designs, there are a series of fasteners as well as the primary takedown screw that hold everything together. Unlike those designs, however, access to the action does not require complete disassembly of the shell and potential loss of zero (optics and sights are attached to the chassis, not the receiver for obvious reasons). Instead, you only have to remove the rear module to access the bolt and trigger groups and to do a thorough cleaning. I think that is a very important feature because 10/22s can get dirty fast and I keep my gear clean.
I ended up using some take-off Tippmann flip-up sights and a Primary Arms microdot that was formally on my M&P 15-22 – they co-witness well. Due to the straight-line nature of the stock, you will need to use AR-height sights and scope/red dot riser mounts. I tried a Primary Arms scope with low Picatinny rings and couldn’t crush my face low enough to get behind the glass. But the polymer irons and red dot work well with the bullpup.
I have only shot it once so far but it was reliable and accurate at 50ft standing. I haven’t done a full accuracy work-up at 25 meters yet, but intend to do so soon and will re-post.
The included grip that was more than fine but I chose to replace it with the inexpensive Griffin Armament A3 Grip for a different look and feel.
I will say the rails are probably a wee bit out of spec – I used a TangoDown SCAR rail panel on the lower part of the handguard and was torture trying to get it on. I put on a Magpul handstop and some Ergo rail ladders that were laying around as well. Also added a sling mount so I can test with the Appleseed loop sling at some point.
It is a solid chassis, a bit heavy – the downside of a metal design and all the extra components to make to make it operate properly. But not too much heavier than a 10/22 with a Hogue or Magpul Hunter stock and is very balanced and compact – unlike some of my bull-barreled 10/22s.
Final Tips
- I originally tried to use an oversized charging handle (remember, I was using a bunch of spare parts) but found that it rested on the rear component of the charging handle in a way that prevented the bolt from going fully into battery. That wasn’t obvious at first, but I caught it before shooting the rifle. I would recommend you ONLY use the stock Ruger charging handle.
- My trigger group was stock apart from an auto-bolt release – I would highly recommend that mod so you are not trying to manipulate the bolt components behind you.
- The forward charging handle extension that interfaces with the actual charging handle may rub on the top of the receiver a bit – I don’t notice any friction, but there may be some finish wear. I don’t really care because the receiver is buried but I did add some grease to smooth it out just in case.
- The Ranger model is compatible with any AR grip (though you will use the grip screw that is included with the kit, not a standard grip screw) but cannot accommodate a beaver tail; buy a non-beaver tail model (there are a bunch on the market) or you can cut it off something like the MOE grip.
- You need to make sure the grip angle and length is compatible with your 25 round magazines. The included grip and the Griffin grip works great but I tried a Hogue AR grip (https://www.at3tactical.com/products/hogue-ar-15-overmolded-pistol-grip-with-finger-grooves) that would have prevented me from using my old TI 25—round mags (though it did work with the BX).
- My 18.5 inch barrel is not threaded but even if it was I couldn’t suppress it with the barrel end interface used to secure the chassis. Perhaps a 20” threaded barrel could have a muzzle device. Or you might be able to widen the channel or get the bull barrel channel to do it.
- There are parts that look a bit more like a kit build than some folks would prefer – the forward charging handle has some small screws through some roughly finished polymer parts, the rear module doesn’t have a stock pad or any grip (I added a trimmed rubber butt pad using Velcro so I could take it off when I want), it looks more like a kit build than something from a big manufacturer.
Hope this was a fun read. Happy to answer any questions.
