I have one in .177, not .22, but the only thing I find awkward is the cocking lever since it's so far back. It's the only BullPup I currently own, and while I've never been a fan of BullPups, I find this one comfortable to shoot. Other than that, it's very accurate, almost too powerful and is very compact. It is a tad heavy compared to others on the market that have synthetic stocks, but part of it's appeal is the beautiful Turkish Walnut stock. I got mine last Thanksgiving when Crosman had a great sale on them and have since added a Huma Regulator and shortened the hammer spring. I also added the barrel band, dressed the crown and polished the barrel. It's a freaking laser now, shooting 10.3 grain AA's at 955 FPS making clost to 21 FPE! I have a Cayden in .22 and didn't have to do a thing to it. It's makes good power and shoots a curve flatter than many of my regulated airguns. It's shooting the 15.89 grain JSBs at 950 PFS making almost 32 FPE. I'm pretty sure the Akela and Cayden share the same barrel aand air cylinder, so hopefully your akela won't need any modification being it's .22 caliber.