What's with these bullpup look-a-likes?

[Mink]

Hi! I am fairly new to the PCP airgun scene, and recently purchased a Taipan Veteran due to the high acclaim that I've seen on forums like this one. During my bullpup research process, I noticed striking similarities between many options and the Taipan Veteran. Now, I understand that different companies are bound to follow similar designs for a bullpup repeater (most bolt action centerfires are quite similar), but it seems that the ONLY visible difference between the below bullpups are the stocks. Receivers, cocking levers, magazines, product name/serial number location, barrel/moderator setup, barrel/tank clamps+rail, and so on, appear to be the same.



TAIPAN Veteran

 

Artemis P15

 

Diana Skyhawk

 

Kalibrgun Cricket

 

And I might even be missing some other guns, these are just a few examples I have bumped into. This has me wondering how unique the TAIPAN design really is.

What exactly separates these differently priced options (country of origin, materials)?

Who was the first to come up with this design and who is copying?

Are the parts being manufactured in the same place?

 

[tsakula]

FIRST bulpup airgun was made by edgun! 

 

[boscoebrea]

kinda like a compact car,some are better than others.The rifle barrel and place of manufacture and import cost . most different brands use different parts,butt the same brands can use Some of the same parts.....there is only so much you can do with a bull pup concept and that goes for rifles and compact cars...people have their favorites,the bull pup you have is a no go for me because of where the cocking lever is....never-the-less it is a good rifle and has many happy owners....as been said variety is the spice of life....

So they will look "kinda" the same,but the difference is the fit and quality of the parts....the finished product....

 

[tor47]

P15 and skyhawk are made in china by probably the same company. The skyhawk is sold under the Diana name, and has litle changes over the p15. Think the internals are the same.

The calibrgun and taipan looks similiar, but the inside is as far as I know not identical. Different size of magazine, and different internals. Do not think you can swap parts among them. I noticed a brand called "raptor" https://raptorairguns.com.ua/ look similiar to a taipan. Both are originally made in ukraine, so they look close, but I do not really know if the have same internals.

 

[Metalmaniac]

The Artimes P15 is made by SPA ( Snow Peak Air ) in China . Diana contracted SPA to make the Skyhawk and put the Diana name on it. They source the better looking stocks from Italy if memory serves me right. 

To be a cheap gun the SPA units are a good buy for the most part. They do require some tinkering to be very good. Better O rings , trigger job, de bur and polish parts.

i have a Tipan Veteran .22 Shorty and it is a great gun. The only negative is the rearward cocking lever but that can be worked around If you are right handed. Not so easy if you are left handed. Luckily I am ambidextrous. MM

 

[ackuric]

I'll never understand rearward cocking on a bullpup, so you move the trigger forward but leave the cocking mechanism way behind in a single fire rifle? Such an awkward configuration.



That said this design is just a simple roll out of a half assed bullpup that many manufacturers copy, you can't really patent form factor and these all share just that.

 

[biohazardman]

Many guns look alike because they are alike often the very same gun as with the P15 and the Diana but there are so many more. It is a very common practice these days for companies to just put their badges on Chinese guns, and everything else as well, and it's now branded as theirs although some of the guns come from Turkey or India as well as other countries. Unless one does some research on the gun they will not know what it really is. Still The Diana gun has the pick of the best barrels an improved stock and butt pad so it is a much nicer gun than the P15 but still retains most of the Chinese quality of the build. It's really a shame they did not make their own.

 

[tsmith]

i say the same about cars. 4 wheels, headlights in front, a hood, trunk in the back, blinkers,......

why does every car company have to configure in similar ways? THE NERVE!

 

[Yo]

Allz I can see are 2 Lexus from the 90s to present and 2 Hyundai's from the 90s. Yo!

 

[Vetmx]

I see 2 Ford Pinto's. One with a fancy paintjob. Material quality, tolerances, and R&D are what separate Bullpups, No matter how much they look alike. When the Patent on the Honda 50 minibike ran out. China started duplicating them and cheap. A Honda 50 from 1990 is still running strong after 30 years. The China copies start having issues after 30 minutes.