Bullpups: rear vs forward cocking levers

bokes

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Apr 26, 2015
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I'm having a hard time deciding between a Dreampup or an Impact mk2. Adjustable power & the Xliner barrel are must haves, so not considering a Wildcat or other brands.
At the moment I can't think of a need for more than 50 fpe, but I may be moving soon, & it's nice to have the option for more power if needed in the future. So that's a plus for the Impact.
The huge plus of the DL is the lower price. For those of you who have owned BPs with a rear cocking lever, did it bother you over time? Or did you think it was a non-issue?
If you moved to a Wildcat or Impact, did you think, "OMG the forward cocking lever is so much better, i'm never going back" ? (watching Ted's videos, he seems to be in this category)
 
Just throwing this out there: the Wildcats take the x liners which are stupidly easy to change, the newer ones come with x liners, and an x liner plus a WC is way cheaper than an impact. Obviously there is more to it, and I'm not telling you to buy a WC, but I think you dismissed it a little too out of hand. 

Just my 2c. 
 
I have a Impact and Taipan Veteran that has the rear cocking lever. A lot of people don’t like the rear lever but I like it on the Veteran. If you want to shoot rapidly the forward lever is great but a quick follow up shot isn’t too hard with the rear lever either, just not as fast. It kinda feels cool to me to reach back by my face to pull the lever, dunno why. Not sure how I would like the rear lever on a different gun though. 
 
Just throwing this out there: the Wildcats take the x liners which are stupidly easy to change, the newer ones come with x liners, and an x liner plus a WC is way cheaper than an impact. Obviously there is more to it, and I'm not telling you to buy a WC, but I think you dismissed it a little too out of hand. 

Just my 2c.

+1 for the Wildcat. I own a Wildcat MKII and have the smooth twist X, pellet liner and slug liner. The forward cocking is the only way I will shoot any gun from now on. Rear cocking on a bullpup is ok until you try mid cocking and there is no going back. Even the Dreampup doesn't have mid cocking.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. I've been shooting a Royale for years and it's power wheel has been a big deal for me, so no WC, altho I agree it's a great gun.
n2stuff your insistence on forward cocking is convincing, so I'm leaning towards in Impact.
By the way, Matt Dubber said in a thread after the 2018 IWA that FX would make a forward cocking lever kit for the Dreampup. But unfortunately no mention of it at IWA last month, so I don't want to depend on it.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. I've been shooting a Royale for years and it's power wheel has been a big deal for me, so no WC, altho I agree it's a great gun.
n2stuff your insistence on forward cocking is convincing, so I'm leaning towards in Impact.
By the way, Matt Dubber said in a thread after the 2018 IWA that FX would make a forward cocking lever kit for the Dreampup. But unfortunately no mention of it at IWA last month, so I don't want to depend on it.

The Impact is the holy grail of air guns. Buy once and cry once. Having a power wheel is nice but I have other guns to choose from. My buddy bought a Dreamline Lite and it's a very cool gun but with the 600mm barrel it needs a barrel band because it droops with the LDC mounted. After shooting and owning standard type guns I love bullpups because most of the weight is either at the rear or at mid point. But a bullpup with rear cocking would not be on my list of bullpups. Great info on the linkage kit for the Dreampup. But the conversion kits I'm guessing are going to be big bucks.
 
Here is my story line. 

Started with a Royale and loved it. Especially the power wheel. Mate fell in love with it so I sold it to him and got an Impact X. Awesome gun but the feel was never quite right for me and I personally didn't love the STX barrel. Needed to clean it too often and not a huge fan of the whippy barrel compared to the old solid smooth twist barrels. Also the valve adjuster is the only way to get it shooting really low power and its not as quick or repeatable as a power wheel. Anyway, another mate fell in love with it so I sold it to him meaning to buy another Royale. A second hand laminate Wildcat Mk1 came up for sale that night and I jumped on it. Wow! What a gun. Feels great and the most accurate and consistent gun I have owned. Really missed the power wheel for inside sheds etc. so went to buy another Royale and there were none left in the country. (Australia). Ended up getting a great deal on a new Bobcat Mk2. Basically a semi bullpup Royale. Sweet gun and the most comfortable one I own. Very accurate but yet to take it out long range. The cocking lever is quite easy to use and looks to be very similarly positioned on the Dreampup. Standing and bench is fine but lying prone is probably the most uncomfortable position. I love the forward cocking on the Impact and Wildcat and I don't think I would like a "real bullpup" but the semi bullpup is fine for me. 

James
 
Interesting fact about the human body.

It can "adapt" to most anything...IF you let it. Pull from a forward position, pull from a rearward position..!? Unless you are trying to learn to rapid fire a single action weapon, should be a simple task for your brain to learn. And in a short time, if you don't harp on it, any "problems" will be all but forgotten.

Mike
 
I shoot Southpaw. For hunting or a quick needed follow up shot situation, I prefer forward cocking with my trigger hand (left).

For bench, it really doesn’t matter. Although, if bench shooting speed silhouette or something of the like, I prefer forward cocking using my support hand (right) and keeping trigger hand in place.

You can and I have adapted to just about any configuration but there is an optimal setup for the task at hand. Happy bullpuping y’all 😎 
 
@James: thanks for sharing & glad you like your Bobcat
@mike: your post nailed it for me. If the front cocking lever hadn't been invented yet, I'd be totally happy with the rear position. But unfortunately I have an anal-perfectionist brain that would whine & complain nonstop about the rear lever position knowing things could be better. So I'll spare myself the hassle of buying & selling it later on.
@the others: your feedback was helpful.

So it'll be an Impact for me.