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THE B.P. SPORTS BULLPUP

PHOTOS provided by TAILGUNNER.

OVERVIEW: To many SKS enthusiasts, a bullpup stock is both the the unicorn and "Holy Grail". Unicorn meaning a creature of legend that some claim to have seen. The Holy Grail many have quested long and hard to ascertain one. Once found they will sacrifice greatly to own one.

There is no company who now or has ever mass produced a SKS bullpup. At one point, a company by the name of B. P. Sports designed and built prototypes with the intent of selling them in quantity to the general public. Even in the day when SKS's were widely regarded as "ghetto rifles", there was excitement in the industry regarding the SKS bullpup designs. Before the stock was even in production, when Gun Week was shown the B. P. Sports prototype, they did a whole write up on it with photographs in 1996.

I've recently been corresponding with TAILGUNNER, a man who actually engaged in commerce with B.P. Sports in 1996. He attempted to purchase the above stock from the company, but instead of getting a bullpup, he got ripped off. Here's some high points of our conversation:

MORE BP SPORTS BULLPUP

DIAGRAMS FROM TAILGUNNER

Fully functional with any magazine.

Several years ago, I phoned BP Sports about ordering an SKS Bull Pup stock that I saw in "Shotgun News". They said that due to the volume of orders, that I would be put on their list, and receive my stock within a month or two. So, I gave them my credit card number, and waited. They didn't send the stock, so when I contacted them, they said that they were having problems getting the injection molds for the stock completed. They sent me many letters telling me of their problems and successes. But, months went by, and finally years. Then, I got a credit card statement where they had robbed my credit card again for another 80 dollars. I was mad, and I tried to call them. Luckily, I still had one of their letters with a name on it. I called several places in Michigan to find the guy. Finally, I found his son, who gave me his phone number. He apologized, and he sent me back the overpayment by check; I guess he was afraid of the law. (I passed over some other things that they did, just to keep this message short.)

More months went by, BP Sports started a web site, with pictures of an SKS Bull Pup. Also, another ad appeared in "Shotgun News". I called "Shotgun News" and asked them if BP Sports was an honest company. "Shotgun News" assured me that BP Sports was an authentic honest company. (Ha Ha) I waited more months, finally BP Sports faded away, and with it they took my money, and probably everyone else's. They never even bothered to tell me what happened. I think that the design was okay, and that their intentions were good, but they got in over their heads. I didn't get my first 80 dollars back, only the money that they charged to my credit card the second time. Some of
them may have been crooks, but the old man that I talked to seemed okay. I have some pictures of that design, from their original web site. Also, I have correspondence from them.

TAILGUNNER also provided a letter from BP SPORTS. I've made a quick and easy to read transcript of the document. Click HERE to download a .ZIP file containing photographs of the real deal documents. The following transcript is all caps, just like the original.

THIS STOCK WILL ALLOW THE USE OF ANY MAGAZINE MADE FOR SKS, INCLUDING THE AK MAGS, IF YOURS HAS BEEN CONVERTED. THE ONLY MAGS THAT WONT WORK ARE THE DRUM TYPE.

TOP CARRY HANDLE/SCOPE MOUNT: THE TOP CARRY HANDLE HAS A BUILT IN SCOPE MOUNT FOR AR15/M16 TYPE SCOPES. NORINCO HAS COME OUT WITH A VERY NICE 3 POWER SCOPE THAT HAS AN ADJUSTABLE DROP COMPENSATOR, ADJUSTABLE OUT TO 500 YARDS. ITS RETAILING FOR $35 TO $45. IT HAS A CRISP PICTURE AND INCLUDES THE MOUNT.

LENGTHS: THE LENGTHS ARE, WITH THE LONG BARREL, 30 3/4 INCHES AND 26 3/4 WITH THE SHORT BARREL MODELS. THIS IS 3/4 OF AN INCH OVER BATF REGULATION.

INSTALLATION: INSTALLATION IS SIMPLE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MODIFY YOUR SKS AT ALL. SIMPLY REMOVE YOUR LOWER STOCK, PLACE THE ACTION IN THE LEFT HALF OF THE NEW STOCK, CONNECT THE TRIGGER, AND PUT THE OTHER HALF STOCK BACK ON. YOU'RE READY TO LOAD IT UP.

TRIGGER ASSEMBLY: THE TRIGGER ASSEMBLY IS THE NEATEST FEATURE. OUR TRIGGER HAS A PULL MECHANISM INSTEAD OF A PUSH TYPE TRANSFER BAR. THIS ELIMINATES THE PROBLEM OF A MUSHY TRIGGER THAT OTHER BULLPUP STOCKS HAVE. YOU CAN'T STRETCH STEEL IF YOU'RE PULLING ON IT, BUT YOU CAN BEND IT IF YOU'RE PUSHING IT. THE NEATEST THING ABOUT OUR TRIGGER THOUGH (AND WE CAN'T DESCRIBE IT TOO FULLY, BECAUSE THE PATENTS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON) IS WHAT WE CALL TRIGGER FORWARD SAFETY. IF YOU PUSH FORWARD ON THE NEW TRIGGER IT LATCHES IN THE FORWARD POSITION AND TIES UP YOUR OLD TRIGGER SO THAT YOUR GUN CANNOT FIRE EVEN IF YOU WERE TO DROP IT OFF A ROOF. TO RELEASE THE SAFETY, YOU PUSH A BUTTON ABOVE THE NEW TRIGGER, AND THIS RETURNS THE TRIGGER, SPRING LOADED, TO THE READY FIRE POSITION.

BATF APPROVAL: THE STOCK IS BATF APPROVED. WE HAVE A LETTER ON FILE FROM THEM WITH THEIR APPROVAL. THEY REQUIRED THAT WE HAVE A THUMBHOLE, SO WE CAME UP WITH A DESIGN ON THE COMPUTER THAT ACTUALLY MAKES THE GUN LOOK BETTER WITH IT THAN WITHOUT IT.

CLEANING/SHELL DEFLECTOR: THERE IS A COVER YOU CAN REMOVE ON TOP OF THE STOCK (WITHOUT TOOLS) IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO TAKE YOUR BOLT APART FOR CLEANING WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE THE STOCK APART. THIS COVER HAS A SHELL DEFLECTOR BUILT INTO IT TO KEEP THE SHELLS FROM HITTING YOU IN THE FACE.

LEFTIES: WE HAVE TAKEN CARE OF YOU TOO. REPLACE THE RIGHT SHELL DEFLECTOR WITH THE LEFT SHELL DEFLECTOR/BOLT COVER, WHICH IS INCLUDED WITH YOUR STOCK.

THUMBHOLE DESIGN/MAGS: THE THUMBHOLE DESIGN IS HOLLOW. IT IS ACTUALLY TWO STRAPS THAT GO FROM THE PISTOL GRIP BACK TO THE STOCK, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE MAGAZINE.

SIGHTS: THE REAR SIGHT IS AN OPEN SIGHT AND IS WINDAGE ADJUSTABLE. THE FRONT SIGHT IS JUST LIKE THE SKS SIGHT AND IS ADJUSTABLE FOR ELEVATION.

Unfortunately for everyone concerned, B. P. Sports never produced this stock. All that ever came of this were rumors and hearsay, some of which is quite interesting. One rumor is that the B.A.T.F. got involved and told the owner of the company that if they went live with this product, they'd send field agents to their facility and FIND something to throw him in prison for. The fact remains that the company, or individuals who owned the company, are still available for comment. I have reason to believe that there is an enterprising individual out there who has recently purchased, or is negotiating to purchase, the rights, ownership, and the "blueprints" of this product. Again, this is all speculation, but it sure makes for some good buzz.

Lately, there has been great interest regarding SKS bullpups. I have been in contact with two people who are showing above normal interest when it comes to building one. One has a whole machine shop that already designs and manufactures aftermarket Harley parts at his disposal and the other has produced an outstanding concept drawing and also has access to a machine shop.

There are reasons nobody has made a SKS bullpup as yet. In the past, when a SKS sold for $60, there was no market for a stock that would cost more than the carbine! Furthermore, there was little respect for this rifle in the firearm community, so nobody really took developing this stock very seriously in a business sense. Now, that $80 for a SKS stock sounds a little high, but not outrageous, serious thought can be directed toward it's design.

SKS BULLPUP DESIGN ISSUES:

I've been toying with this concept for about two months now. I've been reluctant to discuss this because I'd hate to publicly give up on the project if things got too difficult. But seeing as how there is so much interest in this topic nowadays, someone out there may benefit from my experiences thus far. In my opinion, here are some of the major design issues that need to be addressed before construction can begin.

INTERCHANGEABILITY: It's important to most people that NO permanent modifications should have to be applied to the rifle it's self. It should be a drop in implementation requiring no drilling, sawing, or cutting. If the design were attractive enough, I'm sure some would still alter their SKS to fit the stock, but the ultimate goal should still be no permanent alterations. The only reason I place this issue first is because if nobody wants the design, it's not even worth the time to create it.

THE BREECH: There HAS to be something to deflect brass and escaping gas. Try this. Remove the stock on your SKS and try to get a feel of where things will be positioned once the bullpup stock has been added. You'll quickly discover that your face lies directly over the ejection port when in the firing position. This is NOT good. I haven't really come up with or heard of a really good answer for that problem yet... Maybe a curved piece of sheet metal screwed to the stock? Or maybe a good gas tube mounted brass deflector will do the trick. Also keep in mind that if you choose to cover the breech, the original 10 round magazine becomes useless as it's not impossible to reload. Now things are getting more complicated as we now have to start looking at removable magazines.

TRIGGER LINKAGE: The AK is a breeze to bullpup because it's basically hollow on the inside so and connecting rods are protected. Considering the SKS is not hollow, the linkages have to be buried inside the stock or lay out exposed. The idea of an exposed rod connected to the trigger gives me chills. Just one snag, grabbed in the wrong way, or the first time it's laid on a table carelessly, and someone gets killed. My favorite solution is to use a cable similar to motorcycle brake cables. Snagging is not an issue and it's flexible so it's easily routed around the magazine well, which is another problem when it comes to connecting rods. Some believe this will lead to a rotten trigger, but I say look to the automotive industry. Nobody complains that 99% of all cars made today use the same exact cable design for the accelerator. People can still finesse their acceleration and there is no loss in the physical "feel" of the pedal.

THE FORWARD TRIGGER ASSEMBLY: Depending on what level of quality an individual desires, there are two approaches to this issue. One can screw a grip from an AR-15 or AK-47 onto the stock and bend a strip of steel for the trigger guard. This approach will work just fine, but this is not a very solid solution for someone looking to mass produce a bullpup kit. When tinkering, I first give a good long look at what already exists before I even think about making anything. On my personal bullpup project, I used a trigger frame from a Spyder paintball gun. They're very sturdy and they're an all in one solution to the problems associated with a trigger guard and method of securing a grip. There are many variations, but the frame I chose is cast aluminum and actually uses real AR-15 grips. This also gives the end user options with interchangeable grips! The actual trigger itself is still problematic to me as it needs to be created. How to get it to properly pull the cable has been a thorn in my side...

THE BUTT AND ORIGINAL TRIGGER GROUP: For safety reasons, the original trigger group should be buried in the stock, yet still be accessible enough to be removed from the rifle. Why? First we need to eliminate the possibility of accidental discharge. Second, the trigger group holds the stock to the rifle, so we need a way to access the trigger group release latch and room enough remove the group once released. To complicate things even further, we need to look back at the trigger linkage. For maintenance reasons, the linkage needs to be easily removed from the original trigger. The BEST solution to this problem happens to be the most difficult to produce. A whole new trigger group, designed to swap with and replace the original, that is designed to compliment the forward trigger linkage, and that is designed to best fit the new stock is the best solution.

THE ACTUAL STOCK ITSELF: The main problem that needs to be addressed when it comes to the new stock is where to put your left hand. (I say left hand because there is no way to make a southpaw SKS bullpup) As you'll see, the natural place to rest your hand is going to be the barrel. The red-hot-ready-to-sear-the-flesh-from-your-hand barrel. DOUG'S concept drawing addresses this issue by extending the hand guard all the way up the gas tube. Again, I like to take existing items and best modify them to my purposes. For less than $10-15, anyone can buy a discarded wooden stock or new fiberglass stock. Used wooden stocks are extremely easy to modify with tools most folks already own, but the hand guard issue is still going to be a challenge. And yet again, the BEST solution (forming a whole new synthetic stock) is the most difficult to produce.

BATF APPROVAL?: Judging from the letter from B.P. Sports, there is a minimum length of 26 inches and the design needs to be a thumbhole stock...

MY PROJECT

The easy part of this project...

And the work has ended here. Maybe someday I'll

have the tools to continue.

First, I took the beat up Romanian hardwood stock that came with my rifle and cut off the comb. I couldn't believe how heavy that portion of the rifle was! The new stock is as light as a feather compared to it's previous form. Next I took wood filler and filled in the finger grooves toward the front, the bayonet groove, and all the dings in the wood.

After sanding the surfaces smooth, I drilled two holes in the forward portion of the SKS to attach the forward trigger frame. This section of the stock is rounded, so I had to sand this area flat from the front of the magazine well to the front of the stock.

Now comes the hard part . I need to build a butt, cut a trigger, attach the cable to the two triggers, find a suitable hand guard, find a way to attach a scope mount, and figure a way to deflect the ejecting brass. For the butt, I plan on bending a strip of steel to shape and then cut and attach removable sheet metal covers to protect the old trigger group. I have a feeling cutting the trigger is going to be a trial and error process... I went to a bicycle shop and got a discarded cable fragment to attach the two triggers for free! As for the hand guards, I got two original hand guards and sandwiched the barrel between the two of them. It looks like this is going to work nicely, I just need to find a way to secure them to the rifle (NO PIPE CLAMPS!). Now it's time for field testing and fine tuning of the trigger. Next, if I get that far, I'm going to spring for a Millet rear sight scope mount and red dot sight. Finally I'm probably going to screw a curved, thick, nicely finished sheet metal brass deflector to the stock and find some sort of padded cheek rest to affix to it. Finally it will be time to paint this bad boy and give it a name! Lastly, there will be some showing off, the lecture circuit, and the book signings. But seriously, the project turned out to be a complete failure and now resides at the bottom of some landfill.

NEIL'S PROJECT

Neil has an interesting approach and observations. His SKS BULLPUP site is worth a visit. It's got pictures of the process he used in creating this black 'pup stock out of an original SKS stock.

Neil had to leave to boot camp before his 'pup saw completion. It'll be MONTHS if not YEARS before this project is finalized. I don't quite know how to feel about this whole deal. It's a shame that the 'pup is in this condition, but it's also inspiring that the Navy is benefiting from Neil's conrtibutions.

WILLIAM ADAMS' COYOTE

A great deal of time and planning went into the COYOTE. These are two of five diagrams.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

This is the first COYOTE. The final design

will vary slightly.

As Steve the Crocodile Hunter would say, "Isn't it a beeeeauuuuuuuuuty!" William Adams is a hard working mechanical engineer with a burning desire to own a SKS bullpup. Well, now he has one and he's paid for it twice over. You see, he was one of those people who paid for one of the B.P. Sports bullpups and got nothing but ripped off. They sent him many letters encouraging the buyers to be patient, "not this month". They even sent him pictures of the mold once just to "show the progress". One day, late into the ordeal, his wife called him at work claiming the B.P. Sports package he'd been waiting so long for finally came in. There was one hour left in the work day. One long, long hour. He watched the clock so hard that he swears he saw it run backwards. Quitting time came and he drove home like a madman only to find his wife holding a tiny little box. "Sure is a small package for a stock", he thought as he tore it open. To his disappointment, the package contained a cheap AR-18 scope. I suppose they thought that was some sort of apology or consolation.

Years down the road William decided to jump on the internet to see if anyone had ever actually made a bullpup for the SKS. His search started with 10/22's and wound up on this very page. He read of the obstacles and challenges to overcome when building a 'pup for this rifle and too the challenge to heart. He figured if he was ever going to own one, he was just going to have to build it himself.

1/31/02 - Will sent me some updated photos

of his COYOTE design.

The prototype COYOTE. Black paint, hand guard design change, and targeting laser.

The Coyote took more than a month to complete. There was a great deal of planning, thought, and drafting time before work began. Work officially began on 10/21/00 at noon and on 11/7/00 at 10:15pm, William reached for the Holy Grail and shot the Unicorn right between the eyes. Later a millet scope mount and Bushnell 4x9 was added. It turns out that the Millet mount does need to be completely removed in order to remove the gas tube for cleaning. It was cold and rainy the day William sighted it in at 75 yards for the first time. When it was sighted in, he then shot two rounds within an inch at that distance. The rifle has since been hunting, but I don't know if he bagged anything.

The stock is made from cedar and a 12 gauge steel plate was attached to the receiver as face protection from the ejection port. Future designs will have the brass deflector mounted elsewhere so one doesn't have to permanently mate the Simonov to the COYOTE. The magazine is an American made USA brand 30 round magazine reduced to 10 round capacity.

Your comments about the COYOTE are of great value. Please take a moment to let William and I know what you think of it. If you expect a reply, please supply and email address as all submissions are anonymous.

The BPSKSONE

The best of the five photos of the original BPSKSONE stock.

All at once I started receiving multiple mails regarding a SKS bullpup for sale on GunsAmerica. Everyone wanted to know if it was for real and wanted my opinion of it. It definitely got my attention as I thought it was one of the elusive BPSports stocks. A few emails and $42 dollars later, I now own a "scout" model which is slightly different than the original model which was for sale.

His design is completely different from the ones pictured above on this site. When I pulled it out of the box I slapped my head and exclaimed, "of course"! Instead of working around the fact the SKS does not have a hollow body, he simply created one. This allows him to utilize control rods, which is the easiest way to do a trigger linkage. Lastly, he gets around the need for a forward hand guard by installing a forward grip in front of the pistol grip. It looked a little strange to me and I was skeptical, but it felt surprisingly natural in my hands.

The BPSKSONE Scout. The SKS and scope was edited into this photo to give a more complete depiction of the stock. Click to see a HUGE detailed photo of just the stock.

Construction is accomplished using everyday materials and tools, which has three effects. First, it is a tribute to this man's creativity that he can build a 'pup from scratch while the rest of us are looking toward machine shops, he can construct it inexpensively when the rest of us are creating stocks which wind up more expensive than the rifle, but unfortunately quality suffers when using hand tools and cheap materials. The entire stock is wood except for the deflection shield which is sheet metal and the trigger parts. Everything is painted black, but I think OD green would look super on it. The fasteners are primarily drywall screws.

BPSKSONE sells these stocks for about $42 ea., but mind you, this stock is a work in progress, a PROTOTYPE. Although the design is brilliant and incredibly promising, it isn't quite there yet. The forward trigger is a piece of bent wire, the face shield falls open if the weapon is turned the wrong way, and the whole thing is just plain rough looking. Actually, I'm not even completely sure it's as safe as it probably should be at this moment in time.

INTERESTING FORUM POSTINGS:

B.P. Sports

The DC Engineering SKS Bullpup

Please don't let these be the only SKS bullpup projects actively discussed on this page. If anyone has any photos, comments, or experiences relating to building a SKS bullpup that others might benefit from, please mail me and I'll post the information. -SKSDave