Rearward ejecting bullpup automatic rifle
I just had an odd idea for a compact bullpup machinegun.
It looks like a bazooka, with the tube body extending rearward
past the stock, which is a wide magazine well for two magazines
clipped together (one active and one spare).
The mechanism is like a 3 chamber revolver cannon.
A light bolt loads the right chamber and then fires the upper chamber.
Tapped gas pushes the bolt rearward, ejecting the left chamber. The
spent casing simply coasts rearward through the body tube.
When the bolt hits the rear, it rotates the cylinder 120 degrees.
The cylinder, with its 3 chambers, does add weight compared to
a traditional gas mechanism. However, it greatly helps manage
heat, so the gun can sustain fire better without barrel swapping.
The weird off center position of the loading chamber allows two
double-wide magazines to reside side-by-side in an elegant way.
The right magazine is active, while the left magazine is ready to
be quickly swapped in.
Compared to a normal bullpup, this is shorter in front of the shoulder,
although the ejection tube means the overall length is similar.
Nevertheless, it's handier in confined spaces. The mechanism
and firing gases are enclosed within the tube body, so it's more
pleasant to shoot than a normal bullpup (where the ejection port
is right next to your face).
Obviously, this configuration is ambidextrous.
Anyway, whatever.
