Shot Show 2015 – The Big Bores are HERE

The big news in airguns for 2015 has to be the number of new Big Bore offerings hitting the market. Airgunners, myself included, have been dreaming of cost effective big bores for a long time and it looks like the time is now.

Crosman Bulldog .357 – 180 Foot Pound Big Bore Airgun

The big news for today is the Crosman Bulldog. Seeing photos on-line doesn’t really do it justice. You need to actually pick it up and hold it to begin to understand why this new airgun is so appealing. The weight is around 7 to 8 pounds (give or take), and it pulls to the shoulder just as you’d expect a bullpup to do. The weight distribution is right on and the ergonomics mimic some much more expensive airguns on the market.

The New Crosman Bullpup – Sure Looks Nice!

Let’s talk numbers…

I had a great talk with the product engineer for Crosman and we went over what kind of performance you can expect from the Bulldog. Energy is around 180 +/- (some report up to 200 FPE!), but 180 FPE is a good conservative number. It’s delivering 10 useable shots with the first 5 really being in the sweet spot power curve wise. Crosman is using the 145 Grain Nosler eXTREME air rifle bullet but says that you can also use other ammo as well, like the JSB .35, and see good results.

Discussing the Bulldog with Crosman

I asked about accuracy, and while no group data was given, they reported that they were shooting spinners at 80 yards without any issues. I spoke with several folks who shot the new Bulldog at the Media Day shoot and they all confirmed accuracy was very good.

Perhaps the best news about the Bulldog, in my opinion, is that it’s also very quiet. From what I’ve been told, it is surprisingly quiet. You can bet that’s one feature that I can’t wait to test when they become available to the public.

Custom Camo Bullpup – What do you think? Good idea?

And on that front, Crosman is saying that the new Bulldog will be available to order sometime in February and at a price point under $1000. This puts the new Bulldog at a very competitive price point in the Big Bore Airgun Market.

Other Big Bore Mentions…

The Crosman Bulldog was pretty cool to see, but there’s a lot more in the world of Big Bore airguns yet to talk about. We’ll be getting to that throughout the week. Some of the guns we’ll be talking about are the Hatsan Carnivore QE Guns, the new Air Force Texan, and maybe even something that’s still in development which is a .40 cal, that’s purported to be pushing 350 to 400 foot pounds of energy?? Yeah… it’s a good time to be into big bore airguns!

Air Force Texan – .45 Big Bore Monster 45 cal bullet and what’s left after hitting a steel plate at 100 yards.. WOW…