Most has been said. But I guess It's my job to chip in.
There's a few factors at hand here.
- B Nose OP appeal, due to TS, TZ and size
People like to use the sharpest tool in the shed. There's no denying it. Everyone does it. I can't fly the thing worth a damn but I know some BHG| pilots who can rain death upon pretty much anything in a B Nose. Which is hilarious (for them) but not so much for the pirate being shot at.
- Pirates spamming GBS like mad, now even cruisers since those can pirate
this problem started early 4.85. Pirates started coughing up ridicilous amounts of cap 8 Ku Ex with Zoner Guns, cap 8 trids and god knows what. Add TS and TZ to that, as well as the Rogue GB which has become a very mean piece of kit and there ya go. and lets not forget the hordes of Stortas, Scyllas and to lesser degree, preafacts.
- people are not pvp-able in snubs but can get stuff done in gbs.
Lag, lack of skill. or both. It's not fun when you die every single fight you get into. So sometimes you need a bigger gun to try and stay alive. Not a real excuse, but lets be honest: how would a pirate feel if he gets killed every single encounter by some random passer by?
- most hunters work alone
A lot of BHG| guys work alone on in duos. Pirates tend to cling toghether and use gbs mixed with snubs. What is a lone manta gonna do? (Except getting shot at by the entire pirate group?)
Now, I for one am still a believer in 'launch teh snub horde nao', Like Core does. Ive been telling people to lay off the B Nose spamming for quite some time now. With mixed results. I guess folks dont wanna let go of their little (literally) OP workhorse. I for one hope the B Nose gets nerfed, so it gets less appealing to use. Cuz right now even Merca and Freelancers are spamming it >_>