A big thanks to Tiriaq and Canada AMMO from out in BC who provided us a chance to test 'drive' the TAVOR rifle. Wow what a nice piece of kit. 
Damn... I gotta get me one of these... Okay, here are some observations, but from a rifleman's point of view , or rather a competitive rifleman's POV. Remember, I ain't a Kommando, doorkicker, ERT Specialist, or mall ninja. I'm merely a simple rifleman... who competes past 100m (that's for the mirror kommandos on this forum).
Prone position:
Damn this baby is steady. Lots and lots of head shots (fig 11) at 100m. Resting the magazine (bullpup) on the ground and then supporting that bizarre pistol grip/guard was so steady. Man, I could not go wrong in this position. Target rifle shooters who traditionally shoot off their elbows ain't gonna like this position at all. This rifle allows you to really put those bullets where they are gonna count. I was impressed... Damn, I was a hero...
Sitting position:
Cross legged position just loved the TAVOR. I was so rock steady. I could not go wrong. This rifle loved to be cradled in the cross legged sitting position that I so dearly love with my M14 tuned for NRA High Power competitions. Mag changes were so sweet to do with my left (weak) hand, just cant the rifle over to the right diagonally and away you go.
Kneeling position:
Old school shooters who place their elbow near the top of their knees will absolutely love this bullpup. It just loved to shoot from this position too. Mag changes are done very close to the chest, luckily all my mags (well, they were supplied by Tiriaq) dropped free, but my STRIKE Molle vest was very close to getting in the way. Not as fast mag changes as with my AR, but hey, this rifle loves me... My #### might fall off if I don't get one.
CQB in the center of my belly style:
This position is reminiscent of shooting the folding stock'ed SMG ... just place the submachine gun against your tummy and let 'er rip. This TAVOR liked to shoot. It was too easy to walk my bullets into the fig 11. I gotta get me one of these.
Standing Position (offhand)
The bottom of the pistol grip guard combination was soooo easily supported by my left hand (I shoot right handed). Man, this baby loved to be shot from the standing position. No having to cheat by resting my elbows on my 84 pattern webbing magazine pouches. Speaking of pistol grip, the shape kinda reminds me of the Smith and Wesson M&P that SS109 showed me at the OSA Fun match last Saturday. I have a medium sized hand, this pistol grip was the cat's ass. It's made for ME !!
Large storage compartment, but that requires a bullet tip or blunt butt of my KISS CRKT folding knife. At least it ain't gonna come apart at the wrong time.
I gotta get me one of these.....
Druthers:
Yeah, the Meprolight 1X red dot (illum . by tritium) covered the FACE of the the 'running man' on the fig 11 or fig 12 target at 100m. Tiriaq reminded me that the red dot in this optic was 8 MOA give or take. Wow, how can anyone miss?
I would have liked to chat with the IWI (Israeli) Engineers and discuss modifying a Pic rail for the top of the TAVOR so that we operator wannabes can choose our own optics for whatever budget, mission, competition we find ourselves.
The bolt hold open device (hey, I'm a C1A1 kinda guy) or bolt catch was tougher to engage when a magazine was NOT inserted in the mag well, that was almost a 3 handed affair.. could get better with practice and less drooling on my part.
The price ? This is cutting into my Harley fund... I might have to pass on the DYNA Fat Bob and buy a Sportster 1200 Nightster.
Hey, the trigger was long and heavy, but this is a Kombat rifle, not a match shooter. Once I learned to (any paintballers here?) sweet spot that disconnector, I could double tap like any operator (I'm so KOOL...). What a pro this rifle made me look like. The trigger break is CLEAN , and that's a bonus. I still would take one of these if it was issued to me... Hey, am I too old to join the IDF ?
Rave ON !
I loved the large magcatch that both hands could not miss. No accidental mag drops either. Very loose mag well, but no excessive rattling of the aluminum USGI mags. Even Tiriaq's lone Thermold (old CF issue) magazine dropped out smoothly.
This baby loves to point. It felt so natural in my arms. I just adored how this rifle fit me in all my shooting positions. Nothing awkward. Hey, I could shoot this in a Service Rifle match or TWO .... if and only if I could adapt an ACOG TA31F to mount on top.... Look out 200m, 300m and 500m stages. Then look out CQB matches. Hey, I would love to play with this rifle in a Falling Plates match. You CF soldiers / shooting team fellas will know what I mean by Falling Plates matches.
Being a bullpup design, and I'm an old school Service Rifle shooter, I was expecting to get burned because the ignition and chamber is directly beneath your cheek. Not a single hint of getting burned. The brass pops out about 6' to the right and 90 degrees... kinda like my old HBAR (Colt)... Yes, I did own Colts long ago. The brass was tossed out in fairly concentrated area. No dings, no dents on the brass. Nice and pretty like the AR15 ejection patterns... remember when HK91's and HK93's ejected their brass casings ? The TAVOR is nice to your brass.
Conclusion:
My #### will fall off. I need to get one of these. Earthpigs of Southern Ontario look the fzck out !! Heeeere kitty kitty kitty !! Well, actually the trigger could use tweaking (shorter takeup) for precision shooting groundhogs. Hey, this is not a restricted rifle, so in reality you could go hunting with this TAVOR. It's a cool design. Lots more to like than when I witnessed some Krazy magazine (jams) changes with an FN2000 at Milcun one carbine match last fall.
There you have it...
Oh yeah, accuracy ? The Israeli engineers took a familiar looking AR15 straight line design and tweaked it... it appears to me. We could not do any serious grouping with the 8MOA red dot, but I'm going to let Grendel chime in here. He was grouping really well. He knows how to squeeze a trigger... after all, he's won several Sniper matches at NSCC in Connaught.
Cheers,
Barney
Damn... I gotta get me one of these... Okay, here are some observations, but from a rifleman's point of view , or rather a competitive rifleman's POV. Remember, I ain't a Kommando, doorkicker, ERT Specialist, or mall ninja. I'm merely a simple rifleman... who competes past 100m (that's for the mirror kommandos on this forum).
Prone position:
Damn this baby is steady. Lots and lots of head shots (fig 11) at 100m. Resting the magazine (bullpup) on the ground and then supporting that bizarre pistol grip/guard was so steady. Man, I could not go wrong in this position. Target rifle shooters who traditionally shoot off their elbows ain't gonna like this position at all. This rifle allows you to really put those bullets where they are gonna count. I was impressed... Damn, I was a hero...
Sitting position:
Cross legged position just loved the TAVOR. I was so rock steady. I could not go wrong. This rifle loved to be cradled in the cross legged sitting position that I so dearly love with my M14 tuned for NRA High Power competitions. Mag changes were so sweet to do with my left (weak) hand, just cant the rifle over to the right diagonally and away you go.
Kneeling position:
Old school shooters who place their elbow near the top of their knees will absolutely love this bullpup. It just loved to shoot from this position too. Mag changes are done very close to the chest, luckily all my mags (well, they were supplied by Tiriaq) dropped free, but my STRIKE Molle vest was very close to getting in the way. Not as fast mag changes as with my AR, but hey, this rifle loves me... My #### might fall off if I don't get one.
CQB in the center of my belly style:
This position is reminiscent of shooting the folding stock'ed SMG ... just place the submachine gun against your tummy and let 'er rip. This TAVOR liked to shoot. It was too easy to walk my bullets into the fig 11. I gotta get me one of these.
Standing Position (offhand)
The bottom of the pistol grip guard combination was soooo easily supported by my left hand (I shoot right handed). Man, this baby loved to be shot from the standing position. No having to cheat by resting my elbows on my 84 pattern webbing magazine pouches. Speaking of pistol grip, the shape kinda reminds me of the Smith and Wesson M&P that SS109 showed me at the OSA Fun match last Saturday. I have a medium sized hand, this pistol grip was the cat's ass. It's made for ME !!
Large storage compartment, but that requires a bullet tip or blunt butt of my KISS CRKT folding knife. At least it ain't gonna come apart at the wrong time.I gotta get me one of these.....
Druthers:
Yeah, the Meprolight 1X red dot (illum . by tritium) covered the FACE of the the 'running man' on the fig 11 or fig 12 target at 100m. Tiriaq reminded me that the red dot in this optic was 8 MOA give or take. Wow, how can anyone miss?
I would have liked to chat with the IWI (Israeli) Engineers and discuss modifying a Pic rail for the top of the TAVOR so that we operator wannabes can choose our own optics for whatever budget, mission, competition we find ourselves.
The bolt hold open device (hey, I'm a C1A1 kinda guy) or bolt catch was tougher to engage when a magazine was NOT inserted in the mag well, that was almost a 3 handed affair.. could get better with practice and less drooling on my part.
The price ?
This is cutting into my Harley fund... I might have to pass on the DYNA Fat Bob and buy a Sportster 1200 Nightster. Hey, the trigger was long and heavy, but this is a Kombat rifle, not a match shooter. Once I learned to (any paintballers here?) sweet spot that disconnector, I could double tap like any operator (I'm so KOOL...). What a pro this rifle made me look like. The trigger break is CLEAN , and that's a bonus. I still would take one of these if it was issued to me... Hey, am I too old to join the IDF ?
Rave ON !
I loved the large magcatch that both hands could not miss. No accidental mag drops either. Very loose mag well, but no excessive rattling of the aluminum USGI mags. Even Tiriaq's lone Thermold (old CF issue) magazine dropped out smoothly.
This baby loves to point. It felt so natural in my arms. I just adored how this rifle fit me in all my shooting positions. Nothing awkward. Hey, I could shoot this in a Service Rifle match or TWO .... if and only if I could adapt an ACOG TA31F to mount on top.... Look out 200m, 300m and 500m stages. Then look out CQB matches. Hey, I would love to play with this rifle in a Falling Plates match. You CF soldiers / shooting team fellas will know what I mean by Falling Plates matches.
Being a bullpup design, and I'm an old school Service Rifle shooter, I was expecting to get burned because the ignition and chamber is directly beneath your cheek. Not a single hint of getting burned. The brass pops out about 6' to the right and 90 degrees... kinda like my old HBAR (Colt)... Yes, I did own Colts long ago.
The brass was tossed out in fairly concentrated area. No dings, no dents on the brass. Nice and pretty like the AR15 ejection patterns... remember when HK91's and HK93's ejected their brass casings ? The TAVOR is nice to your brass.Conclusion:
My #### will fall off. I need to get one of these. Earthpigs of Southern Ontario look the fzck out !! Heeeere kitty kitty kitty !! Well, actually the trigger could use tweaking (shorter takeup) for precision shooting groundhogs. Hey, this is not a restricted rifle, so in reality you could go hunting with this TAVOR. It's a cool design. Lots more to like than when I witnessed some Krazy magazine (jams) changes with an FN2000 at Milcun one carbine match last fall.
There you have it...
Oh yeah, accuracy ? The Israeli engineers took a familiar looking AR15 straight line design and tweaked it... it appears to me. We could not do any serious grouping with the 8MOA red dot, but I'm going to let Grendel chime in here. He was grouping really well. He knows how to squeeze a trigger... after all, he's won several Sniper matches at NSCC in Connaught.
Cheers,
Barney
