What Can Someone Tell Me About A Tavor

[carlson1]

My sone is looking at trading for a Tavor. I know nothing about them and was wondering if any of our members have had any experience with them. The pros and cons and maybe.

Tavor X95 – 5.56 NATO 16.5″ Barrel | IWI US, Inc.
https://iwi.us/product/tavor-x95-5-56-nato-w16-barrel/

[Charles L. Cotton]

I researched them a few months ago and this is what I learned. The trigger is typical for a bullpup - bad to terrible. However, there are aftermarket parts/triggers that make significant improvements. The deal-breaker for me was the lack of accuracy. The videos I've seen show 100 yd groups (or 100 yd equivalent) in the 2.5 to 5" range. They may be okay for clearing a room, but . . .

Chas.

[The Annoyed Man]

People who have them seem to like them. They're a little too spendy for my blood. MSRP is $1,999. As an alternative, Kel-Tec has the RDB (Rifle Downward-Ejecting Bullpup) which has also been well received, with an MSRP of $1275 ... and I've seen them for less than that. PSA had them for something like $899 not that long ago, although they are currently sold out. The couple that I've held even seemed like they were pretty well made, and they've gotten some good reviews.

https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearms/rifles/rdb/


GrabAGun.com has the black one for $796.99: https://grabagun.com/kel-tec-rdb-5-56-17-30rd-2.html

[The Annoyed Man]

I researched them a few months ago and this is what I learned. The trigger is typical for a bullpup - bad to terrible. However, there are aftermarket parts/triggers that make significant improvements. The deal-breaker for me was the lack of accuracy. The videos I've seen show 100 yd groups (or 100 yd equivalent) in the 2.5 to 5" range. They may be okay for clearing a room, but . . .

Chas.

I think that the primary market for bullpups here is for home defense/CQB, at distances where a 2.5-5.0 MOA gun probably won't make a difference. I like the idea of their general handiness, but I would not pick one myself for a primary home/personal defense weapon .... not when you can get an AR pistol that's just as handy, without the heavy/mushy triggers that bullpups are known for.

The TAVOR is 26.125″ long. The Kel-Tec RDB is 27.3" long. My home defense 11.5" SBR AR is 27.75" with the stock collapsed, and not counting the flashhider/suppressor mount or the suppressor. Slap a suppressor onto either of the bullpups, and it's still in the same size range as my SBR—and you can have an AR that is the same length as mine without having to register it, if you have a pistol instead of a SBR. It seems to me that the primary virtue of a bullpup then becomes the weight balance, with the weight of the barrel being closer to one's body, so a little bit handier without sacrificing barrel length, and hence ballistic performance. But again, at the distances I'm likely to use the SBR (or a bullpup), the slight loss of velocity to reduced barrel length isn't going to matter in terms of terminal ballistics.

So if your son is looking for a personal defense weapon, he might be better served by buying an AR pistol with a 10.5" to 11.5" barrel on it. There's not enough loss of ballistic performance at realistic personal defense distances to matter; the accuracy will be good if he's got a good barrel and BCG; the difference in length won't be but maybe 0.5"-1.0" longer than either of the bullpups; the trigger will be much better....even just a plain old mil-spec trigger; it will cost about half the price of the TAVOR, it will cost about the same price as the RDB (without any trigger and accuracy issues); and the aftermarket will be MUCH bigger for it.

So every time I consider getting a bullpup for myself, those are the thoughts I come up with. I hope your son has an easier time deciding than I did.

[mrvmax]

I fired someone’s at the range and liked it, he had an aftermarket trigger and it was nice and smooth (and light). I only shot it a couple times so not sure on accuracy. Even at wholesale prices I don’t see one in my future though. The Beretta ARX100 has dropped in price significantly and is more reasonable. A bit different than a Tavor but it’s priced much better.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/mobile/prod ... 23rem+30rd

[carlson1]

There is someone wanting to make a trade. I don’t know that I would keep it and was wondering how easy it would be to sale. It doesn’t look like something I could get used to. The. Again I have not shot many bullpups.

[Chemist45]

Full disclosure: I love bullpups and don't mind the trigger.
Most bullpup triggers can be improved.
My Tavor can do 2" groups at 100 yards. YMMV. That being said, I would not use .223 for a deer rifle.
I think it is a very well designed and well built gun.
Palmetto State Armory has them on their AR-15 days of Christmas sale for $1100.
They are currently out of stock but usually honor back orders.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/iwi-tav ... 3a00+Email

I would call and ask.

[Beiruty]

He is my interpretation of PWD
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KZYxooJnYDcdbmFf8

[The Annoyed Man]

Full disclosure: I love bullpups and don't mind the trigger.
Most bullpup triggers can be improved.
My Tavor can do 2" groups at 100 yards. YMMV. That being said, I would not use .223 for a deer rifle.
I think it is a very well designed and well built gun.
Palmetto State Armory has them on their AR-15 days of Christmas sale for $1100.
They are currently out of stock but usually honor back orders.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/iwi-tav ... 3a00+Email

I would call and ask.

I’m a lefty. IWI will do left handed conversions, and they also recommend a list of outside vendors that are IWI-certified to do the conversions. The only one in Texas is TK Tactical in Lucas, TX. They charge $155 for the conversion, plus $45 for insured return freight. So for me, buying a TVOR (or most other bullpups for that matter) will cost me another $200 or so on top of the price of the gun in order to make it usable for me....and that doesn’t include my cost to ship it to them.

Yes, the TVOR seems like a nice gun, especially if the price gets knocked down. But the extra cost and inconvenience of ownership for lefties makes it just not worth it to me. That’s one of the reasons I’m more bullish on the RDB for a bullpup for me. The ambidextrous controls and the downward ejection make it the most lefty-friendly bullpup.

I was actually reading up on this stuff a few days ago before first seeing this thread. The British SA80 bullpup military rifle doesn’t even have a lefty-conversion capability. If you’re issued a rifle in the British military, you learn to shoot and qualify right-handed, or you fail out. That’s seems foolish, when 15% of your pool of infantrymen will struggle to meet minimum standards, many of whom are going to otherwise be perfectly suited for the job.

The Steyr AUG can be converted, but it isn’t easily done by the owner/user....not to mention having to buy additional parts to do it.

I wouldn’t mind owning a bullpup, and maybe someday I will, but the hassle of making them lefty-friendly has influenced my decision to go with an SBR instead. The RDB solves that for me, so IF I buy a bullpup, it’ll be the RDB, even if the TVOR is a "nicer" gun.

[K-Texas]

Having your face essentially pressed against a chamber isn't something I could warm up to. No Bullpups for me! IWI may not have the same interpretation of 5.56mm NATO ammo as is the case for some who just load .223 REM with a heavier bullet and call it 5.56mm NATO. Pressure spec difference is 55,000 PSI/SAAMI for the .223 REM and slightly over 62,000 PSI/CIP for the 5.56mm NATO. I've never heard of any case failures, but that, does not change my opinion. No matter how long the Brits have been using their standard issue Bullpups, or even the highest rated Steyr Aug.

[Chemist45]

Hey Tam!
You need a PS-90. It ejects out the bottom and is a hell of a lot of fun to shoot.

[The Annoyed Man]

Hey Tam!
You need a PS-90. It ejects out the bottom and is a hell of a lot of fun to shoot.

Oh heck no! I’m sure it’s fun to shoot, but it looks like a space gun that escaped from a 1960s sci-fi movie, and the ammo is too expensive. OTH, if you’re buying, I’ll be happy to help you burn through a 1000 round lot.

[ScubaSigGuy]

Carl, I have one, give me a call.

[carlson1]

Carl, I have one, give me a call.

I will call you tomorrow. Thanks

[SigM4]

I have one and like it. Here it is next to my 12.5” SBR’d AR. Don’t let the longer suppressor fool you, take a look at there the muzzle devices are.



The main attraction is short overall length without getting into SBR paperwork (I have plenty of SBRs). As Charles notes the trigger isn’t the greatest, but mine is a recent production gun and it’s not as bad as earlier models. It’s a chunky little guy though, I guess I could always use it as a club if/when I ran out of ammo. As for accuracy it’s fine for about 2 MOA at 100 yds, but it is not a long-range gun by any means. No real way to support it from a bench or such.

As for converting for a lefty there is no need to send it out, can be done at the kitchen table in about 15-20 minutes. Ease of assembly/disassembly is a big feature on these. Very easy to work on.

They retail around $1300-1400, but you can find them right around $1000 on sale. I picked mine up during for screaming deal at one point when Grab-a-Gun had them on special.

All in all a fun gun but not one to replace any of my ARs. If anything it would make for a great rifle to take with you in the car on a road trip if traveling out of state to avoid the whole transport of SBRs thing.

Carlson, is the trade offer for a Tavor X95 or the older Tavor SAR?