Tavor experience

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The AR series of rifles have their ups and downs, but they are the most common rifle to come across in this country. The ergonomics are quite nice, and they do tend to be accurate. The drawbacks include the direct impingement gas system (which, to be fair, may not be as big a deal as some folks make it out to be) and the rather small and easily lost parts that make up it’s innards.

Various guns have come out to try and topple the AR and none seem to succeed. The AR is an excellent example of a system that remains dominant, despite better systems being available, simply through ubiquity.

The Tavor was supposed to be a challenge to the AR and, for the Israelis, it did in fact compete successfully. As the Tavor has started showing up in more numbers here, I finally got to shoot one the other day. Sadly, it will not make me give up the AR for my .223 needs.

No doubt, it’s a handy rifle. It’s compact profile makes it a darling for the tight confines of vehicles and the like. Unfortunately, for me, that’s about all it offered. The iron sights, an afterthought at best, are unprotected and stick up like a flagpole off the Tavor’s flattop receiver. I’ve no doubt that a drop from any height onto a hard surface will bend them or snap them off. To be fair, they are emergency backup sights…not meant for everyday use. But the iron sights on my AR are very well protected and easily adjustable.

The trigger…well, it’s a bullpup. You do the math.

My biggest complaint was getting lungfuls of propellant gas when shooting more than a few rounds at once. While the ejection port is right next to your cheek, your face is up towards the front of the gun where the gas, it seems, vents from the piston.

The forend seemed unnecessarily bulky and unwieldy, the safety lever rubbed irritatingly into my thumb, and the low bore axis made for an odd cheekweld with open sights.

All in all, I just didn’t like it. I’ve shot the MSAR STG556, a copy of the AUG (sorta), and found it to be more likable than the Tavor.

But…neither one really offers anything that is paramount enough to make me give up the AR. This isn’t to say the AR is the best .223 rifle. Rather it’s to say that given the huge distribution of the AR in this country, and the enormous aftermarket parts, and the ease of logistics, there isn’t anything offered by the Tavor to make me give those up.

If you have an AR already, there’s nothing here for you, in my opinion. If you haven’t gottten a .223 rifle and are in the market for one, I’d not recommend the Tavor unless you really have a thing for bullpups. In a perfect world I’d have a safe full of HK93s, but given the ubiquity of the AR platform…….

7 thoughts on “Tavor experience”

  1. Near exact feelings I had firing a couple different Tavor’s, one even with the enhanced trigger package that was suppose to take the ‘mushy’ feel out of the factory trigger. Another thing I don’t like about them, can’t do shoulder transitions when firing around a corner or you’ll eat brass, and I kept nudging the mag release dropping the magazine just enough so it wouldn’t feed properly. I had chance to fire a SBR’d AUG clone and it was far more handy. I’ll keep my AR’s and if I want a short AR, a 11.5″ AR pistol with a Sig brace or Shockwave fin or AK pistol with sig brace will be bought.

  2. I’ve had a Tavor for about 2 years now. I do have the Mepro 21 sight on it and have had no issues with gas escaping or anything like that. The rifle was designed to be used with this sight and the irons are strictly backups.

    Maybe it was because my head was a little higher with the M-21 sight.

    I’ve also a Timney trigger in her and that reduced the trigger pull to 5 lbs. (from 12)

    Given, the trigger is not as nice as my ARs with the Ruger Elite 452 in them (3 1/2 lb) or my SCAR 17 with it’s Timney but for a rifle to use in CQB you can’t beat it.

    I wouldn’t want to use it consistently at ranges >100 yards.

    Just my $.02

  3. X95 (Tavor update) isn’t significantly different, but it does have the better trigger pull and the closer to AR ergonomics.

    My only issue is that it’s NOT popular as the AR. Good luck finding parts readily in a bad scenario.

  4. In the book version of RAMBO II the lead character is offered the ultimate state of the bad ass art rifle to take back into Viet Nam. Laser, nigh vision, and every other whistle and bell you cold hang on it.
    He looks at his handler and says ‘Can I have an AK instead?”
    His handler scoffs and says “An AK? Hell, every 12-year old over there has one of those!”
    “Exactly. I’ll sound like one of them. I can get ammo from them.”

    When you’re next reload is as close as the nearest dead, scared or corrupt National Guardsman or Sheriffs Deputy, that’s something to think about.

  5. thank you, and your commenters, for this. i was about to make an expensive mistake. no joke, was looking at picking up one this weekend. not anymore.

  7. I have fired the Tavor and was not impressed. I will stick to my AR and AK. I still would like to have an FAL though.

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