The IWI (Israeli Weapon Industries) Tavor TAR (or SAR as the variant available in America) is known across the world as an effective military weapon. The bullpup design is an interesting choice which allows the ammunition and action to be placed behind the trigger as part of the shoulder stock. In turn, this allows for a regular length barrel to be placed further back toward the shooter. Such a feature makes the gun especially useful in close quarters urban combat without compromising its function at longer range when fighting outside of the city.
Let’s take a deeper look at one of Israel’s signature rifles.
Although this should never be a consideration when choosing a weapon, the Tavor is a thing of beauty with a sleek design style and elegant form. Although the appearance isn’t supremely important, in this case it reflects a sublime balance which allows the user to keep it shouldered and ready for use with their firing hand when they need to open a door or pick up an item with the off hand. The rifle is fully ambidextrous without modification, making it great for left handed shooters. The design is also helpful should a soldier’s shooting hand become injured and they are forced to use their off hand until the immediate battle is finished.
The Tavor has a wonderful simplistic design based on a long-stroke piston system to operate the weapon reliably in either full or semi automatic settings. A single pin holds the weapon together, allowing for quick and easy field stripping, and a modular design allows for easy change from the standard 5.56 NATO chambering to accept the smaller 5.56×30, 5.45×39, or 9mm rounds. The weapon comes standard with a flash suppressor at the end of an 18.1 inch barrel with a 1 in 7 twist rifling pattern.
The Tavor’s reliability is based on its waterproof design with sealed internal components, which allow it to function in the most extreme conditions of sand or mud. Assuming it is properly cleaned and maintained, it is going to fire when the trigger is pulled no matter what it may have been through earlier in the day. Outside of technical specifications, the proof is in the pudding and in this case, the Israelis field some of the most efficient fighting forces in the world.
All told, the Tavor TAR is a great military weapon any soldier would be happy to use. The SAR, the version sold in the United States, is also a great weapon for use by police, SWAT, or civilians as a home defense tool. It is a bit more expensive than an AR-15 or AK-47, but the quality of manufacturing and ease of use clearly justifies the added expense for someone who needs a weapon on a regular basis which they can rely on to serve their needs.
But don’t take our word for it — see the weapon in action in the video below.
~ Firearm Daily
