The Tavor was my combat rifle in the IDF. When RF told me that IWI was shipping TTAG the X95 in 300 Blackout, I jumped at the chance to spend some more trigger time with my beloved bullpup and follow-up on Jeremy’s four-star review.
The first thing I noticed about new 300 Blackout Tavor: the adjustable gas block. As the caliber’s creators designed the round to shoot suppressed, it’s a necessity to ensure proper cycling and prevent over-gassing. I also appreciated the rails and covers on the front of the rifle; something lacking on the original IDF-issued X95.
The bullpup really shined when Jeremy attached the Q Half Nelson suppressor. I’ve shot a great many suppressed firearms over the years; all of them had some unpleasant blowback. There wasn’t any felt blowback when I shot the Tavor X95 suppressed. In that sense, the bullpup was the most pleasant suppressed firearm I’ve ever fired.
I fed the gun both with Cap arms 208 gr A-Max (subsonic) ammo and Remington 120 gr OTM (supersonic). Both ran without issue or any malfunctions, even though I shot the Remington round on the same gas setting as the suppressed round.
I wish we would’ve had access to the Tavor X95 in 300 BLK during my service with the Israeli Defense Force. The larger round would have been a better caliber than 5.56 for close quarters combat — which is exactly the mission for which the bullpup was designed.
For American civilians, the Tavor X95 in 300 Blackout is simply a smoother shooting rifle than the same gun in 5.56. And that makes it more fun, especially when you’re shooting it suppressed.
Is gun I want,and in 300 Blackout.
most pleasant suppressed firearm I’ve ever fired and how many would that be?
I understand the attraction many have for the 300 Blackout and that it loads from the same magazine as the 5.56, but what is the trade-off in round count? How many 300 B rounds will load into a 20 round 5.56 mag, generally?
Rounds in mag are the same
It is 5.56×45 case necked up and has the same COAL.
20 300blk supers/subs function perfectly in a 20 round .556 magazine. 30 supers will function perfectly in a 30 round magazine. 30 subs will almost all the time, function perfectly in a 30 round magazine. 40 supers will function perfectly in a 40 round magazine. 40 subs, will not. Most subs are 4 times as heavy as the standard 55gr .556 round. Depending on the spring strength, it will determine functionality. Magpul recently came out with dedicated 300blk mags. I haven’t gotten any yet. They removed an inner rib/seam that sometimes hindered feeding longer subsonic rounds. But I’m not sure if they added stronger springs for them.
The issue with the magpuls was pretty well unique to them. Lancers and GI type mags don’t generally suffer that issue. The extra ribbing that was removed rode the shoulder of the 5.56, but the massive subsonics would rub it, pushing them out of line.
The lancers even handle the almost cylindrical Maker subsonics.
Now this is a useful review. Your experience with this rifle previously, adds legitimacy that’s hard to come by. I was a very early adopter of the 300blk and have an AAC 9″ factory pistol w/brace as my home defense/life and liberty firearm. IMO, at civilian defensive ranges (you’d be hard pressed to justify ANY defensive shootings past 75-100 yards) the 30 cal pill dominates any .556 rounds. The versatility of being able to chamber 110gr supers (2x the weight of average .556) up to 220gr subs, (that suppressed approach Hollywood quiet), is remarkable. I was interested in the Tavor when it first came out. I held out for the 300blk. But since then, I’ve read about the accuracy problems of the X95, which remain unresolved, and the excessive gas in the face, while suppressed. Both a no go for me. Would’ve liked to have heard you address both of those issues.
If you don’t mind my asking, how do you fit a .30 cal in a point-five-five-six mag? 🙂
The number of rounds you can fit in a 20 round 5.56 magazine is determined by the cartridge LOA and the diameter of the case below the neck and shoulder. The case can be necked down or up without affecting the count. The 300 BLK has the same case diameter and case head, but is necked-up to hold a .30 cal bullet. It works fine.
If you take a closer look at my comment, I said POINT five five six/.556 not five point five six/5.56.
What Nick said,just source Lancers whether 5.56 or 300 Blk is used for ammunition and be done with it.