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.