IWI US announced the company will show its brand new TAVOR SAR chambered in 300 BLK at the 2016 SHOT Show. According to Michael Kassnar, the VP of Sales and Marketing for IWI US, the company has received “a ton of requests” for a TAVOR chambered in 300 BLK.
The new TAVOR rifles will be available with either a 16.5″ or 18″ barrel. The barrels are cold hammer forged from chrome-moly steel. The barrels are chrome lined. Like the original TAVOR in 5.56 NATO, these bullpup rifles use a long stroke piston system.
One of the issues I have run into with some 300 BLK guns is making them run reliably with both super- and subsonic ammunition. The new rifle has a built in gas regulator to allow the shooter to tune the gun for normal or subsonic ammunition.
Since the 300 BLK fits into the same deisgn envelope as the original TAVOR and uses the same magazines as the 5.56 NATO, virtually all existing accessories should work with the new guns. Anything dependent on bullet diameter – such as a muzzle device – are not interchangeable. So, don’t throw a .223 caliber sound suppressor on this gun and expect it to work more than once.
The suggested retail price on the complete rifle is $2,049.
Conversion Kits
In addition to selling a rifle chambered for the .30 caliber cartridge, the company also announced it would sell conversion kits for existing TAVOR rifles. So, if you already own a 5.56 or 9mm TAVOR, you only need buy the conversion kit to run the 300 BLK.
The conversion kits will come with your choice of a 16.5″ or 18″ barrel made of chrome-moly steel, a headspaced bolt and barrel wrench. The barrels are cold hammer forged with a 1:7″ twist and are topped with an A2-style flash hider. The suggested retail price on the conversion kit is $499.
We will try to get more information for you on the TAVOR from the SHOT Show. I’m also looking forward to seeing another bullpup at the show: the Desert Tech MDR.
X95
Personally, I like the company’s newer X95 rifle better than the SAR line. You can read my IWI Tavor X95 review here.