Weapon Name- Tavor .308
Round Type- 7.62mm x 51mm NATO
Over-all length- 30.75 inches
Barrel length- 20 inches
Weight- 8.6 lb
Rate of Fire- 600 RPM
Feed Mechanism- Detachable Box Magazine
Round Capacity- 20, 25, 30, 50
Effective Range- 600 meters
Range- 1000 meters
Accuracy- 1 MOA
Accessories- Picatinny Rails
Quick switch firing mechanism- N/A
Scope/Sights- Picatinny Rails
Muzzle Velocity- 785 m/s, 11.3 grams
Firing System- Long stroke gas piston
Miscellaneous/electronic information- The weapon is essentially a casless bullpup Tavor assault rifle chambered in 7.62mm x 51mm NATO.
Basic Information
The Tavor TAR-21 (or simply Tavor) is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle, chambered in the 7.62mm x 51mm NATO, with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode and full automatic fire mode. Built around a long-stroke piston system (as found in the M1 Garand and AK-47), the Tavor was designed to maximise reliability, durability, and ease-of-maintenance, particularly under adverse or battlefield conditions. Utilizing the 7.62mm x 51mm NATO cartridge, it is much more accurate and powerful than the standard 5.56mm, with an effective range of approximately 600 meters, and a maximum effective range of around 1200 meters; the round is inherently accurate, and standard factory ammunition possesses around 1 MOA with the match grade rounds the weapon is designed to use. Possessing around 3500 joules, accelerating an 11.3 gram cartridge nearly 785 m/s and in a weapon roughly the same size as the 5.56mm, it's accuracy and firepower greatly extends the capabilities of any standard NATO weapon, while still maintaining the compact size and light weight of those systems. It's balance is virtually unmatched, making it a very back heavy weapon, which makes it even easier to point down range than standard bullpups; the weapon can be held pointed in the fire position with virtually no muscle fatigue, as the weapon is balanced similarly to a bowling pin.
The weapon has phenomenal ergonomics and reliability, despite basing it's operating system on the Ak-47 and M14 long strike gas piston designs, and being designed from the ground up to be as comfortable and ergonomic as possible. The core basis on the design focused on functionality in the harshest of conditions and the ease of use and training. It's back heavy design helps with muscle fatigue, compared to front heavy weapons, which allow it to be easily pointed down range; the exceptional balance and configuration of the weapon means the user doesn't have to fight the weapon to keep it on target, which reduces natural human error brought on by muscle exertion to some degree, makes it faster to draw and fire (feeling virtually weightless on the draw), and generally makes it a more stable firing platform. The weapon is so well weighted that very little pressure is needed to maintain a firing position once the weapon is shouldered, making it ideal for prolonged combat situations, where resting the weapon may not be possible.
The weapon uses a detachable polygonal cobalt chrome gain twist "flow formed" 5 groove 1:11.25 (1 complete turn in 1 in 11.25 inches / 285.75mm) right hand turn barrel; the barrel is made of an alloy that contains more than 50 percent cobalt. The barrel is roughly 13% heavier than standard steel barrels, but is more erosion and corrosion-resistant and is designed to retain high strength during long-term exposure to high temperatures. Cobalt alloys are frequently used in the aerospace industry, such as the hot-gas section of turbine engines. A proof of concept M240 7.62mm x 51mm NATO barrel, in practice, had 24,000 rounds test-fired through it, causing it to reach temperatures of 1,100 degrees, without failure. A steel barrel would have failed under such treatment. The gain twist not only enhances the accuracy of the weapon, but also dramatically increases it's life. As the first 4 inches and last 4 inches of the barrel receive the greatest wear, the gain twist allows a more gradual application of the rifling, thus providing less friction to the bullet and the barrel, which both increases accuracy and durability, as well as the velocity of the bullet. The barrel itself, combined with polygonal rifling, is extremely durable, and has a minimum 30,000 round barrel life, although it is possible to extend this or get use out of the rifle after the minimum is reached.
Like most bullpups, it's overall length is shorter for it's barrel length than traditionally laid out firearms. The weapon configuration is designed so that the action and magazine are located behind the trigger group and alongside the shooter's face, so there is no wasted space for the buttstock as in conventional designs. This permits a shorter firearm length for the same barrel length for improved maneuverability, and reduces weight. In comparison, an M16 has a 20 inch long barrel and is approximately 40 inches long; this is considered too long to be practical in close quarters, which is why the M4 carbine was developed, which is 33 inches long, although 30 inches long with a collapsed stock. This however shortened the barrel length to 14.5 inches; because accuracy and power are heavily dependent on barrel length, especially for 5.56mm and 7.62mm sniper rounds, the trade off between a carbine and full sized rifle is power, range, and accuracy, for improved CQB abilities, increased manoeuvrability, and a faster draw. The Tavor, on the other hand, with an 18 inch barrel, is always 28 inches long, without needing to collapse the stock (and thus become less ergonomic); in comparison, with a full length 20 inch barrel, the tavor would be 30 inches long, as long as an M4 carbine, with the length of a 20 inch M16 barrel. Thus, bullpups provide a longer barrel length for the same overall length of the weapon, allowing for both power, range, accuracy, and good manoeuvrability. For bullpup weapons using carbine length barrels, they can become shorter than most submachine guns, and are so easy to use they rarely need to be ducked in combat when moving around corners, at all.
The TAR-21 has ejection ports on both sides of the rifle so it can easily be reconfigured for right or left-handed shooters. However, this process requires partial disassembly, so it cannot be quickly reconfigured while the rifle is in use. It's ambidextrous fire mode selector above the pistol grip has a semi-automatic mode and a fully automatic mode. The Tavor is designed to be easily field-stripped, without the need for any additional tools. The rifle is waterproof and its internal mechanism is fully sealed from outside elements. The Tavor features a last round bolt catch, whereby the bolt holds open after the last round empties. This is a request of modern armies, as it helps to allow soldiers to know when their magazine empties and to reduce reloading times during combat. The bolt however can be locked after a magazine is added to the weapon, allowing for it to virtually automatically lock after the weapon is reloaded, making the weapon even faster to be ready to fire. The Tavor features a self-contained, drop-in trigger group, so that the trigger group can be changed or replaced without the use of additional tools. The weapon also makes heavy use of polymers, which reduces the weight and increases it's strength, as well as making it more resistant to corrosion.
As the weapon is fed with caseless ammunition, it's magazines are slightly different in overall size and function. However, they are fundamentally based on Ak-47 magazines, specifically the generation 3 Magpul magazines, which are known for their high strength polymers and general reliability. 7.62mm x 39mm cartridges are approximately 16.3 grams per cartridge; comparatively, the 6.5mm Grendel round is about 10 grams per cartridge. This means that, in the same 30 round magazine, it's possible to carry approximately 50 rounds. However, the magazines are designed to carry approximately 36 rounds; thus, the 6.5mm grendel magazines can carry approximately 60 rounds.
The system is significantly more reliable than the direct impingement system. The firing system is based off of the Ak-47, which uses a long stroke piston system, similar to that in the M1 Garand, Ak-47, BAR, or M14. In July 2007, the US Army announced a limited competition between the M4 carbine, FN SCAR, HK416, XCR, and the previously-shelved HK XM8. Ten examples of each of the four competitors were involved. Each weapon fired 60,000 rounds in an "extreme dust environment." The purpose of the shoot-off was for assessing future needs, not to select a replacement for the M4. The XM8 scored the best, with only 127 stoppages in 60,000 total rounds, the FN SCAR Light had 226 stoppages, while the HK416 had 233 stoppages. The M4 carbine scored "significantly worse" than the rest of the field with 882 stoppages. However, with the HK416, 117 of the 233 malfunctions were from just one of the 10 weapons. In comparison to this, the Ak-47 jams only approximately once per every 1000 rounds, in all environmental conditions, under rapid, sustained fire, without needing to be cleaned often, even with corrosive ammo, compared to the M16 under ideal conditions. This makes the Tavor's operating system far more rugged and reliable than the M16, as well as durable, which allows it to outlast the M16, and be used in a greater range of demanding environments (such as the jungle, arctic, or desert). Fine sands or even water can greatly impact the reliability of direct impingement systems, and it's larger mass and simpler design over short stroke gas pistons gives it a higher degree of reliability than them, despite their similarly increased improvements over Direct impingement systems.
The weapon makes extensive use of high strength polymers, which protect the weapon both from corrosion and heat. Based on magpul polymers, the materials strength is far beyond that of ordinary plastics. The weapon is inherently designed to use a number of accessories, most important a hydraulic recoil buffer in the stock, and a muzzlebreak. The hydraulic recoil buffer is similar to that of an M249, which reduces felt recoil and spreads out the recoil of the weapon over time, making it more controllable under rapid fire (this mechanism hinges at an angle down into the stock. In addition, it uses a surefire muzzlebreak, which reduces the recoil of the weapon by diverting the expanding gases at the muzzle rearword (and slightly up), which counteracts the recoil of the backwards impulse of the weapon, and in addition helps compensates for muzzle rise. This makes the weapon more controllable under rapid fire, as well as more comfortable to fire, and reduces the felt recoil by nearly 40%. Combined with the hydraulic recoil buffer, the weapon has approximately 60% less felt recoil, and is much more smooth and easier to handle, with nearly all the recoil going straight back into the user's shoulder, keeping the weapon on the target, thus increasing the accuracy. The weapon also possesses 2 inches of adjustibility, based on sniper guiding rods, which helps when wearing armor or thick clothing, and allows different users to adjust the weapon for their liking. The weapon is 28 inches long with the stock fully collapsed, and 30 inches long with it fully extended.
