Steven Hunter on the Tavor

This from the IWI Facebook page today:

In fact one of the fascinations of the Tavor--or any battle rifle, really, but especially so of the Tavor--is how it reflects its creators presumptions about the nature of the fights their troops will face in those upcoming engagements. It demonstrates a boldness of design and a practicality of usage, much like the famous Uzi submachine gun, so sublimely perfect it remains a tool for protective and special operations units the world over, even though it's close to 50 years old. It was, after all, Uzis that went to Entebbe and Uzis that came out of briefcases when someone tried to shoot President Reagan. That same brilliance coupled with practicality is exactly what characterizes the Tavor and will keep it on the front lines for years to come. 

So what can we infer from the design of the Tavor? It is somewhat odd looking, particularly with the heaviness through grip and depth of stock (which looks like an oar), that seemingly stubby barrel projecting just a few inches beyond what looks to be a trigger guard on steroids, all of it (except the barrel) sheathed in black plastic. Is it a rifle or something from "Star Wars X: The Prop Department Has Gone Nuts." 

But the more you shoot it, the better it looks. The more you learn, the smarter it seems. The first thing to be learned is that Israeli defense intellectuals foresee wars in urban environments, in rubble, shattered neighborhoods, tunnels, stairways, alleys and passages. The long-range engagements that saw American forces pulling M-14s out of Cosmoline for use in Afghanistan aren't on the IDF radarscope.

Read the whole thing. As usual, Steve nails it! That's why he's been a regular on GUN STORIES WITH JOE MANTEGNA…that and the fact he's a totally cool guy. Although he did threaten to kill me if I pushed the GS interviews longer than 3 hours!!!

I'm just about ready to draft my Tavor into house gun service. I'd like to put another hundred or so rounds through it. I will definitely be taking a carbine class with it later this year.