Well, after my posts asking about one, with forum members letting me examine a couple, the final straw was Nate inviting me to the range to shoot his. When I found (at least at 50yd) I could shoot offhand with it just as well as off hand with one of my SBR's with its superb Geissele trigger, that was it. That evening I lucked out and found a gently pre-owned 16" one for an attractive price and picked it up today.
Not the greatest photo, but you can see above that my Primary Arms Gen II 1-6x scope and the thermal fit on the rail...barely, but they fit. Would have more rail room with a shorter scope, and I haven't ruled that out yet. I flipped up the flexible cover that goes over the rear end of the thermal and the front of the day scope to keep the screen light from showing to show how close they are to each other...the closer without touching, the better the view. It looks like the lenses aren't lined up very well, but that's just the bottom of the rubber cover you are seeing. The view on 1x is superb...I can see the whole rectangular screen of the thermal...that will make for a wide field of view when scanning.
I took it to Sawman's house. With the one spring removed from the trigger group, the pull weight was 10 lb 4 oz. Not as light as some have gotten, but then several owners have reported the more it was fired, the less the trigger pull. We then sat in his Bad Boy Buggy, trying different shooting positions and brainstorming how to better carry when driving and shooting from the buggy. I think we ended up with some good ideas, and he's going to install a strap-type shooting support for me that hangs from the upper framework on the passenger side. Rest fore end on the strap and sit back agains the seat to eliminate any forwards and backwards movement; it seemed pretty steady and comfortable to hold for long periods. As I suspected, with its shorter length, it took more effort to lean forward to rest the rifle on the front lower support bracket + my head would be too close to Sawman's muzzle.
Bonus: I found i could measure the throat erosion/wear with my .223/5.56 gage, so I'll be able to indulge my hobby of monitoring bbl wear vs rounds fired.
Sawman liked the short length, and came up with some ideas for how he'd carry and shoot one, if he had one, in his buggy. It's a HELL of a lot handier for that type of hunting than a conventional length rifle. I suspect he may pull the trigger and get one, as it was easier to carry and much faster to get into shooting position. He seem happy trying various makes and lengths of magazines to see what would work for him. His wheels were also turning as he examined the hammer/sear group to see where he'd polish the contact points...he even got out some type of polishing kit and said this is what he'd use. Of course it is a .223/5.56 and not a 6.8, but he's taken plenty of animals with the .223/5.56.
I only fired 6 rounds through it before it started raining at my place. My 65gr hunting rounds were only 23fps less than they are in a 16" AR bbl, not bad for 2 different bbls. 65gr Sierra Gameking was 2759fps in the Tavor and 2782fps in a Midwest Industries AR bbl. No idea yet of the accuracy. I should have a suppressor on it next week. Life is good.
Finally, I got an email from Manticore Arms today. They are coming out with a new top rail for the Tavor, but it turns out it will be the same length as the factory rail. I had hoped for a long rail for more versatility in mounting my thermal. Oh well, maybe some company will make one. Gear Head is also introducing a new top rail, but it also will be the same factory length; it will be taller for better optics position above the Tavor.
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