IWI announcing California-compliant Tavor

Good news for the people of California, IWI has just put together a California-compliant package for the Tavor bullpup rifle. Based on the Tavor SAR RS, this rifle complies with California’s length and fixed magazines requirements.

The California-friendly Tavor, model number TSB16CA, is built on a 16.5-inch base model and fit with an extended 4-inch muzzle brake to bring the overall length up to the required 30 inches. It comes with a 10-round magazine that needs a tool to remove, as required by state statues.

Like the bulk of Tavors it is chambered for 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington and it’s also compatible with the 9mm conversion kit. The kit is sold separately and will require an extended muzzle device for use in California but that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.

While some people may wonder why IWI-US didn’t base its Cali-compliant model off an 18-inch carbine most people will be happy to hear that they are available in the first place. Previously California residents could own Tavor bullpups only if they had a gunsmith make these modifications, increasing the price on what is already a premium rifle.

The factory-installed “bullet button” doesn’t mar the lines of the Tavor and the muzzle brake is long enough that it looks like it should be able to contain the muzzle flash pretty well in addition to making the rifle a little more controllable. Not like the Tavor needed much help there in the first place, it’s already a very smooth-handling gun, which is part of the appeal.

The California model has a full-length MIL-STD Picatinny top rail in addition to the standard short rail mounted at a 45-degree angle on the right side of the carbine. Each carbine comes with an embedded set of backup iron sights built into the rail. The front sight uses an AR-15 sight post and the sights are adjustable for windage and elevation with an included tool.

One nice touch is that the front sight post includes a tritium-powered lamp for shooting at night or in the dark.

The rifle will hit the market in black only and the MSRP is $1,999. IWI isn’t charging extra for the compliancy parts, and hopefully they won’t cost too much more than standard Tavor rifles, which can be found for around $1,700. Of course, as is common with new products it might take a little time for prices to normalize.

Apart from the increased length and magazine lock, the California model is identical to other Tavor carbines. It weighs in at just over 8 pounds, comes standard with a hammer-forged chrome moly vanadium barrel with a 1-in-7-inch twist and long-stroke gas piston operating system.

If you had written off ever owning a Tavor because of your geography, think again. For more information about Tavor rifles hit up the IWI-US website and for all things Tavor-related check out the company’s Facebook page.