IWI US announced the Tavor X95 chambered for the 300 BLK is now shipping to dealers. The bullpup design rifle has become quite popular in 5.56 NATO, and many people have been looking forward to getting a 300 BLK version ever since it was announced during the summer of last year.

The initial shipment of guns include 300 BLK X95 rifles in black and flat dark earth. OD Green versions of the gun will also be offered, though the company did not immediately provide an approximate shipping date. The new guns have a suggested retail price of $2,049.

I had a chance to test the X95 rifle in 5.56 NATO recently, and I found it to be an excellent rifle. My test gun was very accurate and 100% reliable. While there will likely always be arguments about traditional rifles vs. bullpup designs (see also: 9mm vs .45 and Glock vs 1911), I found the gun very easy to run even though none of my prior formal training had ever been with the more compact design.

While I’m very accustomed to the AR design, I quickly adapted to the X95. I shot with several smaller statured shooters who had little rifle experience. All of them liked the feel of the X95 much more than that of the AR. All of them expressed an appreciation of how the gun balances and that they all felt more in control of the gun because of it.

With the X95s integral gas regulator, I would presume that the gun would be easy to tune to subsonic and supersonic loads – a significant concern for 300 BLK shooters.