Considering the number of IWI rifles I’ve owned and tinkered with, a new line is exciting stuff. In this post we’re going to go over what we know, and make some guesses based on the photographs released so far.

First, the obvious: this is a non-bullpup polymer-shell 5.56 gun running off a piston system with lots of ambidexterity and built in adjustment.

My first question is: why this and not the Galil Ace?

I’d suggest that while the Ace is a long-stroke piston, the Carmel will be a short stroke piston. That’s a marked departure from previous IWI guns (both the Tavor and X95 have their pistons attached to the bolt carrier) but matches expectations from other players in the “modern-carbine” game.

The Tavor and Ace families may not have a lot in the way of gas adjustments, but the Carmel sports a very prominent gas-block, apparently outfitted with easy settings for standard, fouled, and suppressed setups.

Looking at the fore-end, I think it’s fair to say we have an X95 style “hidden quad rail” underneath those grip panels. Take a look at the lift levers on each part of the handguard, and sure enough you can see the pic rails exposed on the promo photo outfitted with the 40mm under-barrel launcher. The magwell attachment on that launcher looks like quite a chunk of hard-ware.

The charging handle looks to be folding and reversible, and I would certainly hope non-reciprocating. Almost every single photo I’ve seen appears to have the dust cover closed, so its hard to get any idea of what the bolt might be like, although promo material suggests a 3-lug rotating bolt.

The barrel on these is being advertised as a quick-change system and free-floating. I’m not sold on the necessity of quick change barrels outside of an LMG, but if you can build it, why wouldn’t you? More importantly, the note on free floating suggests that IWI is putting accuracy at the forefront of this new rifle family.

Just look at the size of that bolt-release! We’ve come a long way from the ping-pong paddle, and it looks like the lever on the right side can be manipulated to lock the bolt to the rear. I like to imagine that it’s a right-side-release of its own too, the shape certainly suggests it, but it’s hard to say that with certainty.

The stock seems to be a lift-to-fold design, with adjustable length, and a built in adjustable cheek riser. Also interesting: take a look at the hinged butt-plate. I’d bet a stack of bullion that there’s some kind of storage system inside there.

The pistol grip itself is distinctly more vertical than many off-the-shelf rifles, bearing closer resemblance to the aftermarket K-grips. That grip doesn’t look modular to me, but its interesting that the entire lower receiver is so low on the gun and such a small part compared to your normal half-and-half split.

Look at where the bottom of the pistol grip is compared to the bottom of the stock, and then look at your closest AR-15. I bet this feels very different in the shoulder.

We can see several metal sling mounts built into the stock and fore-end, but there’s no sign of the QD slots that were a key part of adapting the X95 for consumer use. IWI has effectively said that this rifle is currently being firmly pitched to South American military and police contracts.

Will a semi-specific version someday make it’s way to the commercial market? That seems like a natural progression, but no timeline or plan on that yet. What do you think: Is this the kind of thing we’ll see submitted for classification and on the civilian ranges in Canada?

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….North Sylva has been in the Canadian firearms scene for over 60 years. It’s said that one in five firearms sold in Canada are imported by them. Being a distributor for Colt Canada, H&K, IWI, FN America, KRISS, and a whole bunch of other manufacturers, I won’t touch on every single new thing coming up, but I’ll hit all the points folks hopefully are looking for. I’m not going to make you read all the way to the end of the article to get the answers to a whole bunch of peoples questions. IWI had a great booth at SHOT Show this year. There was a ton of talk around the TS-12 Semi-auto 15+1 shotgun, the Tavor 7 .308 battle rifle, and the Masada 9mm striker fire pistol (although not on display at SHOT).

……….Folks up here in Canada are also eager to get more information on the status of the M+M M10X DMR. For those not in the know, the M10X was submitted to the RCMP Firearms Labs for testing and classification. In October 2017 the RCMP gave the M10X a non-restricted classification. North Sylva has been courting the manufacturer since 2013 on a process to get the rifle into Canadian shooters hands. At time of writing the M10X DMR is slated to be in Canadian hands approximately by May 2018 at minimum advertised price of $1999 CDN.

……….As for the IWI TS-12 semi-auto shotgun. It is extremely unlikely that it will ever make its way to Canada. As its primary ammunition carriage system is based off of the X-Rail shotgun magazine system which I believe the RCMP already deems as a prohibited item, the chances that the sci-fi looking TS-12 will ever come to Canada are next to none. The Masada striker fire pistol, the first in IWI’s line up is a good looking 9mm service pistol, but at last check the Masada is still having some production delays. Since the Masada’s barrel length is 104mm which is 2mm short of the legal length in Canada this will factor into the wait time. As a result it may be a while before Canadians can get their hands on the Masada, no ETA for export just yet. The Tavor 7 .308 bull-pup battle rifle had a great showing earlier this year in Las Vegas.  If the RCMP gives their stamp of approval, this .308 calibre rifle is going to be coveted in the Canadian market, not only for it’s compact build, which combined with the .308 round will be very useful in the back-country, on hunting excursions, and wilderness protection. The US release has been delayed until May/June and North Sylva is currently waiting for a sample from IWI.

……….While the Type 97 rifle has been in Canada for awhile, the Gen 2 rifle has been in Canada and available for quite some time. I’m surprised more people don’t have this bull-pup in their collection as well. Now with an integrated 1913 picatinny rail, KAC-style flip-up iron sights, and updated design. This rifle looks sexy compared to it’s predecessor. If you don’t have one of these in your collection, you truly are missing out on a gem of a rifle to shoot.

……….North Sylva also carries a full line of Meprolight optics for your firearms. Their line-up of pistol aftermarket sights is pretty awesome, especially the uniquely designed FT Sight system and Micro RDS pistol sight that has QD release with built in iron sights. As always their line-up of award winning electro optical and magnified sights like the battle proven M21 and MOR sights and their Mepro 4x magnified sights are all available now.

……….I wrote earlier this year about the prevalence of first focal length variable magnification scopes being more popular and in more reasonable price ranges. Now EOTech is getting into that game as well with the new Vudu line of scopes. With a crisp wide and zoom-in reticle that is useful at magnification you are getting a feature packed optic for a very competitive price, especially when you compare the Vudu against the Night Forces and Schmidt and Benders of the world.

……….In the next month or so North Sylva will be getting a limited Colt Canada run of three-hundred SA15.7 and two-hundred SA20 rifles. This run of Colts will also have an engraving on the lower receiver that will be exclusive to North Sylva’s run of the SA15.7 and SA20s.

……….While the snow is slow to melt this year in Canada there is plenty of hot new firearms and accessories ready to launch very soon from companies across the country. North Sylva is one of those companies ready to bring Canadian shooters the products they want, and 2018 is starting to shape up to be a very good year.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Various Internet Sources

……….Ahead of SHOT Show IWI has started dropping information on their foray into shotgun territory with the TS12.  And it’s looking like they’re going with a beefy bullpup design bordering on science fiction of the Robert A. Heinlein kind.  You know what, it’s not bad at all.  How else are you going to avenge the destruction of Buenos Aires?

……….IWI has always built weapons with forward thinking in mind.  With the Tavor 7 and the Masada pistol fresh in their line up for this year.  The TS12 is a bullpup, semi-automatic, TWENTY-SIX round shotgun.

TAVOR TS12 BULLPUP SHOTGUN FROM IWI

• Gas regulated
• 15+1 max capacity
• Right or left ejection
• Automatically feed a round into the chamber
• Four sling mounts
• MLOK compatible rail
• Picantinny optics rail
• Benelli/Beretta choke tube compatibility
• 18.5” Barrel
• OAL 28.35”
• 2.5kg (5.5lbs) unloaded
• Cross bolt safety
• “Bullhead” Bolt locking system
• MSRP: $1,399 USD

……….With a 3 rotating magazine tube, the system is gas operated and the ejection port can be setup to go left or right like the Tavor.  Has built in MLOK accessory attachment points,  has a Beretta and Benelli choke tube compatibility, and a 1913 rail for mounting sights and optics.  Depending on the type of shells loaded you can have around 3lbs of ammunition loaded to the 5.5 pound unloaded weight of the TS12, which is hefty but within the similar weight category of the Kel-Tec KSG.

……….I already have an interview lined up with IWI US at SHOT Show.  So rest assured I’ll get more information on the TS12 along with the Tavor 7 and the Masada.

“Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” – Robert A. Heinlein

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Now there’s some discussion over whether this is a real phenomenon or not. From what I could see, on my rifle, it seems quite likely that the rear profile of the polymer magpul p-mag is touching the bolt hold open device just enough to raise it and have it interact with the bolt even when the magazine has rounds in it.

I believe this to be the source of the jams and failure to feeds I experienced previously.

This is a combined video of my review of the Leupold HAMR and the run and gun exercises I’ve done with it. Its a 4X32 scope and red-dot combo. The full (long) cut of the run and gun is right after the jump . . .

I had lots more to say that didn’t make it into the review. You can see it here:

Overall, while this scope has some really solid things going for it, I’m much happier with my Vortex Razor HD Gen II 1-6

Well it seems like I’ve finally done something wrong to this gun. She’s failing with disturbing regularity. Sometimes the round doesn’t make it into the chamber, and instead get bit by the bolt. Sometimes the bolt cycles and doesn’t grab anything. Sometimes the bolt-hold open device fails to engage.

After some substantial troubleshooting, I determined damage had happened to my bolt and bolt hold open device, possibly due to resting on a magazine, but also potentially from the magpul p-mags that I’ve been using. You can see the way they interact . . .

This combination took me a while to set up. Installing the full length top rail was a huge pain in the ass but it allowed me to mount a 512 eo-tech and riser in front of my ATN Spirit. With a Gen 2+ tube its not the best NVD available, but its certainly a cut above entry level units. Using a 1x lens and picatinny mount in conjunction with the IR output of the Inforce WML means I can confidently engage targets within 100 yards.

While current generation Tavors come with a full length rail, I had to buy mine from Canada Ammo. Made by Ranch Tactical, this rail is certainly a cut above the NEA equivalent, but it does have some fitting issues still. The rail fits over the lower profile gas block, effectively removing the rear flip up sight and covering the IWI proprietary NVD or magnifier mount.

The night vision I’m using now came from this site here:

When the weather’s nice enough to go out and play: well I do just that. This footage came from a camping trip I did with a ton of gear and a bivy sack.

Does the helmet strike you as silly? Me too sometimes, but keep in mind that I’m moving like this when I’m out in the bush:

I’m lucky enough to live in a gorgeous place with real wilderness within easy access, but thats tempered with the fact that the wilderness gets awfully cold for several months each year. I try to shoot year round, but I can’t just roll out in an evening like I try to do in summer.

The way I figure it: I’ve put all this money of mine into the equipment, so I’d better make sure it sees some use.

This video was shot approximately a week after I finally picked up my Tavor. Lots of people told me this was an IMI rifle, but its stamped with an IWI logo right on the side, so I’ll proudly argue anyone who wants to that this is manufactured by Israeli Weapons Industries and not Israeli Military Industries. More on that later.

This rifle has changed a lot over the year that I’ve had it. While it started out like this, it’s now quite different. At the time I could only afford a Vortex Viper PST 1-4, but now I use a Vortex Razor 1-6 and find it a much better fit. I’ve also put a full rail and iron sights on the top to make it a more flexible system.

I still use the JBM ballistics calculator every chance I get, and take the Razor HD Spotting Scope with my everywhere. I’ve traded the Leica rangefinder for a vortex one too, and while I like to use the Eberlestock, its getting a little to small for the very wide profile of the Tavor.