ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

[Panoptes]

Just got mine, so a few initial observations/impressions:

Good:

Solidly built. And I mean SOLID.

Good weight. Not sure how it compares with the real thing but feels 'right'. I'm 5' 8" and it feels comfortable to shoulder if a little back-heavy (much like the L85).

Well made. I was expecting good things from TSI but average to poor on the ARES. How wrong I was! This is great quality. Although it's mainly carbon-fibre there's very little 'plasticky' feel to it. Surprising amount of metal parts, too. No rattles, creaks or wobbles.

Fixable:

MARS sight honestly isn't as bad as I've read. Mostly metal and seemingly well-built. Optics seem clear enough and not distorted as read elsewhere but a little dark (as expected though). Red dot/laser adjustments not instinctive but got there in the end.

Laser ok. Again, difficult to adjust but will be adequate for indoor CQB as intended.

ROF. I like realistic ROF but this feels quite slow on an 8.4 mini battery. Will have to ramp it up with a 9.6 I think.

Bad:

No printed manual.

Trigger. Nice and 'tight' - very positive. Response though seems poor. Trigger/fire delay very noticeable. Long travel. Not sure if this can be fixed.

Is there a mosfet in this thing?....

Overall:

Worth the RRP? Maybe not (just) but has potential. A must buy if you're into less common/exotic weapons.

Pics to follow...

[psirus101]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Just a quick question, would you say any part of the gun is... 'gigantic'?

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

No, not really. I haven't handled the real TAR-21 of course but I wouldn't say it felt out of proportion. The butt plate is large but not as big, on handling, as it looks in photos.

Does anyone here have pics of it in use (by Israeli troops) with an EoTech?

[Q]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Just a quick question, would you say any part of the gun is... 'gigantic'?

Ooooh, you mean like the TSI one?LOL!!!

Ares Tavor is great...get a 9.6 and that rate of fire picks up

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Errata:

(Panoptes @ Nov 27 2009, 01:17 PM)

ROF... feels quite slow on an 8.4 mini battery.

[trigger] response seems poor. Trigger/fire delay very noticeable. Long travel.

Well it will be if you use a near-dead battery! :D

Revision:

Trigger response is now assessed as good - if just a tiny bit unresponsive. Nothing to whinge about, tbh. ROF is superb on an 8.4v.

(...anyone wanna buy two new 9.6 minis?... )

More than happy with this out the box - now for some firing...

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Just tested MV.

Out of the box:

338fps / 1.31J

on .25g!

(= 1.05J on .20g).

[psirus101]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Just tested MV.

Out of the box:

338fps / 1.31J

on .25g!

(= 1.05J on .20g).

Er... I don't think the last bit is quite right? Its more like 370ish fps on 0.2g if your muzzle energy is 1.31j, I think?!

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Probably, but I didn't mention the fps for 0.2g; only the energy.

[Q]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Yep, aside from a fairly crummy MARS site, the Tavor is a great gunl, well balanced, good iron sights, accurate and good rate of fire, even better with a 9.6v battery involved. Easy hop adjustment with the locking cover.

But can anyone tell me what the odd thing on the right side of the gun, just about in-line with the rear rail. It looks like something which can be adjusted with a flat-headed screwdriver, and has L at one end an O at the other?

Regardless, the range is excellent, tight groupings and you can quieten the gun down with a short silencer...brilliant.

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

I need a barrel extension.

[Q]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Ah, so it looks like the sniper version eh? Any idea what the dial is on the right side of the body? Some sites seem to suggest its an external hop adjust?

[Panoptes]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

No idea. I think it's just a non-functional thingy.

[The Reptile House]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

Any idea what the dial is on the right side of the body? Some sites seem to suggest its an external hop adjust?

On the real steel it's the barrel lock down adjuster. Only on the TSI tavor is it the hop adjustment. I suspect on the Ares it's superficial.

[omgitzjamiiee]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

haven't seen em with EoTech's but have seen em with ACOG's and Trijicon style red dot sight's (the ones that look like realy big c-more's). and the STARES model is based around the CQB version, standard model has a longer barrel.

as for the L O shaped bit behind the rear iron sight it's a QD mount for magnifire/NV.

[Q]

Re: ARES Tavor TAR-21 - First Impressions

[QUOTE=as for the L O shaped bit behind the rear iron sight it's a QD mount for magnifire/NV.[/QUOTE]

Its on the side of the gun mate, so maby not