The X95 was released in the US 15 months ago as the next evolution of the popular IWI Tavor. Sporting an improved trigger, forward magazine release, and more user friendly rail space, the X95 has so far been a commercial success despite initial lackluster accuracy reports. Well, its been a year, so I picked up an OD Green X95 as a “traveling gun” to replace my SBRs when going out of state. Going into this project, I was hoping for a gun that was built around the STANG magazine, similar in size to a 10.5” AR, and able to keep most barrier blind loads under 3 MOA out to 300 yards. Here is my initial report and comparison to a Steyr AUG A3 M1.
Purchase date: 5/5/17
Cost: $1500 + $30 shipping under IWI’s 1st Responder Program
SN: T00732XX
Overall Length: 27”
Weight Empty: 8lb even on my scale;
The rifle arrives in a cardboard box with a Gen3 PMAG, cleaning kit, and manual. I first removed the factory flash hider, and installed a Surefire SF3P-556 behind the jam nut. Alignment of the flash hider and a Surefire SOCOM 556-RC2 suppressor was confirmed with a Geissele Alignment Rod. The factory hand guard was also replaced with the low profile trigger guard which can be had for $20 direct from IWI. I also field stripped, cleaned and lubricated the rifle. This included cleaning the barrel with Bore Tech Copper Remover (5 wet patches, nylon brush, 2 wet patches, and 5 dry patches). I then reassembled the rifle and function checked it.
Trigger
The trigger is good by bullpup standards. It is noticeably lighter than the Tavor’s, but has a rolling breaking compared to the more crisp break found in most decent AR triggers. I measured the pull weight right at 5 lbs with a distinct reset. This is much better than the 9.5 lb break on my AUG factory trigger.
Sights and Optics
The rifle has integral BUIS that fold into the top rail. The front sight has a white dot for faster target acquisition. For optics, I’m using an Aimpoint Micro T2 on a Larue LT660 (1/3 co-witness).
Now a word about optics mounts which can be problematic given how high the top rail sits over the stock. Most people will need a mount that would normally provide a 1/3 co-witness on an AR to get an absolute co-witness on the X95 when using a tradition cheek-to-stock weld. Shorter mounts such as the LT751 (absolute co-witness on an AR) will force the shooter into an awkward head position to see the optic.
This higher mount is important to note because the X95 already has a high rail over bore distance. Most optics on an AR’s sit at around 2.5-2.7 inches sight over bore and most calibrated reticles such as the ACOG assume this height. My Aimpoint sits closer to 3.5 inches on the X95. This extra inch makes bullet drop reticles very inaccurate for you ACOG lovers, and has profound impact on zero distances as you will later see. So, for magnification I’m using either an older Aimpoint 3X or the newer 6X detachable magnifier on a Larue LT755 flip-to-side mount. The 6X is a bit longer and has a much smaller eye box than its 3X cousin, but the added magnification helpful in getting an initial zero and making accuracy comparisons for this review.
Operation
One advantage of the high sight over the bore axis is that the charging handle is low and very easy to manipulate without racking your knuckles on the top rail or optic mounts. This is a constant problem with my AUG as I must alway remember to retract the charging handle palm up or else go home with bloody knuckles.
For illumination, I’ve attached a Thorntail SBR offset mount for the Surefire M300 Scout that my kid plans to get me for Father Day. By placing the mount on the 12 o’clock rail just behind the folded front sight, the light will sit at about 11 o’clock and I can keep the factory covers on the side rails.
Range Performance
I brought a mixture of Gen 3 PMAGs, Lancer L5AWM, and metal GI mags (BCM purchase) to the range for testing. Ammo included Lake City XM193, RA556B, Hornady 5.56 55 grain TAP GMX, and some left over SSA 77 grain Sierra OTM. The comparison rifle was a Steyr AUG A3 M1 with factory Steyr magazines, factory trigger, and a Leupold 1.24-4X VX-R Patrol in Leupold low mount rings.
Reliability
Initial reliability testing involved cycling 30 rounds of XM195 fired from PMAGs, Lacers, and GI mags (total of 90 rounds). There were no stoppages and all mags dropped free. In addition, there were no stoppages during accuracy testing with any of the listed loads in the X95. A total of 190 rounds were fired through the X95. The AUG does not cycle RA556B and will experience a FTF about every 5 or 6 rounds with this and other rounded tip loads. However the AUG has reliably cycled about 1000 rounds of mostly M193 and M855, along with a few mags of 55 grain GMX and 69 grain SMK.
Accuracy
Temperature: 77F
Pressure: 33 inHg
Wind: ~ 5 mph
Accuracy testing was performed from a Caldwell Shooters V front sandbag and homemade rear sandbag. Optics were the previously mentioned T2 ahead of a 6X magnifier. A 75 meter zero was chosen to account for the 3.5” height over bore. This gives a relatively flat trajectory between 25-250 yards for most loads with no more than 2 inches of vertical variance. Once zero’ed, accuracy testing was performed using 5 shot groups of RA556B, TAP GMX, and SSA 77 grain OTM. The SSA returned the best accuracy with a max spread of 1.683” (1.61 MOA), followed by the 55 grain GMX at 2.407” (2.30 MOA), and the RA556B 3.075" (2.94 MOA). The AUG delivered nearly identical performance with GMX (2.41 MOA). Next, a 10 shot group was performed with the GMX which returned an extreme spread of 2.66” (2.55 MOA) in the X95.
Velocity
An average of 5-shot groups were as follows:
GMX - 3201 +/- 22 fps
RA556B - 2990 +/- 10 fps; these numbers are higher than published specs and previous evaluations.
Suppressed Performance
A Surefire SOCOM 556-RC2 suppressor was attached to the rifle. A 30 round mag of XM193 was fired without malfunction. There was a little more gas to face that I get from my ARs, but it did not hamper my performance. Then, 5 rounds of the GMX was fired to test shifts in point of impact. There was a 4” shift in impact due South with this load. This was the most shift that I’ve ever experienced with this suppressor on any rifle. I’ll update the thread once more testing has been performed with other loads and a Surefire SOCOM 556 Mini-2.
Summary
This particular IWI X95 demonstrates acceptable accuracy in the 2-3 MOA range with barrier blind loads and 1.5-2 MOA with factory OTM ammunition. I say acceptable since a more precise reticle than the Aimpoint's 2 MOA dot, and higher magnification than 6X would have inevitably tightened the groups even more than what was seen. Reliability was 100% with all loads tested which is actually superior to my AUG that will not cycle Winchester RA556B and most other rounded tip loads. Although the weapon cycles suppressed, there was a sizable shift in POI. Additional testing will be performed and the thread updated.
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Originally Posted by Oukaapie
