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JP Owners Weigh In! 3-Gun Build.


AlbinLee

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Just remember, YMMV. There's no way for you to build your perfect rifle based on others opinions. Not saying you shouldn't take the advice into account, just that nothings set in stone till you've personally tested different products and formed your own opinions. And just to throw my .02 in, I hate the JP/Hogue grip, the finger grooves want my hand to grip lower than I like and the small diameter and lack of backstrap beavertail spacer thingy has my finger wanting to wrap all the way around the trigger. And I've seen Magpul BAD lever cause more problems than they solve.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well after much research and planning, the order has been placed! I decided to pretty much stick with the original build specs I highlighted in the OP. As for the Thermal Dissipator, I have seen that most folks are pretty split as to whether the benefit is worth the weight/cost. As I mentioned before, my goal was a 7-8 lb rifle unloaded, and I met that pretty easily. I have a pretty involved Excel spreadsheet that lists a variety of parts for each category, and allows me to mix and match them to approximate the build weight overall. With the Dissipator, I am looking at around 7.6 lbs (7.2 without), including BUS but no optic or magazine. I even listed around 10 of the most popular 18" bbl, 3-gun ready builds from various manufacturers (Bushmaster, Stag, Armalite, etc..), and took an average weight. They all clock in around 7.7 lbs average, and obviously none of them have a Dissipator. So overall, I am pleased with the build as a whole.

I will keep you guys posted going forward, and maybe throw some pics up in about 6 weeks when the rifle is received. Thanks again for the input!

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I think the 17.25 would be just fine and would not alter the weight too much. I think you will find just a little weight out front will help steady the rifle when shooting off-hand. I am 6' and when fully extended my support arm barely comes to the end of the handguard with my 15". If you are over 6' or have long arms then a 17.25 may be nice for you.

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I am looking at a very similar build but thinking about the 17.25" hand guard does anyone think that would make the rifle front heavy or not balance well versus the 15?

Well there are two things to consider. The Rapid Config Mark 3 only comes in 15" max length (as far as I can tell by the JP site?), and the Signature Mark 3 extends to 17.5". The Signature tube is 3.12 ounces heaver in 15" than the Rapid (also in 15"). Extending to the 17.5" Signature adds another 1.56 ounces above that. So assuming you have roughly the same build (butt-stock can be a major variance), your overall weights would come to around 7.9 lbs with the Thermal Dissipator, or 7.5 lbs without.

Depending on who you talk to, there are folks who might suggest a slightly heavier butt-stock than the TI-7 (12 ounces) or CTR (9.6 ounces) in order to balance those extra 4.68 ounces at the muzzle. Admittedly, my build may be slightly front heavy with the Dissipator, but I am going to give it a shot. The center of mass of the Dissipator, however, is much closer to the receiver (about 5 inches from chamber). All that being said... It's hard to say how the rifle will balance until you hold and shoot it! I will definitely keep you guys posted on how this weight/balance thing shakes out.

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  • 1 month later...

went ahead and ordered mine this last week now the waiting game begins

Awesome! You should post your final build specs.

I made my order on 4/13, and they sent me an estimate on 4/14. I mailed them a check to take advantage of their free shipping offer, and they sent me the official sales order on 4/20. Tomorrow it will have been 7 weeks, and they estimated 6-8 weeks for the build. The only reason I anticipate that my build is reaching the upper limit of their estimate is due to the laser engraving, but that shouldn't put it outside of 8 weeks. Unless you requested a custom Cerakote finish, I would guess you will be looking at a similar wait. It goes by fast when you get over the initial excitement of placing the order...

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My build is very similar to yours the few differences being:

Blue dissapator

Armageddon trigger

ace stock

17.25 hand guard

The 8 weeks will give me time to choose a 1x4 or 1x6 optic.

That sounds like it will be a beast. The Armageddon trigger has gotten alot of praise from all of the articles/reviews I have seen. And the 17.25 should look sweet, probably alot like having the 15.5 handguard and a 16" bbl.

The ACE skeleton stock was my second choice, but I really do like to have an adjustable length of pull for shooting prone, kneeling, standing, etc. The TI-7 looked like a mix between the CTR and Sopmod, so I am going to give it a shot. Who knows, I may end up with an ACE at some point as well.

I plan to shoot limited for starters, so I bought a Primary Arms MD-ADS red dot. Glass is super clear, unbelievable actually for an imported optic. A good friend of mine has an Aimpoint PRO (not the micro, like my MD-ADS), and I have to say the quality compares favorably at 1/2 the price. I would love to get my hands on a Micro T-1 to compare apples to apples. Not saying that the MD-ADS=T-1, but for 1/4 the price it is really impressive.

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  • 3 weeks later...

UPDATE!

I picked up the rifle from my FFL about 2 weeks ago, which was awesome... no "further review" so I got to take the rifle home same day. My FFL is a good friend from competition shooting who does transfers and direct dealer sales for friends and folks who contact him. When I went to pick up my JP, we BS'd for an hour and a half about 3-gun and he showed me a few of his AR builds, one being almost identical to mine.

The JP rifle is an absolute work of art. Upper/lower fit is perfectly tight, but the pins can be pushed through with finger pressure only (pretty impressive). Every single roll pin is perfectly seated, with no marring around the holes whatsoever, not even a speck. Laser engraving looks awesome! Overall my impression out of the box is that this rifle is well-deserving of the praise it is given from owners.

Although I was nervous about the added weight of the dissipator, my assumption of the overall balance was spot-on. The rifle balance point is exactly at the rear of the barrel nut/front of the lower receiver. At 7.5 lbs, the rifle feels a little heavy, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the dissipator.

It took two range trips to get the barrel broken in, per the JP Owner's manual. Essentially fire 20 rounds, solvent clean, JB bore compound (5-10 strokes), solvent, then dry patches. Repeat three times for a total of 60 rounds. The barrel is essentially broken in, but JP recommends one final JB cleaning after 300 rounds.

I found it a bit tricky to get the adjustable gas setting tuned up though! I am new to the LMOS, and AR's in general, so it was definitely a learning experience. From the factory, they tune with 55 gr ball ammo before sending the rifle. From the beginning, I was getting failures to reliably lock open on an empty mag. I began opening the gas port a quarter turn at a time, but issues continued... I had no idea the rifle was OVER-gassed from the factory! Woops. After finally figuring this out, I turned the gas completely shut, then started over. It didn't take long to find a gas setting that locked reliably with 3 different brands of 55 gr ammo (PMC, AM Eagle, and Hornady Varmint). I am pretty happy that the operating window is wide enough to accommodate three different 55 gr loads of varying velocity.

Pictures will be forthcoming!

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Laser engraving looks awesome

20150627_121259_zpsycnbtqtw.jpg

And here is my first attempt at any sort of group after the 60 round break in. I was shooting at 50 m because that is where I chose to zero my irons/red dot. This group was 4 rounds (not trying to be official here, just for fun), PMC cheapo, through the unmagnified red dot (2 MOA dot). First shot was a flyer, last three grouped nicely:

20150627_120501_zpsrpnkpaq5.jpg

I would love to put my Leupold VX-2 3x9 on this baby and really see what she can do with the Hornady ammo at 100m! Just need to get a good mount.

Edited by AlbinLee
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Rifle looks good nice grouping. I just got confirmation mine will be here Monday, which puts it right at a month from order date. Faster than expected hope they didn't cut any corners to speed it up. It might have to sit a bit till optic comes in which has not been ordered yet thinking I still had a month to wait.

I like the scope mount on birddog's rifle wonder if it comes in blue.

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Rifle looks good nice grouping. I just got confirmation mine will be here Monday, which puts it right at a month from order date. Faster than expected hope they didn't cut any corners to speed it up. It might have to sit a bit till optic comes in which has not been ordered yet thinking I still had a month to wait.

I like the scope mount on birddog's rifle wonder if it comes in blue.

It does come in a beautiful blue color.

Check out the Skel mount from Warne.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had JP build me a .308 AR a while ago (this was before they came out with their own receiver for .308). The guy on the phone at JP told me over and over and over again that they wouldn't make me a gun with a 18" barrel, that .308 AR wouldn't run, etc., etc., etc. (mind you I had just come back from the SMM3G match and saw many top level 3-Gunners with 18" .308 ARs running perfectly). So I gave in and got what they told me to get, a 20" bbl. Next year, JP starts making their own .308 AR and guess what, it comes standard with a 18" barrel!!! I was so pissed, I'm not sure that the person on the phone at JP knew what they were talking about when I placed the order. Other than that problem, my gun runs great.

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I built a AR-10 in 6.5 Creedmoor and the only parts that are not JP was the upper and lower, trigger, stock and grip. JP builds a top notch rifles and the rifles are built with experience that is truly learned from shooting. I have shot with John on the same squad at the Kyle Lambs last International Tactical Match many years ago. John is a stand up guy. Granted, I only have fired 6 shots through the 6.5 rifle to adjust the gas. Shot 5/8 with factory Hornady ammo. I am need of a limited gun, and posted my rifle for sale here on the site, but for some reason , can't move it. You will not be disappointed in the JP quality at all. Worth every penny and great folks to deal with.

Tommy Roupe

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