JP/VTAC 16" or JP-15 18"

[pp03337]

Dear all,

I have been lurking here for a while and have learned alot from you all.

Time has come for me to take the plunge and purchase my first AR. It will be mainly used for target (bullseye) shooting at my club at the 100 m range. Later I want to shoot some local (dynamic) matches as well.

I notice that JP Enterprise rifles are highly regarded and I am hesitating between the JP/VTAC 16" equipped with a compensator and heat-sink and the JP-15 18" with a heat-sink.

Will I make a mistake if I purchase the JP/VTAC? Is it a lesser rifle compared to the JP-15 in terms of accuracy and/or durability?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[Carbon]

I have several JP rifles and they have all treated me very well. Sounds like you need to decide on which gas system you like. A 16" can be a sharper recoil over a 18" with the long gas system. I like the 18 to 20" barrels better. You get a little more velocity for the heavier bullets. The mid weight 18" has great balance and is a great compromise for IPSC shooting.

As for the heat sinks I have an older JP that I use for practice in a desert enviroment that has LOT's of rounds. I put it under the car AC in the summer to make the handguard cool enough to grab it again. It does not have the heat sink and I have yet to see a huge difference in accuracy. Sure it was a half minute gun new but it's no worse than 1 minute now after being abused for years.

Don't worry about the Std model vs Vtac. Their all good.

Carl

[kellyn]

You aren't screwing around for your first AR!! Either will be great, and having taken a class with Kyle, there is NOTHING that you would even think of doing to a VTAC gun that Kyle has not done 10 times worse. I actually narc'ed him out to John and demanded a JP rifle that I could have just to kick around in the dirt and ram into stuff.

Based on what you are planning on doing I would get the JP15 with an 18 in or 20 in barrel and not a VTAC 16. If you were planning on taking a bunch of tactical carbine classes I would say get the VTAC 16 in but for shooting matches and target shooting on a range, I would want a longer barrel and full length gas system. But there really is not that much difference, get the one that YOU like.

[lefty556]

Not much I can add that Carl and Kelly haven't already said. John is a reputable, stand up guy, as are all of the folks that work for him. I've never seen a JP product that didn't work well. My recommendation is to see if you can find a couple of guys locally that have one or the other of the rifles that you can handle, and preferably shoot a bit.

Monte

[Jesse Tischauser]

First off you need to be ready to wait! I ordered my CTR02 last spring and I'm still waiting. Good things come to those who wait, right? In the mean time I had a firebird upper with a 20" medium lother walther built on a Dpms lower with JP trigger. I also have a 16" S&W 5.45x39 with a JP comp & JP adj. Gas block as upgrades. The difference between the trigger is unbelievable! I hadn't shot the S&W for a few months after shooting the 20" a bunch. When I first picked up the S&W again I tried to squeeze the trigger on the first round and it was so firm I thought I left the safety on! I will be upgrading to a JP trigger once the funds become available.

Back to rifle selection. I ordered an 18" gun from JP. I plan to shoot 3 gun and lots of it next year. For me I was torn between a 20" and the 18". Not being an expert or ever having fired either guns I did a lot of reading here and asking questions at matches.

In your case I would recommend the 18". Here's why. The 18" comes with the low mass operating system, better comp, and rifle length gas system. These 3 things make a rifle shoot unbelievably flat. I can double tap ipsc targets at 50+ yds without the sights moving off the target. The recoil impulse and sight lift is minimal with those 3 ingredients in a rifle.. The JP/VTAC rifle is geared more towards a duty rifle but with some really nice add ons. It gives up some of the fun to shoot options like the larger comp, faster operating system, and longer higher velocity barrel in favor of the less obnoxious flash hidder type comp, shorter more manuverable and lighter barrel, and a harder hitting more reliable

operating system.

[pp03337]

It is indeed a long wait. However, I live in Holland. It took me 18 months before I got a license to own a firearm.

It seems that the JP-15 with the 18" is the prefered one.

Thank you all for your inputs.

[benelli2]

You won't go wrong with the 18", great gun, great folks both at JP and VTAC- That gun will do everything you need it too if you do your part, it just makes your part easier!

[Charles Bond]

I have shot many 16s and many 20s but only a few 18s. I like the 18 better but not enough to ditch the 16 inch match rifle for one. Having said that, if I were starting over, I would choose the 18.