AR Sponsor
Posted: 4/6/2004 6:41:36 PM EDT
|
Hey ya'll, I'm pretty stressed out right now....In a good way I guess. I've sold my Mini-14 and with that money and a bit added to it, I'm ready to purchase a new varmint rifle. I've got it narrowed down between a Tikka T3 Varmint Rifle $634, or a Varmint model AR. I figure by building the AR from a kit I can save some serious dough. What I want is a rifle that will shoot MOA or under, nothing over MOA. Since J&T seems to use the highest quality of parts, I would probably use them if I were to build an AR. Would probably use the 20" barrel with the 1-8 twist so I could shoot the 68 grain Hollow points from Black Hills. Then I'd go with a Stag Arms lower. This should run me close to the $630 mark of the Tikka, add an ffl charge to the lower at $25 and that makes it $650. I am very leery about building this kit since I have never been around AR's before period. I know that the factory varmint models are great for the most part, but not sure about a kit gun. Right now it's a toss up, Tikka T3 Varmint or Varmint Kit rifle? Jake |
|
It seems like it's hard to find an AR that's NOT accurate. I can give you my experiences with J&T... damn good. Great quality, great customer service. I've assembled two of their kits, neither of which was the varmint kit. However, the 20" hbar kit I put together (with Shaw barrel) shoots (slightly) under an inch at 100 yards... with el cheapo Am. Eagle (Federal) ammo. The only thing I did differently was slap on a free float handguard ('cause I had one laying around), which the varmint kits come with anyway. The one funny thing about the J&T ads is the "1 hole at 100 yards" line... all my rifles do that... if I only shoot 1 round. I do have one target/varmint type barrel, an Olympic Arms 24" stainless ultra-match in 6mm PPC. This shoots 1/2 MOA if I do my part. Scot |
|
I bought a J&T kit for my first AR. Damn fine parts! It all went together fairly easily in about half an hour. Shoots about 1/2 groups at 100 yards with my handloads. Would do better but I am addicted to Mountain Dew and I have a permanent case of the shakes! By the way, mine is a 1/7 twist 24" fluted barrel. Sorry for the poor pic, I need to take a better one. [img]http://photos.ar15.com/ImageGallery/Attachments/DownloadAttach.asp?iImageUnq=4380[/img] Edit- I just checked and It is 1/8 twist |
|
Thanks for the replies fellas. Fluxion, that is one perty rifle right there. I didn't see the 1-7" twist listed on the J&T website. I guess I'm a bit leery about buying another automatic. My only other experience with auto's is Mini-14's ( I know, entirely different animals) and it took me forever to get this rifle to group at 1 1/2 inches. I'd just really like the added benefit of the fast follow up shots. But they aren't worth a flip if the gun ain't accurate. I just may end up building this bad boy......hmmm. How are the standard triggers on the J&T kit rifles. I don't have the extra $100 for an upgrade right now. Jake |
|
Well, I just got off of the phone with J&T and they answered my questions, except for the weight of the trigger pull. (I forgot to ask) What they said was with the kit I was looking at, once I found the factory ammo that my rifle liked it should shoot 1/2 inch groups. They pretty much said that it will easily shoot under an inch with factory ammo. Then I asked em about their guarantee. They told me that they were flexible on this subject, and if the rifle does not perform well at the range, then they would do everything in their power to see that it does. Sounds like it would be pretty hard to go wrong with a J&T Varmint rig. Jake |
|
I forgot to post that part about spending the money on a better trigger. DO IT!! You will find all kinds of posts on how to quickly tune up a stock trigger. That works, but it's still no substitute for a decent aftermarket trigger. Regarding your Mini14 accuracy... here's a little story... before I got into ARs I would shoot "mad minute" matches (3 man w/ pistol, shotgun, and rifle). The rifle part involves bowling pins at 200 yards. I was using a FAL and did OK. EVERYONE else was using ARs and totally kicked ass. I have always liked Mini 14s so I asked a few guys why no one used one. To a man they said they just weren't accurate enough... you could get a STOCK flattop AR, stick a scope and bipod on it... and kick ass! That's not to knock Mini 14s because they are VERY cool (remember the A-Team?!) but these guys were serious about competing and chose the AR. Scot |
AR Sponsor