03-29-2011, 07:52 PM
The J&T kits use Shaw barrels for the standard rifles and Wilson Air Gauged for the Bull Barrels. My brother and I each built a Grendel from a J&T kit, and have been very pleased. My bull barrel is consistently capable of 1/2 MOA if I do my part, and my brother's A2 type has been sub-moa.
You won't win any prestige awards with the J&T kits from the name brand crowds, but they are solid kits, use licensed Grendel barrels & bolts, and use decent quality components. Mostly mil-spec as far as that type thing goes, except for 4140 barrels unless you specify 4150, and commercial buffer tubes unless you specific mil-spec. And good people to deal with.
You can upgrade them with LMT, DD, and similar components for the price difference as well.
All that said, if all you want is a barrel / bolt combo, I'd buy one of the 65grendel.com offerings from John. Supports the site, and you get a stainless barrel AA barrel for what J&T would charge for a standard steel. I built a 16" using one, and I'm very pleased... I recently shot some 50 yard sub-moa 5 shot groups from sandbags with open sights when dialing it in!!! I have not tried longer range yet with glass, but based on how it's shooting to date I'm very confident it will be sub-moa at 100-200 yards. Not bad for a 16" barrel w/o free float, etc. The only nit I have with my web deal is that the barrel is not rollmarked 6.5 Grendel anywhere. Don't know if that was an error or what, but I had already built the rifle before I realized it. The photos do show roll-marks, so it might have been a fluke.
You won't win any prestige awards with the J&T kits from the name brand crowds, but they are solid kits, use licensed Grendel barrels & bolts, and use decent quality components. Mostly mil-spec as far as that type thing goes, except for 4140 barrels unless you specify 4150, and commercial buffer tubes unless you specific mil-spec. And good people to deal with.
You can upgrade them with LMT, DD, and similar components for the price difference as well.
All that said, if all you want is a barrel / bolt combo, I'd buy one of the 65grendel.com offerings from John. Supports the site, and you get a stainless barrel AA barrel for what J&T would charge for a standard steel. I built a 16" using one, and I'm very pleased... I recently shot some 50 yard sub-moa 5 shot groups from sandbags with open sights when dialing it in!!! I have not tried longer range yet with glass, but based on how it's shooting to date I'm very confident it will be sub-moa at 100-200 yards. Not bad for a 16" barrel w/o free float, etc. The only nit I have with my web deal is that the barrel is not rollmarked 6.5 Grendel anywhere. Don't know if that was an error or what, but I had already built the rifle before I realized it. The photos do show roll-marks, so it might have been a fluke.