My CTR-02 and LRP-07 do not have these, but my other ARs do. It really is of no concern to me.
Wow! The LRP weighs almost 1.5 lbs less that the LMT! I would not have guessed this.
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I have two JP factory-built LE/VTAC rifles. I bought one complete upper, then several months later one complete rifle and one lower.
Without having a decent scale to weigh them, I'd say they're a bit heavier than a standard LMT 16" rifle
I have a little less than 5K rounds each through them. Ammo I've used has been 90% my own reloads, (mostly Montana Gold and Hornady bulk 55 FMJ's, with AA2230; and some Sierra 77 SMK's with Ramshot TAC. Sorry I don't have the load info here with me but my reloads are a little hotter than 223 but not quite 556) the rest being Federal XM193 and some Wolf. I had FTF's with XM193 when the gun was really, really dirty...but I had purposely let that gun go over 1,800 rounds without cleaning, only oiling...a lot...when it got sluggish. After a good cleaning it ran fine.
I've shot one of them in a Max Joseph/TFTT class last year and the same one in a Trident Concepts class earlier this year. The only issue was when I loaded a muddy mag just to see if it would run. It failed miserably, but in it's defense, I thought it would as the mag was more mud then magazine. After a few strokes with a chamber brush it ran the rest of the class with no issues.
Both have been sub-MOA out to 300 yards with my reloads.
I don't like the way the handguard attaches to the barrel nut. (Take into consideration, though, that I don't know how other free-float rails attach!) The handguards are only attached via six small bolts; and one had all six bolts work their way loose at the same time. Not a big deal to fix but could be a problem in the field.
If I was buying or building a 3-gun rifle right now I'd just bite the bullet and get another JP, or at least a JP trigger & barrel.
For a duty-type gun, I'm starting to collect Colt and LMT.
That is not a bash against JP in any way, their guns are kick-ass and their customer service is awesome.
The trigger is sweet, but if you want a two-stage trigger, or a trigger with some creep to it, stay away. JP triggers break VERY crisp after only the tiniest bit of movement. They take some getting-used-to, and they are definitely love-em or hate-em, there seems to be no middle ground. I love them for competition but wouldn't have one on a duty gun. I've never had a problem, but there are extra parts in there compared to a mil-spec trigger so there's just more to go wrong.
Sorry to ramble on here, but to make a long post longer...for a competition gun, there's really no reason to look anywhere else; for a duty gun, though, one of the manufacturers with a longer track record of making duty guns may be a better choice.