JARD is an American arms company from Iowa, its existence is known mainly in the United States, this brand will not say practically anything to the rest of the fans of small arms. At the same time, the JARD company presents on the market a very extensive range of various rifles and carbines, which definitely deserve attention, and some of them are real weapon exotic. For example, the JARD J68 carbine for a pistol cartridge, made in a bullpup arrangement.
The JARD company was founded relatively recently, it appeared in 2000. The company was founded by the practical shooter Dean Van Marel, who decided to try his own hand at the supplier of various tuned triggers for different models of small arms. It is worth noting that many people liked the trigger mechanisms proposed by him, so the JARD company was able to earn a good reputation already at the very beginning of its formation. The company is based in Sheldon (Iowa), we can say that this is an arms company from the American hinterland with a distinctive history and interesting models of weapons.
Over time, the head of the company also revealed his design talent, thanks to which a small company from Iowa managed to become a supplier of its own and quite original models of firearms: rifles, carbines, as well as its variations on the theme of the immortal automatic rifle AR-15 chambered for central and side firing, but, most importantly, various models of weapons in the bullpup arrangement, not only for rifle or intermediate caliber cartridges, but also for pistol ammunition.
As the authors of the specialized weapons portal all4shooters.com note, the JARD company has a full-fledged machine park with all the necessary equipment, up to the production of barrels, which allows us to produce our own models of weapons. The company implements the principle “we do everything ourselves, down to the last screw”.
AR rifles from JARD
It would be strange to imagine an American arms manufacturer whose product line does not have its own variation of the American bestseller AR. The American semi-automatic rifle chambered for 5, 56x45 mm AR-15 has long become one of the symbols of the states. It has been mass-produced since 1963. The rifle goes on sale as a civilian weapon (not yet banned, but in light of the latest news, American weapons legislation may still be expected to change), a weapon for hunting and self-defense. In addition, various versions of the AR-15 rifle are standard weapons of the American police.
Like a large number of other American arms companies, along with a large assortment of accessories for rifles of the AR family. JARD company carries out mass production of its own clone of the famous AR-15. This is not about mindlessly copying a successful rifle. The model presented by Van Marcel has a number of features that distinguish the JARD rifle from a series of numerous AR-shaped semi-automatic rifles. For example, the J16 model in.223 Rem caliber (5, 56x45 mm) is equipped with a skeletal butt that folds to the right, which makes the weapon very compact, while the return spring tube in most of the classic clones of the AR-15 / M16 rifles, as well as the M4 carbine does not allow for the presence of a folding stock. Among other things, the JARD company offers customers its versions of AR rifles in unusual calibers that further attract the attention of consumers.
J16, photo: jardinc.com
One of the latest novelties of the company in an unusual caliber is the JARD J450 chambered for the.450 Bushmaster. This cartridge was obtained by rolling out a 6.5 mm (.284) caliber sleeve for a heavy 11 mm bullet weighing about 16 grams. Thanks to this step, semi-automatic rifles AR received ammunition with phenomenal muzzle energy with moderate recoil force. At the same time, JARD offers popular rifles of the AR family in other calibers:.243 WSSM,.25 WSSM (J18),.22, (J22),.223 Wylde (J19C and "Canadian" J48),.17HMR / WSM (J71), as well as an unusual "pistol" version of J23 in caliber.223 Wylde with a short barrel and no stock.
Boltoviki
In the assortment of the JARD company there is also a whole series of magazine rifles of the J70 family with a bolt action. A bolt action is an abbreviation for a manually operated sliding bolt action. Shutters of this type help the shooter to lock the bore due to the entry of the locking (combat) protrusions of the bolt stem into the opposite grooves of the barrel or receiver of the weapon. Due to the peculiarities and simplicity of the design, such valves can withstand high pressure of powder gases, which allows the use of more lethal cartridges.
J70, photo: jardinc.com
Rifles of the JARD J70 family with a rotary bolt locking on 3 lugs are available to American buyers in versions with a long and short receiver. Among the models presented there is a timeless hunting classic with a single stock, made in the style of the Remington 700, but there are also more interesting versions with a pistol grip, tactical stock and an unusually thin forend. The latest models are more targeted at athletes and snipers. At the same time, the rifles of the J70 family are a kind of designer, from which, if desired, you can assemble a ready-made sample, based on the preferences and tastes of the buyer.
Small bore rifles
In the assortment of the JARD company, among other things, there are excellent triggers for the Ruger 10/22 self-loading small-bore rifles popular in the USA. Such weapons in the states are quite common and are sold in millions of batches, as they help young people to acquire the necessary skills in handling weapons and get involved in shooting. At the same time, the company also decided to enter the market with its own model, presenting to the buyers a rather nice rifle J1022 for the.22LR cartridge (5, 6x15, 6 mm) - a small-caliber unitary rimfire cartridge. This model is equipped with interchangeable barrels, a Picatinny rail and various options for the design of the stock.
In the bullpup scheme
JARD's business cards and models that rightly attract a lot of attention include the family of semi-automatic weapons designed by Dean Van Marel, made in the bullpup layout. The family is based on the idea of a "single box" (chassis), which simultaneously serves as a receiver, barrel casing, forend and stock. This decision made it possible to obtain a technological and simple design at the output, which was reflected in the rather moderate price of JARD carbines and rifles. A similar approach was used by the British when they created the STEN submachine gun, the cost of which usually did not exceed $ 10 per piece.
J68, photo: jardinc.com
At the same time, the consumer can also save on ammunition by choosing the JARD J68 model for a pistol cartridge (pistol ammunition is less expensive than rifle ammunition). This carbine is available at once for three options of cartridges - 9x19 mm,.40 S&W and.45 ACP, it is possible to use standard magazines from the Glock pistol. The extraction of the shells during firing is carried out downward, so the carbine can be equally conveniently used by both right-handers and left-handers. A long Picatinny rail is installed in the upper part of the receiver of the weapon, the barrel is crowned with a non-removable muzzle brake-compensator. Also on the carbine are M-LOK mounting slots (a modular system for attaching additional accessories to weapons, developed by Magpul).
Thanks to the bullpup layout, manufacturers managed to create a fairly compact weapon model. The total length of the JARD J68 carbine does not exceed 667 mm, the barrel length is 432 mm. Weight - 3.4 kg in the version chambered for the 9 mm cartridge. Curiously, all three J68 models for different cartridges are sold at the same cost and will cost the buyer $ 899.95.
In addition to the J68 in the JARD line, there are other models of firearms in the bullpup layout. For example, the JARD J12 model may be of interest to the Russian audience - it is a 12-gauge smoothbore carbine that can be used with shops from the Russian Saiga carbines made in Izhevsk. The semi-automatic model JARD J56 is made in.223 Wylde caliber and is powered from standard magazines from AR rifles. In turn, the J1023 in.22LR caliber is a special chassis for converting Ruger 10/22 carbines into small arms, made in a bullpup arrangement.
Main caliber
A kind of cherry on top in the JARD product line is the J51 self-loading large-caliber rifle chambered for.50 BMG (12, 7x99 mm). This model is also built in the ideology of a "single box" in all senses of this meaning. When looking at a rifle, the famous German expression "quadratisch, praktisch, gut" comes to mind. In this case, the rifle was not made in a bullpup layout, since its 10-round magazine is located in front of the pistol grip. This model replaced the previous JARD J50 semi-automatic rifle, which appeared on the market back in 2008, for a long time it could be called the flagship of this company from Iowa. When creating the 12.7 mm J50 rifle, the designers used an automation system similar to the AR15 / M16, adapting it to the use of a powerful large-caliber 12.7x99 mm cartridge. The mass of the rifle was approximately 11, 5 kg, food was carried out from detachable box magazines, designed for 5 rounds.
J51, photo: jardinc.com
In this regard, the new J51 rifle, which externally has a recognizable appearance thanks to other JARD models made in the bullpup layout, attracts primarily with its low weight, which is uncharacteristic for rifles of this caliber. With a total rifle length of 1473 mm and a barrel length of 762 mm, it has a low weight, only 9.07 kg, which in itself seems to be a great achievement without taking into account other characteristics of this model.
