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JAE700 by MDT - Coming Soon

K

KWilson

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Jan 30, 2012
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Most probably know that when JAE went under a couple of years ago, the design was bought out by MDT who planned to tweak the design and eventually re-launch. Looking at the 2022 SHOT Show Products, I came across this...

https://jaechassis.ca/

 
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Yeah, I wouldn't expect this to be available for several months yet. Prototypes/initial production models should be getting tested in the wild in a month or two from what I hear from a seemingly reliable source.
 
Covertnoob5 said:
I was told hopefully Q3ish release. It didn’t look bad at all. Here’s a quick overview of it.
Click to expand...

Brilliant, thank you, appreciated the "what's new" overview and I like what they've done! Haven't seen you around for a bit noob, but looks like you and ILya had another fun jaunt through SHOT.
 
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Covertnoob5 said:
I was told hopefully Q3ish release. It didn’t look bad at all. Here’s a quick overview of it.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much....I have two JAEs..well, down from three as I just sold one haha...and yes, when looking at the initial pics you posted it did seem to be almost identical with the revised grip and shortened comb being the only obvious differences I could see.

I believe I posted this above, but at one time Josh replied to me and said that the grip on the new chassis would not be backward compatible with the OG chassis. Now, I do know that things change often during a design phase, but it does look to me that the new vertical grip has the same fastener positions and outside profile (that is, it fits on the chassis the same way). Do you know...is that true? That is, the new grip will be backward compatible with the OG one?

Also, you said wrt to the bag rider that, in addition to fore/aft, you can change the angle....like angle it up/down a bit or angle it left/right a bit (though I have no idea why anyone would want to do that). I'm pretty sure my OG bag riders only go fore/aft but tbh once they were screwed on I've never really messed with them. Frankly, I rather like what some other chassis manf are doing with wedge shaped bag riders which add a bit more up/down than just squeezing the rear bag, right?

I do wonder, however, why it is taking them so very long to re-release this chassis as, quite honestly, the changes are just somewhat modest and incremental. It does appear that most of the OG design is retained so...what's taking almost three years? Rhetorical question.....

Thanks again.
 
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Baron23 said:
Thank you so much....I have two JAEs..well, down from three as I just sold one haha...and yes, when looking at the initial pics you posted it did seem to be almost identical with the revised grip and shortened comb being the only obvious differences I could see.

I believe I posted this above, but at one time Josh replied to me and said that the grip on the new chassis would not be backward compatible with the OG chassis. Now, I do know that things change often during a design phase, but it does look to me that the new vertical grip has the same fastener positions and outside profile (that is, it fits on the chassis the same way). Do you know...is that true? That is, the new grip will be backward compatible with the OG one?

Also, you said wrt to the bag rider that, in addition to fore/aft, you can change the angle....like angle it up/down a bit or angle it left/right a bit (though I have no idea why anyone would want to do that). I'm pretty sure my OG bag riders only go fore/aft but tbh once they were screwed on I've never really messed with them. Frankly, I rather like what some other chassis manf are doing with wedge shaped bag riders which add a bit more up/down than just squeezing the rear bag, right?

I do wonder, however, why it is taking them so very long to re-release this chassis as, quite honestly, the changes are just somewhat modest and incremental. It does appear that most of the OG design is retained so...what's taking almost three years? Rhetorical question.....

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

You can change the angle on the original JAE bag rider as well.

That would be awesome if the new grip is backward compatible.

I do wish that some of the adjustments on the JAE are more user friendly - as in more quickly adjustable in the field without the need for tools, while still being secure. Not a huge deal breaker for me, as I'm generally a set it and forget it type guy. The one thing I really wish was quicker though is the cheek rest height adjustment, as I have to lower it all the way when cleaning my rifle.

I love my JAE's, and think they are the best chassis to ever hit the market in my humble opinion. I don't foresee myself changing out my JAE's for a long time to come.
 
Baron23 said:
Thank you so much....I have two JAEs..well, down from three as I just sold one haha...and yes, when looking at the initial pics you posted it did seem to be almost identical with the revised grip and shortened comb being the only obvious differences I could see.

I believe I posted this above, but at one time Josh replied to me and said that the grip on the new chassis would not be backward compatible with the OG chassis. Now, I do know that things change often during a design phase, but it does look to me that the new vertical grip has the same fastener positions and outside profile (that is, it fits on the chassis the same way). Do you know...is that true? That is, the new grip will be backward compatible with the OG one?

Also, you said wrt to the bag rider that, in addition to fore/aft, you can change the angle....like angle it up/down a bit or angle it left/right a bit (though I have no idea why anyone would want to do that). I'm pretty sure my OG bag riders only go fore/aft but tbh once they were screwed on I've never really messed with them. Frankly, I rather like what some other chassis manf are doing with wedge shaped bag riders which add a bit more up/down than just squeezing the rear bag, right?

I do wonder, however, why it is taking them so very long to re-release this chassis as, quite honestly, the changes are just somewhat modest and incremental. It does appear that most of the OG design is retained so...what's taking almost three years? Rhetorical question.....

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Didn't realize its been that long , something else must of been going on to prevent them from coming to market much sooner. The product was already being sold and had been tested with good results.
 
kthomas said:
You can change the angle on the original JAE bag rider as well.
Click to expand...
Ah, left/right or tilt up/down...and yes, I need to open the safe and give it a go! haha

kthomas said:
as in more quickly adjustable in the field without the need for tools
Click to expand...
What adjustment needs tools except for LOP which I tend to find I leave where its at once set. I suppose it would be nice to quickly adjust LOP for going from summer light clothes to our friend the Viking from Norway shooting in heavy clothes but I'm a pussy and when its that cold out I stay in (haha...mostly just joking...but not really ! haha).

And, I guess maybe if shooting comps (which at 69 I no longer have interest in competing in shooting sports) you would want to adjust LOP for different positions...maybe...dunno, personally.

I'm not a big guy so I have never used the spacers (well, now spacer) and in fact had a thinner kickezze pad ground down to reduce LOP by about 1/2"

kthomas said:
The one thing I really wish was quicker though is the cheek rest height adjustment, as I have to lower it all the way when cleaning my rifle.
Click to expand...
You mean you have to have it so high that even taking the cheek piece off, you still need to lower the riser in order to get a cleaning rod down the bore? I just take off the cheek piece and that gives me enough room but I do try to keep my rings/scope a bit to the low side.

Another thing I don't understand is why they shortened the cheek piece??? I never have seen a problem with it at its original length and that has to be molded so maybe cost lots of $$ for new mold? Don't really understand that.
candyx said:
Didn't realize its been that long
Click to expand...
Well, looked it up and the acquisition announcement came out in Oct 2019 so 2 1/4 years...seems longer than that. I have no info on why it took so long considering that the MDT version shares the main bulk of the design with the OG version. But I also have zero idea how large a company MDT is nor what other projects that they had in the oven and putting demands on manpower and $$. As it is, with an anticipated GA date of 3rd qtr 2022, it will be three years total from acquisition to production.
 
Last edited:
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Baron23 said:
Ah, left/right or tilt up/down...and yes, I need to open the safe and give it a go! haha


What adjustment needs tools except for LOP which I tend to find I leave where its at once set. I suppose it would be nice to quickly adjust LOP for going from summer light clothes to our friend the Viking from Norway shooting in heavy clothes but I'm a pussy and when its that cold out I stay in (haha...mostly just joking...but not really ! haha).

And, I guess maybe if shooting comps (which at 69 I no longer have interest in competing in shooting sports) you would want to adjust LOP for different positions...maybe...dunno, personally.

I'm not a big guy so I have never used the spacers (well, now spacer) and in fact had a thinner kickezze pad ground down to reduce LOP by about 1/2"


You mean you have to have it so high that even taking the cheek piece off, you still need to lower the riser in order to get a cleaning rod down the bore? I just take off the cheek piece but I do try to keep my rings/scope to the low side.

Another thing I don't understand is why they shortened the cheek piece??? I never have seen a problem with it at its original length and that has to be molded so maybe cost lots of $$ for new mold? Don't really understand that.

Well, looked it up and the acquisition announcement came out in Oct 2019 so 2 1/4 years...seems longer than that. I have no info on why it took so long considering that the MDT version shares the main bulk of the design with the OG version. But I also have zero idea how large a company MDT is nor what other projects that they had in the oven and putting demands on manpower and $$. As it is, with an anticipated GA date of 3rd qtr 2022, it will be three years total from acquisition to production.
Click to expand...
That Q3 date was thrown out as a "maybe". Far from anything set in stone and more "hopefull" rather than "anticipatory".
 
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Baron23 said:
Ah, left/right or tilt up/down...and yes, I need to open the safe and give it a go! haha


What adjustment needs tools except for LOP which I tend to find I leave where its at once set. I suppose it would be nice to quickly adjust LOP for going from summer light clothes to our friend the Viking from Norway shooting in heavy clothes but I'm a pussy and when its that cold out I stay in (haha...mostly just joking...but not really ! haha).

And, I guess maybe if shooting comps (which at 69 I no longer have interest in competing in shooting sports) you would want to adjust LOP for different positions...maybe...dunno, personally.

I'm not a big guy so I have never used the spacers (well, now spacer) and in fact had a thinner kickezze pad ground down to reduce LOP by about 1/2"


You mean you have to have it so high that even taking the cheek piece off, you still need to lower the riser in order to get a cleaning rod down the bore? I just take off the cheek piece and that gives me enough room but I do try to keep my rings/scope a bit to the low side.

Another thing I don't understand is why they shortened the cheek piece??? I never have seen a problem with it at its original length and that has to be molded so maybe cost lots of $$ for new mold? Don't really understand that.

Well, looked it up and the acquisition announcement came out in Oct 2019 so 2 1/4 years...seems longer than that. I have no info on why it took so long considering that the MDT version shares the main bulk of the design with the OG version. But I also have zero idea how large a company MDT is nor what other projects that they had in the oven and putting demands on manpower and $$. As it is, with an anticipated GA date of 3rd qtr 2022, it will be three years total from acquisition to production.
Click to expand...
The bag rider can be adjusted to angle up and down. Don't believe it can be adjusted left to right.

I agree for LOP, there's no need for quick adjust. I never adjust my LOP once it's set. And for most features for that matter.

I do find that there's not much clearance when I take the cheek rest off to clean the barrel, I like to not have to worry about the cleaning rod hitting anything if it flexes too much.
 
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Baron23 said:
Thank you so much....I have two JAEs..well, down from three as I just sold one haha...and yes, when looking at the initial pics you posted it did seem to be almost identical with the revised grip and shortened comb being the only obvious differences I could see.

I believe I posted this above, but at one time Josh replied to me and said that the grip on the new chassis would not be backward compatible with the OG chassis. Now, I do know that things change often during a design phase, but it does look to me that the new vertical grip has the same fastener positions and outside profile (that is, it fits on the chassis the same way). Do you know...is that true? That is, the new grip will be backward compatible with the OG one?

Also, you said wrt to the bag rider that, in addition to fore/aft, you can change the angle....like angle it up/down a bit or angle it left/right a bit (though I have no idea why anyone would want to do that). I'm pretty sure my OG bag riders only go fore/aft but tbh once they were screwed on I've never really messed with them. Frankly, I rather like what some other chassis manf are doing with wedge shaped bag riders which add a bit more up/down than just squeezing the rear bag, right?

I do wonder, however, why it is taking them so very long to re-release this chassis as, quite honestly, the changes are just somewhat modest and incremental. It does appear that most of the OG design is retained so...what's taking almost three years? Rhetorical question.....

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Hello again! To clarify, the grips will not be backwards compatible due to the fact that we shortened the LOP by 1", which in turn affected the rear of the grip interface. We initially went over this in the thread where Tyler from MKM started to make vertical aftermarket grips for the Gen1 :)

As for timelines and pricing; I won't go into too much depth as there is still a lot in the works but long story short, these things have been a nightmare to redesign from scratch and get to a point where they can be manufactured at a reasonable cost and time. We don't want another 18 month lead time on these when they are re-released. The samples we had at SHOT are still pre-production, so a Q3 timeline (if everything goes to plan and the world figures out it's supply chain issues) is possible, however, may be tricky to hit.

We understand that it's taken a long time and that from the outside it seems like we're sitting on our hands, but I can assure you that these are being pushed as hard as they can! Our biggest struggle has been keeping the fit, finish, feel and quality of the original, but being able to bring it into 2022 (in terms of manufacturability and functionality). We have intentionally not updated a lot of the features, as a lot of those are what you loved about it!

Sorry that I don't have better news and we're just as excited to have them back in the wild as you guys are, but it's still very much in the Design/Engineering phase.

- Josh
 
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Having seen how it used to be done...the JAE chassis was flat out frigging difficult to manufacture.

Think every problem an all metal chassis has that you have to solve with every problem a fiberglass stock had too all at once.

Still interested in what happened to the original JAE crew.
 
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MDT_Josh said:
Hello again! To clarify, the grips will not be backwards compatible due to the fact that we shortened the LOP by 1", which in turn affected the rear of the grip interface. We initially went over this in the thread where Tyler from MKM started to make vertical aftermarket grips for the Gen1 :)

As for timelines and pricing; I won't go into too much depth as there is still a lot in the works but long story short, these things have been a nightmare to redesign from scratch and get to a point where they can be manufactured at a reasonable cost and time. We don't want another 18 month lead time on these when they are re-released. The samples we had at SHOT are still pre-production, so a Q3 timeline (if everything goes to plan and the world figures out it's supply chain issues) is possible, however, may be tricky to hit.

We understand that it's taken a long time and that from the outside it seems like we're sitting on our hands, but I can assure you that these are being pushed as hard as they can! Our biggest struggle has been keeping the fit, finish, feel and quality of the original, but being able to bring it into 2022 (in terms of manufacturability and functionality). We have intentionally not updated a lot of the features, as a lot of those are what you loved about it!

Sorry that I don't have better news and we're just as excited to have them back in the wild as you guys are, but it's still very much in the Design/Engineering phase.

- Josh
Click to expand...
HI Josh - just watched your vid from SHOT about the JAE and now that you point it out, yes...I can see you shortened the stub on the back end of the grip to accommodate shortening up the chassis an inch. AND...I'm guessing that's why you also shortened the comb (alright..cheek piece but it is a comb! haha).

I personally think shortening the base chassis 1" was a smart move. You can always add spacers but shortening can be challenging. For me, LOP on OG JAE was a bit too long....and frankly I found the molded silicone (maybe?) butt bad to not be very good at its function. So, I replaced it with a grind to fit kickeeze that also took 3/4" out of the LOP.

I can now easily see that it was shortened a bit....just looking at how much further forward the bag rider now comes is a bit of a give away.

Not sure why you retained that proprietary butt pad when there are excellent pads made by manf who would be more than glad to sell you a pad in whatever configuration you wanted if the volume was there. And, I would imagine that putting a thinner pad (but still sufficient, IME) had to be less costly than a redesign to take an inch out and revise the grip and comb piec. But, I don't sit in your design reviews so I'm speaking out of ignorance.

Personally, I think its a bit of a shame that the grip is not backwards compatible as there is a large installed base of these things out there and people will want spare parts, the more vertical grip config, change grip/comb/butt pad color, etc. I would think it would be a sales opportunity for MDT to have these parts for the OG chassis.

And yes, we did review that the grip would not be backward compatible in the MK alternative grip thread, but when I saw vids of the MDT version, it sure looked the same. Once you pointed out length, then yeah...I can now see the change.

Thanks for the reply and after seeing your vid, I now know what you look like (you young fella! haha).

Cheers
 
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The King said:
Having seen how it used to be done...the JAE chassis was flat out frigging difficult to manufacture.

Think every problem an all metal chassis has that you have to solve with every problem a fiberglass stock had too all at once.

Still interested in what happened to the original JAE crew.
Click to expand...
California happened. And the fact that while it’s an awesome chassis I think they were underwater because they had to carry so much inventory because it was so customizable when purchased. I just think they were in over their head.
 
Baron23 said:
HI Josh - just watched your vid from SHOT about the JAE and now that you point it out, yes...I can see you shortened the stub on the back end of the grip to accommodate shortening up the chassis an inch. AND...I'm guessing that's why you also shortened the comb (alright..cheek piece but it is a comb! haha).

I personally think shortening the base chassis 1" was a smart move. You can always add spacers but shortening can be challenging. For me, LOP on OG JAE was a bit too long....and frankly I found the molded silicone (maybe?) butt bad to not be very good at its function. So, I replaced it with a grind to fit kickeeze that also took 3/4" out of the LOP.

I can now easily see that it was shortened a bit....just looking at how much further forward the bag rider now comes is a bit of a give away.

Not sure why you retained that proprietary butt pad when there are excellent pads made by manf who would be more than glad to sell you a pad in whatever configuration you wanted if the volume was there. And, I would imagine that putting a thinner pad (but still sufficient, IME) had to be less costly than a redesign to take an inch out and revise the grip and comb piec. But, I don't sit in your design reviews so I'm speaking out of ignorance.

Personally, I think its a bit of a shame that the grip is not backwards compatible as there is a large installed base of these things out there and people will want spare parts, the more vertical grip config, change grip/comb/butt pad color, etc. I would think it would be a sales opportunity for MDT to have these parts for the OG chassis.

And yes, we did review that the grip would not be backward compatible in the MK alternative grip thread, but when I saw vids of the MDT version, it sure looked the same. Once you pointed out length, then yeah...I can now see the change.

Thanks for the reply and after seeing your vid, I now know what you look like (you young fella! haha).

Cheers
Click to expand...
Thank you for your input and we always love to hear directly from shooters what they want and (more importantly) WHY they want it!

As for the buttpads, I think we may have also had this conversation before, but the reason we retained that buttpad was also based off of shooter feedback as they loved the "squishiness" of it. We did redesign the shape a little and are planning on a shorter and longer variant (both of which will be backwards compatible!), but more importantly, we made that design injection moldable. What this will allow us to do (much like the rest of the chassis) is make them quicker and cheaper, but still retain the overall feel, fit and finish of the OG!

The downside of going with a Limbsaver (or other aftermarket buttpad) is that we are then stuck to their external design parameters and we have to purchase them directly from the manufacturer. We then have longer lead times, less control on materials/changes/design and all of this translates to longer lead times and higher costs for customers, which we never want to do if we can help it!

Anyway, I hope this helps answer some of your questions and it's awesome to see the enthusiasm behind these chassis!

- Josh
 
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MDT_Josh said:
As for the buttpads, I think we may have also had this conversation before
Click to expand...
hahaha...but I'm 69, can't remember what I had for breakfast, and each day is a new beginning! LOL

They like its "squishiness"? Wow, I guess there is a nut for every bolt. Not my fav.

Question, if the butt pad is now injection molded...how the hell was the OG one made. Sure thought it had to be molded also as there is a piece of metal support embedded in it, I believe.

Your choice about what to do in house vs contract out...we can debate this endlessly and in the final analysis, its not my business nor do I work there. I don't know that lead times and design control are all that for butt pads that have been made for over 30 years, but I defer to your trade-off studies.

Cheers and thanks for the reply.
 
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I just picked up a gen 2 JAE from a fellow member in great shape. I will have to get the larger bag rider soon but I’m excited to see what other backwards compatible stuff is in the works.
 
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Hey @MDT_Josh, do you guys have any spare parts for the chassis? I was wanting to pick up maybe a new factory butt pad and cheek riser eventually, but definitely want a spare mag release. My only complaint is I keep hitting the wings when switching positions during a match and dropping the mag. I want to get a spare and have the wings shaved off.
 
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BigJohn141 said:
Hey @MDT_Josh, do you guys have any spare parts for the chassis? I was wanting to pick up maybe a new factory butt pad and cheek riser eventually, but definitely want a spare mag release. My only complaint is I keep hitting the wings when switching positions during a match and dropping the mag. I want to get a spare and have the wings shaved off.
Click to expand...

Hey buddy! I am not 100% sure where we're at on spare parts right now, so I'll have to direct you to the JAE customer support team here: JAE Customer Support! Alternatively, you can also call them at 1-866-996-3195.

Sorry I don't have more info for you!
Josh
 
BigJohn141 said:
Hey @MDT_Josh, do you guys have any spare parts for the chassis? I was wanting to pick up maybe a new factory butt pad and cheek riser eventually, but definitely want a spare mag release. My only complaint is I keep hitting the wings when switching positions during a match and dropping the mag. I want to get a spare and have the wings shaved off.
Click to expand...
Www.jaechassis.com

You can find some legacy parts there.
 
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