Shooting test: Gen3 Sporter Pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines

Pistol-caliber carbines have been all the rage in recent years. One of the main reasons is the increasingly popular trend toward action-packed shooting sport disciplines featuring plenty of thrills and spills. Pistol-caliber carbines offer perfect handling and are inexpensive to maintain, especially in the 9 mm Luger caliber. Added to that are the simple logistics of combining the benefits of a handgun and long gun with just one caliber. 

Headquartered in upstate New York, Just Right Carbines has built carbines in several pistol calibers that take standard magazines since 2009. The underlying idea was to develop accurate, reliable and flexible carbines with high modularity. 

The comparatively modest but cleverly assembled product range by Just Right Carbines focuses exclusively on this type of gun. So far, the company has reported sales of around 30,000 units.

Just Right Carbines sees its pistol-caliber carbines as an alternative or sensible addition to 9mm pistols. They are also available in .45 ACP caliber on the European market. We already featured the JRC Gen3 by Just Right Carbines at the end of last year.

Receiver on the Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines
The charging handle on the JRC Gen3 Sporter can be switched from left to right at the drop of a hat.
Charging handle on the Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines
The handle on the JRC Gen3 Sporter is removed and mounted on the other side in a few easy steps.

With its focus on the most common pistol calibers, Just Right Carbines stands for outstanding compatibility and inexpensive shooting. But they’re just some of the reasons why pistol-caliber carbines by Just Right Carbines are so popular. And the fan base is growing steadily ...

Just Right Carbines Gen3 Sporter: conquering Europe with Waffen Ferkinghoff

The name Waffen Ferkinghoff has been synonymous with the import of popular US guns to Europe and other specialties for a long time. Just Right Carbines even collaborated with Ferkinghoff to design its models for the European market. Situated in Bergtheim near Würzburg, Germany, the dealer holds exclusive rights to European distribution.

The Just Right Carbines Gen3 models will catch the eyes of sports shooters and hunters alike, as their modular design enables a broad variety of configurations.

We whisked the sports version down to the shooting range and were impressed by the pistol-caliber carbine’s versatility. The test was conducted with the SporterPremium version of the JRC Gen3. We were immediately taken by the gun’s pleasant handling and astonishing accuracy.

Ejection port on the Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines
The ejection port on the JRC Gen3 Sporter can also be moved from right to left.
Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines with the ejection port on the left
The pistol-caliber carbines by Just Right Carbines aim for maximum modularity and adaptability.

Gen3 Sporter by Just Right Carbines: highly flexible assembly and conversion

All of the Just Right Carbines models can be easily converted for left- or right-handed shooters in their default configurations. The charging handle can also be switched in no time at all, as the receiver has specially milled grooves on both sides to accommodate the handle. Simply release one screw, pull back the bolt, remove the handle and mount it on the other side.

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We fed the JRC Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine with a 10-round pistol magazine by GLOCK.

Even the ejection port can be moved from right to left. Just release two screws on the front of the receiver to move the port and the ejector quite simply to the opposite side. The whole conversion takes just a few seconds.

Three pins/screw connections are located on the bottom of the receiver to attach the fame the magazine well adapter, whereby another pin connects the frame and the adapter. Once the shoulder rest and the buffer tube (Commercial Spec Buffer Tube) have been removed, the shooter will have no trouble extracting the blowback from the carbine. 

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The frame and the magazine well on the JRC Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine are screwed onto the bottom of the receiver.

A 10-round magazine is included. But you’ll have no trouble using your pistol magazines by GLOCK, as compatibility is the name of the game at Just Right Carbines. 

This compatibility also extends to AR-15 components by other vendors, adding even more flexibility and custom options to an already adaptable package. For instance, the pistol-caliber carbine can be easily converted into a gun in AR-15 style. What’s more, the Just Right Carbines Gen3 Sporter comes with a muzzle thread to attach a silencer.

Just Right Carbines Gen3 Sporter: features and versions

The JRC Gen3 Sporter model is built for sports shooters and is available in 3 variants to suit different areas and personal preferences: JRC Gen3 SporterBasic, SporterPlus and SporterPremium.

All of the variants are factory-fitted with a fixed stock and a free-floating, 17” (432 mm) barrel made of chromium molybdenum alloy steel with 1-16” rifling. The receiver on the JRC Gen3 Sporter carbine is fashioned in high-grade, hard-anodized aluminum (6061 T-6) with wear-resistant properties.

The SporterPlus design comes with a manual flip-up sight by Sun Optics. Included in the SporterPremium version are optical sights with crosshairs, also by Sun Optics. All kinds of sighting devices are mounted easily on the receiver’s Picatinny rail.

JRC Gen3 Sporter by Just Right Carbines with a mounted silencer
There is a muzzle thread at the end of the barrel on the JRC Gen3 Sporter carbine.
Magazine well and hand guard on the Gen3 Sporter pistol-caliber carbine by Just Right Carbines
The transition point between the receiver and the barrel on the JRC Gen3 Sporter: The slender hand guard made of round light metal facilitates ease of use.

Just Right Carbines Gen3 Sporter: test gun with Velocity Trigger at the shooting range

We also fitted a VELOCITY Trigger to our test gun. Velocity Trigger was developed by Tom Vehr, one of the brothers in the family firm Timney Trigger. 

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Also available from Waffen Ferkinghoff: mounted on the JRC Gen3 Sporter in seconds, the Velocity Trigger is not just an eye-catcher, it also discharges crisply and smoothly.

Velocity Triggers are high-quality systems for AR platforms that deliver outstanding finishing and reliable functions: the AR-compatibility of the JRC Gen3 by Just Right Carbines is handy here.

A special polymer coating (microcrystalline “Diamond Like Carbon Coating”) is fitted to the trigger stages to deliver maximum hardness combined with unbeatable wear resistance and optimized smoothness. This guarantees reliable trigger operation. Triggers like this last a lifetime.

The trigger assembly was pre-mounted in the housing and fitted perfectly into our JCR Gen3 Sporter. We were rewarded with a delightfully crisp release, comparable with precision triggers otherwise found on bolt action rifles.

Triggers by Velocity Triggers are available from Waffen Ferkinghoff .

Gen3 Sporter by Just Right Carbines: a summary

We found the Gen3 Sporter by Just Right Carbines to be a convincing, extremely well-balanced sports firearm. The pistol-caliber carbine can be adapted easily to suit a variety of uses and personal preferences in all conceivable configurations. And the accuracy was right.

In an initial test, the Gen3 Sporter by Just Right Carbines certainly catches the eye with its finishing, functions and performance, so that the price of 1,479 euro for the version with optical sights is absolutely justified. The entry-level model without sights is available for just 1,327 euro.

The JRC Gen3 models by Just Right Carbines can be purchased from Waffen Ferkinghoff

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The modular, adaptable design and consistently ambidextrous controls are special features of the JRC Gen3 Sporter carbine.

For a huge assortment of products from the firearm, hunting and outdoor segments, visit the online shop by Waffen Ferkinghoff. 

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