[Radio Wrangler]

That's a general problem with JFETs the Vp and Idss values have very large variation from individual to individual. Some degree of selection is needed for circuits to stand any chance.

The problem gets worst with published construction articles and kits. These are often built by relative newcomers and kits only have one off of each part. When a project fails to work, many constructors blame themselves and get discouraged.

In a production environment, we can't afford misfires and having to perform selection. Besides it's likely all the parts in stock are from the same batch and you might swap one part for a similar one. Fet based oscillators are popular in amateur radio circles, but they are noticeably less common in commercial equipment.

Mosfets in amplifiers tend to need bias adjustments, so they tend to be reserved for stages where they give compensating advantages. You can't afford to have to make an adjustment to every single stage.

There was a family of dual gate MOSFETS made with integrated, matched current mirrors to allow operation on low supplies (BF904 etc) These could be made to self-adjust but the manufacturers are steadily obsoleting them now phone chipsets have taken onboard more functions.

David