An Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age - Jim Hodge - Hodge Defense Systems Inc

[@ccrosby1776]

Thank you.

[@carllinder9599]

Really appreciate the lack of arrogance across the board from all involved, have seen so many others start their way on youtube and become different people as success rolled in, I appreciate the way you guys come across, thanks again.

[@navyman8903]

Dammit......now I want a Hodge...

[@beardly0121]

lmao, I was just asking you about them on your concealed carry rotation vid. Weird coincidence. The guys I work with swear by Hodge. I shot a guys 14.5 and it was very smooth and I was getting good accuracy from it.

[@navyman8903]

@@beardly0121 I have heard that their 12.5 can do 14.5 accuracy. But 16" accuracy is an extremely bold claim. I would also like to see it tested.

[@beardly0121]

@@navyman8903 well technically he didn't claim it was getting 16" accuracy, just 16" velocity which imo is still a very bold claim and I want to see it for myself as well. I'm gonna heavily edit my previous comment, theres enough in there that it could be identified and I don't want any drama lol. Edit: I'd like to see a test with Hodge compared to companies like Knights, LMT, HK, etc. I wanna see how good these rifles really are and compared to each other. I'd like to see a mid tier company thrown in such as BCM or DD just to get another interesting data point. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who owns all these brands. Personally I think when I buy a "premium" AR its gonna be Knights for a few different reasons. I'd love to get a 416 though but its so insanely expensive to build one. HK are fools for not setting up a shop in America just so they could sell real 416s.

[@navyman8903]

@@beardly0121 My bad I meant to type velocity.

[@lucusallen42]

For real

[@gafan-mi8mc]

Good listen

[@theREALdingusMD]

For those curious, BCG discussion at 53:20.

[@frogchaser]

I've got a 12.5 hodge barrel and I don't know what handguard to use that will work with my VLTOR MUR upper receiver. Any suggestions?

[@gregorykrebs550]

...love your shirt Jim

[@TheOGFrisco]

Great episode guys. I have one of those "out of spec" bcgs from early COVID...thing works just fine. Like Jim said, run your shit it's fine who cares

[@lukelumley602]

Seems like a lot of salty folks in this comment section who didn’t actually listen to the full interview… He specifically says that he is not a parts collector, so he doesn’t keep a huge inventory of stuff that may or may not sell. He also specifically says he does this without going into debt, so he only buys enough product that he can purchase with cash in hand. This interview really clarified why his stuff is so hard to get ahold of.

[@BigTexOrdnance]

Thanks for the positive comments and watching the full interview!

[@lecherojr]

I haven’t looked at the rest of the comments yet, but I gave up on getting anything hodge a long time ago. There’s too much hype around it and it all sells out within seconds of coming in stock. And as a consumer, that he claims to care about, that’s frustrating. The way he could avoid that frustration from consumers is to order more. He doesn’t want to and that’s obviously his prerogative, but it’s going to lead to consumer frustration.

[@slytactraining]

Santa is that you!? Great episode fellas!

[@salc423]

Banger

[@lucusallen42]

How do you get on the wait list for that 7075 wedge lock?

[@mmmpancakesmmm]

This is the Hodge drop we’re looking for.

[@eliasbonilla8087]

Wow very Interesting!!! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@latedfuller5791]

Big Tex and Hodge Defense 💪💪

[@evanacey1414]

Hey where can I find that poster of The Dude with a Colt Python and a White Russian?

[@BigTexOrdnance]

www.etsy.com/shop/DrawnFireArt?Search_US_DSA_GGL_ENG_General-Nonbrand_Shop_All&US-EN_DSA-Shop%252BPages&Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_naEr2iHb3HtiF5Bz-lSWyEUraaexXji4HU-Y62OKvXwrvPhYA5XG0aAhlaEALw_wcB_k_&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_naEr2iHb3HtiF5Bz-lSWyEUraaexXji4HU-Y62OKvXwrvPhYA5XG0aAhlaEALw_wcB

[@BruceWayne-yj7bd]

Will there be grey ti receivers or sets dropping soon?

[@hayesaskew-oo2wo]

Great episode guys. By far my favorite to date.

[@jasond7060]

Great Video guys!

[@BigTexOrdnance]

Thanks so much!

[@2of2DCH]

Ti 7075?! brb chucking my 6061 Ti Pinch in the bin. =P

[@4g63mark]

So he doesn't like the "Drop culture" but insists on catering his business model to "Drop culture." 😄🤣

[@theREALdingusMD]

“If I flood the market, there’s no pride in ownership.” Uhh Jim, the quality of your product should be all that’s necessary for consumers to feel pride in ownership. Quality, not exclusivity.

[@lecherojr]

Yeah, I’m 2/3rds the way through the episode and nothing has changed my mind that you are absolutely correct. I despise drop culture BS. I gave up on getting anything hodge a long time ago because of it

[@hannibalbarca2939]

While I am building a 12.5 hodge, this interview made me truly realize that his products are pure marketing and based upon scarcity. I will never buy another hodge product again. He seems to barely understand his own products.

[@ikestephens8268]

This is a very interesting comment for me. Let me say that I absolutely love your screen name. As an student of Ancient Rome with a very specific interest in the 2nd Punic War, your choice of alias strikes a cord with me. I’m genuinely curious to learn if there was a specific point in the interview that made you reach that conclusion. I’m honestly eager to hear your response and I hope you do end up replying. I personally thought that the interview shed a lot of light on the why behind the products that Hodge produces. Especially the barrel life and the testing of the rails. I’m always interested in other perspectives and I’m interested in hearing your take on it.

[@hannibalbarca2939]

@@ikestephens8268 Almost too many to name. "I'm not an engineer" OK, so who is the brains, or is Hodge just a good idea fairly and leaves the execution to everyone else? He mentioned nitrided BCGs (which his famously had horrible specs and poor gassing) bc he didn't realize that the specs were for chrome lined carriers (internal). "It arrives QCed" Meaning he doesnt and isnt capable of doing proper QC. Like I said, I already spent the $$$ on the barrel and handguard, but I'll stick with my DDs, Geissele (designed by a legit engineer), Noveskes, etc. I truly thought Hodge was something special prior to this interview, but his total lack of mechanical knowledge made me lose all faith.

[@ikestephens8268]

@@hannibalbarca2939 That’s an interesting take on the interview. While he’s not an engineer, he has a team of engineers and designers that he works with to develop products. It’s not like he just thinks up an idea and just makes it. He knows what he wants from an end user perspective and then the discussion gets had on how to actually execute on it and make it happen. There’s a lot of back and forth. Drawings, design changes, prototypes, revisions, more drawings, more prototypes etc. There’s a process just like with every other thing that gets made. I think in the episode he talked about how S-lock took years to actually get to production. An engineer may have a great idea but when it actually goes to get made, it may be discovered that it’s impossible or cost prohibitive to machine. Then it’s back to the drawing board. I’m not sure how much insight you have on the manufacturing and design process but with any particular product in any industry, there’s a lot of folks involved and a lot of steps to take something from idea to finished product. It’s not just the work of any one person. On the BCGs I think you may have read to far into that. There was a single batch of BCGs that had the keys nitrided instead of chrome lined. The HD spec calls for a chrome lined key. This particular batch was not chrome lined but instead got nitrided. Since the spec calls for chrome lining, the keys have an internal dimension that is a little bit larger to make it the proper size when the chrome lining is applied. I think Jim even mentioned that in the episode. The reason the keys were oversized is because the manufacturer that HD uses to produce them nitrided that batch of BCGs instead of chrome lining them. I think you may have missed the part where he talked about changing processes and procedures as a result of that. He also says that now every part is individually QC’d. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the new BCGs but now the entire key is chrome lined just as a quick way for customers to know if it’s a new production BCG or an old one. Each BCG, barrel and gas block now comes with a green tag that has a list of QC procedures that have been done on that part at Hodge Defense. It even has the initials of the person doing the QC. That QC is done at HD after it’s already been QC’d at the machine shop. There are thousands of dollars worth of pin gauges, calipers, fixtures, and tools at HD to do a QC on every individual part. Every rail, BCG, barrel, gas block, receiver etc gets looked at and QC’d at HD. The one thing I find most interesting though is your last comment on the lack of mechanical knowledge. I think that’s an interesting takeaway from this interview. I think Jim understands the AR system better than most and has a pretty good mechanical understanding of the platform. To the extent that he consults for quite a few major companies in the industry developing products and has been involved with quite a few projects and items that many people know. You’ll never see him publicly talk about that though. Partly due to NDAs and also because he’s pretty humble. Maybe it’s because I’ve talked quite a bit with him outside of this interview and have a lot more data points and background to compare it to. Your comment is very helpful! I do genuinely enjoy seeing other perspectives and I appreciate you taking the time to list yours out. Thanks for replying with what you took away from the episode. It’s always great to hear other opinions. I thought the interview did a good job of explaining stuff but that’s probably due to the specific context and background knowledge that I have on everything that was discussed. Someone watching this that doesn’t know a lot of the backstory behind some of this stuff can have a completely different viewpoint on it. This will definitely help me for future interviews. Thanks again for taking the time to give us some feedback! I truly do appreciate it.

[@hannibalbarca2939]

@@ikestephens8268 I appreciate your kind reply, but you're giving him a HUGE pass. You're telling me he gets an ENTIRE massive batch of BCGs with improper finish (nitride vs chromed) and he doesn't notice? Or he was just unaware that chrome is an additive vs nitriding which is a treatment? Why didn't he QC that batch? Regardless of all my words, I believe in his barrels. They have the right profile and gas port sizing, plus the double chrome lining (same as Noveske) is no joke.

[@hannibalbarca2939]

@@ikestephens8268 Since I have you here, and you seem honest, what kind of velocity and precision are you getting out of your Hodge?

[@spacemarin04]

Jim is an awesome guy. Hands down the best dude to do business with. Just need to drop those Mod 1.5 lowers lol.

[@bashi_bazouk_]

Hodge Defense is legit just Zev Rebranded lol

[@BigTexOrdnance]

Didn't watch the full video?

[@bashi_bazouk_]

@@BigTexOrdnance Not worth my time

[@chickengamja]

@@bashi_bazouk_ It's funny that a man who knows almost nothing about the industry can't spend an hour listening to the discussion of four men who know 1000 times better than you.

[@mikebrown4433]

Watching this on my iPhone while watching GUN THOT review of Hodge 12.5 barrel on my IPAD.

[@4g63mark]

Yeah that barrel is WAY out of spec. Criterion, DD, or Geissele is the way to go for barrels

[@stevenevans3672]

“We were the first people to use aluminum lithium” And the last because there’s 0 need for the added cost on the platform lol

[@jweezy9312]

Zero need for you***

[@Turambar117]

V Seven offers it. Cope harder

[@stevenevans3672]

@@Turambar117 oh wow, so that makes 2 companies without military contracts. Very impressive!

[@Turambar117]

@stevenevans3672 has never heard of the soldier enhancement program Doesn't realize that Hodge Defense was contracted to deliver rifles for USASOC Just say you can't afford it and stop coping

[@stevenevans3672]

@@Turambar117 “Initially, the Army purchased a small number of AU-MOD 2s from Hodge Defense Systems, Inc which were evaluated by Picatinny as well as USASOC. This was the first time a carbine had been evaluated under SEP. Later in 2016, the Army purchased rifles from other manufacturers which included LMT, Daniel Defense and SIG, amongst others.” Hodge participated in a trial with others that never went anywhere. As for money, I stick with LMT & KAC. Companies with actual military contracts.