Looks like someone was VERY good this year.
This unicorn sighting came to us from Jon at O P Tactical, a guy who gets it.
Tags: Hodge Defense Systems, OP Tactical
We reserve the right to refuse advertising to anyone
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
Soldier Systems Daily is in no way affiliated with the US Government.
Copyright © Soldier Systems Daily 2008-2021. All Rights Reserved.
Like I said the other day, you apparently need to be an industry insider to see a Hodge in the wild. Must be a really small circle of folks who actually, “get it.”
I was going to say the same thing.
The Army has some.
AMU has a few for comp guns, Army has been T&E for replacement of current issue? That comment with out expounding is like when any number of companies have an item purchased by an individual or with a unit purchase card spouting off with, “in use by Special Forces, the [product that isn't actually adopted as program of record] by [company].”
What Diddler said. I never thought I’d read the “The Army has some” excuse on SSD. Hell, I’m in SATX and no one here that I’ve talked to has seen or heard of them, and this is their hometown!
When the Army is looking at a gun that’s not a Colt or FN, you should wonder why.
Oddly enough, the guys in SATX I know, all know Hodge. Maybe you need to get out more.
Sorry I don’t get out as much as you and know the people you do. I’ll go back to serving my country quietly since I’m not a cool industry guy like you.
Well if you’re in the service that’s exactly what you should concentrate on. Unless you’re working in ACQ at some level, I’m going to wonder why you’re concentrating more on industry than service.
When they are delivered to Picatinny, that means they were bought by the Army.
It’s still misleading. The Army and Picatinny buy a lot of things. Comments like this are very much like the ones I mentioned above. To the uninitiated it sounds like being purchased en masse.
I’m glad you mentioned picatinny, though. I go from time to time and I’ll be sure to try and finally catch a glimpse of one the next time I visit.
Picatinny doesn’t buy a lot of things. That’s the point.
And no, they aren’t being purchased en masse. That would require a new program. This is way ahead of that.
OOoooo An AR receiver, neva’ been done before!
I’d hazard a guess you don’t have one of these.
Nope and my .gov issued Colts are just fine and come with zero hype. No celebrity status required.
No one that isn’t part of the secret hand shake club or apparently the Army does. That’s the reason for all the snark associated with Hodge posts. It’s the ultimate vapor-ware/unobtanium. Will the regular-not-homeboy-connected-to-JimHodge dude who was able to spot one on a shelf or in stock online and buy it raise his hand? Please keep your hand raised so we can all pretend to shake it via the interwebz.
Drury’s in SATX has them, when they can keep them in stock.
O P Tactical and Weapon Outfitters is where the regular guy gets Hodge stuff.
Photoshopped! Clearly this is a hoax.
Will this fit my .510 Beck upper? 😉
Sorry. Meant Irin Ridge Arms. 🙂
Listen, Hodge Defense’s rifles are expensive — but it’s on par with other high end AR-15s on the market. From what I’ve been told (I don’t have one nor have I personally handled one), they’re analogous to a nice custom 1911 versus a run-of-the-mill 1911.
AR-15s, along with most guns or similar items for the matter, experience diminishing returns on investment. How much of an advantage will I get as a shooter by electing to purchase a $1,000 AR-15 rather than an $800 AR-15? A lot will depend on what you personally value. Maybe you’d rather build your own (the AR-15 is America’s gun after all) or maybe you want something with a solid reputation as far as I’ve heard. Look at triggers; will I gain twice as much by going from a $40 trigger to an $80 trigger? What else comes with purchasing a Hodge Defense rifle? Is there an expectation of a quality and performance from the aggregated parts that form a fully functioning rifle? Most shooters (and I’m one of them) cannot fully explore a rifle’s capabilities due to time, money, drive, interest and skill.
Considering it some people wanting to buy them cannot find them, it seems the demand is there for them. What is a rifle worth? What someone will pay for it. It’s simple economics, really. The best part is, if you find the price to be too high (it’s far beyond anything approaching what I could afford), then simply do not buy one. I’m not offended by any other person spending any amount of their own money to purchase something. Just remember: Different people value different things, have different circumstances and have different lives.
If I had the opportunity I’d buy a high-end AR-15, go to shooting schools and spend a lot of the time at the range. I can’t, but I’m happy to hear other people doing so! Live and let live.
(note: This post isn’t directed at any one individual; it’s a general response)
This is digressing ridiculously and rapidly while I watch from a Droid platform I can’t post on here from (new server issue with SSD format).
1. I’m far from a celebrity or even close to an insider, I spent the last 20 years serving, and just retired this year, I didn’t attend “classes” while in, my spare time was spent as a single dad or working on a website, my classes were run by SWCS, or me as a SF Weapons SGT, my team-mates, foreign counterparts, or my team guys when I was a SF Team SGT. My choices, my consequences, I live with them; I know active duty guys who did all that and then some, I’m not them.
2. Most people in this industry don’t know me, and most who were around back then have gone from their previous level, to not even acknowledging my business because they deal with a tangible percentage of national defense funding and big box distribution; I literally face this frustration daily, to the point of having some tell me I will NEVER be where they are, that HAS been said to me by former peers in the industry. I blame myself, I could have gotten out, but I didn’t, that was my call, I live with it, and don’t regret a second of it or the consequences of my service.
3. At one point I ran one of 20 sites that got shit to dudes who needed it, and that’s still what I do. Some of those dudes happen to now run their own businesses, some make rifles and remember my business being solid back when they needed it the most. Some I have only met a few times but consider great friends because they have always been on the level.
4. I don’t chase the almighty dollar in this industry, which is in cheap ass gear, ceramic imported helmets tested by Chinese guys with hammers (it’s NIJ-ISH), target steel turned into body armor, and “let’s intimidate everyone” t-shirts. I tout top of the line gear, and don’t compromise on that, the margins often suck, the criticism of pricing is never ending, and the anxiety of making overhead is non-stop. I can show you my books or my paycheck if you want to contest that. I make more off military retirement and disability than I do from OPT, at least for now. I’m also no fool and WILL expand my business.
So, I received a lower receiver, a rare and very unique one, not some sort of “ermagerd it’s the same as a bershmastur” lower. I don’t expect this stuff, I don’t ask for it, this is actually the coolest item I’ve gotten ever in this industry, no one is rubbing it in, it’s a rifle lower… if you don’t like it, continue to train.
Is there anything wrong with running a Colt, DD, FN, etc? Fuck no, I ran DoD hardware for 20 years and honestly the first time I saw this, it kind of blew my mind. It’s not a normal lower, but no one posts the differences, and I won’t do so until I can sell the items.
Hodge has a different marketing approach, they don’t stick out their middle finger, wear a “fuck” t-shirt, and try to burn down and intimidate everything liberal and not 3derpcent or veteran in their path, their gear speaks for itself, it doesn’t need scary skulls, strippers, gun bunnies, and it’s own spun news channel to gain customers. Trust me, they are busy, and the scarcity is something that comes with the contracts they fill, not a taunting of the general populace with vaporware; or on the industry flipside, an overabundance of obvious marketing; Hodge holds a very subtle line while doing what they do, if you get it, you get it. SSD writes about them because buyers and enthusiasts within procurement above the retail level read this blog, it’s not just us consumers. Yes, TLA, OGA, all levels of LE, and USSOCOM all read this site. It’s not just retail consumers.
Is their gear worth it? Yes, and if someone wants it, this and many other posts like it in social media with surfacing of lowers in the hands of a sample of few should be sign that these will soon be in the wild; and if you can’t get the cream of the crop, there will be solid alternatives on the market with the same name on them. Just read recent posts on here and you can see the momentum gaining. Just know it’s not the diamond trade, Hodge isn’t sitting on a room full of lowers watching the ticker value rise, they are actually making money fulfilling obligations outside of retail, which will be a secondary operation. Aside from lowers and AU2 barrels, you can in fact build a Hodge rifle… that said, the magic is in the lower and the barrel, unfortunately so for those, myself included, who have to wait.
Hodge makes excellent gear, all fun and antics aside; just because he does, doesn’t mean he can’t smile while doing a great job at it.
And SSD, fix your damn Droid compatibility!!!
I’m a huge fan of your shop and spend a ton of money there. Hopefully within the next year I’ll be TDY at Bragg for about three weeks and am looking forward to swinging by.
Been buying gear from Jon for longer than I’d care to remember, and even had a few FB discussions with him before I deleted it….man crush.. J/K.. anyays, His company has great CS, and great products at great prices… oh, and hes also a Boba Fett fan… what more can you want from the guy???
Well said… Respect.
I really can’t come up with any complaints of the lowers I’ve used to come up with solutions or improvements the Hodge might have. That’s not a knock on Hodge, it just fuels my curiosity, especially with the endorsement of some respected folks.
Let a thousand flowers bloom and all that happy shit. Anyone who truly believes in the industry is happy to have another quality manufacturer out there. However to survive today you need to distinguish yourself in some particular way. Not just with a snappy marketing campaign and some key people vouching for you. How many times have we seen that before? People come out guns blazing at Shot and then- nothing. You also must build loyal appeal with the retail segment. Very few people can live off their .gov contracts.
So in the end, you need to deliver something tangibly different. Oh yeah, and you need to deliver to a large enough degree of the segment to build that loyalty. Otherwise you just become “that guy” selling a new mousetrap which isn’t better. Just more shiny. That’s reality.
Marcus, the reality is that none of the things you’ve said are really true. Companies who make junk continue to thrive because it’s cheap and companies that make unobtanium remain in business despite your suggestion that they need to build for the masses.
If anyone wants a Hodge, get on a waiting list like everyone else, or hit up Drury’s in San Antonio to see if they have any, but complaining about them isn’t going to make a Mod 2 materialize any faster.
I’ve been waiting for some time now.
Brother, unfortunately we’ll have to disagree on that.
We are talking about two different market segments. There are indeed people who make cheap junk they will sell to bubba, because it’s, well, cheap. But there are others who have aspirations to build a quality product that can actually meet or exceed .gov requirements, which serious users will also consider.
You and I both know that cool guys don’t just like gear because it’s cheap or shiny. It’s because it provides an edge that’s keeps them or their brothers breathing. That “edge” needs to provide a material, tangible advantage to the other products out there. Whether it’s a lighter weight, new material which makes it more reliable in different environments, better tolerances than any other comparable product, etc., there needs to be a distinguishing factor lest you just become another entry in the segment.
I’m not casting aspersions on Hodge by the way. What I am saying is if I had a quarter for every new product based on an old design where people couldn’t really tell me what was new or different, I would be Carl Icahn. I didn’t pull that out of my ass. That’s a lot of experience speaking.
Is there room in that market segment for another quality product where the business proposition is also sustainable? Hard to tell really. I personally think the industry is in for some changes. There has been remarkable growth over the past few years and I just wonder how much longer that lasts and we start thinning the herd. I also am tending to believe there are going to be some changes in .gov acquisitions with the new administration. They may ramp up spending, but the process may change.
Anyway that’s all in my very humble opinion.
Great points Marcus, you are now arguing with yourself. Seeing as the AU MOD 2 is:
Whether it’s a lighter weight, new material which makes it more reliable in different environments, better tolerances than any other comparable product, etc., there needs to be a distinguishing factor lest you just become another entry in the segment.
I have no idea if it’s a similar situation, but from an outside observer, between BCM basically giving up on being able to source magnesium aluminum alloys, and Hodge unable to serve a consumer market, it looks like there’s a big issue with sourcing novel aluminum alloys.
Are we all just wringing our hands over a lack of smelting plants?
I’ve handled them at durys several times and they feel great. Tight as hell and smooth as can be. They are priced competitively with larue and that crowd, and I’d say surpass them in quality in some ways. You can get them, just go talk to the guys in the LE section. I’ve only handled the Mod 1 so far. When they get a Mod 2, I will be the first one to know about it and will buy it lol
Lots of whining in the comment section about a gun just because some guys haven’t got to finger fuck one yet.