Hodge 12.5”… Next Gen Footlong

[1168]

That’s an awesome build, I still love those Larue quad rails. Crazy question, are you running a Colt carbine or rifle length action spring? The A5 is designed to use a rifle length spring.

Colt rifle-length spring.

[Hammer_Man]

Colt rifle-length spring.

I was curious because of the feeding issues you documented on page 1. I had an intermittent feeding issue with an A5 equipped gun that seemed to go away after switching magazines from ASC 20 rounders to 30 round OK Surefeeds. This isn’t the first A5 system I’ve used, so I consider it a proven system.

[1168]

Looking nice, especially with a T2 to replace the LPVO. I've got an upper that keeps raising it's hand and saying, "I need to be a 12 inch!".

Don't currently have a foot-long in the mix but I'm leaning hard towards building another one to serve as my primary "nightlarper". The 10 is just a bit too crowded when loaded down with the necessary accoutrements, and the 14 is just too long when wearing a can. Not to mention the ballistic advantage over the 10.

I’ve probably said this before, but there seems to be a fine line between too long and too short when it comes to flash, noise, and beating the shit out of baffles. I’ve been surprised by how much better my 12.5”s have been about this compared to my 11.5”s, because its such a small difference. Its also the spot where the ballistics start to change noticeably. Anything past 12.5”, and it takes like 4” of barrel to really notice the velocity changing the arc. Under 12.5”, every inch seems to count.

Yep running 16" chunky stealth barrel with a 11" rail as my primary for a long time and smoking my arms out after a few drills was a thing before I knew better and paid attention to weight and balance. My current primary is a 14.5" Hodge with Triarc's 13" Wedgelock and a T2 + Vortex 6x magnifier which I just got. Going to be playing around with the 6x all summer before I figure out if I want to keep it or not.

What do you think about the 6x? Keeping it, or going LPVO or dot and 3x?

There will be more discussion of optics coming.

[Wake27]

I briefly tried the PLx-C 1-8 on my 12.5 but quickly moved to the Razor 1-10. It’s heavier but fills more of a do-all role with the extra 2x, brightness, and ease of throwing the mag ring. Plus I have one on my 14.5 and figured it doesn’t hurt having some consistency since I barely know what I’m doing with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[vicious_cb]

What do you think about the 6x? Keeping it, or going LPVO or dot and 3x?

There will be more discussion of optics coming.

After a few months of testing this set up out I would probably put the T-2 + 6x mag in between the lower power LPVOs like a 1-4x or 1-6x and the higher power LPVOs like the 1-8x or 1-10x in terms of capability.

The closest direct comparison would be to a Razor 1-6x, the T-2 + 6x has a number of advantages: its lighter by several ounces(~under 20oz depending on the mounts), you have a better 1x, you can switch from magnified to unmagnified so much faster than an LPVO even with a cat tail so there is no need to run a separate offset RDS. The only thing I can say about the 1-6x advantages is that it has a BDC or at least some kind of reference points in the optic.

I forsee zero need to ever buy a 1-4x or 1-6x again, Im not sure why 6x magnifiers havent caught on yet since their glass quality is atleast on par with the mid tier LPVOs like Trijicon or Vortex and can PID just as well. Im guessing they are just too new or people don't think it offers anything over a 3x(BTW it does).

[JediGuy]

What’s eye relief like with the 6x magnifier?

[vicious_cb]

What’s eye relief like with the 6x magnifier?

You definitely have to be closer to the magnifier than a 1-6x, side to side is about the same but you don't really notice it since you have a different head position when using a RDS only anyway. Obviously if you are doing a lot of mid range work past 300 yds or spending a lot of time at 6x then the LPVO is going to be better since an etched reticle is much more fine and precise than a dot but if you are doing 90% of your work at 1x and going to 6x only for PID and shooting small targets within 300 yds and occasionally going out further then the 6x magnifier is hard to beat. If you are spending that much time at distance then you should probably be skipping the 1-6x and going straight to 1-8x or 1-10x LPVOs.

Probably one of the better views out of a 6x:

[Disciple]

Probably one of the better views out of a 6x:

I find the thickness of the housing ring as it appears here undesirable. Is it actually that thick or is that from the placement of the camera? For example this 3X looks a lot better in that regard.

https://youtu.be/bwTqddES2xY?t=1227

[vicious_cb]

I find the thickness of the housing ring as it appears here undesirable. Is it actually that thick or is that from the placement of the camera? For example this 3X looks a lot better in that regard.

https://youtu.be/bwTqddES2xY?t=1227

Looks like the camera is off center making it look thicker. Its no Razor where the scope body just disappears but not thick like in the video, the eye piece is more like an Eotech Vudu in thickness if you never looked through one of those.

[1168]

Speaking of LPVOs, I shot it today with a VCOG 1-6 with BDC in a whiz-bang riser. Using XM855 and E-Type-ish steel, I was able to get hits easily out to 400yds, using a 100yd-ish quick zero. Prone/bipod. When I went to 600, couldn’t hit shit, and could not observe my misses. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to put up paper to try to get it dialed at 600. I dig this optic, though. Eyebox is a little tight on 6x, but the glass is good, its rugged, and there are numbers next to the hash marks so I don’t get lost in the reticle.