how’d it pass final quality control/inspection in The first place? I though these things are supposedly hand checked/speced out for the end user before they go out? Exactly what I was thinking. You spending enormous amounts of money for what you expect to be a masterly crafted barrel, and this is what you get? Unacceptable, especially if this is custom spec job. I’m all for paying money for great craftsmanship. reasonable good quality expectations matched with ethical prices as expected for that grade of work, if something is blemed or off let the people know! I respect quality brand that do that instead of passing it off
Would love to see some criterion barrels reviewed. Also would like to see a video of all the tools you use when measuring and building ARs and where to get them.
Amazing knowledge you have . Thanks for sharing it with us. Spotting the .004 gas port difference with the naked eye was talent for sure. Bang the like peeps geez.
Me and a friend bought these same barrels. Both of ours wouldn’t cycle, hers less than mine. Turns out the ports were undersized. Hodge says on his website they’re designed for suppressor use only. I feel like my criterion barrel is more accurate.
Different sizes for different purposes. I went hunting for Hodges barrels after watching this. My bet is that the different gas ports are for suppressed/never suppressed.
I just got one of those myself. I slapped it together and have test fired it. I know it is supposed to be super-under gassed for suppressor use, but it ran Wolf well. I didn’t have the correct pin-gauge to match the port size but was much smaller than .070”.
Not rebranded. FNH makes most companies' CHF barrels including PSA, Hodge, Noveske, Centurion, Spikes, etc. The difference between them is the companies provide their own specifications. Are you going to argue that Noveske and Centurion CHFs, two of the objectively best and most accurate CHF barrels on the market, and PSA CHF barrels are the same because they both are made by FNH? I agree the QC was somewhat lacking but this is a sample size of 2. To say that the barrels are just rebrands is just ignorant. Even at the end of the video, Chad says "They are his own recipe, he has his own chamber specs for these" acknowledging the fact they are unique to Hodge and not just an "FNH Rebrand"
Hey can you please do a video on parts wear on sbr/pistol ar15s? Everyone says that they wear more than a rifle length but I don’t understand how that would be the case if the rifle is properly gassed.
@@granite6196 Weren't the labels on the bag identical between the two bags? How would Hodge know, before sending the bagged barrel to the reseller or end buyer, which bag contained the barrel with the larger gas port? How would the reseller or end user know?
@@seanoneil277 one reads "200512" and the other "190611" on the label so they don't read identically (that and of course different lot and dates numbers on the label, but that doesn't matter). Who knows though, the one lot may have been ordered to a different spec.
It appears to be home made, but could be something you can buy. Nevertheless it's just a tube with a hole in one end that matches the barrel bore and threads on the other end to match the barrel threads. I'm sure it's held to fairly tight tolerance and concentric itself so that if the threads are concentric to the bore then the pin gauge will slide right into the barrel. It's a neat little simple design to ensure alignment.
Alot of the "magic" is in the port size and buffer system. An over gassed barrel would have more recoil, more gas, harder on parts. An undergassed barrel could lead to short stroking, weak ejection, FTF/FTE etc. A perfectly gassed AR runs like a sewing machine and is a joy to shoot. Tolerance stacking is more of a make or break scenario. An out of tolerance AR could cause light primer strikes, bcg slamming vilantly into buffer, flat out not run, or even deadly.
"FN makes these barrels to Hodge's specs" So what does that mean exactly AFA what FN does vs. what Hodge does for a given barrel? I'm assuming that this is CHF by FN, so is FN just providing a CHF blank in the white so Hodge cuts the chamber and then chromes the bore/chamber (would Hodge also phosphate the outside or is that FN?) Or does FN cut the chamber to Hodge's specs and then FN chrome lines it as well?
Barrel profile is one thing. Barrel material is another highly speculated thing QC to some degree Mostly its hodge sitting down with FN and saying what he wants out of his barrels. Is a hodge barrel an FN barrel? Most definitely. Is an FN barrel a hodge barrel? Not really. Same goes for centurion and noveske chf. Its a rabbit hole you can spend a year researching.
Hodge uses a proprietary steel, does some changes with the chamber, and also the gas journal and BE. Hodge spec is .0625~ on the 12.5. There are also some agency runs around that are .069~ But Jims guns are .0625~
@@MrKadidle51 it's FN'S "proprietary" chf steel that they call "machine gun steel", same stuff used in all their chf barrels for Noveske and Centurion ect.. Fn is the one who calls it "proprietary machine gun steel" and other companies run with it; but in all reality it's just their specifically sourced 4150 cmv that's cold hammer forged and extra thick chrome lined. Is it better steel than other cmv that other companies use? Maybe, who knows. But theyre good barrels for sure.
One is bigger because of the mistake that FN made at the time . Leading to one barrel being a .069 instead of the smaller . This mix up by FN led to the whole batch being .069
One was already opened by the owner so the oil was proly dried.. It happens, it's not like they specifically measure a certain amount each time. It's just doused and packed up quickly.
Potentially yes. They should in theory work BUT, tolerance stacking is a real thing. You need to inspect and gauge to know. You should test fire and look for further signs of issues. Just because a gun fires does NOT mean it’s right. It could be more prone to failures but still fire.
Generally if its a good bolt from a reputable manufacturer you shouldnt have any issue swapping bolts....just always have the headspace checked to make sure its safe, but bolts aren’t like “hand fitted” to a specific rifle... when a rifle is made most manufacturers just grab a bolt/bcg from the bin, make sure it fits headspace (good companies then test fire) and then thats the bolt for that gun.... you should always do your own testing...like firing a few hundred rounds through the gun/bolt before you bet your life on it...and It doesnt hurt to inspect and if possible due all the guaging etc but generally if its good parts it should be within spec enough to run and not be an issue
@@ryanpeck3377 any company is capable of having some problems and with the current frenzy to buy guns it’s more likely from ANY company. Right now it’s more important than ever to not take things for granted.
@@mikeg8447 you really should test headspace with each bolt/barrel combination unless they are sold together as matched and headspaced. Just the other day I came across a “deal” on a barrel/BCG combo. Contacted the manufacturer and got “well, they should be OK but no - we don’t check them.” Tech agreed that I needed to check headspace myself.
@schooloftheamericanrifle you mentioned checking a muzzle device or a suppressor with an alignment rod at 10:08 in. The only option I can think of is a barrel straightness gauge. Is this what you're referring to? If not, what's the proper tool?
For clarity, the reason I see the straightness gauge as viable the only viable option is because with a can on, a range rod, or concentricity gauge rod is too short. Would love to hear of a better solution. Thanks
@@devinmorton1846 On the NFA subreddit, I see folks using 3' precision ground drill rod to check for concentricity issues. I'd assume Mr. SOTAR is using the actual "alignment rod" that I've seen for sale on Midway, but I don't want to put words in his mouth.
Griffin Armament makes alignment rods. I started with a McMaster-Carr generic but it had a burr and I figured for my purpose, it was worth spending a few more dollars from Griffin. Way less than Geissele, as I recall.
Hey Chad, love your content. Was wondering if there's any way to gauge the index key hole on the stripped upper, without having the barrel. I bought a VLTOR MUR upper and it may just be my eyes, but the index key hole looks a tad off center relative to the gas tube hole. Any advice? Thanks
@@samhyde6545 it's up to hodge to do the qc in the long run before putting their name on it tho. That being said it could've been a special run/lot of barrels made for suppressor use that got mixed up.
@@aamc7676 no clue actually. I’ve seen some say it was steel chosen by Jim and others say it’s a proprietary alloy developed by FN. Supposedly the actual specs of the barrel are protected by NDA. This is all just third person info though, so take with a grain of salt.
@@aamp84 Gotcha. Some googling said in 2015, Hodge required 9310H steel for his barrels. I imagine that's different now. I can understand the NDA. Glad to see some of Hodge's stuff in the wild.
