The Hobbit Rifle

[ezwy]

View attachment 988148
First blood for my hobbit rifle. It’s had a few changes since I last shared it. Different stock, suppressor, and different optic. I love both changes. I think this will be my blacktail and whitetail rifle for a good long while.

As far as follow up shots go they are obviously inherently slower but I will say that with changes to how people hunt I don’t see a lot of hunters too terribly adept at quickly running their bolt guns. I grew up taking running shots and shooting jackrabbits with deer rifles. Not a lot of people seem to practice quick follow-ups with precision and good rest becoming more important and common. It’s more common for me to have to tell someone to reload and shoot again after a shot than not. They tend to pull the trigger and rechambering a round, which for years was instinct, doesn’t cross their mind until they are fumbling with it many seconds after being told they need to hit it again.

I can reload and fire my hobbit faster than someone who never works their bolt with a quick follow up in practice. But can obviously work my bolt guns faster than I can my hobbit. I don’t look at it as an issue but it wouldn’t be my pig gun if that was something I had the opportunity to do either.

Very nice. Carttidge and bullet?
I think the contender, ssk50 and g2 being lighter than the encore makes them a Sméagol rifle?
I have a similar setup. Does the microprism ave the right eye relief and or impede using the hammer at all? I have one for a barrel I’m hoping to pick up soon.

 

[PLhunter]

Very nice. Carttidge and bullet?
I think the contender, ssk50 and g2 being lighter than the encore makes them a Sméagol rifle?
I have a similar setup. Does the microprism ave the right eye relief and or impede using the hammer at all? I have one for a barrel I’m hoping to pick up soon.

.223 with a 69.5 hammer hbc bullet.

The microprism needs every bit of that cantilever for eye relief and would benefit from another inch or so. I run the stock at about 10-11 inches and not full length. If it was full length you’d really have to put your neck forward. The prism is fine with the hammer and better than the scope I had on previously. Neither was a major concern though. Even with the not ideal eye relief for its application there is a lot I like about the prism. The fixed magnification, weight, and reticle are great for the goals I had for this gun. The mil reticle makes 400 yard shots very doable. I want a 6x204 barrel for it but honestly after seeing the .223 do work with that bullet it’s unnecessary.

 

[PLhunter]

Very nice. Carttidge and bullet?
I think the contender, ssk50 and g2 being lighter than the encore makes them a Sméagol rifle?
I have a similar setup. Does the microprism ave the right eye relief and or impede using the hammer at all? I have one for a barrel I’m hoping to pick up soon.

If you look closely you can see that I mounted the prism with only 2 of the 3 available bolts from optic to mount. Which is PLENTY of contact for the .223 but does show how it needs to be able to get back. No idea how it’s used on certain AR platforms.

 

[ezwy]

.223 with a 69.5 hammer hbc bullet.

The microprism needs every bit of that cantilever for eye relief and would benefit from another inch or so. I run the stock at about 10-11 inches and not full length. If it was full length you’d really have to put your neck forward. The prism is fine with the hammer and better than the scope I had on previously. Neither was a major concern though. Even with the not ideal eye relief for its application there is a lot I like about the prism. The fixed magnification, weight, and reticle are great for the goals I had for this gun. The mil reticle makes 400 yard shots very doable. I want a 6x204 barrel for it but honestly after seeing the .223 do work with that bullet it’s unnecessary.

Love my prism on my ULUL ar. But I am a short guy and run a pretty short stock.
I have a 6x45 which I like but if we didn’t have a 6mm minimum for certain species I would stick with 223. As long as that holds zero it looks like it’s good to go. Thanks for providing a good visual

 

[BigThig09]

Does anyone have any leads on the Sharps Bros grips or know when they will be back in stock? I signed up for notification emails when they come back in stock, but didn’t know if there was another source I could order from. It’s the last piece I need to complete my Hobbit!

 

[Huntsalot]

My Hobbit rifle that I’ve been using for years. One of my favorite guns to carry. 16.25” 350 Legend Contender carbine. 29.75” & 5lbs

 

[CMF]

Has anyone built one of these in .243? I’ve done a lot of research on different options and keep coming back to this for my young girls. Great idea, thanks for sharing.

I bought all of the components today to finally build this for my kids except the barrel. I’ve got to do a little more research and then i’m going to order the barrel later this week. If anyone has done this for a .243 I’m interested in any lessons learned, particularly related to barrel length. Thanks, Ryan

I know its a late response,but first time I've seeing this thread. We've been having an MGM barrel in .243 on a TC. I think it's the choate stock on it. I put the stock on it to collapse down for the kids. I don't think the kids ever actually shot an animal with it, but my wife killed two bucks in two days with it.
I'm not sure the barrel length, but I'll post a pic. It will be a while before I can measure it.
I'd like to cut it shorter, thread it and make it a 6.5cm.

 

[HebrewSamurai]

CVA announced their factory hobbit rifles:
https://bpioutdoors.com/scout-xp-sb/
https://bpioutdoors.com/scout-xp-sb/

 

[h2so4]

6arc with 7.5twist. Yes please.

 

[Mordoci]

Get a g2 instead and do .223, 22 arc, or 6 arc, that’ll save you a pound of weight and be just fine. Hard to come across though and people can be proud of them. I have the lightest of the bunch an ssk-50 but it has a safety quirk that makes me reluctant to have a kid or less experienced gun handler use it.

What do you not like about the SSK-50? I can't find many reviews of it one way or the other

 

[ElPollo]

CVA announced their factory hobbit rifles:
https://bpioutdoors.com/scout-xp-sb/
https://bpioutdoors.com/scout-xp-sb/

That’s super cool, but the 1-9” twist on the 223 is a huge fail.

 

[onlybrowning]

What do you not like about the SSK-50? I can't find many reviews of it one way or the other

I’d like to know this as well. Also, would love to know if there’s plans to start production on G2’s anytime soon. I’m coming on one year on backorder for an Encore pistol frame.

 

[ezwy]

What do you not like about the SSK-50? I can't find many reviews of it one way or the other

I have an SSK 50 and like it. Sold the encore and kept it. Great trigger.

 

[PLhunter]

What do you not like about the SSK-50? I can't find many reviews of it one way or the other

Some people have had fitment issues but I’ve had zero. My hand guard rattled a bit and some people sent theirs back because of it. I just wrapped electrical tape around it.

The biggest reason I don’t recommend is the shared safety issues with the original contender. The system to decock if you cock and don’t shoot lacks safety redundancy and requires a few steps to do it safely. I had a discharge from an original contender frame. Pulled up on a dove and cocked. It went out of range. Let down the hammer. Hardly touched the hammer when another dove flew by and boom! The hammer when decocked rest on the firing pin and depending on order of trigger pull the hammer being lifted/touched can cause the plate to slide out of the way and the hammer to come down on the firing pin. So if you decock by hand and don’t open the frame when you cock again it won’t hold back and will slam forward and fire if hammer safety is off. More worrying is if the trigger is accidentally or intentionally pulled WITHOUT the hammer back and then you go to pull the hammer back the slightest touch will release the plate and the hammer will come down on the firing pin. Usually with not enough force to discharge…. Usually.

So decocking requires a bit more thought than other firearms. The key is to pay attention to the hammer safety. So if cocked back. Set hammer safety to the safe position. Then the best way to do it is open the frame with it cocked. This causes the hammer to fly forward but the plate does rise up but it puckers my ass every time. Opening the frame doesn’t allow for a slow hammer drop. The other option is to let the hammer down slowly and then immediately opening the break action to allow it to recock. If you forget to open the action doing it this way the next time you pull the hammer back it will not catch and will release full force right onto the firing pin. Relying solely on the hammer safety to prevent a discharge.

The G2 doesn’t have these safety defects, is nearly as light, and can handle higher pressure rounds. I have a 6 arc barrel for my ssk-50 but don’t like shooting it because it’s at the very edge of allowable thrust. I LOVE my hobbit rifle setup but as ideal as it is on paper as a kids gun the idiosyncrasies of the decocking means my kid will never touch the thing without me directly present.

I get that the safety issues for the platform can be overcome by following the correct procedure but I prefer my guns to only be capable of discharging when the trigger is pulled and no other time.

 

[ezwy]

Some people have had fitment issues but I’ve had zero. My hand guard rattled a bit and some people sent theirs back because of it. I just wrapped electrical tape around it.

The biggest reason I don’t recommend is the shared safety issues with the original contender. The system to decock if you cock and don’t shoot lacks safety redundancy and requires a few steps to do it safely. I had a discharge from an original contender frame. Pulled up on a dove and cocked. It went out of range. Let down the hammer. Hardly touched the hammer when another dove flew by and boom! The hammer when decocked rest on the firing pin and depending on order of trigger pull the hammer being lifted/touched can cause the plate to slide out of the way and the hammer to come down on the firing pin. So if you decock by hand and don’t open the frame when you cock again it won’t hold back and will slam forward and fire if hammer safety is off. More worrying is if the trigger is accidentally or intentionally pulled WITHOUT the hammer back and then you go to pull the hammer back the slightest touch will release the plate and the hammer will come down on the firing pin. Usually with not enough force to discharge…. Usually.

So decocking requires a bit more thought than other firearms. The key is to pay attention to the hammer safety. So if cocked back. Set hammer safety to the safe position. Then the best way to do it is open the frame with it cocked. This causes the hammer to fly forward but the plate does rise up but it puckers my ass every time. Opening the frame doesn’t allow for a slow hammer drop. The other option is to let the hammer down slowly and then immediately opening the break action to allow it to recock. If you forget to open the action doing it this way the next time you pull the hammer back it will not catch and will release full force right onto the firing pin. Relying solely on the hammer safety to prevent a discharge.

The G2 doesn’t have these safety defects, is nearly as light, and can handle higher pressure rounds. I have a 6 arc barrel for my ssk-50 but don’t like shooting it because it’s at the very edge of allowable thrust. I LOVE my hobbit rifle setup but as ideal as it is on paper as a kids gun the idiosyncrasies of the decocking means my kid will never touch the thing without me directly present.

I get that the safety issues for the platform can be overcome by following the correct procedure but I prefer my guns to only be capable of discharging when the trigger is pulled and no other time.

I'll also add that my kids struggle to open it. It might get better with time.

 

[Mordoci]

Some people have had fitment issues but I’ve had zero. My hand guard rattled a bit and some people sent theirs back because of it. I just wrapped electrical tape around it.

The biggest reason I don’t recommend is the shared safety issues with the original contender. The system to decock if you cock and don’t shoot lacks safety redundancy and requires a few steps to do it safely. I had a discharge from an original contender frame. Pulled up on a dove and cocked. It went out of range. Let down the hammer. Hardly touched the hammer when another dove flew by and boom! The hammer when decocked rest on the firing pin and depending on order of trigger pull the hammer being lifted/touched can cause the plate to slide out of the way and the hammer to come down on the firing pin. So if you decock by hand and don’t open the frame when you cock again it won’t hold back and will slam forward and fire if hammer safety is off. More worrying is if the trigger is accidentally or intentionally pulled WITHOUT the hammer back and then you go to pull the hammer back the slightest touch will release the plate and the hammer will come down on the firing pin. Usually with not enough force to discharge…. Usually.

So decocking requires a bit more thought than other firearms. The key is to pay attention to the hammer safety. So if cocked back. Set hammer safety to the safe position. Then the best way to do it is open the frame with it cocked. This causes the hammer to fly forward but the plate does rise up but it puckers my ass every time. Opening the frame doesn’t allow for a slow hammer drop. The other option is to let the hammer down slowly and then immediately opening the break action to allow it to recock. If you forget to open the action doing it this way the next time you pull the hammer back it will not catch and will release full force right onto the firing pin. Relying solely on the hammer safety to prevent a discharge.

The G2 doesn’t have these safety defects, is nearly as light, and can handle higher pressure rounds. I have a 6 arc barrel for my ssk-50 but don’t like shooting it because it’s at the very edge of allowable thrust. I LOVE my hobbit rifle setup but as ideal as it is on paper as a kids gun the idiosyncrasies of the decocking means my kid will never touch the thing without me directly present.

I get that the safety issues for the platform can be overcome by following the correct procedure but I prefer my guns to only be capable of discharging when the trigger is pulled and no other time.

Sheesh, that sounds like big pain. Especially when one of the big selling points, in my eyes at least, is the simplicity and ease of use that a single shot offers. Hopefully we see a G2 soon.

My dream gun is falling block style rifle that's right about 6 lbs give or take with optics, but no one really makes that unfortunately.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PLhunter]

F

Sheesh, that sounds like big pain. Especially when one of the big selling points, in my eyes at least, is the simplicity and ease of use that a single shot offers. Hopefully we see a G2 soon.

My dream gun is falling block style rifle that's right about 6 lbs give or take with optics, but no one really makes that unfortunately.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A fully modern ruger no. 1 on a diet would be great. Find a stainless g2 pay the price and I think you’ll be pleased. I really do love my contender setup and i don’t see myself whitetail or blacktail hunting with anything else. But the safety concerns definitely limit its utility.