Springfield Hellion
- Thread starter Fox123
- Start date
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alucard0822
For great Justice
The problem with Bullpups is that between the shoulder and trigger finger they need room for the FCG, ejection, bolt, mag and grip, all within a "reasonable" LOP. The RDB is kinda snug between the mag and grip, but comfortable, the VHS/Hellion has more room, and a huge LOP as a result. As for the functional issues, I only use Pmags, and they run fine, but other brands and Mil-spec mags sometimes won't lock in. The mag catch/release more than anything is the part of the design that looks like after a late friday night, they said "F-it, just use this stamped POS". It can get hit and drop the mag inadvertently, it isn't terrible comfortable, and while useable, it's not all they good. The Bolt catch is also really stiff and awkwardly placed, but less of an issue because of that big beautiful charging handle out front. Once the gas is set it runs great, really smooth as the rifle cycles 6" to eject the round behind the mag (AR15s are about 4"). Of course if it short strokes, double feeds or basically jams most ways, it can be a royal PITA to clear as the ejection port isn't all that accessible. It does make it a killer suppressor host though, tuneable gas, with the excess bled off twards the muzzle, the little bit leaking around the chamber, and port pop gets vented down with the brass, and it's near bolt-gun quiet at the ear.
It is 24.5 COLLAPSED with a 14" LOP, goes to just over 26" with the stock extended and a 15.75" LOP. Flat out the ONLY reason the stock extends is to keep it over the 26" OAL and away from NFA designation. It is tiny, this pic compares it to a much larger 10.5" SBR, both topped with a 1-6 Strike Eagle.
View attachment 332331
Attachments
Trumpet
SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
- Oct 29, 2005
- 2,083
SCARCQB
Get Opp my rawn, Plick!
Me too. Lol
I can’t see anything with that pesky thermal sight. It’s takes too long to focus and get set up. Besides , iron with an extremely short sight radius beats shooting from the hip.
Trumpet
SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
- Oct 29, 2005
- 2,083
Solution: Practice your hip shooting….
SCARCQB
Get Opp my rawn, Plick!
If it triggers your OCD. I’ll keep them on there.
Trumpet
SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
- Oct 29, 2005
- 2,083
Vatreni4Life
Active Member
Oh man this needs to be in the collection! Croatians make good stuff. I’ll let you thank me for the wine you drink later... ha. All good things start in Hrvatska!
Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
Mine is on order and I'm just waiting for it to show up.
- Feb 17, 2011
- 14,024
I am seriously thinking about the hellion. Bull pups usually do not move the needle for me but the hellion has me curious.
Combloc
Stop Negassing me!!!!!
Rifle showed up today. I took a few pictures of it pre-cleaning, so you're seeing it as it came out of the box. It's oiled but it's storage oil, not operating oil. What all the reviews don't mention is just how much steel is in it. Sure, there's a boatload of polymer but many of the holdy bits are steel. it's clearly a well built, military grade product, not a Kel-Tec. The machining is very nice and mating surfaces in the bolt/carrier are highly polished and very slick in operation. My first impression is VERY positive. If I enjoy it, I might do an in depth look at it but for now, here are a few preliminaries.
Left side, stock collapsed. Length, 28.25":
I'm 6'2" and it fits me just fine this way. It has a rubber butt pad too, which is a nice touch.
Right side, stock full extended. Length, 29.75":
If you have slightly longer arms, this'll be for you. It's not quite awkward for me at this length but almost.
Length compared to a Tavor with elongated flash hider and a Colt 16" A3 Carbine:
Even though it's still covered in storage oil, note how nicely finished the details are on the bolt face and locking lugs. This is indicative of the machining found elsewhere on the rifle. The only exception to this is the barrel. It's not smooth in the slightest but the bore looks nice!
Markings on top the barrel just in front of the chamber:
Again, still covered in storage oil. The number is not the serial. I assume it's a lot number or date code of some sort. The stylized "T" might be a quality control mark of some type? It's also marked with the manufacturer, HS Produkt, located in Karlovac, Croatia.
Short stroke, two position gas system:
While the trigger box is polymer, all the clockwork is steel:
It's a bullpup so it's not a match trigger. Still, it's significantly lighter than my honey's Tavor.
Last picture for now showing it stripped down to its major components:
There's still a ways to go for general cleaning after shooting (e.g. gas system, bolt group) but this is just a quick look so you get the picture.
That's it for now. As I said, my first impression is very positive. It's clearly well thought out and built with an eye for longevity. But it's essentially a proven military rifle so I would expect that. It comes with a lifetime warranty but, of course, that's only good for as long as they are being imported so take that for what it's worth. Still, for the amount of shooting any of us is likely to do with it, I have no doubt it'll stand up to whatever I'm going to use it for. At 2K, it's not inexpensive but if it turns out to be as much fun as it looks like it might be, it'll turn out to be a bargain.
Left side, stock collapsed. Length, 28.25":
I'm 6'2" and it fits me just fine this way. It has a rubber butt pad too, which is a nice touch.
Right side, stock full extended. Length, 29.75":
If you have slightly longer arms, this'll be for you. It's not quite awkward for me at this length but almost.
Length compared to a Tavor with elongated flash hider and a Colt 16" A3 Carbine:
Even though it's still covered in storage oil, note how nicely finished the details are on the bolt face and locking lugs. This is indicative of the machining found elsewhere on the rifle. The only exception to this is the barrel. It's not smooth in the slightest but the bore looks nice!
Markings on top the barrel just in front of the chamber:
Again, still covered in storage oil. The number is not the serial. I assume it's a lot number or date code of some sort. The stylized "T" might be a quality control mark of some type? It's also marked with the manufacturer, HS Produkt, located in Karlovac, Croatia.
Short stroke, two position gas system:
While the trigger box is polymer, all the clockwork is steel:
It's a bullpup so it's not a match trigger. Still, it's significantly lighter than my honey's Tavor.
Last picture for now showing it stripped down to its major components:
There's still a ways to go for general cleaning after shooting (e.g. gas system, bolt group) but this is just a quick look so you get the picture.
That's it for now. As I said, my first impression is very positive. It's clearly well thought out and built with an eye for longevity. But it's essentially a proven military rifle so I would expect that. It comes with a lifetime warranty but, of course, that's only good for as long as they are being imported so take that for what it's worth. Still, for the amount of shooting any of us is likely to do with it, I have no doubt it'll stand up to whatever I'm going to use it for. At 2K, it's not inexpensive but if it turns out to be as much fun as it looks like it might be, it'll turn out to be a bargain.
Last edited:
dementlr
Active Member
Nice! I have started looking for one. They go fast.
Kman
Blah, blah, blah
Nice. I think it looks better than the Tavor.
Rifle showed up today. I took a few pictures of it pre-cleaning, so you're seeing it as it came out of the box. It's oiled but it's storage oil, not operating oil. What all the reviews don't mention is just how much steel is in it. Sure, there's a boatload of polymer but many of the holdy bits are steel. it's clearly a well built, military grade product. The machining is very nice and mating surfaces in the bolt/carrier are highly polished and very slick in operation. My first impression is VERY positive. It's clearly a well built, military grade product, not a Kel-Tec. If I enjoy it, I might do an in depth look at it but for now, here are a few prelinaries.
Left side, stock collapsed. Length, 28.25":
I'm 6'2" and it fits me just fine this way. It has a rubber butt pad too, which is a nice touch.
Right side, stock full extended. Length, 29.75":
If you have slightly longer arms, this'll be for you. It's not quite awkward for me at this length but almost.
Length compared to a Tavor with elongated flash hider and a Colt 16" A3 Carbine:
Even though it's still covered in storage oil, note how nicely finished the details are on the bolt face and locking lugs. This is indicative of the machining found elsewhere on the rifle. The only exception to this is the barrel. It's not smooth in the slightest but the bore looks nice!
Markings on top the barrel just in front of the chamber:
Again, still covered in storage oil. The number is not the serial. I assume it's a lot number or date code of some sort. The stylized "T" might be a quality control mark of some type? It's also marked with the manufacturer, HS Produkt, located in Karlovac, Croatia.
Short stroke, two position gas system:
While the trigger box is polymer, all the clockwork is steel:
It's a bullpup so it's not a match trigger. Still, it's significantly lighter than my honey's Tavor.
Last picture for now showing it stripped down to its major components:
There's still a ways to go for general cleaning after shooting (e.g. gas system, bolt group) but this is just a quick look so you get the picture.
That's it for now. As I said, my first impression is very positive. It's clearly well thought out and built with an eye for longevity. But it's essentially a proven military rifle so I would expect that. It comes with a lifetime warranty but, of course, that's only good for as long as they are being imported so take that for what it's worth. Still, for the amount of shooting any of us is likely to do with it, I have no doubt it'll stand up to whatever I'm going to use it for. At 2K, it's not inexpensive but if it turns out to be as much fun as it looks like it might be, it'll turn out to be a bargain.
I’ve really been considering adding a bullpup. Your detailed description is encouraging. I appreciate the time you out into these posts and I look forward to reading your range report.
Currently my HD rifle of choice is my AR SBR chambered on 300 B/O and suppressed. I like 300 B/O for this role and was considering the Tavor X95. I think if they sold the Hellion in 300 B/O that might be my next purchase.
Rocinante
Active Member
Rifle showed up today. I took a few pictures of it pre-cleaning, so you're seeing it as it came out of the box. It's oiled but it's storage oil, not operating oil. What all the reviews don't mention is just how much steel is in it. Sure, there's a boatload of polymer but many of the holdy bits are steel. it's clearly a well built, military grade product. The machining is very nice and mating surfaces in the bolt/carrier are highly polished and very slick in operation. My first impression is VERY positive. It's clearly a well built, military grade product, not a Kel-Tec. If I enjoy it, I might do an in depth look at it but for now, here are a few prelinaries.
Left side, stock collapsed. Length, 28.25":
I'm 6'2" and it fits me just fine this way. It has a rubber butt pad too, which is a nice touch.
Right side, stock full extended. Length, 29.75":
If you have slightly longer arms, this'll be for you. It's not quite awkward for me at this length but almost.
Length compared to a Tavor with elongated flash hider and a Colt 16" A3 Carbine:
Even though it's still covered in storage oil, note how nicely finished the details are on the bolt face and locking lugs. This is indicative of the machining found elsewhere on the rifle. The only exception to this is the barrel. It's not smooth in the slightest but the bore looks nice!
Markings on top the barrel just in front of the chamber:
Again, still covered in storage oil. The number is not the serial. I assume it's a lot number or date code of some sort. The stylized "T" might be a quality control mark of some type? It's also marked with the manufacturer, HS Produkt, located in Karlovac, Croatia.
Short stroke, two position gas system:
While the trigger box is polymer, all the clockwork is steel:
It's a bullpup so it's not a match trigger. Still, it's significantly lighter than my honey's Tavor.
Last picture for now showing it stripped down to its major components:
There's still a ways to go for general cleaning after shooting (e.g. gas system, bolt group) but this is just a quick look so you get the picture.
That's it for now. As I said, my first impression is very positive. It's clearly well thought out and built with an eye for longevity. But it's essentially a proven military rifle so I would expect that. It comes with a lifetime warranty but, of course, that's only good for as long as they are being imported so take that for what it's worth. Still, for the amount of shooting any of us is likely to do with it, I have no doubt it'll stand up to whatever I'm going to use it for. At 2K, it's not inexpensive but if it turns out to be as much fun as it looks like it might be, it'll turn out to be a bargain.
Dear Santa...
yep I need me one of these
- Feb 17, 2011
- 14,024
I watched the youtube with Ian when he reviewed this and his comments were much the same. Also they learned a lot when they made the VHS which is a totally different gun from the VHS-2, but the successes and failures of the VHS helped make the VHS-2
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