Picture it: The News of the Springfield Armory Hellion hit my desk, and I hit all four walls around me like a ricochet in a boxcar. Why? Well, I file the tale of the Hellion in the “years in the making” category. Springfield Armory has a relationship with a Croatian company called HS Produkt, in which they import HS pistols into the U.S. market. One of the firearms that HS manufactures for the military is called the VHS bullpup rifle. Springfield Stans like me always wondered why Springfield Armory didn’t just import the VHS. Hey, I like cool rifles, and that looks like a cool rifle, I want one.
It turns out there is a pesky import ban and the U.S. Government does not like to let in those cool firearms because they don’t like fun. VHS (Višenamjenska Hrvatska Strojnica) literally means "multipurpose Croatian machine gun.” So the obvious solution is….duh, just make it semi auto. So the process was started and went on and on and on like the Little Engine That Just Could Not. They went back and forth with solutions to every objection and it seemed like Hell would freeze over before the ATF finally relented. I like to think that was the approval—when it finally came—was evidence that Hell did freeze over, and that’s why Springfield choose the name Hellion. (More likely it falls in line with the whole SAINT rifle thing. I can imagine the ads now: On one shoulder you have the SAINT, and gentle harpsichord music. It whispers in your ear, “Be good choose me…I am America’s rifle.” Then on the other shoulder you have the rock music and the Hellion. “No, let’s be a bad boy, go against the grain and choose me.” Either way you go … you can’t lose.
All of the above is by way of explaining that the Hellion is not technically a new rifle. Think of this as at least the 3rd version of the VHS rifle. So instead of an unknown the platform, the Hellion has a pedigree and a lineage that goes back 1992 and the Croatian War of Independence. Of course, it is used by the Croatian military and police, but it has also been used in the Global War on Terror as the active use by military and police units from countries like Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina and more. As Americans we get the benefit of a history of updates and bugs being worked out. We are getting essentially a mature Produkt.
What makes the Hellion and the VHS platform a good rifle? I have been told by a Croatian Army friend that the best thing about the platform is its ease of use. Disassembly for maintenance is a breeze and requires no tools due to the modular design. Apparently special attention is paid to the barrel, because the guns are more accurate than they should be for a combat-style rifle. Shots with iron sights are easily made at 300m and more. The rear flip-up iron sight has an adjustable diopter that you can turn to adjust from 100-500m. There are no external moving parts, and the charging handle folds inward and out of the way. This keeps the rifle as compact as possible, allowing the user to tuck it in if need be and still use the rifle. They are made for both right- and left-handed users, and the platform requires less than a minute to switch to right- or left-hand ejection. Now something that is not really found on a bullpup is an adjustable stock. People come in different sizes, so the Croatians designed the VHS and Hellion with a 5-position quick adjust buttstock and cheek rest.
Now let’s talk about what is different between the VHS and the Hellion. You would think that you would have to dumb down this military rifle and make it boring just to get it approved for importation. That’s simply not the case! The Croatians are using the D2 (long barrel) and K2 (short barrel) VHS rifles. There are enough new upgrades for the U.S. that the Hellion would be designated as a K3 VHS. The biggest difference is that it’s semi-automatic and Springfield Armory had to jump through hoops to prove that full auto trigger packs could not be used with the Hellion. VHS rifles have the ability to use different magazines via magwell inserts and have been designed to use the ubiquitous standard AR15 magazine.
Want to make a Croatian soldier jealous? Tell them that the Hellion comes with an adjustable gas system. With two positions, we have the ability to adjust for standard or suppressed shooting. It's a bullpup and even with the full 16” barrel, adding a suppressor still leaves it shorter than a regular AR carbine by itself. The hammer-forged barrel utilizes the standard AR15 1/2x28 threads, so it is nothing to add a different muzzle device, quick attach break or suppressor.
These rifles are extremely versatile and can be adjusted to shooter needs in multiple ways. While the Hellion comes with the fantastic BCM Gunfighter Mod3, if you want something different it can be easily changed out. Moving over to the hand guard, U.S. users get a whole gang of M-Lok slots for adding lasers, lights and pistol grips. And last but not least, our European brothers and sisters in arms don’t get to use the Hellions QD sling points.
The Hellion is ready to go out of the box, since the rifle comes with a set of iron sights. As a Croation military friend has told me in the past, the rifle is quite capable as is. Add a good shooter and you have a deadly wicked package. But the Hellion’s full-length Picatinny rail is just begging for some type of optic. While a bullpup might not be for everyone, the Hellion’s ability to adjust to the user can give it an edge for people who would not normally be bullpup users.
While this may be a new rifle for the U.S. market, this is not a generation one product. This is a rifle that has passed countless 50,000-round torture tests without breakages. This is a rifle that has served on the front lines and has been used by countless soldiers and police officers. This is a rifle that was born from war and the need for a country to gain its independence (that sounds familiar), and save her people. The Hellion is 30 years of blood sweat and tears of a nation that is second to none when it comes to firearms design and manufacture. Adding in Springfield Armory’s proven commitment to its customers just means that the Hellion should be a no brainer to buy.
A final note: If you want to see something coo, take a look at the original Croatian version of the user’s manual!
Don’t worry you may not be able to read it, but the pictures are cool.