#HSProdukt

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves tests the accuracy of the Springfield Hellion, also known as the Croatian HS Produkt VHS-2. James noticed in his earlier review that the VHS-2 was incredibly accurate, so James and Ryan put the Hellion to the test today to see if they can squeeze sub-MOA groups from a combat rifle.

When Springfield released their two new long-barreled Hellions, they posted on their own blog a review of these rifles. In that review, the writer mentioned and showed pictures of a Hellion bayonet for the 20″ barreled Springfield Hellion. Well, it is available now.

The Springfield Armory Hellion made a huge splash when it was introduced. Bullpup fans and obscure gun nerds have been clamoring for an imported VHS-2 for years, and it finally happened. But how does the Hellion perform? Is it more than just an interesting gun for collectors?

RUAG Ammotec has announced the start of the partnership with the Croatian arms manufacturer HS Produkt. This is part of the planned expansion of the RUAG Ammotec portfolio, with a partnership agreement between the companies made earlier this year.

VHS could be short for Video Home System, but in this Photo Of The Day, we’re looking at the Višenamjenska Hrvatska Strojnica (“multifunctional Croatian machine gun”). On this occasion, the HS Produkt VHS and some other firearms are used by Croatian troops in the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania. The VHS is chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, and has a bullpup construction. The VHS pictured here has the VHS-BH grenade-launcher attached.

The VHS-2 assault rifle is made in Croatia. The same people that make the HS and XDM pistols. No, not Springfield Armory but HS products.

It may be common knowledge within the shooting community that the Springfield XD series is based off of the Croatian HS2000, but what is not widely known is the creation of HS Produkt is rooted in the Croatian War of Independence.  As early as 1991, forces in Croatia, anticipating the coming conflict over their pending declaration of independence, were trying to arm themselves.  Most arms factories in Yugoslavia were located in Serbian areas, and Croat forces were insufficiently armed with weapons from JNA (Yugoslavian National Army) stocks.  As such, the Croats were initially struggling to arm themselves as needed for full-on combat due to an international arms embargo.   Most units involved in early fighting were comprised of Croatian Police before the creation of their National Guard.

TFB’s IDEX 2015 coverage is courtesy of Giorgio, who traveled to Abu Dhabi for the show, and provided all photos and information.

Could the next French rifle be Croatian? Anything is possible, it seems, as Croatian firm HS Produkt has submitted its new VHS-2 rifle to the French government for testing. Unfortunately, machine translation of Croatian to English is significantly ambiguous. Altair.com.pl reports:

Last month the Croatian Ministry of Defense unveiled the final design of the VHS assault rifle (Višenamjenska Hrvatska Strojnica – Multifunctional Croatian Machinegun). The rifle has been in development for many years by Croatian manufacturer HS Produkt who are better known for their HS 2000 pistol ( sold as the Springfield Armory XD in the US).