AllOutdoor Review: Springfield Armory Hellion Rifle 5.56 NATO – OD Green

The Springfield Armory Hellion has been out on the market close to 2 years now, and it – in my mind – is the bullpup people have always wanted. It has ambidextrous errrything so you can fluently run this machine regardless if you’re a righty or lefty. You have an adjustable gas system to tune it to your exact liking for suppressed shooting or otherwise. It also has more simple yet appreciable features throughout like good ergonomics, solid accuracy, and an above average trigger for bullpup standards. All of that being said, I need to check myself at the door… I’m a bullpup hater. I like a common manual of arms – weapon manipulation procedure. The AR-15, as is, makes me really happy no matter how you configure it. I’m like a grumpy scrooge in the corner when people want to talk about bullpups. I had previously reviewed the Springfield Armory Hellion when it was debuted, and I did speak highly of it. It is firmly better than all other 5.56mm NATO/.223 Rem bullpups on the market in my opinion. Yet, after my first review nearly 2 years ago I was still stubborn thinking “I’m not a bullpup guy.” Then, Springfield Armory came out with some rad, new colors: OD Green (Olive Drab Green), Desert FDE (Flat Dark Earth), and Gray. I’m making a double-take at the Hellion like: “Was I wrong? That rifle sure is sexy.” I know, I know… its only a different aesthetic, but it made me double-guess myself. Today, we are going to re-visit this popular bullpup and review the Springfield Armory Hellion rifle in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem in an OD Green colorway. Maybe this writer will become a bullpup lover after all. Let’s dive in!

Springfield Armory Coverage on AllOutdoor

Specifications: Springfield Armory Hellion Rifle 5.56 NATO – OD Green

While we are specifically taking a look at the OD Green (Olive Drab Green) Hellion, Springfield Armory has debuted 3 new colors today for bullpup loyalists with the color options of OD Green (Olive Drab Green), Desert FDE (Flat Dark Earth), and Gray. These colors are offered not only in the Hellion 5.56 rifles, but there are select SAINT Victor rifles you can obtain in those colors as well. Even some of the Springfield Armory XDM Elite and Hellcat offerings have that identical peanut butter drip if you are looking to match your entire gun collection. For those who might not be familiar with the traits of the Hellion 5.56 NATO rifle, all of the specifications are listed below as presented by Springfield Armory:

Cartridge: 5.56x45mm NATO (.223 REM)
Colorways: Black | OD Green (NEW) | Desert FDE (NEW) | Gray (NEW)
Barrel: 16″ CMV, Melonite®, 1:7″ Twist
Sights: Integrated Flip-Up, Elevation Adjustable Front & Integrated Flip-Up w/ 5-Position Aperture, Windage Adjustable Rear
Bolt Carrier Group: Proprietary, Melonite®
Gas System: 2-Position Adjustable, Short Stroke Piston
Handguard: Polymer, M-Lok®
Stock: 5-Position Adjustable w/ Cheek Riser

Muzzle Device: 4-Prong Flash Hider
Charging Handle: Ambidextrous, Non-Reciprocating
Safety Switch: Ambidextrous
Grip: BCM Gunfighter™ Mod 3
Magazines: (1) 30-Round Magpul PMAG Gen M3
Weight: 8 Lb
Length: 28.25″ – 29.75″

Geneseo, Illinois (November 15th, 2023) – Springfield Armory® is proud to announce the release of three new color options – Desert FDE, OD Green and Gray – for the popular 16”-barreled Hellion™ 5.56mm bullpup platform.
Originally released in early 2022, the Hellion answered the call for superior ballistic performance in a short, modular and fully ambidextrous 5.56mm bullpup platform. Unlike a traditional long gun, the bullpup system locates the action and the magazine behind the trigger and into the buttstock area. By doing this, it reduces the overall length drastically, while still allowing you to have a barrel long enough to retain effective downrange performance.

Based on a proven Croatian design, the Springfield Armory semi-automatic Hellion offers shooters a capable bullpup design with numerous modifications and enhancements for the American market. These includes an ability to feed from AR-pattern magazines, the use of replaceable AR-pattern pistol grips, M-Lok® slots in the handguard and six QD mounts.
The Hellion features a reversible ejection system that requires no additional parts or tools. Complementing this is a set of fully ambidextrous controls, including the safety, charging handle, magazine and bolt release. The Hellion’s adaptability is further enhanced through the use of a five-position collapsible buttstock as well as a two-position adjustable gas system.
“The Hellion was an immediate hit due to its combination of proven performance and compact handling characteristics,” says Steve Kramer, Springfield Armory’s Vice President of Marketing. “With these new colors available for the 16”-barreled gun, bullpup enthusiasts have even more options from which to choose.”

With Springfield Armory debuting 3 new colors, they effectively have 6 new offerings available for us. The MSRP for each of the variants is $1,999. They are also available in low-capacity versions with 10-round magazines for restrictive states/locales. If you include the original black Hellion models and the recently announced 18″ and 20″ barrel configurations as well, that bumps the total number of Hellion variants to 12.

Field Use: Springfield Armory Hellion Rifle 5.56 NATO – OD Green

To test the Springfield Armory Hellion rifle in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem in an OD Green colorway, I brought with my friend, Alex – military veteran, father, and arms aficionado. This man has played with more artillery than anyone I know, and he always provides a unique, informed perspective when I have new “toys” to test that need ballistic attention. For starters, we looked to run ‘n gun this rifle suppressed at some steel targets to see how fluent the handling and manipulations might be. For myself, it would be my 2nd go with a Hellion in extensive testing and for Alex it would be his first time getting behind a Hellion. We did not collect accuracy-based groupings at distance because this has already been thoroughly covered on AllOutdoor, TheFirearmBlog, and TFBTV.

Accuracy Testing of the Springfield Armory Hellion on TFB & AllOutdoor

Some of our immediate takeaways shooting this in a competition or defensive manner were the ergonomics. The plastic M-LOK handguard is comfortable, easy to grasp, and makes it effortless to drive the gun. Your cheek weld mates up perfectly against the collapsible stock as shown by Alex above. Overall, it feels and handles comfortably. The only word of caution is if you’re having a high-volume range session like we did, the handguard can get very toasty to the touch. Not untouchable, but definitely toasty.

Next, both Alex and I appreciated that is was ambidextrous errrything. Both of us are right-handed, but in self-defense situations or when shooting around boards, barriers, or posts, you might be forced out of your comfort zone to manipulate and run the gun with your non-dominant hands. In that case, the ambi errrything is beneficial even for a righty.

Since we were exclusively running this Hellion suppressed, we would be remissed if we did not mention how it sounded. This will sound like a grandiose statement, but the Hellion suppressed is quite possibly the most quiet 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem firearm I have ever fired. It was the closest thing to a “hush” as either of us had ever heard. More impressively, the rifle still cycled and ejected spent casings 10′ – 15′ off to the side with the variety of ammunition we tried.

The last element of note was the trigger. All bullpups – because of the necessary linkage required for the trigger to function in a bullpup design – are less than stellar. With the Springfield Armory Hellion in our more attractive OD Green, it had a long travel in the trigger pull, but it broke cleanly every time. The long travel makes it difficult to rapid fire if you’re into mag dumping, or more artfully stated, enjoy engaging in unannounced suppressive fire. Other than the travel being long, it was a smooth, clean break every time.

Final Thoughts: Springfield Armory Hellion Rifle 5.56 NATO – OD Green

So, what are final, shared thoughts on the Springfield Armory Hellion rifle in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem in their OD Green colorway?… Overall, I like that Springfield Armory branched out and is offering more groovy colors for their Hellion. Moreover – and this is coming from a self-proclaimed “bullpup hater” – I walked away once again impressed by the Hellion’s capabilities and a deeper appreciation for it. For anyone who wants a self-defense rifle in the home, this would be phenomenal for CQB work. It’d also make a great ranch rifle in the back of a truck, ATV, or four-wheeler. If you’re not a bullpup guy, you might think the $1,999 asking price is a bit much, but the value is absolutely there. I still stand by the statement that if you like bullpups, the Hellion is the best one on the market today – bar none.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Springfield Armory for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their Springfield Armory Hellion rifle in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem in an OD Green colorway. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Springfield Armory Hellion rifle in 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem in an OD Green colorway is something worth spending your money on? Would you deploy one for hunting? Take it with you camping or hiking? Deploy it for home defense? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about Springfield Armory in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

Adam Scepaniak