As some here know, I've been a shooter most of my life. My first gun was given to me by my mother on my 8th birthday. A no-brand .22 bolt action with a 5 round magazine, that she ordered from the Sears catalog. Yes, I'm mail order guns years old.
I learned to shoot with that gun and eventually used paper route money to add a 4X scope. Growing up, I did a lot of small game hunting with it. I still have it, and it's the first gun my kids and grandkids use when they start learning to shoot.
But other than that one rifle, I've always been a handgun shooter. This past year, I decided to dip my toe into the AR-style world. After much research, I made my choices. And now, after 5-6 months, the ATF and FBI have finished their background checks and such and I took possession last week.
Springfield Armory Hellion:
One of the issues I have with long guns is that they are, well, LONG. That can be an issue when you're moving through a building or dense forest. The Hellion addresses this issue by using a bullpup design. For those who may not know, a bullpup rifle moves the breach and firing mechanism behind the trigger. This means that despite having a 16" barrel (which means it's not an NFA item) it has an overall length of just 28.25".
Springfield delivers this rifle with an elevated picatinny rail along the top with pop-up iron sights. The front sight adjusts for elevation, the rear for windage. The fore-end is surrounded by M-LOK slots.
The Hellion is truly ambidextrous. It comers with an ambi safety and mag release, and there are ejection ports on both sides. This is a huge issue with bullpup designs, since hot brass is ejecting less than an inch from your face. It's designed to throw the brass forward a bit, but still... Unfortunately, switching ejection ports is not just flipping a switch. You have to disassemble the rifle and reverse the bolt. It can be done in just a few minutes, with no tools needed.
The Hellion was designed to accept a suppressor. It comes with a 4-prong flash hider. If you choose to fire suppressed, you can replace that with your favorite silencer in about a minute. Obviously, a suppressor affects gas pressure inside the gun. No problem. See the little stub above the barrel? Push it in and rotate it to switch between suppressed and non-suppressed fire.
Triggers are notoriously problematic on bullpup designs, but the Hellion is really quite good. Take up is short and smooth all the way to the fall and the break is clean. Reset is short and smooth. Trigger pull is 7lbs, which surprised me. It feels more like 5.
I've modified mine with a supply of 30 & 40 round mags (40 round mag pictured), a Magpul sling, front pistol grip, a Thrunite flashlight, Vortex 1-10X scope, and an AB Warthog silencer.
Impressions:
I've put about 500 rounds through the Hellion now, and I am very pleased. The action is smooth and I have had zero failures. The mag and bolt release are both centered behind the magazine. This is an unusual location and if you're accustomed to the conventional layout, will take some getting used to. There is no dedicated forward assist, but the charging handle is configured to allow it to be used, instead. The safety is easily reachable, but the angle feels odd. Like the mag/bolt releases, it takes a bit of getting used to.
I was impressed by the accuracy of this rifle. The range I used goes to 500 yards. At 100 yards, I shot consistent 5 round groups around 1". At 500 yards, with little wind (which rarely happens here) I was able to consistently shoot 2-2.5" 5 round groups, from a rest. I suspect that with match grade ammo, and someone with more rifle experience, MOA groups would be entirely reasonable. And let's be honest. 5.56 is not a real good choice for 500+ yard shots.
I was not shooting sub-sonic ammo (does sub-sonic 5.56 or .223 even exist?), but with the AB Warthog in place, I wouldn't have any problem shooting this gun without hearing protection.
Daniel Defense DDM4 PDW:
If the bullpup design of the Hellion addresses the size concern, this gun just makes it a non-issue. but with the 7" barrel and 20.75" overall length, it is an NFA item. Legally, this gun is a pistol, not a rifle.
The DDM4 follows the classic AR manual of arms. It has a picatinny rail on top, with M-LOK slots on all other faces of the octagonal shroud. From the factory, there are no iron sights. There are QD points on both sides.
The DDM4 comes with a flash hider, which is easily replaced with a suppressor. The DM4 comes with two springs; a red and a gray. The red spring is installed by the factory, and is intended for use with subsonic ammo only. If you need to swap springs, it will take about 5 minutes. No tools needed.
The trigger is lovely. The take up is extremely short, as is the reset, and the break is crisp and clean. The pull is about 5lbs.
The DDM4 comes with one 30 round magazine (where legal). I've modified mine with additional 30 round magazines, a Magpul sling, Thrunite flash, Vortex SparcSolar red dot optic, and an AB Warthog silencer.
Impressions:
I've put about 500 rounds through the gun, and I couldn't be happier. The action is smooth. I've had zero failures. The layout is more intuitive than the Hellion.
Accuracy is what you'd expect. As a rifle, the short barrel reduces long range accuracy. But it shoots at least as well as any pistol I own. Using the pistol brace, it's slightly better, as you would expect. I consistently shot MOA or less out to 100 yards. My largest group, at 100 yards, was 2.5" As with any handgun, I wouldn't consider this weapon ideal for anything longer than that.
This gun is chambered in 300 Blackout. Like the .45 ACP, this round was designed from day one to be sub-sonic, making it ideal for suppressed fire. With the Warthog, firing without hearing protection is fine and dandy. It's not Hollywood quiet, because no gun is, but you're not going to have the slightest ringing in your ears from the DDM4 PDW. It sounds a lot like those poppers kids throw on the 4th of July.
I learned to shoot with that gun and eventually used paper route money to add a 4X scope. Growing up, I did a lot of small game hunting with it. I still have it, and it's the first gun my kids and grandkids use when they start learning to shoot.
But other than that one rifle, I've always been a handgun shooter. This past year, I decided to dip my toe into the AR-style world. After much research, I made my choices. And now, after 5-6 months, the ATF and FBI have finished their background checks and such and I took possession last week.
Springfield Armory Hellion:
One of the issues I have with long guns is that they are, well, LONG. That can be an issue when you're moving through a building or dense forest. The Hellion addresses this issue by using a bullpup design. For those who may not know, a bullpup rifle moves the breach and firing mechanism behind the trigger. This means that despite having a 16" barrel (which means it's not an NFA item) it has an overall length of just 28.25".
Springfield delivers this rifle with an elevated picatinny rail along the top with pop-up iron sights. The front sight adjusts for elevation, the rear for windage. The fore-end is surrounded by M-LOK slots.
The Hellion is truly ambidextrous. It comers with an ambi safety and mag release, and there are ejection ports on both sides. This is a huge issue with bullpup designs, since hot brass is ejecting less than an inch from your face. It's designed to throw the brass forward a bit, but still... Unfortunately, switching ejection ports is not just flipping a switch. You have to disassemble the rifle and reverse the bolt. It can be done in just a few minutes, with no tools needed.
The Hellion was designed to accept a suppressor. It comes with a 4-prong flash hider. If you choose to fire suppressed, you can replace that with your favorite silencer in about a minute. Obviously, a suppressor affects gas pressure inside the gun. No problem. See the little stub above the barrel? Push it in and rotate it to switch between suppressed and non-suppressed fire.
Triggers are notoriously problematic on bullpup designs, but the Hellion is really quite good. Take up is short and smooth all the way to the fall and the break is clean. Reset is short and smooth. Trigger pull is 7lbs, which surprised me. It feels more like 5.
I've modified mine with a supply of 30 & 40 round mags (40 round mag pictured), a Magpul sling, front pistol grip, a Thrunite flashlight, Vortex 1-10X scope, and an AB Warthog silencer.
Impressions:
I've put about 500 rounds through the Hellion now, and I am very pleased. The action is smooth and I have had zero failures. The mag and bolt release are both centered behind the magazine. This is an unusual location and if you're accustomed to the conventional layout, will take some getting used to. There is no dedicated forward assist, but the charging handle is configured to allow it to be used, instead. The safety is easily reachable, but the angle feels odd. Like the mag/bolt releases, it takes a bit of getting used to.
I was impressed by the accuracy of this rifle. The range I used goes to 500 yards. At 100 yards, I shot consistent 5 round groups around 1". At 500 yards, with little wind (which rarely happens here) I was able to consistently shoot 2-2.5" 5 round groups, from a rest. I suspect that with match grade ammo, and someone with more rifle experience, MOA groups would be entirely reasonable. And let's be honest. 5.56 is not a real good choice for 500+ yard shots.
I was not shooting sub-sonic ammo (does sub-sonic 5.56 or .223 even exist?), but with the AB Warthog in place, I wouldn't have any problem shooting this gun without hearing protection.
Daniel Defense DDM4 PDW:
If the bullpup design of the Hellion addresses the size concern, this gun just makes it a non-issue. but with the 7" barrel and 20.75" overall length, it is an NFA item. Legally, this gun is a pistol, not a rifle.
The DDM4 follows the classic AR manual of arms. It has a picatinny rail on top, with M-LOK slots on all other faces of the octagonal shroud. From the factory, there are no iron sights. There are QD points on both sides.
The DDM4 comes with a flash hider, which is easily replaced with a suppressor. The DM4 comes with two springs; a red and a gray. The red spring is installed by the factory, and is intended for use with subsonic ammo only. If you need to swap springs, it will take about 5 minutes. No tools needed.
The trigger is lovely. The take up is extremely short, as is the reset, and the break is crisp and clean. The pull is about 5lbs.
The DDM4 comes with one 30 round magazine (where legal). I've modified mine with additional 30 round magazines, a Magpul sling, Thrunite flash, Vortex SparcSolar red dot optic, and an AB Warthog silencer.
Impressions:
I've put about 500 rounds through the gun, and I couldn't be happier. The action is smooth. I've had zero failures. The layout is more intuitive than the Hellion.
Accuracy is what you'd expect. As a rifle, the short barrel reduces long range accuracy. But it shoots at least as well as any pistol I own. Using the pistol brace, it's slightly better, as you would expect. I consistently shot MOA or less out to 100 yards. My largest group, at 100 yards, was 2.5" As with any handgun, I wouldn't consider this weapon ideal for anything longer than that.
This gun is chambered in 300 Blackout. Like the .45 ACP, this round was designed from day one to be sub-sonic, making it ideal for suppressed fire. With the Warthog, firing without hearing protection is fine and dandy. It's not Hollywood quiet, because no gun is, but you're not going to have the slightest ringing in your ears from the DDM4 PDW. It sounds a lot like those poppers kids throw on the 4th of July.
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