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Old June 25, 2021, 01:14 PM   #1
adamBomb
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Story behind the Hellcat and HS Produkt 11

Does anyone know the backstory of this company HS who makes the Hellcat?

https://hs-produkt.hr/products/hs-h11-cal-9x19/

Are they a reliable company? Does springfield just market the gun or do they make them too? I am really just buying an HS gun if I buy it?

For reference, I was dead set on getting this firearm but this all seems odd but maybe I am just overlooking it. I am just not familiar with HS.
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Old June 25, 2021, 01:28 PM   #2
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Hs is the company that came up with the xd line that Springfield uses.
They've been around a long time

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Old June 25, 2021, 06:57 PM   #3
Carl the Floor Walker
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Cool, thanks for posting. Some really nice firearms.
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Old June 25, 2021, 09:51 PM   #4
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As I recall the two companies have partnered for many years. The original XD was basically the HS2000, but since then Springfield hasn’t just relabeled the guns, they have considerable input into the designs and I am sure they know the manufacturing process in detail.
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Old June 25, 2021, 10:54 PM   #5
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The HS2000 had a good reputation before Springfield picked them up and started marketing them as the XD line.

My assessment is that the association between the two companies has probably had a positive effect on the product which was already good to begin with.

Your question about buying an HS gun is hard to answer. HS still makes the guns, if that's what you're asking, but there is value added for the consumer to having a U.S. company with a good reputation standing behind them. Also, I don't think anyone is importing the HS products in the U.S. besides Springfield, so If you want an HS gun in the U.S., you're going to buy it with the Springfield name on it.

This kind of arrangement is fairly common.

EAA doesn't make any guns--they are an importer. Their guns are made by a variety of overseas manufacturers.

For a long time, Springfield fell into this category as well, primarily selling Brazilian products; but I believe they may be making some things in the U.S. now.

A lot of Browning products are actually imported and are made by other companies.
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Old June 26, 2021, 12:48 AM   #6
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Exactly. Buy any modern Browning or Winchester rifle and chances are it's made by Miroku of Japan.
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Old June 26, 2021, 02:31 AM   #7
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Just an FYI because I think that many are still confused about this, and the "new" SA does pretend otherwise, but Springfield Armory Inc. of today is in no way related to or affiliated with the original Springfield Armory that was closed in 1968.

Last edited by O4L; June 27, 2021 at 03:55 PM.
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Old June 26, 2021, 12:30 PM   #8
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HS Product manufactures all Springfield handguns that are not 1911s. originally Springfield just sortof served as an importer, lending their name to the HS2000. later the HS became the Springfield XD line, with HS still marketing them as HS in europe (an XD9mm here is the HS9 over there, etc). the XD, XDM, XDS, XDE, and now Hellcat are all made by HS Product in Croatia.

I personally love them. I've owned many variants of the XD, XDM, XDS, and XDE. I tend to prefer their compact 9mm models the best. I've never had a reliability issue with them (that wasn't caused by 75 year old ammo meant for tommy guns). My current carry piece is an XDM9 compact. while I generally shoot glocks more accurately (probably due to better sight picture), I far prefer the ergonomics of springfields and most models have higher ammo capacity than their glock equivalents.

also this is off topic but due to the constant claims I hear from gun shop owners who like to bash on their manufacturer, Croatia is not a 3rd world country. Croatia is an active member of NATO and the UN. they were one of the few european nations that had the good sense to join the EU, but without adopting the euro as their national currency, meaning they weathered the greek economic collapse better than most while enjoying the same growth that many others did in the aftermath. interestingly their tourism skyrocketed due to Game of Throwns as one of the vistas on that show is a real location in Croatia. a strong economy and relatively high standard of living means Croatian companies can actually draw on a decent pool of skilled laborers.
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Old June 26, 2021, 12:40 PM   #9
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Really interesting and reassuring. Putting the Hellcat back to the top of my list. Now to find one w/ a manual safety.
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Old June 26, 2021, 05:18 PM   #10
lee n. field
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adamBomb View Post
Does anyone know the backstory of this company HS who makes the Hellcat?

https://hs-produkt.hr/products/hs-h11-cal-9x19/

Are they a reliable company? Does springfield just market the gun or do they make them too? I am really just buying an HS gun if I buy it?

For reference, I was dead set on getting this firearm but this all seems odd but maybe I am just overlooking it. I am just not familiar with HS.
What everyone said.

If you go to HS' distributors page, select US from the drop down. Guess who -- ta da! Springfield Armory of Geneseo IL. (A lot of Europe seems to be from a single company in Austria.)
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Old July 6, 2021, 09:06 PM   #11
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IIRC the HS2000 basically a product derived from the breakup of Yugoslavia and associated wars.
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