Manticore Arms recently moved from Indiana to South Carolina. But that did not stop Sven of Manticore from designing and coming out with more upgrades for the Springfield Hellion. His Manticore Hellion curved buttpad helps alleviate a common complaint by some online critics and it was just released on Manticore’s website.
Manticore Arms @ TFB:
Shorter and Taller, Hellion Curved Buttpad
One constant complaint from online critics, most of whom do not own a Hellion, brings up the long length of pull (LOP) on the Springfield Hellion. While the LOP is longer than necessary, it is not bad. What confuses people is why HS Produkt (designers and manufacturers of the VHS-D2/Hellion) decided that the stock should extend even further for more LOP. Well, now Manticore has made his Hellion Curved Buttpad.
Photo by Manticore Arms
You can see the side-by-side comparison here. Manticore’s Hellion Curved Buttpad reduces the length by 1? and adds 1? of drop to the buttpad.
Photo by Manticore Arms
Photo by Manticore Arms
Manticore’s Hellion Curved Buttpad is machined aluminum with a rubber curved buttpad. Similar to his curved buttpads for the X95. The Hellion Curved Buttpad comes with a screw and Allen wrench. This is for installing the bolt locking rod and recoil spring from the factory Hellion buttpad/stock.
Photo by Manticore Arms
I ordered one of his Hellion Curved Buttpads. The Manticore weighs 1.9 oz more than the factory Hellion buttpad.
Manticore Helion Curved Buttpad
Factory Hellion Buttpad
In order to swap the buttpads, you need to remove the buffer, recoil spring and bolt locking rod. Look at the photo below, the recoil spring and bolt locking rod are held in with a pin. You can see it recessed on the side of the buttpad.
The white buffer is just nested into the stock. Manticore recommends using a flathead screwdriver to pry it out.
The cross pin that holds the recoil spring and bolt locking rod is held in place with a c-clip. I could not see it so I just used a punch and tapped the pin out. The c-clip fell out and I put it with the pin in a small plastic baggie since I won’t be using them. When you install the recoil spring and bolt locking rod, you use the 5/32? diameter, 1? long shoulder screw provided by Manticore. You need to pay attention to the orientation of the recoil spring and bolt locking rod. The recoil spring sits on top of the bolt locking rod. If you try putting in the recoil spring in first, the bolt locking rod will not fit. See the photo below.
Here is the shoulder screw installed.
Here is the weight with the parts installed.
The shorter LOP is nice but now my face sits closer, almost uncomfortably so. I feel the need to pull my head back a bit.
The Manticore Hellion Curved Buttpad has QD sling holes machined into each side. But Manticore has a note on their website about it.
NOTE: We have found through extensive testing that Magpul QD sling swivels are slightly undersized compared to most other QD sling swivels on the market, and may disconnect from the QD pockets on the Buttpad while all others stay locked in the QD pockets. We recommend use of Midwest Industries QD sling swivels for a high quality swivel.
For $159.99 you can upgrade your Hellion to have a curved buttpad with shorter LOP. For more information go to Manticore’s website.
