Tavor vs Hellion

**ABNAK** · 06-10-23, 09:39

Which one is M4C's pick?

I am a southpaw shooter and finding the conversion for a Tavor isn't easy, at least being in stock anyway. I also don't like the idea of having to pay more for it either, like an additional accessory. That said, the Tavor is an IWI made system and as such has a solid reputation. Oh, and it is chrome lined.

The Hellion seems to be a little less expensive, more available, and can be switched to left-handed ejection without extra expense or hunting things down. Of course it's a Croatian design (not necessarily a bad thing) and is brought in by SA. The barrel is Melonited, not chrome lined. Now that isn't a disqualifier in and of itself, as Melonite would be a #2 choice for me if it wasn't chrome lined.

I've never been a huge bullpup guy, but lately I have been intrigued by the design, especially the short OAL but yet with a 16" barrel. My buddy has a Hellion (which I've only finger-fvcked, not shot) and he just got a Meta Tactical Glock bullpup conversion (which I did shoot). I have kind of taken a liking to the feel of the bullpup design.

Opinions?

**WillBrink** · 06-10-23, 12:07

Originally Posted by ABNAK

Which one is M4C's pick?

I am a southpaw shooter and finding the conversion for a Tavor isn't easy, at least being in stock anyway. I also don't like the idea of having to pay more for it either, like an additional accessory. That said, the Tavor is an IWI made system and as such has a solid reputation. Oh, and it is chrome lined.

The Hellion seems to be a little less expensive, more available, and can be switched to left-handed ejection without extra expense or hunting things down. Of course it's a Croatian design (not necessarily a bad thing) and is brought in by SA. The barrel is Melonited, not chrome lined. Now that isn't a disqualifier in and of itself, as Melonite would be a #2 choice for me if it wasn't chrome lined.

I've never been a huge bullpup guy, but lately I have been intrigued by the design, especially the short OAL but yet with a 16" barrel. My buddy has a Hellion (which I've only finger-fvcked, not shot) and he just got a Meta Tactical Glock bullpup conversion (which I did shoot). I have kind of taken a liking to the feel of the bullpup design.

Opinions?

I have only shot the Tavor, but my non SME opinion I'd go with that being a vetted platform at this point. Personally, I'm never an early adopter of tech, let others be the beta testers, especially when it comes to fire arms.

**constructor** · 06-10-23, 12:38

I have zero experience with the Hellion.
I have a Tavor X-95 but I am right handed so can't help you there. My first thoughts about the X-95 was made in Israel it will be GTG. The cons are it is heavier than a AR and it takes a little practice to get use to the mag changes and I mean standing there doing nothing but changing mags for 30 minutes or more as fast as you can. I changed optics to a 8oz 1x prisim to keep the weight down, also removed the barrel collar to help accuracy, now it's much closer to an AR, 2-3" with M193, 1.5-2 with 77gr Razorcore or S&B.
I thought I would sell it as soon as I found a SIG MCX Spear LT but the more I shoot the X95 the more I like it for CQB-100yds(mainly inside and in and out of vehicle drills). It's heavier but it swings/points fast, they say due to the weight distribution being closer to the body. It eats everything, the one thing I want to add is the Geissele lightning bow trigger, not the trigger pack. When doing controlled doubles or triples as it is, I can't tell the trigger is a typical "bullpup" trigger.

**mig1nc** · 06-10-23, 16:01

I’ve shot many X95 and SARs and several AUGs including full auto.

I like the AUG the best but the egos are not as good as the others. Maybe once the Arid handguard comes out it will solve the problem.

I’ve never shot the Hellion but have handled one.

I really like that I can use a thumb over bore grip and I also really like the charging handle. It also has a gas block that lets you optimize for suppressor use.

Down side to Hellion, stupid long length of pull. Heavier than it should be.

If you want to see a sick supper light bully project being worked on check this out: https://youtu.be/9LX_216k-bk

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**The Dumb Gun Collector** · 06-11-23, 21:17

I have both and they are both pretty awesome. Probably the Tavor just because it you can get parts and stuff. But the Hellion is way easier to suppress and a bit more accurate. That's a tough call.

**Screwball** · 06-11-23, 21:42

Not a lefty, but did go into the bullpup realm for a short stent.

It is definitely maneuverable. It is definitely compact. Trigger definitely “sucks,” but I did the Geissele pack and bow, which did make it nicer ($460 later). If you are familiar with the Beretta CX4, I’d put the difference from stock to SierraPapa trigger kit in the same ballpark.

I am personally not a fan of Springfield Armory. But seeing the quality from IWI, I’d suggest going with the Tavor. If you plan on SBRing it, go X95 and put a 13” barrel on it.

That being said… I did write “short stent” earlier. When I got to ME, I unNJed all of my rifles… to include my Tavor. During that time, I went into suppressors. To me, I’d rather not shoot a suppressed bullpup with my face so close to the chamber. I do some dumb stuff, but it just didn’t feel comfortable. That was sort of the big reason I pulled from the Tavor.

Other reason… ARs. With how prevalent ARs are, what did the Tavor do that I could do with an AR pistol/SBR? My 11.5” ARs were fine suppressed. I qualify on the M4 at work, so a different platform isn’t really that beneficial, in my eyes. I purchased a Colt 6920, which was my first complete AR purchase… and swapped the Surefire and Aimpoint from the Tavor over to that. When I got rid of the Tavor, I’d did a partial trade on a 20” NM AR… which I put the upper on a build I was waiting for a 20” upper… and used the lower for a dedicated lower with my Spikes .22 upper. And walked away with a few dollars.

Only saying this being the Tavors are expensive. And they are expensive to upgrade. If you really can’t see a blaring benefit of getting a bullpup, I’d go with something else. At the very least, see if you can find a rental range or a friend with one to try out.

**georgeib** · 06-11-23, 23:04

Originally Posted by The Dumb Gun Collector

I have both and they are both pretty awesome. Probably the Tavor just because it you can get parts and stuff. But the Hellion is way easier to suppress and a bit more accurate. That's a tough call.

How much of a bother is that length of pull on the Hellion? Looks unwieldy.

**fred** · 06-13-23, 17:07

Another lefty shooter here. I love my X95, due to the points made above, i.e: parts support, balance, proven performance. Accuracy on mine is fine and I haven't upgraded anything on it except throwing on a red dot and replacing the cutlass-style pistol grip with a normal one. The Hellion seems weird to me, but I would try it out, if I had the money to buy new guns just to try them out.

**Bret** · 06-14-23, 17:11

Originally Posted by Screwball

If you plan on SBRing it, go X95 and put a 13” barrel on it.

No, no, no. Buy the X95 factory SBR. It has a shorter handguard to go along with the shorter barrel. I have an IDF Tavor, an X95, a 9mm X95 and an X95 SBR. I like the SBR the best.