Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the M1A and imports handguns such as the XD series and Hellcat. The company is unrelated to the like-named former manufacturer of US military firearms in Massachusetts, Springfield Armory. Formation Elmer C. Ballance began using the name "Springfield Armory" through his company (LH Manufacturing) dedicated to the first civilian production of the M14 rifle, calling it the M1A. Ballance began in San Antonio, Texas, and soon after moved to Devine, Texas, where the company gained momentum and popularity. In 1974, Ballance sold the company to the Reese family, who had a well-established production shop in Illinois and experience base. The company then expanded its market into other firearms, including the M1911. After further success, the company began to branch into even more types of firearms. The company, now run by Dennis Reese (formerly along with his brother Tom Reese), produces numerous firearms in many styles and models, ranging from the AR-pattern SAINT rifles and pistols, to the M1A family, to a wide range of 1911s, to the compact 911 .380 and 9mm pistols, and also a broad selection of polymer-framed pistols. The latter group includes the micro 9mm Hellcat, released in September 2019, which has proven to be popular in the CCW market. The company has previously (as late as 2017) used a motto, "The First Name in American Firearms", in reference to the original and operationally unrelated Springfield Armory of Springfield, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1777 and closed in 1968. Those two dates are included in a timeline on the company's website, which notes that in 1974 "a passionate family by the name of Reese rescued" the Springfield Armory name. Products Rifles The company's rifle offerings include the M1A, the Hellion (imported VHS-2), and the SAINT line of AR-15 style rifles and short-barreled rifles. The M1A line includes offerings such as standard, loaded, SOCOM, national match, and tanker models. In 2016, the first SAINT rifle was introduced, with a pistol variant following a year later. Variants at different price-points, marketed as SAINT Victor and SAINT Edge, have also been added. In 2022, Springfield announced they would be importing a civilian version of the HS Produkt VHS-2 under the name of the Springfield Hellion. Previously, the company offered its own