Practical Test: The HS Produkt S5 3.3 Subcompact Pistol In .45 ACP ...

The HS Produkt .45 caliber subcompact S5 in detail

As already indicated, the S5 is a particularly small pistol designed for self-defense and concealed carry (which is especially a topic in the USA). HS Produkt itself positions its S-Line in the "self-defense" and "back up" segments. The S5 uses single-stack magazines which do not have the capacity of double-stack magazines, but are particularly rugged and, above all, have a slim frame and thus a significantly thinner grip. Due to the narrow slide and the grip just mentioned, the S5 shows itself to be absolutely on par with current slim-line pistols, with a gun width of around 25 millimeters. GLOCK 43, Walther PPS or Smith & Wesson M&P Shield also belong to the sub-compact "conceald carry" or "back up" pistols segment and also come with a comparably thin frame and slide. It is noteworthy that the S5 is fed with the significantly larger .45 ACP cartridge, while the aforementioned competitors chamber the .40 S&W at most.

Smith & Wesson also offered the Shield in .45 ACP for a time, but had to make the slide a little wider. The S5 also relies on class-standard designs in terms of locking system and barrel length. It uses an 3.3”/84.5-mm barrel with a polished ramp. Locking is accomplished by an open-bottom cam that tilts the barrel sharply during the action cycle. The short but powerful recoil spring is telescoping, which is also common in this class of handguns. The slide itself has a simple design on the outside. It has cocking serrations at the rear, the external case extractor is on the right side and a loaded chamber indicator is located on the top of the slide. The latter is a steel pin that rises a few millimeters when a cartridge is in the chamber of the S5. The sights used by the Croatians are a very compact  arrangement from the tactical range. The rear sight can only be laterally drifted and offers two white contrasting dots as aiming aids in addition to the rectangular cutout. A front sight with red fiber optic insert is located at the front. 

In any case, the sights are suitable for shooting at shorter ranges in combination with a quick target acquisition. The polymer grip is ergonomically shaped and supports the shooting hand very well. In addition to the two shallow front finger grooves at the front, the quite grippy surface texture also helps to ensure that the gun sits securely in the hand. The undercut below the trigger guard and the high curved beavertail at the back of the grip allow the S5 to sink deep into the shooting hand, allowing for as much hand contact as possible on the grip. In addition to a short tactical accessory rail, the S5 also comes with a grip safety. It also comes with a trigger safety as well as the internal striker safety. On the left side are the slide catch, disassembly and magazine buttons. The magazine release button is also available on the right side and can be permanently operated from both sides – a feature that can currently be considered a unique selling point. Most handguns today only have a magazine release button, which then only works on one side. The workmanship of the small S5 is quite convincing and on a fairly high level. The steel assemblies show virtually no tooling marks, the fits are correct, and the finish appears quite clean. 

The single-action trigger with its built-in trigger safety released at average pull weight of about 6.39 lb/2,900 g. A class-leading value. Most subcompact pistols are around 6.6 lb/3,000 grams of trigger pull weight and have always been a bit harder to pull than comparable full-size service pistols. The trigger travel is medium length and brings a correspondingly short reset for fast firing strings.