The issue in the past was if you wanted high capacity in a striker-fired handgun, you had to accept a bulkier gun. This compromise made it more difficult to accept a high-capacity pistol as an everyday CCW. SIG Sauer started the trend of the micro-compact, high-capacity CCW pistol a few years ago with its P365. I had an opportunity to shoot several magazines through the P365 back in 2018. I must admit, I was very impressed. It seemed almost beyond physics that a gun that small could hold 10 rounds of 9mm. I could tell that gun would change everything when it came to concealed carry—until I came across the Springfield Hellcat…
I’ve been a fan of Springfield Armory for a very long time, going back to when all it really had was the M1A. When I started getting the teaser emails that only had the letter “H” in it, like many of you, I was curious what was coming. When the team at Springfield contacted me to let me in on the secret, I knew the Hellcat was coming. The highest capacity micro-compact handgun on the market.
The Hellcat is Springfield Armory’s micro-compact, high-capacity, CCW. It ships with 11-round and 13-round magazines. Honestly, it has all the things I love about the P365, but it’s different—in a better way.
- The stippling (or as they call it “Adaptive Grip Texturing”) is smooth to the touch, but the microscopic ridges beneath the smooth part allow you to grip the gun tightly.
- The flat trigger makes the pull easy and uniform. The reset is also short, allowing one to reduce the finger travel time on subsequent shots.
- The sights were the one thing I was unsure of when I originally pulled it out of the box. However, the Tactical Rack U-Dot (“U” shaped rear sight) and Tritium front sight dot makes it feel natural to shoot with both eyes open. It also allows for quick target acquisition.
As for shooting, the Hellcat excelled in this area as well. The increase capacity allows for more weight at the back to the gun. So, the first several shots give the gun great balance. It was relatively easy to group shots close together on the steel plate, and the Federal HP ammo made short work of the last of the Fall pumpkins.
Over the years, I’ve carried a multitude of CCW pistols, going back to the Walther PPK .380. Next, followed a slew of several other single-stack 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP pistols. They all provided with something the other didn’t have, but I always felt they were missing something. I can honestly say, I can’t find fault in the design of the Springfield Hellcat. It’s for that reason, that the Springfield Hellcat is now my CCW.
The Springfield Hellcat campaign made a big splash when it was introduced a couple of months ago. Have you had a chance to shoot the Hellcat? How does it compare to your favorite CCW firearm? Share your answers in the comment section.
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I can’t find a Hellcat anywhere to look at it
Neither can I. Reason being, when a new gun hits the market, they are all bought out, by the greedy gun owners, they just have to have every new gun that comes out….
Problem with the Hellcat !!!! The Standoff on the Recoil Spring Assembly is not as good as all the hype that it has been given. It is made out of plastic so if you use Frog Lube DO NOT USE ANY HEAT ON THE RECOIL SPRING ASSEMBLY as the thin edge that keeps the spring captive will break off! Springfield Warranty is not worth the paper & ink they use to print it! They will not have any parts till March. I got the gun working but the spring is not captive. This is not my first Polymer Firearm and I treated all of them with Frog Lube and had no trouble arise from them. Springfield said its my fault and they warranty it. So they all will do this!
Were you using a heat gun? Did you read the owners manual and did it have warnings on heat? Just curious, if they didn’t include a warning you would think they would replace the part. I use simple cleaner and gun oil, have tried and have seen frog lube but takes too long for me. Thanks for the post, its worth noting that heat damages plastic parts internally.