Since the Springfield sub-topic won’t be seen by many, I added this here.

5-19-20, I shot a new Hellcat 9mm at 60 yards rested on a bench in non stop heavy rain.  Very nicely made gun and very nice sights that will STAY on the gun as not much could be improved on by changing them. The excellent grip and sight hype is correct.  The 13 round magazine used loaded with 13+1 easily and inserted into the grip easily.  A sliding type load tool was used.

Stripped out of the box, cleaned, lubed with Slip2000EWL, hand cycled 200 times, and dry fired 25.  Then shot.

Springfield CS suggested starting with 124 grain ammo as that is what the guns are function tested with and believed to be lateral zero tested with at the factory.

Very preliminarily, 115 and 124 grain ammo shoots to the same elevation zero, POA=POI being top of front sight.  Elevation at 60 yards was dead on target.  Note I said elevation.  The windage adjustment was off a bit to be remedied.

Laterally, windage, with different loads was different.  As generalities to be tested further, think of normal Federal HydraShok 124 as a baseline windage impact. Then:
-124 grain ball is about the same lateral POI.
-115 grain, a hot GECO HP, is about the same, or a bit right.
-115 grain Hornady Critical Defense is about the same as baseline 124.
-115 grain mild ball practice ammo tends clearly to the left on the same horizontal line.

The 124 grain ammo was quite accurate.  The mild practice 115 grain ball shot poorly for larger groups.

Perfect function out of the box.

I note the manual strongly encourages use of snap caps when dry firing.

More to follow if the rain ever quits.

Edit:  5-20-20

Taking a guess as to rear sight movement from 60 yard impacts, I moved the rear sight to the right a calculated 0.023”+/- best efforts.  I noted the factory cut witness or staking hashes on the slide top dovetail floor precisely on the exact edges of the sight base.  I uncovered the left hash and covered the right side hash.

Shooting off a bench and firm padded rest at 25 yards using a 2” vertical strip of duct tape to emphasize left-right alignment was done.  Up and down is simply somewhere up or down the tape as you aim.  Attempting to resolve estimations of torque effects with midget handguns, various weights of bullets, and various power levels all mixed is best resolved by shooting.  Revolvers are fairly predictable, but small auto pistols are not.  

The first photo with a marked up version is four factory loads and the the second with a marked up version has two hand loads added.  The marker colors are as vivid as the damp world and cardboard would allow.  What the impacts show is this:

1” Left of centerline:
-RP124FMJ—note the four rounds virtually on top of each other with almost no lateral dispersion. (6 rounds)
-Hand load 115FMJ—4.1 grains Bullseye. (5 rounds)

0” Centerline
-Hornady 115 Critical Defense—considerable dispersion for the average. (10 rounds)
-Hand load 124JHP—4.1 grains Bullseye noting four of the five were centered on the tape center itself. (5 rounds)

1” Right of centerline
-Federal 124 JHP HydraShok (10 rounds)

2” Right of centerline
-GECO 115 JHP—hot European loading for practice hunting stopping threats so the box says. Reminds me of Federal 115 grain 9PBLE +P+ in a Smith 39.  Current literature says slower than it used to be. (5 rounds)









Those targets look like a mess, but serve an exact purpose sorting ammo.

After all the boring work, one magazine simply shot as rapidly as the gun cycled at 15-10-5 yards till the mag was empty, 5-5-4.  Plant the front sight on the target and pull the trigger.  Easy to do.  That’s all it held, 14.



05-21-20:  Or just shoot a Police duty gun course, 25 yards and in, with a pocket pistol the officers find cute.



Impressions:

-The size, thickness, sights, grip texture, mag capacity, perfect function out of the box, point-ability, control Interface ergonomics, shoot-ability with no great effort, accuracy (with 124 grain ammo), loading full mag easily with 13+1, recoil management ease, reasonable reset feel and fairly short, GREAT sights factory installed easy to use and quick to acquire and align, are all as advertised.

-On a gauge at the center of the flat trigger face, clean and all parts lubricated, the pull is 6.5-7#.  Heavier than I expected from reviews.  Heavier than a normal stock Glock, but smoother at the break/wall.  A Glock is still doing something at the wall.  The Hellcat is only releasing the striker as far as the feel goes.  At the right pull, it just goes.  A Glock’s curved trigger keeps your finger centered reducing leverage, but the straight Hellcat trigger tends to keep your finger closer to the tip for a better leverage angle.  The 6.5-7# figure is where the gauge arm insisted it wanted to ride, about centered on the trigger with a straight back pull.  To get it to stay on the tip would have been a fake angle of pull.  In reality, my large hand/finger covers most of the trigger bottom to top.

-115 grain ammo seems distinctly less accurate for no accountable reason.  The Hornady CD 115 is usually very accurate.

-The HydraShok 124 and 124 hand load seem a good carry/practice combo with no reason to move the sights for the moment.

-As to sights, the yellow front “o” sits in the white paint “U” very nicely with the tops level.  If you float the “o” high, impact goes up.  As on the black target above.

-The  trigger striker spring system does not twitch the front sight this way or that on release.  The front sight just sits in the U.  [This is unlike some other striker fired guns that do.]

-Cosmetically, think Glock, black metal and plastic.

-I cannot think of any negatives to mention.

-People shoot these miniature guns In magazines like its only a seven yard gun. They Ooh and Aw over hitting a silhouette or an “A” box powder burning the target.  Or video how fast they can dump a magazine.  Sorta BS.

-The Hellcat and similar size lightweight 9mms are way more capable than that.  The Hellcat shot groups just aiming somewhere on a vertical line.  The lateral dispersion on the RP124FMJ was an inch at 25 yards.

-My direct comparisons are a Shield 9mm Gen1 that until I put Talon skateboard tape on it, I always felt it sliding around In my hand hunting to reacquire the sights. First relocate the gun and then re-find the sights.  The Shield9 2.0 fixed that.  The Hellcat grip texture stays put in your hand as designed when firing.

-The Shield9 is a bigger heavier gun with $100 of fiber optic sights on it and shoots no better than the Hellcat.  

-Also comparing, an early version Glock 43 with the original 8# trigger of which I could only hit a barn with from the inside out.  Gave it to my son who shoots it as well as he does a 17.  He likes the heavy wall.  The 9 round Shield and 7 round G43 pale in utility compared to the 14 round Hellcat.  

-Think of this.  The Shield9 AND the G43 used as a NYPD reload hold 16 rounds.  The Hellcat holds 14.  

-I cannot think of any reason to buy a Shield9 today or a G43 besides misplaced brand loyalty.  The Hellcat does all the same things BETTER.

–In fairness, the Shield9 and the 43 always work and so has the Hellcat out of the box.  250 rounds perfect.  Now cleaned again.

-The magazines are the key to the large capacities.  The width stacks rounds optimally but the springs are the things that make it work.  Them seem made of different diameter coils that stack inside of each other to be very short when compressed instead of all the same size stacking on top of each other.  You really need a tool to easily load them full.  The sliding type metal ones work well if you squeeze the front gap closed slightly.

-As to springs, the two spring operating spring is STIFF.  Don’t bother asking momma to cycle the slide fully to lock it open.  If ease of operation is a necessity, the Hellcat is not the answer.  The grooves in the slide provide a good hold but the operating spring is stiff.

-Likewise with the slide locked open, the take down lever is turned UP and takes some finger strength to move up.

-The spring tensions are appropriate for what it is size wise and slide weight wise.  Not negatives, but know what to expect.  The manual even suggests using an empty mag to lock the slide open, if needed.  Decently written manual.

-Recoil?  Yes.

-CCW weapon recoil is a point on a continuum.  
—-J frame Airweight revolver .357
—-J frame Airweight revolver .38
—-Ruger LCP .380 (a plain nasty semi auto in all three generations)
—-Walther steel PP-PPK-PPKS .380 (blowback whatever brand just plain sharp wack)
—-Hellcat-Shield9-whatever (that sorta locked breech lightweight semi auto thing- yeah it went off, lets do it again)
—-MP9 3.6” or 4” -Glock 26-Glock 19 (the slide just runs back and forth)
—-Duty size 9mm (I heard a noise)

-Manageable recoil vaguely OK with the mag full and more hoppy as it empties.  Exactly as an experienced shooter used to shooting CCW guns would expect.  Probably startling for a first time shooter.  (As is anything they shoot.  With plugs and muffs, the guns don’t hurt at this level.  The Hellcat grip shape eats most of the recoil for you.)

The short version would be that the Hellcat is what the advertising says it is.  Functional.  

With any of these little guns, shooting is the only way to resolve bullet impact or sighting.   Shooting at 25 yards matched my in the rain 60 yard impressions of POI from the first day, one ammo relative to another.  Moving the rear sight put the pile more centered.

O5-26-2020:

Minor update. Two more commercial loads shot for relative windage impact and the gun shot on the Ohio Police Officers Training Academy course.  Once with the extended 13 round magazine and then once with the flush 11 round magazine.

Ammo:

“0” Center Impact:
-Federal 124 grain HST JHP (Expected as it matches HydraShok closely.  6 rounds)
-Hornady 135 grain Critical Duty.  (Dead on center. 6 rounds)



Enough sweat was pouring of my glasses in the sudden heat wave that it was worse than previously shooting in the rain.  The bad shots are mine.  The Hornady put four straight on the tape and then the shooter yanked two.

The OPOTA course was a surprise.   Observations:

-The 11+1 magazine fully loaded with the slide forward takes effort to insert whereas the 13+1 magazine fully loaded locks in reasonably easy.
- Handling the gun with the 13 and with the 11 round magazines is like two different firearms if you have 2XL glove size hands.
-Grip from the draw with the 13 round magazine is easy to acquire.
-Grip from the draw with the 11 round magazine is hard, at least harder, to orientate properly.
-Once in the hand, they shoot the same to the same point of impact.
-But with a bit more hoppiness when the third finger is hanging under the floor plate of the 11 round magazine.



Oddly enough, the one round I threw out of the phantom oval was with the long magazine at 30’.  

Depending on how you intend to carry the Hellcat, practice with the proper magazine, not just with the long one.  The differences in feel are surprising when getting a grip and firing.

I am very happy with my HC. Good write up.

Excellent write-up. I think some people's hate for Springfield clouds their judgement about this pistol. I have been nothing but impressed with the build quality, sights, accuracy, and the ability to eat any ammo that I have fed it. It is nice to find a pistol that I did not feel the nned to put aftermarket grip tape on it. My Shield v2.0 has nice texture but it just feels too slim for my hand size. Plus, 13+1 in a pistol this size is a bonus.

Gold Ranking

O5-26-2020:

Minor update. Two more commercial loads shot for relative windage impact and the gun shot on the Ohio Police Officers Training Academy course.  Once with the extended 13 round magazine and then once with the flush 11 round magazine.

Ammo:

“0” Center Impact:
-Federal 124 grain HST JHP (Expected as it matches HydraShok closely.  6 rounds)
-Hornady 135 grain Critical Duty.  (Dead on center. 6 rounds)



Enough sweat was pouring of my glasses in the sudden heat wave that it was worse than previously shooting in the rain.  The bad shots are mine.  The Hornady put four straight on the tape and then the shooter yanked two.

The OPOTA course was a surprise.   Observations:

-The 11+1 magazine fully loaded with the slide forward takes effort to insert whereas the 13+1 magazine fully loaded locks in reasonably easy.
- Handling the gun with the 13 and with the 11 round magazines is like two different firearms if you have 2XL glove size hands.
-Grip from the draw with the 13 round magazine is easy to acquire.
-Grip from the draw with the 11 round magazine is hard, at least harder, to orientate properly.
-Once in the hand, they shoot the same to the same point of impact.
-But with a bit more hoppiness when the third finger is hanging under the floor plate of the 11 round magazine.



Oddly enough, the one round I threw out of the phantom oval was with the long magazine at 30’.  

Depending on how you intend to carry the Hellcat, practice with the proper magazine, not just with the long one.  The differences in feel are surprising when getting a grip and firing.

My wife bought one over the weekend, after handling and shooting most everything on the market we came home with a OSP model. She had a P238 Equinox and hated it, wouldnt carry it. Weight and external hammer being the main objections.

She wanted something with a optic cut, striker fired and relatively light. She is new to shooting and wants a dot, I have a RMR on my G26 and she likes it (the dot that is). We have a CZ 75B-SA with CGW trigger package and she shoots that well, quite well actually. She also has a MKIV 22/45 with a dot and shoots that above average also.

Bear with me, here comes the range report for the Hellcat:

After a quick clean and lube we ran ~150 rounds of S&B 124 and Federal 124 without a hiccup, POA and POI is VERY close to my preferred "combat hold" at 10 yards.

As to be expected, it has some recoil.
The grip surface is good, no improvement needed.
Sights are good, no improvement needed.
Size and weight is fantastic.
Magazines need more testing, with a Maglula they sometimes hang the follower at the bottom and the rounds are loose in the magazine body.
I have no opinion on the optic mount yet, optic yet to be determined.

The trigger; the shoe is small and for both of us its uncomfortable. Theres a huge wall (that we like) and a hard (7.2lb) break with some creep and grit.
I think its the width for me but I dont care for it and I'm going to try to fix it, along with trying to drop a pound or so.

I shoot a decent amount, averaging 9100 rounds of 9mm a calendar year but the Hellcat wont be subjected to that. Its role is CC unlike the two RMR G26s that pull double duty range/CC.

I'll try to keep this updated and I'll answer questions if I can.

ETA: she's not a fan of it, not at all at this point. We're gonna give it a fair shake before deciding to go a different route.

The pliers type UpLula magazine loaders can generate a lot of force. Never had one of my own.  No clue on the follower staying down, other than excessive force is crushing the multi-diameter coils.  I just use the simple old fashion Beretta loaders ProMag has copied.  Closing the front slightly works on anything from a Shield9 to working as made with Beretta-SIG-MP9-HiPower metal magazines.  Adjust to a sliding fit.  The curved cartridge case pusher centers the loader quite well.

https://www.amazon.com/ProMag-LDR01-Pistol-Magazine-Loader/dp/B0017OXYUG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Promag+magazine+loader&qid=1590578770&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-1

On the Hellcat right rear by the slide rail, you can see the equivalent of a Glock connector/trigger bar interface.  I put a bit of grease with a needle on/in the interface and it seems smooth.  SLIP2000EWL in other places that move with a thin film including the striker tang front.  The flat spot.

There is more than one metal loader design.  The unbranded “surplus” ones are better made than the ProMag, but all work if adjusted to your mag size and the cartridge pusher is curled to the right spot.  Plus, they only push as hard as your fingers push them down.