Springfield Hellcat 9mm

I discovered this new CC handgun on youtube last month and after watching a few videos reviewing it, I emailed Denny about letting me know when he gets them in stock.

Sootch really does a great job with the thorough reviews:

For some background for comparison, my CC is the Glock43.

The Glock43 I have is very far from being stock.  I replaced/added:

• Talon Grip tape - The grip on the 43 is terrible. Needed something with some bite on it. ($18)
• trigger - installed a pyramid trigger from glockstore. ($170)
• extended magazine - the backup magazine I carry holds 10 and extends the default 6 rounds by 4, but the extension piece is huge!  ($25)
• Sights - the plastic sights that came with the Glock43 were cheap!  Replaced with Trijicon Tru Glo sights ($85)
• Guide Rod - replaced with Tungston guide rode from Glockstore. ($85)
• Laser - TLR-6 light/laser combo which attaches the front of the trigger guard.  Total crap. Wasn't reliable. Something I won't bother with on the Hellcat anyway.
  

So over $380 extra on top of the Glock43.  All of that is totally unnecessary with the Hellcat.  

The trigger is just as good stock in the hellcat as the pyramid trigger I installed on the Glock 43 in my opinion.  It has a trigger safety bar on it just like the pyramid trigger, and is a flat face trigger very similar to the pyramid trigger.

The stock sights are great with the front yellow fiberoptic.  The grips are awesome as is. On the Glock 43, I got suckered into getting the tungston guide rod by Lenny Magill claiming that the recoil could be better so I got it.  I don't really know if it was really necessary on the Glock 43, but definitely not needed on the Hellcat. The recoil is comparable on both I feel. 

I went with the Hellcat model WITHOUT the red dot ready stuff on it.  If I'm going CC I'm not going to get a red dot on it anyway. And I'm definitely done with lasers.  

10 rounds for glock (left)
compared to 13 rounds for Hellcat (right)

And the thing that thrills me the most about the Hellcat is the magazine capacity.  Double stack mags with the Hellcat that really aren't that much wider.  Yes the Hellcat is slightly wider than the G43, but not significantly.

I had attempted a while ago to replace my G43 with the Walter PPQ SC, but it ended up being too wide and was printing way too much.  So I went back to the G43 until now.

The total capacity including backup mag:

Magazine	Glock 43	Springfield Hellcat	Increased capacity in Hellcat
Primary	6+1	11+1	71%
Backup	10	13	30%
Total	17	25	47%

The length of the Hellcat is smaller than the G43.  The height is the same, while the width is slightly bigger on the Hellcat. The grip is noticeably wider in the amount of purchase during the grip, but not noticeable from a carrying perspective.  All with nearly 50% more total capacity? That's mind blowing to me.

So if you take the Glock 43 price including all the extras I put into it: $450 + $380 = $830
Hellcat (no extras necessary) : $490

So the Hellcat ended up being 59% of the price I paid to get the Glock43 just like I wanted.  With 47% greater capacity! Do I hate my Glock 43?  No.  I'm not a Glock fanboy either. I simply found something else that gives me more capacity for a slightly smaller size for practically the same quality.  And the DeSantis pocket holster I use for my Glock43 fits the Hellcat just fine. 

Anyone who is looking for a pocket CC pistol, the Hellcat is a no brainer.  Now the reliability of the Glock 43 has been outstanding.  I will admit that.  I plan to shoot this Hellcat every time I go to the range. Only time will tell if it can hold up to the Glock. 

I would be very surprised if it wasn't as reliable.  We'll see!

Accuracy (at 25 yards or less): Good

Weight: Very light

Recoil: Significant

Ergonomics: Great
Trigger quality: 8 out of 10