Springfield Armory Hellcat micro-compact pistol is announced
Springfield Armory announced the launch of the Hellcat, a new micro-compact striker-fired concealed carry pistol available in Optics-ready configuration and sporting a 3-inch barrel, as well as an staggering capacity of 11 or 13 9mm rounds
Anticipated by a mysterious E-Mail sent to selected recipients in early September, the Springfield Armory Hellcat semi-automatic micro-compact pistol was launched on September 25th as the latest entry in the long and successful family of pistols based on the XDm design. Advertised by Springfield Armory as a "class-leading firearm", the Hellcat is a lightweight, subcompact handgun aimed at the concealed carry, home defense, personal protection and backup pistols market.
A striker-fired, locked-breech pistol, the Springfield Armory Hellcat is built around a polymer frame and a steel, Melonite-finish slide with a new pattern of front and rear serrations.
The 3" / 7,6 cm barrel is hammer-forged, Melonite-finished, and features a 1:10" rifling pitch and a loaded chamber indicator in the form of a small top hole at the rear of the chamber allowing the user to check the chamber status at a quick glance. The Hellcat also includes a dual captive recoil spring mounted on a full-length guide rod.
The Hellcat retains the familiar controls configuration found on the XDm pistols series, but is barely 6" / 15,24 cm long overall, 4" / 10,16 cm high and just 1" / 2,54 cm wide for minimum printing during concealed carry. Despite the slim line, the Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol feeds through detachable double-stack metal magazines holding up to 11 rounds of 9mm Luger ammunition; extended magazines are available, bringing the overall capacity to thirteen rounds and the overall height to 4.5" (11,43 cm) – a true blessing for large-handed shooters.
An 11-rounds magazine and a 13-rounds magazine come issued from factory with every Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol. The overall weight of the Hellcat can reach up to 18.3 oz. (518 grams) with an extended 13 rounds magazine, which also makes it one of the lightest in its category.
Other features of the Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol include a trigger safety and an Adaptive Grip Texture grip – a seamless, pressure activated texture featuring a pattern of staggered pyramid shapes that ensures comfort in the waistband and yet engage the shooter's hand firmly when the pistol is correctly gripped. A high-hand beavertail and undercut trigger guard situate the pistol low in the hand for maximum control. A reversible mag release and standard Picatinny accessory rail for lights and lasers ensure maximum adaptability.
The Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol is also available in the OSP optics-ready version, featuring a seamless cover removable plate that allows direct mounting of a micro red dot to the slide for the lowest possible profile. Springfield Armory recommends the JP Enterprises JPoint or the Shield RSMc sight. Both the standard and the OSP versions of the Springfield Armory Hellcat pistol feature a high visibility tritium and luminescent front sight paired with a Tactical Rack U-Dot rear sight for easy target acquisition in all lighting conditions.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Springfield Armory Hellcat micro-compact pistol has been announced at $599.00 for the United States; no information concerning international availability and pricing has been released.
Springfield Armory Hellcat
By Marco Dell'Acqua
Springfield recently announced a “New class-leading firearm”. I’m used to take these kind of hype with a jaded raised eyebrow. Seems I was wrong. The Springfield Armory Hellcat Micro Pistol may look like an XD, but it’s an all new project.
It looks like someone at Springfield looked very closely and carefully at what Glock was doing with their micro pistols, then decided to do it right.
The Hellcat has about the same dimensions as a Glock 43, just a tad smaller: 152,4 mm vs 154 in length (6” vs 6.01”) 101 mm vs 108 in height (4” vs 4.25”) and 25,4mm vs 26mm (1” vs 1.02”)... but it holds 11+1 rounds vs Glock’s 6+1, which becomes 13+1 with the extended magazine that brings the overall height to that of the Glock. And the good doesn’t end here.
The Hellcat has excellent sights, thought from the start for practical use with a tritium front sight circled by a fluorescent ring and a U notch rear sight shaped so that it can be hooked on a belt or other catch point to easily rack the slide one handed, plus... the slide comes already milled to accept a MRDS.
Now, I’m not a great fan of MRDSs, as I feel they create more problems than they solve, but I’m a great fan of options and freedom of choice and you can have the Hellcat with the RMS-C sight, mounted so low that the glass is flush with the top of the slide, dispensing with the need of suppressor size sights.
The frame has a picatinny rail for accessories and the grip is stippled with a special pattern of large size truncated pyramids that ensure basic grip when the gun is held normally and smaller, sharp pyramids that insure maximum grip capability when the gun is held tightly.
The Hellcat truly is a new class-leading firearm, with a load of features not usually seen all together on a factory subcompact, with the size of a single stack but a double stack magazine.
I know, you’ll be wondering how big a hole this little gun will punch in your pocket: well, the MSRP for the basic model is around 600$
The bad?
It weighs 501 g against the 472 g of the Glock, but unless you expect they put the extra ammo in an extra-dimensional space (which, given the size, may even be the case) it necessarily has to weigh more.
I’ve never been much for Springfield’s polymer guns, I’ve always been a Glock fan, but this one would definitely be my choice if I ever needed a subcompact, pocket size carry gun.