[SJ 40]

Anyone notice the new introduction on March 4 th. of the new Hellcat Pro.

Hellcat® Pro Handgun - Springfield Armory

www.springfield-armory.com

Basically a 3.7 " barrel and a grip length that accommodates the 15 round magazine minus grip sleeve,a XL if you will.
I can for see some interesting slide frame combinations coming out of this release in the future.

 

[RevV]

I'm sure the Pro is nice and will find a market,
but for me the chief benefit of a Hellcat is its small size.

 

[SJ 40]

I'm sure the Pro is nice and will find a market,
but for me the chief benefit of a Hellcat is its small size.

Same here,I want the availability of 11,13 or 15 rounds depending on clothing and concealableability with said clothing.

 

[unclebob]

I'm sure it's a nice firearm for those who need one, but with all the new offerings by Springfield I don't see a reason to sell what I have and buy the latest and greatest.
My Mod-2 Compact is just a tick bigger than a Hellcat and it holds 13/16 rounds and my Mod-2 5.in Tactical also holds 16 rounds and it is all I need for home and range use.

 

[WVSurveyor]

I think it will do well. I'm not looking at adding to my handgun portfolio at this time. Will check one out when it arrives at my local gun store at see if it speaks to me.

 

[Toddzilla67]

I just picked up one yesterday and gave it a quick clean/lube. I’m going to the range tomorrow to put 100 rounds through it. The wife wants to shoot it, too.

 

[SJ 40]

I just picked up one yesterday and gave it a quick clean/lube. I’m going to the range tomorrow to put 100 rounds through it. The wife wants to shoot it, too.

Congrats,hope it shoots cloverleaves.

 

[WVSurveyor]

I just picked up one yesterday and gave it a quick clean/lube. I’m going to the range tomorrow to put 100 rounds through it. The wife wants to shoot it, too.

Excellent! Looking forward to pics, your thoughts and a range report.

 

[Kayin]

So has anyone tried putting the pro slide on the normal hellcat frame? I saw that someone put the RDP slide and comp on the pro frame and it worked fine.

 

[Toddzilla67]

We went to the range last night and put 100 rounds through the Hellcat Pro—the wife shot 40, I shot the rest. My wife also had her Sig P365XL so she could directly compare the two guns. In the end, she didn’t care for the Hellcat Pro as much as her gun. She did comment that the webbing between her thumb and forefinger hurt when she shot and the trigger bothered her finger.

Out of the box I put the first three shots low and left out of the red at five yards. My previous pistol was a slightly bulkier, slightly longer-barreled Glock 19 so this wasn’t a complete surprise. I mostly chalked it up to squeezing the Hellcat Pro a bit too tightly, maybe trying to find just the right hand position due to the narrower frame. So I put the gun down for about 10 seconds, picked it up again, and adjusted my grip. I was better after that, but I clearly need more time to train and practice with this pistol. I finished with the target at 25’ for the last 15 rounds and felt just okay about how I shot.

But I like the well-placed stippling, the sights, the trigger, and the mag release position all better than my stock Glock. Plus the rail accepts my Mantis sensor without needing to buy an accessory rail and the slide is machined for a red dot if I ever wanted to add one.

All in all, I like this gun and I’ll like shooting it even more with focused practice and training. Back to range Saturday morning!

 

[WVSurveyor]

Back to range Saturday morning!

Nice report Toddzilla67. Really like the pics. I would guess, if you shoot right handed, the low left issue is mostly due to trigger pull. I would chalk that up to a new gun with a little different trigger than you've been used to. With a little practice and good smooth trigger press I'm confident you'll be putting rounds exactly where you intend to in short order. What sight picture are you using? If the Hellcat is like my other Springfields, it would be the top of the front sight to be the intended point of impact. Not sure SA designed it that way or not since it's mostly for personal protection.
Certain pistols bother my hands as well. Glocks don't fit me well at all and cause discomfort when I shoot them. I've had a number of different guns that cause trigger pinch, so I understand what your wife experienced. Her 365XL is a good solid weapon though and will serve her well. It's excellent that you two can share the enjoyment of shooting together.

 

[Toddzilla67]

Nice report Toddzilla67. Really like the pics. I would guess, if you shoot right handed, the low left issue is mostly due to trigger pull. I would chalk that up to a new gun with a little different trigger than you've been used to. With a little practice and good smooth trigger press I'm confident you'll be putting rounds exactly where you intend to in short order. What sight picture are you using? If the Hellcat is like my other Springfields, it would be the top of the front sight to be the intended point of impact. Not sure SA designed it that way or not since it's mostly for personal protection.
Certain pistols bother my hands as well. Glocks don't fit me well at all and cause discomfort when I shoot them. I've had a number of different guns that cause trigger pinch, so I understand what your wife experienced. Her 365XL is a good solid weapon though and will serve her well. It's excellent that you two can share the enjoyment of shooting together.

You’re right. I was likely so concerned about making sure I had a strong grip that my finger was too deep into the trigger well. More focus and some re-training coming Saturday.

I would still consider myself a new shooter since (up until January) I really hadn’t shot any guns for a couple of decades. So the learning curve was steep for me, but a lot of focused dry fire training (along with stance, grip, trigger management, sight picture, etc.) the past few months has helped a ton.

I liked my Glock 19 (my first pistol), but I wouldn’t say I loved it. I shot it fairly well and I liked how it fit my hand, but recently decided that it would not be my EDC. I bought the G19 just over a year ago since it felt the best in my hand and I shot it considerably better than the subcompacts I tried. After 1500 live rounds through the G19 I’m a lot more comfortable shooting and the subcompacts aren’t as problematic. I’m liking the Hellcat Pro so far and anxious to see how Saturday’s range visit goes.

Cheers!

 

[RevV]

We went to the range last night and put 100 rounds through the Hellcat Pro—the wife shot 40, I shot the rest. My wife also had her Sig P365XL so she could directly compare the two guns. In the end, she didn’t care for the Hellcat Pro as much as her gun. She did comment that the webbing between her thumb and forefinger hurt when she shot and the trigger bothered her finger.

Out of the box I put the first three shots low and left out of the red at five yards. My previous pistol was a slightly bulkier, slightly longer-barreled Glock 19 so this wasn’t a complete surprise. I mostly chalked it up to squeezing the Hellcat Pro a bit too tightly, maybe trying to find just the right hand position due to the narrower frame. So I put the gun down for about 10 seconds, picked it up again, and adjusted my grip. I was better after that, but I clearly need more time to train and practice with this pistol. I finished with the target at 25’ for the last 15 rounds and felt just okay about how I shot.

But I like the well-placed stippling, the sights, the trigger, and the mag release position all better than my stock Glock. Plus the rail accepts my Mantis sensor without needing to buy an accessory rail and the slide is machined for a red dot if I ever wanted to add one.

All in all, I like this gun and I’ll like shooting it even more with focused practice and training. Back to range Saturday morning!

Thanks for the information and range report. Glad you like it.

 

[RevV]

Toddzllla your MantisX can give helpful feedback that helps in perfecting grip and trigger finger placement on a particular gun.

I use my MantisX primarily for dry fire practice and I really enjoy it.

 

[RevV]

Nice shooting by the way!

 

[Toddzilla67]

Nice shooting by the way!

Thanks!

BTW, I’m at 4200 dry fire rounds after 11 weeks. I’ve used the Mantis for about 100 shots on the Hellcat and there is no indication of big technique deficiencies, but I know that I still need to fix bad habits and create better ones. My lifetime average on the Mantis is 92.8, this week’s is 94.0 with the Hellcat. Even though I’ve trained a lot at home, live fire really puts technique and habits to the test.

I may get to the range tomorrow…and Saturday.

 

[RevV]

Thanks!

BTW, I’m at 4200 dry fire rounds after 11 weeks. I’ve used the Mantis for about 100 shots on the Hellcat and there is no indication of big technique deficiencies, but I know that I still need to fix bad habits and create better ones. My lifetime average on the Mantis is 92.8, this week’s is 94.0 with the Hellcat. Even though I’ve trained a lot at home, live fire really puts technique and habits to the test.

I may get to the range tomorrow…and Saturday.

Awesome! With dry fire counts that high are you using snap caps?

I called both Glock and Springfield and both said that a little dry fire is fine, but if one dry fires a lot (which they would not quantify), then one should use snap caps.

I've tried AZoom and Tipton, but my current favorite are the orange plastic ones made by Glock.

 

[Toddzilla67]

I’ve got to get more snap caps and start using them.

Another 175 rounds this morning and I’m liking this gun even more.

 

[Voltaire]

When going to a range or other to shoot, keep in mind that if one is forced to ever shoot at any aggressor, (hopefully this never happens), that there are no rings or a target on their chest to aim at. That is why i like using IPSC targets which are plain and the shooter must determine the point of aim.

 

[SJ 40]

When going to a range or other to shoot, keep in mind that if one is forced to ever shoot at any aggressor, (hopefully this never happens), that there are no rings or a target on their chest to aim at. That is why i like using IPSC targets which are plain and the shooter must determine the point of aim.

Center of mass and one to the upper panel works every time.