Springfield Armory’s New Hellcat Pro- Goldilocks and Guns
The never-ending search for the perfect handgun is a lot like the fairy tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” - some guns are too-small, others too-large, and some, for unknown, near mystical kinesthetic reason, feel “just right.”
That’s one reason why becoming enthused about shooting leads to the accumulation of stuff.
Today, the holsters, belts, and magazine pouches that have been building up for decades on my shelves are regularly being joined by lights, sights, and triggers. Gunmakers have realized that shooters have a lot in common with the tuners. Like them, we can take a reasonably-priced, decently performing gun and add a small fortune in accessories. Like “tuners” we’re trying to turn a normal gun into a (comparatively) fire-breathing machine that is distinctly ours.
Handguns aren’t quite as bad as the modern sporting rifle, but there are still plenty of options available - once you find “the gun” that fits.
In today’s news section, Springfield Armory announces what would appear to be another of the guns that will be a hot ticket with shooters for some time to come: the Hellcat Pro.
The Pro model is essentially an upsized Hellcat. The original, via some sort of mag magic, holds 13 on call in the extended magazine.
The extended mag added just enough size to the grip to enable me to shoot the Hellcat with that magazine considerably better than the standard one. The rounds are simply a bonus.
The Hellcat Pro has an extended grip. It makes the “extended” Hellcat magazine standard. No extended magazine necessary to put 15+1 in a gun that remains a micro-class size.
Extra points to S-A for helping tame some of the snappy response characteristic of that entire class of pistol with just a little more polymer.
If you have an original Hellcat, you’re not going to have to spring for new magazines (unless you want to) -the extended magazines, minus the spacers, work just fine in the Pro. It also means you could carry a Hellcat Pro magazine in the original by simply placing a spacer on it.
The test model provided included S-A’s diminutive HEX Wasp red dot sight. But the radius of the sights has been improved as well. As the Hellcat Pro barrel grew from three inches to 3.7 inches, the overall length went from six to 6.6 inches (yes, the math seems off, but it’s not).
When it did, the front sight moved forward - roughly the distance it would move if you simply pivoted the front sight, turning the front edge into the rear one. Not a lot, but extension of the radius helps put the front sight “ball” into the rear sight “bucket” that much easier.
Seeing them better means shooting better.
Which brings me to the Hex Wasp. It was bright and easy-to-see. What it wasn’t was correctly adjusted. When testing, I put the dot right in the center of my target and pressed the trigger-repeatedly. When I retrieved the target (only 7 yards away), I had nothing in the center. But there was a quarter-sized group six inches low and nearly inches left. As the range master wryly noted “that may be the tightest group of misses I’ve seen in quite some time.”
When I ignored the dot and used the ball-and-bucket sights, the hits weren’t as tight, but they were all in - or near - the center.
In short, I like how the Hellcat Pro shoots.
My hands aren’t exactly large; but they’re wide in the palm area. To the point my piano teacher had great hopes for my piano career. To play “tenths” on a standard-key piano keyboard you need “large” hands- defined as a span of at least 8 1/2 inches. Mine span closer to nine. Insufficient to qualify as “meathooks” but enough to make micro compacts feel even more “micro-sized” than they are.
The Hellcat Pro, like SIG’s P365 XL, feels considerably better in my hand. After the range session, I never reloaded the standard the Hellcat mag. It felt too-small. So I approve of the Hellcat Pro’s up-sized grips. They feel right, - big enough for me to grip solidly and control.
Before you start thinking “here comes the shilling” peek at the three pistol photo. Two are from the depths of my safe. The 9mm Hellcat Pro is new. The Colt MK4/Series 80 Government Model (a .380) and diminutive Colt Automatic (.25 caliber) are decidedly not new.
I’ve carried both Colts a lot over the years, along with Smith & Wesson and Ruger polymer micros pistols in .380. They all felt very small.
The really small ones are..snappy for me to shoot. Not the case with the new breed of micro compacts with extended magazines. That’s the best way to explain the way they feel to me. They enabled me to step up the power without radically increasing the weight or profile - the beauty of polymer over metal.
But I’m not the only person with the Wires who’s shot the new Hellcat Pro. Rich Grassi’s had a range session, so I solicited his thoughts as well.
Here are Rich’s first thoughts:
“First time out of the box was at the range. Old-time gun guy Mike Rafferty checked it for condition, then spent some time lining it up as if to fire (we were at the range.) When he first gazed through the Hex Wasp optic (already mounted on the pistol), he expressed surprise. He found the iron sights to be quite visible as well.
I put fifteen rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 115gr. FTX through the gun from seven yards, just to check the Wasp's zero. Shooting on a B-8 bullseye repair center, I put the first five rounds I ever fired from the gun inside the "X" ring. The next five, I shot left-hand unsupported. The snappy recoil of the light, thin framed pistol was enough to "clutch" the trigger, putting a single round high and right in the "8" ring.
The last rounds I fired right-hand unsupported. All rounds hit inside the "10" ring except my convulsive flier. The gun, while snappy, can be controlled with just a little attention to detail. I'm getting ready to test it out to further distances and to shoot the close quarters evaluation.I'll know more soon and will keep you posted.”
In short, everyone who shot it (including my range master and the range owner yesterday) really liked the upsizing.
The owner probably summed up what Springfield hopes to hear: “they’re going to sell a ton of these.” I wouldn’t argue with him.
The MSRP for the Hellcat Pro’s given as $634, up from the $587 for the original Hellcat. Not certain what market conditions will do to pricing in your area, as we’ve seen it all over the board around the country. But optics-ready Hellcats are showing up in search engines at around $489 and up…mostly up.
And your existing Hellcat holsters appear to work fine with the Pro model.
Another solid gun coming into a marketplace. Great time to be a shooter.
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd
Editor’s Note: My Hellcat pistol isn’t shown in today’s review. That’s because it has a bright-red Apex aftermarket trigger installed. We spoke with Apex and they tell us the trigger kit for the Apex should not be installed in the Apex Pro. They’re working the Hellcat Pro, but as is the case with any change, caution everyone to make certain any replacement trigger is appropriate before making a change.