Introduction
Anyone who regularly carries a handgun is familiar with the downsides of concealed carry. But every now and then somebody innovates an idea that’s like a ray of sunshine in the dark. Polymer framed pistols have become a mainstay in our handgun market, and some of them bring incredible features to concealed carry enthusiasts. Today we are reviewing one such pistol that promises a perfect balance of concealment and capacity, the Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro.
Big claims by Springfield Armory (SA) about the smallest footprint in its class are matched with impressive magazine capacities of 15+1 and 17+1. From a small pistol that’s only an inch wide and weighs in at 21 ounces. As both a CCW and general firearm enthusiast, I was encouraged by the opportunity to see how the Hellcat Pro stands up to these claims.
The Hellcat Pro OSP
The Hellcat Pro OSP (optical sight pistol) also incorporates the very popular trend of allowing installation of red dot sights. It’s Melonited® slide comes ready to mount RMSC sized red dots that co-witness with the sights. The sights themselves include a Tritium luminescent front sights and U-shaped rear sight. The sights line up beautifully, and when the included Viridian RFXII red dot (actually green) its zeroed its very conducive to aiming well.
Additional features like the loaded chamber indicator are nice for safe operation. And the slide is texture-cut both front and rear allowing you options for grip. The polymer frame also features a nice texture for better purchase, and a reversible mag-release in case you grip with the wrong hand. The crisp trigger features a pretty standard blade safety, but no other safeties which I prefer for CCW. There is other models of the HC Pro that do include a manual safety if that’s your style.
I don’t consider my hands to be big or small (but don’t let that fool you), and my average hands fill the grip area perfectly. The extended 17-round magazines add additional grip area if you are one of those bigger handed fellows. And up front you’ll find the typical picatinny rail for weapon lights.
Specifications
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Color | Black |
| Barrel Length | 3.7 inches |
| Slide | Billet Machined, Optics Ready |
| Frame | Black Polymer w/ Adaptive Grip |
| Sights | Tritium Front, Tactical Rack U-Notch Rear |
| Recoil System | Dual Recoil Spring, Full Length Guide Rod |
| Grip Width | 1 inch |
| Weight | 21 Ounces |
| Length | 6.6 Inches |
| Height | 4.8 Inches |
| Magazines | 1x15rnd & 4x17rnd included |
| MSRP | $1050.00 |
The Hellcat Pro I received came from Sportsman’s Warehouse as a package. It included the Mounted Viridian RFXII red dot, extra magazines, both a compact pistol soft case and a range bag.
Hellcat Pro OSP Initial Impressions
My first impressions when I pulled the Hellcat Pro from its soft case was how compact it is. The narrow frame is very apparent, making me immediately think of how less-invasive it would be on my belt. The whole design of the Hellcat is very conducive to concealment, it has very clean edges and few snag-points.
The gripping areas on the frame and slide were adequate. When I pulled the slide back the first few times I noticed the dual recoil springs are stiffer than I had anticipated. I suppose I wouldn’t have minded a slightly more course slide cut design for better purchase. But at the same time I understand this is a CCW gun, not a competition pistol. So there will be less drawing of slides, and more sliding in and out of your waistband, so the texture is probably just right. The overall feel of the gun was fantastic, and made me very optimistic about its potential.
Shooting the Hellcat Pro
With a can full of 115 grain ammunition from MWLP, I headed out to shoot the little Hellcat. It wasn’t long before I was stuffing mags full of cartridges. Unfortunately that was where I met my first hiccup. Stiff magazines springs are common when dealing with larger capacity, but I found that on the 17 round Hellcat mags loading the last round was unbearably hard. It literally felt like I was going to break something, on at least one of the mags I was unable to get the 17th cartridge in.
Loading
Loading full magazines into the pistol took a really firm slap to seat unless the slide was open. With the gun loaded it was time to start snapping the trigger, which felt great. Small 9mm pistols like this are often a little harder to keep on target through recoil, and the Hellcat was no different. It was certainly pretty peppy as rounds flashed downrange. I tend to prefer larger pistols for this reason, but I’m sure that with proper practice and training I would be more comfortable.
I shot through all the magazines, performing reloads in between. Again, I am used to larger pistols, and particularly those that use flared magwells. So it was no surprise that it took more focus to stab the fresh magazines into the narrow magwell of the Hellcat Pro. I also noticed another issue while performing reloads, the Hellcat would frequently fail to lock open when empty. At first I thought it was a specific magazine. Additional testing seemed to prove that it was just a random occurrence among all of them. I suppose it is possible that my finger might have been touching the slide release, but I don’t think so.
Sighting
The sights on the little Hellcat Pro stood out great for me. I felt they were easy enough to pick up even coming through the spicier recoil. The natural pointing angle of the little pistol felt right, and it was always quick to get on target.
The Viridian RFXII reflex sight seemed like a perfect match for the Hellcat, at only 4 ounces it doesn’t add much to the pistol. The RFX features an instant on/off feature, which I am afraid may have been a bit glitchy. During the course of our shooting, it turned off and back on more than once. The ambient light detection feature adjusts the brightness of the dot depending on conditions, but it changed far more than expected while shooting. Even in an indoor controlled shooting range. Obviously this is not what should be expected, and I suppose there may have been some reason for the malfunction, and its certainly nothing to hold against the Hellcat.
Shop all the Hellcat Models at Sportsmans Warehouse
Controls
The trigger and other controls on the Hellcat Pro were great. The clean break of the trigger felt very consistent and just right for a CCW pistol. At first I thought maybe the slide release was a bit stiff, but it seemed to lighten up a bit after some shooting and break-in.
The magazine release is pretty low profile, which is good for a CCW pistol to avoid inadvertent release. Even so, dropping the mag was perfectly natural and tactile under your thumb. The takedown lever took a second to figure out, but it too made breaking down the pistol quick and painless for cleaning. Speaking of breaking-down, with the pistol apart for cleaning, I was happy to see some quality internals. By that I mean not a bunch of cheap stamped parts, but more cast and MIM’d parts it seemed.
Pros & Cons of the Hellcat Pro
Lets get into some of the reasons why you would or wouldn’t pick this gun over others. We’ll start with the positive; This things is very compact and neat, it is easily concealed and comfortable to carry as well. I would say there are few pistols I found as comfy as this one, other guns like the S&W Shield and Glock 43 are also great but hold fewer rounds. If you are used to Glock 19 sized pistols then this will feel much better in your belt. I really appreciated the snag-free design, the great controls and especially the high capacity. From an aesthetic view, the gun looks good, and no demerits were added for the sin of molding “grip zone” into the grip of the pistol.
But I suppose the capacity comes at a price, I was a little bit let down by the mag performance. The occasional mag that won’t quite hold the full 17 rounds is a little irritating, but thats still quite a few more than the other pistols I mentioned. I was also turned off by the failures to lock open when empty, but again I’d rather get a click after shooting 16-17 rounds than have to reload after as few as 6-7 rounds.
All these little CCW pistols are a little harder to control than your full-size models. Depending on who is shooting the gun this could be a big deal. For example, I would not want my 100 pound wife to shoot this pistol as it would likely be a whole lotta flinching and vertical stringing. But with some practice these things can be overcome. If you are familiar with shooting, this is much less a problem. Lastly, the Hellcat is made overseas, which for some folks is a deal breaker.
Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro Value
Springfield Armory has an MSRP of $1050.00 which is no small token. However I have found this pistol for sale all over the internet for under six-hundred dollars, which is MUCH easier to swallow. I was genuinely surprised with the deal this one came in, with the RFXII red dot, one 15-round mag and three 17-round magazines, a padded soft-case and a range bag all for under six-hundred dollars as well. With other comparable guns asking the same price for half the capacity, I think the Hellcat Pro is easily a good value.
Conclusion
Despite the few hiccups, the Hellcat Pro still seems like a pretty good value. Every time I expected it to go bang, it most certainly did (unless it was empty 😅). And that is likely the most important feature in a CCW pistol. The other features also make it a good option for a carry pistol, and I expect it might not take much tinkering to work out the bugs I mentioned above. But if you are the kind of guy who demands perfection, then maybe you might have to adjust your sights a little higher. I hope I’ve made it easier for you to make your choice, good luck!