I think this gun is exactly 1 inch wide, the shield is .95 inch wide, the sheild with the flush is 4.6 inches of height, the hellcat 4.0 inches high with the flush, but the hellcat holds four more rounds. Incredible. I love living in the future.
Agreed.recently held 365 & XL.for the 1st time.had a really natural feeling in my average sized hands. Between those two XL was definitely my favorite.never had a red dot but may buy one one day. The U notch,feed ramp,FIRING PIN ,trigger safety (ect)& overall precision manufacturing & thoughtful engineering of this handgun is impressive.Will at least hold /feel this gun & deepening on how that goes shoot a box in both the Hcat & XL before making a choice.definitely in the running because of this video. Nice crossbreed holster too. Trigger guard tensioner looks good. Great review.
Hammer Striker check out the pro tech (i think it’s called)holster line.calls them kybreds.the guy shoots p365 a lot.hes a gun engineer.super smart & talk about thinking of everything on a holster design.look him up. Good stuff.
Just echoing others here, one of the very best gun reviews I've ever watched. Specifically, a most impressive feature, to me, was your discussion about the firing pin design, and how it may have been intended to be more robust when compared to other small form-factor guns. I always look for your reviews first before I buy any new gun. Thanks again; nice job.
Thank you. It definitely appears that Springfield was watching what was going wrong with other similar guns when they designed this and mitigated the issues in their design.
Dude how am i just finding your channel? This was amazing, one of the most straight forward, well spoken gun reviews ive ever watched. You earned a new loyal sub, stay safe!
I've been watching and subbed to hammer striker for years. Always thought his channel deserved more subs, but hopefully he makes something on the side from youtube. It's well deserved
@@HammerStriker i have to agree and so far of the ones i have watched you were the only one that showed the striker difference and that it wasnt drag per say as much as just design. very nice review.
I love my Hellcat . they also make 15 round magazines from Springfield. and that's what I use in mine . it works quite well. comfortable and very concealable with a 15 round mag . weight of the 15 round mag helps with the stabbiness . I love it
You're close up of the firing pin explains all the other people who think they are getting striker drag. Thank you for that! Striker drag is worrisome but now I know that its not truly drag. Which means hello next carry pistol! I still need to put it up against the p365 and see which works better for me, but I'm really digging what I've seen so far!
Texture on the guide rod is for when you’re pressing the gun against someone, it doesn’t slip off. The gun is designed to function while doing this. Many other pistols will knock out of battery and not fire for this close combat situation.
Well done review. Nice to see a respectable American giving a quality and informative review. Tired of watching reviews with people who have no idea what they are talking about.
Nice detailed review.....especally the trapezoid-shaped firing pin end....I don't think any other review brought this up...and yes, it can be mis-judged as striker-drag on the primer. Good show for the detail mavens among us......
Great video, just bought this gun a month ago. It comes with a 9 11 and 15 round magazine now. I carry with 15 round mag and still amazing concealment. Mine also came with a bottom rail red dot for $549.
@user-hn8to6ck8x Well, it is reliable. I also have a 5th Gen Glock for comparison. Both good guns, but the recoil is a lot more on Hellcat, and it takes me more time to get back on target.
I just like seeing a honest review. Too many biased Glock guys out there hate Springfield for some reason. I have had both and prefer Springfield. Maybe when they come out with 40 cal I will look at a Hellcat.
Great review. I recently purchased the Hellcat and found it very easy to shoot. My other pistol is a Shield 9. I expected more recoil from the Hellcat due to its slightly smaller size, but found it to be very manageable. I've only shot 150 rounds through it, but from the very first few rounds, I was hitting the target as well as I do the Shield. Still love S&W Shields, but Springfield could very well become my new favorite.
This firearm is designed to fire when pushed up against a somewhat hard target and still stay in battery, unlike most semi-auto handguns who go out of battery when pushed up against something hard. So I'm assuming that the longer length and stippling on the end of the guide rod helps in some way. Springfield Armory has a video on their website showing how it works.
Thanks for showing that unique striker, that was a concern of mine with these micro 9mm pistols. Springfield Armory torture tests their guns to avoid customer beta testing issues like Sig.
Now that is how you shoot, take aim and pull, reset. A similar RU-vid channel just shoots and shoots till he’s empty, bang bang, bang, bang. Awesome review! Thanks.
To be honest, I thought the G43 with an after market 8 round mag conversion would do just fine for most of the seasons carry in Florida. Then the P365 showed up. Wow, what firepower. Still the grip was just too short for me. Handling the 365XL at a gun show made me an instant convert. I just find the latest 365 to be perfect. 12 rounds in a flush fit mag and a fifteen rounder on the belt and I am satisfied that my self defense needs are well met. Combine that with night sites and you have a happy ending. Now along comes the Hellcat. One round more does not matter to me at this point. Of course my Springfield firearms have all operated as top notch machines but I just don't need another pistol in this config and hope to sell the G43.
I just put a deposit on one yesterday, now just got to wait for my purchase permit in the mail. Great review, I'm stoked that I'm getting one of my own
@@HammerStriker well I got it and was absolutely in love with it until I went to shoot it and the trigger locked up. Sometimes it goes click and sometimes the trigger locks. I'm not paying nearly 6 hundred dollars for a gun that might not go off when I pull the trigger
I agree with all of those who said this is one of the best reviews on RU-vid! No, idiotic head-banging music, very well paced and thorough, more DETAIL than other reviewers, and SUPERB photography! Nobody else noted the nickel-boron coating of the moving sear parts! Now I am certain that I need this pistol...……………………….elsullo
I own a 365XL and love it and I've gotten to play with the hellcat a bit at work and I do have to say that its a very nice gun. If I hadn't bought my Sig, I may have bought a hellcat instead. Also, I'm glad you pointed out the firing pin because some of my customers thought I was crazy when I was describing what I saw when I took one apart and now I can point them towards your review so they can actually see it.
Thanks for this review, I won a Springfield hellcat OSP model. My youngest daughter will be visiting from North Dakota. Single mom of two. She will look at it we will clean it and take it to the range if she decides she wants it it will be hers for the home. This would give her another information avenue if she decides to keep it. And of course safety is always number one.
The best reason for a pinky extension is for drawing the gun from a holster, it makes it super easy instead of having to grab in just the right way. I don't need a pinky on my grip to shoot just fine but for pulling the gun in a hurry, it's a must to have that extension for me.
@@joshd94 hey that’s not a bad idea, if this demorat regime has their way, we may be limited to a 3 round mag 🤣. God forbid if we the people have means to defend ourselves
@@kiddt1999 I sure as hell hope that they don’t get their way. Our very country is on the line. The hellcat is just amazing. I will admit I like the 45 more than the 9. But I’m willing to compromise.
Your channel has very quickly become one of my two favorites for reviews! I love that you take extra time away from the range to look at the gun and explain features, size comparisons, etc. I've learned, and noticed, more of those little things from your channel because you take your time, and your videos aren't half filled with you putting rounds downrange. Yes, it's good to see those moments too, and to hear feedback from reviewers on reliability and functionality but that can be summarized at the end with a lot less video time. Thank you for being so informative!!!
One of the best reviews on this gun i have seen. The overall quality of this gun is great. I wasn't really interested in it until i seen one in my local gun shop and tried the trigger and sight picture. Very Nice comes to mind. I've been carrying my p938 Sig because of its compact size and accuracy but im going to switch to the Hellcat do to its capacity. Im really happy with this gun and think $599.00 is reasonable for a gun of this quality.
Thank you so much for the very in depth review. My local gun shop was having a sale on this firearm with a huge bundle, I went in and purchased it! I was trying to decide between this and a sig p365. I like the look and feel of the hellcat over the sig, what really sold me over the sig is being able to replace all the rails and the thick firing pin and I love the trigger. God bless keep doing what you do.
got mine, shot it today...a little more recoil than a P365 but accurate, nice trigger and I like it better than my p365. If it passes the 500 round mark it will be my carry.
@@troytruong8246 Of course they're snappy, they have considerably less mass than a larger handgun, so the inertia from the shot moves the gun more. If you don't like them snappy, get a bigger gun.
There is a vid of it doing 2k rounds uncleaned from the box, zero malfunctions. I put 500+ through mine, had a minor "almost" FTF on some of the cheapo ammo I tried, but it will ran it. I'm gonna carry it.
Love my hellcat! Finally got to try her out at the range and very impressed with performance and the size is perfect for smaller frames ( women) highly recommend...great video!
Just walked into a store looking to get a Glock or a Walther. Sold out due to the pandemic. Picked up a hellcat instead and wasn’t sure. Now I feel better. Thank you.
Good review, thanks for mentioning the striking pin since other guns have issues with such. Nice gruping 👍.. great little gun the only issue is that Springfield had many issues before and people don’t forget that easy, I bought the S&W MP Shield and I’m very happy with it.
I was hoping that you would review the Hellcat. Unfortunately it will be a while before we see one in the wild locally... Nice to see the case that the pistol actually will come in to us mortals and not just the fancy media kits that have been sent to the gun channels. Thanks for another well done and informative review.
Thank you. Surprisingly they are staring to be available. Guns Galore has one now and I saw one somewhere else, so there is hope you will be able to score one if you want one.
Great review and thanks . My hellcat has the Romeo optic . I took it off and use the incredible iron sights . The action is incredibly smooth . Love this gun .
Appreciate the depth of this review. Everything I wanted to know about the Hellcat, nothing I didn’t. No hype, just facts and your thoughts on the practicality. First I heard about the Hellcat Series. Maybe I’ll wait for the 45ACP.
Springfield has stated that as the Hellcat was designed for minimal size specifically around the 9mm, there wouldn’t be a .45 version coming. That may change, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Well done review. I just got my Hellcat last week and brought it home and found I was shooting left consistently. Of course my first thought was to blame to small gun and snappy recoil. However, when I looked at the rear sight much closer I could see it was obviously oriented to the left. I hated having to put the slide in a vise and bang on the sight of a brand new gun. It sure has dampened my enthusiasm for the gun.
Thank you. It is disappointing that you had that issue, oddly enough the P365 in this video had the same issue and I had to pull out my pusher to center the sight.
Excellent Review! Thank You for the detail! Professionally done with no stone un-turned it appears. Hope mine (and me) shoot that well after I get mine!
The trigger pull is a little tight for me, especially for a smaller pistol and maintaining accuracy. I recommend the Power River Professional trigger mods for the Hellcat - really completes the pistol in my opinion. Great review here!
Thank you. Apex has also produced a trigger, we did a review on it installed in the OSP Hellcat. It is reasonably priced and improves the trigger quite nicely.
mikeahboy I went with the tan color so it was a Littel more . The gun store basically charge me the same price Springfield had it for $559 for the black one and the tan was a little over $600 I had one person day I could have got it for $500 . I went to the site he mentioned And it’s out of stock . I’m waiting for mine hopefully I don’t have to wait to long
Thank you for giving an honest review. There’s a lot of haters out there. They are very biased which is natural however that is not what reviewing is about. This is the second time I have seen this video. I purchased a Hellcat so I am really excited to shoot it. Thanks again! Instant sub!
Bought this for my bday in March but I’m pissed I haven’t been able to shoot it yet due to everything going on with Covid and having to stay at home. Great review
Shot this and the p365 for the first time recently..was not feeling the Hellcat personally. Had some nice points to it for sure. But for shooting and the feeling of the gun in hand, the p365 was my choice
own a sig sauer p365 love it. my brother got a hellcat so i tried it out. great gun just not that much different than my sig. think i will wait for a .45 in either the sig or hellcat.
Fantastic review. Purchased one about a month ago, and have enjoyed shooting it. Only complaint I have is something you mentioned concerning turning up the front lever to release the slide. Perhaps it's my age (70), but I hope it loosens up because it is really hard for me to turn. Just wondering... Have you found the lever to get easier over time?
Grip safety saved me from having a negligent discharge during a one on one training in the winter months. My jacket pull-string button got caught in the trigger as I was re-holstering.
I was going to say that i thought my gen 2 glock had that same type of firing pin. Makes perfect sense and most likely reduces light primer strikes also.
Great review. I wish this was available when I got the Glock 43. I would have chosen this no question. Don't get me wrong, the G43 is a totally awesome every day carry. I got the Striker Industries two round extension that looks like it was made by Glock. It continues the lines and shape and is basically the G-43X that came out later, so that gives me 8+1. But it kills the small compact size somewhat. This you can keep that size and get a much better capacity. Thickness isn't the issue with concealability. It's the grip length. I will probably let the wife have the G-43 and I will carry this. Nice.
The 43 shoots and handles way better in my opinion. If you can’t get your CCW needs done with 7 rounds (plus another mag) you are in more trouble than the Hellcats going to get you out of. 99.9% of CCW defense is one quick volley, and almost everybody will place those shots better with the 43.
@@usernamesrlamo Yes, I agree with you. I have the 2 round extension for the 43 mags and that gives me 8+1 plus the 6 rounds in the other mag. I only did the extension to one mag, because it sticks out quite a bit and sometimes you want more concealability than two rounds, so having the standard mag lets me do both. And I chuckled when I saw your comment about needing more than that you got other problems.
Excellent review. Few wasted words if any. You got right to the talking points and kept my attention right to the end. I'm a bit of a skip to highlights viewer, so I must say well done. Now I'm a new subscriber. I will be watching for more reviews on your channel.
Great video...was always a smith & Wesson fan, but I was in the market for a new firearm and wanted to venture outside Smith and Wesson..this video helped me make my decision on the Hellcat...going to my local firearms store tomorrow to pick one up!!
Good Job!! Explanation and description spot on...been caring a wheel gun for 7 years now and trying to decide on a square back auto...this video sure helps!! I'm a small handed old guy and just accustomed to S&W Airweight and a Ruger LCRx...
I've owned the Springfield 45 duty and it was a great gun, thinking seriously about buying a hellcat for off duty carry. Great review and very informative.
It’s super snappy in my opinion, easily the snappiest of all the major 9mm micro size competitors. No way is that extra round worth it over the 365. The G43 and EC9 have better recoil and even with fewer rounds, your placement is what matters. It’s has some really nice features, just don’t understand why anybody would choose it over other options, other than to feel machismo about having the smallest highest capacity 9mm available.
first and only video review that showed the striker on the Hellcat. thanks! makes one feel that would be less likely to break or malfunction. Compared with P365, though has not malfunctioned for me.
I was really tempted to buy this gun, I love my p365, ran like a champ in my tactical pistol course. I'm going to be getting an m&p 2.0 compact just to have a nicer big gun, for those big gun situations lol
Want a side- by-side range review against the P365. My initial opinion is very positive. Let' s see a few 500-1000 rnd test reviews before I pop for it to make sure there are no initial problems like the P365 had. Thx. 👍😁🇺🇸
First of all.. Great Review!! However, the Hellcat, like all micro 9's, do drag the striker. Springfield can't break the laws of physics. So, what did they do? They built the striker so that drag doesn't cause issues. Great job Springfield! Love my Hellcat.
You're correct. I'll just not that Springfield, however did not develop this pistol, but rather a Croatian company called HS Produkt; Springfield just markets it under its brand
I love my Hellcat, it is my EDC. I did replace the trigger with an APEX, and I got two mags with the pinky extension. My backup EDC is an S&W Sheild, also with an APEX trigger
Real nice firearm and review. I’ve notice that the takedown slide which operates up unto the side appears to mare the finish. Looks like with continuous use (cleaning) you most probably will have a significant mark above the take down slide. Easy fix would be to put a piece of tape in the area when breaking the gun down for cleaning.
Thank you. There is actually a significant gap between the arm and the slide - what you may be seeing is smudges from my finger which this camera picks up very well.
