There are many people in the world who are captivated by what is the newest, latest, greatest thing. I’ve heard it called BSO: Bright Shiny Object syndrome, and, certainly, our culture, with its heavy emphasis on marketing, encourages that by constantly trying to tantalize people and get people to compare their worth (in their own minds) to other people.
But there are other folks who don’t buy into the if-it’s-newer-then-it-must-be-better idea. No, instead, they want what they can, from experience (their own or someone else’s), depend on.
Personally, I like new developments in the firearms world in terms of better ways to do things. But I don’t want to bet my life on something that hasn’t been put through it in the real world. In other words, I like new with its possibilities, but I don’t value new above what I can depend on working in a pinch.
With that in mind, some people, no doubt, have held off from buying one of the newer Springfield Armory pistols, namely the Hellcat and the Hellcat Pro, because, when released, they had newer technology allowing higher capacities in subcompact size concealable pistol. That type of capacity has become commonplace over the last few years, but was cutting edge in that size pistol when it came out.
One anonymous writer at guns.com is blunt about how he (yes, I’m assuming that the writer’s gender is he) wasn’t a Hellcat fan when they first came out, but he’s been handling a Hellcat Pro for the last six months. His thoughts? He writes,
Throughout more than a dozen range sessions in the past six months, I have run over 2,000 rounds through the Hellcat and have not documented a malfunction that was the fault of the gun. In other words, even the two or three stoppages I encountered were due to user errors such as not fully seating the mag.
That’s respectable dependability. The writer continues:
The Hellcat Pro, while not an Olympic match pistol, is by all means more than accurate enough for personal protection needs. The combination of the well-thought-out ergonomics – I love the grip – decent trigger, and great sights allow it to deliver.
The pistol is easily recoverable and holds on target well, even with full-house self-defense loads.
That’s the kind of accuracy that I’d want for daily carry. The writer’s conclusion?
In full disclosure, I had no overwhelming desire to review the Hellcat or Hellcat Pro, but Springfield sent this one to me for T&E on a 60-day loan. After the 60 days were up and they wanted it back, I went ahead and bought it, as it won me over – a little “9mm that could,” so to speak.
It delivered on the range in terms of being a dependable pistol; there are holsters widely available for it that I like; and the gun just feels great in the hand. I’ll admit that I had not been open-minded to the Hellcat series at first, seeing it as an also-ran when stacked against the P365, but I can now vouch for it being a decent option for those looking for an EDC piece.
I carry it.
That pretty much says it all.
Now, obviously, whether you choose to carry this pistol is going to depend on your needs and whether you find this pistol comfortable for your particular hands.
But if you want a dependable carry pistol for your next purchase, the Hellcat Pro could be one worth considering.
