July 1st, 2020
2:34:42 runtime
The Springfield Armory Hellcat is the smallesthighest-capacity micro 9mm handgun availableon the market.
But, this isnt new information for anyone that has been paying attention to the concealed carry handgun market.
Frankly, none of these words conjure up an image of a robust and capable tool.
And none of those words accurately describe the reliability, shootability and durability of the Hellcat.
So, you could say that the Hellcat is a bit of a paradox.
Simply put, the Hellcat is small, but also mighty.
How do I know this?
What if I were to tell you that this was the second 10K for this exact gun?
(See theoriginal 10K-round Hellcat teston this gun.)
Of course, the pistol performed great with no parts breakages and only a minimal maintenance schedule.
So, I was curious if that Hellcat was up to another 10K rounds.
So, I reached out to Springfield Armory and they were game for letting me try it out.
The Process
We modified the procedure only slightly from the way Clay ran his original 10K test.
The gun was rapidly fired for 250 rounds consecutively.
Every 500 rounds, we did a wipe down and lubrication in addition to the cooling process.
They supplied the 10,000 rounds of 124-gr.
This stuff was fabulous, and I was stoked they sent the 124.
Clay tested the 115-gr.
Keep in mind good to go could be an understatement.
In our test of 10,000 rounds, the ammo performed amazingly.
This is quality ammo, and it proved itself on the range with us.
Stoic Steel
Action Targetwas in deep as well.
We hung the paper on Actions target stands and hit three pieces of Actions steel, HARD!
If youre looking for solid ammo and targets, Federal and Action get my vote.
My wife and our two kids served as the pit crew and helped keep mags loaded.
They ran hard from 7am to 11pm without a complaint.
The Hellcats Performance
The Hellcat is a very shootable and reliable handgun.
The 20,000 rounds through this one has proven that.
We had no parts breakage or stoppages that were the fault of the pistol or the Federal ammo.
Also, at just past 12,500 rounds, we had a round inserted backwards in a magazine.
Yeah, that one did not chamber.
We made sure to blow all that clean from there on out and the grittiness went away.
Are you planning on putting 20,000 rounds through your carry gun?
Do you like knowing there is one you’re able to get that can handle it?
Final Thoughts
The Hellcat is even more capable of a gun than I first realized.
Ive never really considered small guns to be capable of what this Hellcat has accomplished.
Springfield Armory has earned its keep on this one.
My wife is looking for a new carry gun.
I had to send Hellcat AT234795 back to Springfield, but I have another.
Well, I should say, had.
I dont think I can give a more emphatic recommendation than that.
