Welcome back, everyone. Today I've got a long-awaited update for you on the Hellcat. Let's take a look!
First, a quick rundown on the Hellcat: It's springfield's micro compact 9mm, and the most notable thing about the it is the capacity: it can carry 11+1 in the standard magazine, or 13+1 with the extended magazine. The Hellcat is 6 inches long, 4 inches tall with the flush baseplate, a maximum of 4.6 inches tall with the pinky rest, and 4.65 inches with the 13 round extended magazine. It is almost exactly an inch wide, and has a 3 inch hammer forged barrel with a 1 in 10 twist. The Hellcat weighs in at a featherweight 18 ounces unloaded. MSRP for the optics ready hellcat is $660, but street price as usual is under that...I got this one for $550 at Brownells.
Since I sprang for the optics-ready version of the Hellcat, one of the first things that I wanted to do was to get an optic mounted on it. It uses an RMSc footprint, so it can mount a good number of optics without using an adapter plate. I originally had the Swampfox Sentinel mounted on it, and that worked out very well. It dropped straight onto the slide without the use of an adapter plate, and I was able to use the screws that Swampfox included with the optic to secure it. I ran that for about 300 rounds give or take, and I never had any problems with it.
However, today we don't have the Swampfox Sentinel. This is the Holosun EPS Carry we unboxed in a recent video. The full review for that is coming up soon, so make sure you're subscribed! For now, I'll just say that the EPS Carry can accurately be described as a fully-enclosed version of the popular 407k. MSRP for the EPS Carry is $390, and I got this one for slightly less at $330.
The Holosun uses a different footprint than the Hellcat slide is cut for, so it won't drop directly onto the slide. Holosun throws in an adapter plate in the box that is supposed to fit onto an RMSc footprint, but I found that this didn't exactly fit the Hellcat. Specifically, the holes for the rear slide lugs were just a hair undersized to fit over the lugs in the slide, so the plate would not sit flat in the pocket. It was relatively easy to fix, though; I just took a pin file to the holes to clearance them enough to slip over the lugs. Once I got the plate sitting flat, I made sure there was no fore/aft or side/side movement of the plate itself, and then mounted the optic to the plate. As can be expected, the optic fits perfectly onto the plate, and I was able to use Holosun's provided screws with a dab of blue loctite to secure everything together. The setup has gone through about 200 rounds so far, including a box of HSTs, and nothing has come loose or lost zero.
The other upgrade I wanted to try on the Hellcat was mounting a light to it. I've never had a micro compact with a mounted light before, and I was eager to see how a light would mount given the Hellcat's lack of a pic rail. I decided on the very popular Streamlight TLR6. This is actually a combination laser and light. The light is rated at 100 lumens and 2000 candela, for a rated maximum beam distance of 89 meters or 291 feet. The TLR6 is operated by buttons on either side of the unit, and the UI is the same regardless of button you use: press and hold for temporary on, tap and release for constant on. Pressing both buttons together will cycle through the three operating modes: light only, laser and light, and laser only. Zeroing of the laser is handled by adjustment turrets that are built into the housing, and are adjusted with a hex wrench. MSRP for the TLR6 is $175, but it can be found for way below that on Amazon. I think I paid less than $100 for this.
Mounting the TLR6 is the most interesting part of the whole setup. The light actually comes apart basically in half, and you install it by putting each half around the trigger guard and then screwing it together. The friction of the light body clamping down on the trigger guard is what keeps the light in place. The light is powered by two CR-1/3N batteries that install under this hinged door on the bottom of the unit.
So far I really like the TLR6; its SUPER compact and puts out more light than it's ratings would suggest. My only gripe about the TLR6 are the controls, as the buttons can be hard to reach/actuate quickly unless you preally practice with it. I would love to see a slimmed down version of the TLR7a's vertical paddle buttons in a perfect world.
Overall these two upgrades have, in my opinion at least, really improved the Hellcat's usability as a defensive measure. The optic improves targeting speed, while the TLR6 adds some more low light capability to the system. Considering the amount invested in the upgrades, I think it's worth it, but it's also good to note that the 407k offers a lot of the same performance of the EPS Carry for about a hundred dollars less, which would make this setup even more appealing for those on a tighter budget. I've got a holster coming in for this setup, and when that gets here I'll likely start carrying this full time over the summer and fall.
So those are my thoughts on upgrades for the Springfield Hellcat. That's all I've got for you this time, so untill next time: stay safe!