Springfield Armory's new P365 clone (aka Hellcat)

[Erich]

SA takes a shot across Sig's bow. 2 years later

A huge 1 round increase in base mag capacity, but with an RDS variant available. 

https://www.springfield-armory.com/hellcat-features/

Some folks avoid SA due to their moves a couple years back, wonder if this will matter for them.

One thing seems clear, if you own one of the new Dodge same name cars....here you go.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Erich

[Defender]

Wow!  Love those sights!  I can see where they are going after Sig especially with the reliability assurances since the 365 early models had some serious issues...can't wait to hear more about thsi one.  Im in a state of mind where I need to be downsizing my collection, but I find myself increasing instead.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Defender

[Erich]

Downsizing is no different than any other diet....I fail at both pretty badly. Fat with too many toys, things could be worse!

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Erich

[DaveTN]

Is it made by Springfield Armory in the USA, or it just another import?

[Garufa]

1 hour ago, DaveTN said:

Is it made by Springfield Armory in the USA, or it just another import?

Croatia.

[MacGyver]

They did a good job getting that RDS low on the bore. 

Seems like with a name like Hellcat, it’s obligatory to put some teeth somewhere on it, though. 

[felinesNfreedom]

What!?! No grip zone or grip safety. GTFO!

[Trekbike]

Looks very interesting for sure.    Coming from someone that just moved to a P365... 

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Trekbike

[martin5]

SA seems to like Croatian firearms. 

[tercel89]

I like it ! It took my eyes off the IWI Masada for now . I've never had trouble from a Croatian pistol and still have 2 of them. I like foreign guns like these , it's American guns that I usually have troubles with,,,,,,,,, except the Ruger P-Series

Edited September 25, 2019 by tercel89

[Mamba]

52 minutes ago, martin5 said:

SA seems to like Croatian firearms. 

Nothing wrong with that. One of my first autos was a SA .45 XD Compact. Good gun, built like a (Croatian) tank. I just didn't shoot it well, so moved on.
As with any 1st-gen gun, I'll wait awhile for the bugs to be squashed before wasting any interest cycles. 

[hipower]

3 hours ago, Erich said:

Downsizing is no different than any other diet....I fail at both pretty badly. Fat with too many toys, things could be worse!

 

Me Too, brother!

And I'm here with my leg up and ice packs on as well. Had my knee replacement done a week ago. Bored out of my gourd!

Edited September 25, 2019 by hipower

[Erich]

 

29 minutes ago, tercel89 said:

I like it ! It took my eyes off the IWI Masada for now . I've never had trouble from a Croatian pistol and still have 2 of them. I like foreign guns like these , it's American guns that I usually have troubles with,,,,,,,,, except the Ruger P-Series

Hate to say it, same for me. I've never had one of my foreign jobs go back to the US mothership, but a shameful % of the US millennial made have. Probably because I like Sigs more than I should and they are the bottom of the QC barrel IMHO. I never bought a P365

I might have to try one of these with the RDS to go with my big bro XDM OSP.

 

[hipower]

45 minutes ago, tercel89 said:

I like it ! It took my eyes off the IWI Masada for now . I've never had trouble from a Croatian pistol and still have 2 of them. I like foreign guns like these , it's American guns that I usually have troubles with,,,,,,,,, except the Ruger P-Series

I agree. I've had several of the Croatian XD pistols and like them a lot. Like you, I still have a couple squirrelled away in different places. A 4" in 357 Sig is my "Oh Crap!" gun. The one to grab if you want to make big holes in something.

I still am desiring a Masada though. I have a fondness for the IWI/IMI products that started years ago with the Jericho and the DE pistols. But the promo video for the Hellcat(and I don't really care for the name) sure is interesting.

Maybe I should have waited a bit longer and not gotten the 43X.    Nah. It's cool.

Edited September 25, 2019 by hipower

[Erich]

P365 quick size comparison in vid....

Looks like Its already had some initial media testing and should be in stores soon for early adopters (not me!). Those reviews are very favorable, only issues being the RDS options are going to be initially limited (2 that fit) and the trigger can be heavier than some may prefer out of the box.

https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/springfield-hellcat-9mm-review/368034

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2019/9/25/tested-springfield-armory-s-hellcat/

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by Erich

[martin5]

I remember when a company in Knoxville were importing what was called the H2000. The company dropped the ball and SA got the contract. From then on it was the XD. I never fired one but here they shoot well. 

[Defender]

They make good guns, mostly.  I currently have one of their guns, the XDE in .45 and its well made.  I've owned other Springfields as well.  One thing I like is if you wait long enough and dont rush out when the guns first come out, they will often end up offering a really good rebate deal where you can get free extra mags, holster etc..  I will endeavor to wait this time, lol, if I can. I prefer to buy American, but that often dont work out so good either.  Another things that has begun to intrigue me is the concept of red dot sights on a self defense EDC gun, and while I like the iron sights on these, Id most likely go with the red dot  ready version.  I imagine buying the sight will be pretty expensive too, though.

[TGO David]

It's a crying shame that XDs and XD-S's never hold up well under hard use.  I've personally had an XD Tactical fail on me in a 2-day defensive pistol class with less than a 500rd count for the entire two days.  Aaron Cowan of Sage Dynamics has been tracking XD failures in his classes for a while now and way back in 2017 had already counted 20 failures in his classes.

No telling how many he's seen since then, if he even allows them in his classes now.

I'll pass.

[DaveTN]

They do make some good guns, but the XD isn’t one of them; never was. That’s why I wondered where this gun was made, or if they are making it. Springfield Armory was never anything but the importer of the XD, made by HS Produkt in Croatia.

 They do however make some 1911’s and the M1A.

Springfield Armory was one of the most famous arsenals’ in this country's history. The company using the name now has zero to do with that famous armory.

[martin5]

I love my ultra compact v10 1911. I just wish it was a commander or full size.

[Erich]

I imagine its like anything, once you've run encountered a problem or look for supporting intergoogle results (hate can be found for any gun), its not unusual to then see an even wider net cast as irrefutable fact. In doing so, typically folks look past others reporting different experience or the intergoogling results which are contradictory.

Beauty is we are free to evaluate all the facts we choose to,  or our own experiences.

I find it interesting that many PD's use (or used) XD/XDMs with high round counts in service and during trials without reporting abnormal failure rates. Same for some gun ranges. I have to think there is something in the works here around sample size.

I am glad to say with thousands of rounds thru a combination of M1A, 1911, EMP, and 2 XDM's, I can not corroborate that Springfield labeled guns are guaranteed to have catastrophic failure at low round count. Perhaps I am doing something very wrong? In the meantime, I will carry on enjoying the multiple flavors of Koolaid I have been for years 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Erich

[hipower]

11 hours ago, Erich said:

 

...I am glad to say with thousands of rounds thru a combination of M1A, 1911, EMP, and 2 XDM's, I can not corroborate that Springfield labeled guns are guaranteed to have catastrophic failure at low round count. Perhaps I am doing something very wrong? In the meantime, I will carry on enjoying the multiple flavors of Koolaid I have been for years 

Slightly off track, but your "multiple flavors" comment has me wondering just how many different countries/nations are represented by my meager collection. I'll be wanting to find out now, and that means I now have another good reason for a new inventory. lol

Off the top of my head, I can think of10...Turkey, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Checkoslovkia, a few I'll just lump into "Russian", and of course, USA.

Edited September 26, 2019 by hipower

[DaveTN]

My list of nations will be very short. Most all my guns are America Made. I only had to go outside the US when I wanted a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade (now made in Portugal), and a Mosin a friend gave me.

Hey, that Super Grade gave me a few sleepless nights. A few years ago that would have never even been a consideration. 

[Capbyrd]

Holding out for the hammer fired version.   Striker fired is so last year. 

 

[Steelharp]

1 hour ago, Capbyrd said:

Holding out for the hammer fired version.   Striker fired is so last year. 

 

It's a Hellcat, not a Hammerpuss.