Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Did the Hellcat Kill the XD-S?” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/springfield-hellcat-vs-xds/.
Did the Hellcat Kill the XD-S?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Freecompanier
Alpha
Hellcat: frame too small, costs too much for a little polymer pistol, and it's butt-ugly.
XD-S in .45 acp hands down.
XD-S in .45 acp hands down.
HansGruber
Ronin
Did video kill the radio star?
Did The Beatles kill Elvis?
Did Abraham Lincoln kill vampires?
Did The Beatles kill Elvis?
Did Abraham Lincoln kill vampires?
Mr. Untactical
Master Class
The Hellcat was such a game changer, I sold mine and bought a Ronin Commander in .45 ACP...
Yup. I’ve carried my XDS .45 with Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman when running trails in grizzly country. It’s marginal as it is; 9mm would really be pushing it.
I’ve taken mule deer with .45 ACP; I don’t think 9mm would be appropriate. 9mm is fine for self defense but there are times when bullet diameter is important.
Invisibleflash
Elite
I'm Hellcat all the way. I carry 2 of them. Soon to be 3 Hellcats as things go further to hell in America. .45 has poor penetration and low cap.
Now...Hellcat is no target gun. If you are talking a gun for the range...then no Hellcat. Hellcat is for CCW.
HansGruber
Ronin
That’s the spirit!
HansGruber
Ronin
No, .45 gets correct penetration and makes a MUCH bigger hole.
Let alone the fact that .45acp is a more recent development than 9x19.
I mean, carry three guns if you plan on missing…A LOT.
I wish the hellcat sights were standard on the XDS. I would take an XDS 45 out with me to the woods before I would take a hellcat. When 45 acp was created the threat of calvary horses were still in mind. Between the caliber and grip safety, I would have plently of confidence carrying one in bear country. I’ve even read on fourms that some guys even shot 45 super in their mod 1’s without any issues.
Shawn85206
Alpha
Having had both the Hellcat and XDS Mod. 2, I must agree. We originally purchased our non-OSP Hellcat for my wife. unfortunately, we quickly figured out that with her arthritis, she could not easily rack the slide. Meanwhile, I picked up an XDS Mod.2. When I shot them side by side, I much preferred the feeling of the XDS, and it shot more accurately.
I installed a DPM recoil spring in the Hellcat hoping it would make it easier for my wife. Soon came the Apex trigger and PRP internal spring kit. Still, she couldn't rack the thing, even after I'd run 500+ rounds through it. At this point, we stopped asking what we could do to make it usable for her and started looking at something like an EZ.
Okay, I inherited a new toy, a toy everything I read said was awesome, so investigated what else I could do to the Cat. I installed a threaded barrel as a suppressor was always part of the long-term plan, and added a Tyrant Unicomp to tame some of the recoil. In the end, except for cutting the slide for an optic, it got about every mod available. The spring kit and trigger I loved, made it a much more comfortable gun, but the funny thing was, I still didn't love it as much as my XDS. The only advantage I saw in the Hellcat was capacity.
I stopped and added up what I'd paid to upgrade the Hellcat, WOW. All this time I had planned to replicate this on the XDS, but when I looked it, it was a hard number to stomach, plus XDS parts weren't as readily available, I felt like my hands were tied. I started looking for something I could buy that already had much of what I did right out of the box. An XDM Elite was my target...then the PDP appeared on the market. A PPQ was at the very top of that "What I want next" list.
I talked to a lot of people at all the LGS and posed the question, "XDM Elite or PDP?" I was honestly shocked when even the people that didn't carry Walther ALL pointed to the PDP, a few who didn't carry Walther offered other "in stock" options, but between the two said PDP. I sold the XDS and put that into my PDP C4, a gun that was beautiful to shoot from day 1. I don't for a second regret the choice of replacement, just the gun I sold to get it.
Even today, I have just never fallen in love with the Cat and miss the feel of the XDS. Every time I take the Cat shooting, I feel more and more like I just don't want to be bothered with it anymore, but when I look at the loss I'd take. I feel like I'd dug myself in a hole with it and am stuck with it.
I installed a DPM recoil spring in the Hellcat hoping it would make it easier for my wife. Soon came the Apex trigger and PRP internal spring kit. Still, she couldn't rack the thing, even after I'd run 500+ rounds through it. At this point, we stopped asking what we could do to make it usable for her and started looking at something like an EZ.
Okay, I inherited a new toy, a toy everything I read said was awesome, so investigated what else I could do to the Cat. I installed a threaded barrel as a suppressor was always part of the long-term plan, and added a Tyrant Unicomp to tame some of the recoil. In the end, except for cutting the slide for an optic, it got about every mod available. The spring kit and trigger I loved, made it a much more comfortable gun, but the funny thing was, I still didn't love it as much as my XDS. The only advantage I saw in the Hellcat was capacity.
I stopped and added up what I'd paid to upgrade the Hellcat, WOW. All this time I had planned to replicate this on the XDS, but when I looked it, it was a hard number to stomach, plus XDS parts weren't as readily available, I felt like my hands were tied. I started looking for something I could buy that already had much of what I did right out of the box. An XDM Elite was my target...then the PDP appeared on the market. A PPQ was at the very top of that "What I want next" list.
I talked to a lot of people at all the LGS and posed the question, "XDM Elite or PDP?" I was honestly shocked when even the people that didn't carry Walther ALL pointed to the PDP, a few who didn't carry Walther offered other "in stock" options, but between the two said PDP. I sold the XDS and put that into my PDP C4, a gun that was beautiful to shoot from day 1. I don't for a second regret the choice of replacement, just the gun I sold to get it.
Even today, I have just never fallen in love with the Cat and miss the feel of the XDS. Every time I take the Cat shooting, I feel more and more like I just don't want to be bothered with it anymore, but when I look at the loss I'd take. I feel like I'd dug myself in a hole with it and am stuck with it.
YupI’ve carried my XDS .45 with Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman when running trails in grizzly country. It’s marginal as it is; 9mm would really be pushing it.
I’ve taken mule deer with .45 ACP; I don’t think 9mm would be appropriate. 9mm is fine for self defense but there are times when bullet diameter is important.
That money is gone regardless. If it were me, I’d sell what I didn’t like and buy what I did. I’d be happier in the long run, and I bet you will be too.
Lightning546
Alpha
I would be very interested in a hellcat if it was offered in 45 ACP like my XD-E or HK 45T, going from a 5.2" barrel to a 3.3" barrel was a huge difference in conceal ability for EDC, not to mention no more scratches on my thigh from the thread protector on my HK. The one feature the hellcat has that was not available when I purchased my XD-E is the slide cut to accept a mini RMR.
To correctly use an RMR, you're supposed to keep both eyes open, I know it feels weird, but once you get used to doing things that way you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner. With both eyes open it helps prevent the sight to target parallax error. Where it really helps is when you're competition shooting (we all can't be as fast as Jerry Miculek) and need to speed up target acquisition.
If I wanted another 9mm I would put the legwork into finding a 1941-1945 Luger (an officer or a Luftwaffe variant) and several spare magazines or a Beretta 92 FS (M9).
To correctly use an RMR, you're supposed to keep both eyes open, I know it feels weird, but once you get used to doing things that way you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner. With both eyes open it helps prevent the sight to target parallax error. Where it really helps is when you're competition shooting (we all can't be as fast as Jerry Miculek) and need to speed up target acquisition.
If I wanted another 9mm I would put the legwork into finding a 1941-1945 Luger (an officer or a Luftwaffe variant) and several spare magazines or a Beretta 92 FS (M9).
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georgiajeeper
Operator
I've been carrying the XDS classic in .45 for 7 years now and that's not going to change anytime soon. I've shot the Hellcat when it first came out, and that didn't sway me. Then when Springfield came around in March with the Pro, I shot that. It felt good, but then the magazine came out while I was shooting because my thumb brushed slightly against the release. Whether that happens a lot or not, that was my first impression of it. I've never had that happen with my XDS' or XDM's. I ended up buying an XDM Compact 10 there instead, since it was in stock.
Freecompanier
Alpha
I have had a few like that; a Springfield Armory TRP Operator 10mm longslide comes to mind.
Cuteandfuzzybunnies
Alpha
The XDE is the gun that should still be made. It was the only single stack , DA/SA carry pistol. A metal version would be AMAZING too. The XDE was designed for AIWB carry and would be really popular with the proper update.
Also and DA/SA version of the hellcat. Replace the grip safety with a thumb safety , of course. This would sell. People like DA/SA with a safety ( and de-cocker ) esp for AIWB carry safety.
Also and DA/SA version of the hellcat. Replace the grip safety with a thumb safety , of course. This would sell. People like DA/SA with a safety ( and de-cocker ) esp for AIWB carry safety.