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9mm Shootoff: XD-M vs. Hellcat

A big part of the debate is shootability - lots of people are afraid of subcompacts because of controllability. Small, light guns are "snappy" and "too" hard to control (myth), so they look to bigger guns. Yes, they're snappy and yes, they move around more when fired, but nothing that makes them "too" hard to control.

Bigger guns are more steady due to size, weight, and inertia, but they have concealability issues just due to size, as well as weight and grip size problems for smaller shooters.

It used to be a capacity debate as well, but now that there are guns like the P365 and Hellcat out there (high round count subcompacts), and considering your normal 1911 platform carries...maybe...8 rounds total? Capacity isn't clearly defined by fullsize versus subcompact anymore.

So yes...it is a relevant, actual debate for a lot of people. Especially first time shoppers.
 
Being late to the gun ownership party, I goofed and bought a full sized P320 with four extended magazines for my first gun. Obviously won’t be carrying that one. My Hellcat fits my hand well and I’m looking forward to carrying it everyday, once I get a holster and belt.
My wife may be rethinking her M&P EZ though. She said, heck with the little guns, I’ll carry that Sig!
 
slim6597 said:
Being late to the gun ownership party, I goofed and bought a full sized P320 with four extended magazines for my first gun. Obviously won’t be carrying that one. My Hellcat fits my hand well and I’m looking forward to carrying it everyday, once I get a holster and belt.
My wife may be rethinking her M&P EZ though. She said, heck with the little guns, I’ll carry that Sig!
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You could always buy the Sig P320 subcompact X-change kit and swap out (then in) the FCU to the subcompact grip. The kit comes with the grip, Barrel and slide.
I have all the calibers of the Sig P320, and have many different grips and 2 X-Change kits. I bought the "Carry" 40, and got the X-Change kit to make that into a subcompact. The 9mm I bought as a subcompact already, and got the X-Change kit to make it into the "Carry" model if I so desire. I also bought the subcompact grip to make my P320 45 more concealable to carry. I really like the Sig P320. You can configure them several different ways and now companies are coming out with parts such as ported barrels and slides, threaded barrels, cut slides for optics etc.
But as an end note, I also have the Hellcat, Sig P365 and P365XL as Micro subcompacts (well at least the 1st two, XL has a longer slide & holds 15), and I'm currently carrying the Hellcat. So you can't go wrong with the Hellcat, but don't give up on the P320, you could always come back to it and configure it the way you like in the future, (depending if you get it back from the wife that is :sneaky:).
 
slim6597 said:
Being late to the gun ownership party, I goofed and bought a full sized P320 with four extended magazines for my first gun. Obviously won’t be carrying that one. My Hellcat fits my hand well and I’m looking forward to carrying it everyday, once I get a holster and belt.
My wife may be rethinking her M&P EZ though. She said, heck with the little guns, I’ll carry that Sig!
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The Sig P320 is perfect for home defense so nothing wrong with that gun.
 
BET7 said:
You could always buy the Sig P320 subcompact X-change kit and swap out (then in) the FCU to the subcompact grip. The kit comes with the grip, Barrel and slide.
I have all the calibers of the Sig P320, and have many different grips and 2 X-Change kits. I bought the "Carry" 40, and got the X-Change kit to make that into a subcompact. The 9mm I bought as a subcompact already, and got the X-Change kit to make it into the "Carry" model if I so desire. I also bought the subcompact grip to make my P320 45 more concealable to carry. I really like the Sig P320. You can configure them several different ways and now companies are coming out with parts such as ported barrels and slides, threaded barrels, cut slides for optics etc.
But as an end note, I also have the Hellcat, Sig P365 and P365XL as Micro subcompacts (well at least the 1st two, XL has a longer slide & holds 15), and I'm currently carrying the Hellcat. So you can't go wrong with the Hellcat, but don't give up on the P320, you could always come back to it and configure it the way you like in the future, (depending if you get it back from the wife that is :sneaky:).
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You see a big difference in shooting with the P365 vs P365xl? I was debating between the two, and ended up ordering an XL (I currently EDC a hellcat). I liked the feel of the P365XL when I held it in the LGS, and my friends 365 has always been great, but with the hellcat already I would go a little bigger with the XL.
 
Lchtus said:
You see a big difference in shooting with the P365 vs P365xl? I was debating between the two, and ended up ordering an XL (I currently EDC a hellcat). I liked the feel of the P365XL when I held it in the LGS, and my friends 365 has always been great, but with the hellcat already I would go a little bigger with the XL.
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Well @Lchtus, to be honest I haven't yet shot the P365XL, but I have shot the P365 and Hellcat together. I found the P365 harder to pick up the front sight on follow up shots vs the Hellcat with the front yellow sight and rear U sight. My thought was that with the P365XL, I'd get a better sight picture and I also bought a Romeo Zero optic to provide additional help (aging eyes and all that). I liked firing both the Hellcat and P365, as both fit my hand fine, and figured the XL would feel similar as it also added the above pluses. So I'd say you and I are on the same track, as far as going a bit larger then the other two micro subcompacts.
 
Thanks @BET7 . I should get mine late next week, and with any luck hit the range. If the world just Calms down a bit. I have the same setup. Will move my RZ on the p365xl. Been looking at some rail adapters to turn the proprietary sig to a regular rail...have a leftover olight Valkyrie siting around.

happy shooting!
 
Lchtus said:
Thanks @BET7 . I should get mine late next week, and with any luck hit the range. If the world just Calms down a bit. I have the same setup. Will move my RZ on the p365xl. Been looking at some rail adapters to turn the proprietary sig to a regular rail...have a leftover olight Valkyrie siting around.

happy shooting!
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You too @Lchtus, keep me posted when you get it some reps on the range and how you like it.
 
I have been blessed enough to have been able to afford multiple guns throughout my adult life, so some of these articles debating the benefits of full-sized vs. compact guns are lost on my. My choice of firearms these days is dependent on social situations and my wardrobe. I would always choose a full-sized firearm if it were appropriate for all situations. Sometimes I can carry a full-size gun OWB, but sometimes a sub or micro compact in my pocket is the only option. I'm just happy that the over the past few years the firearms market has given shooters affordable, high quality options for multiple sizes and configurations of firearms.
 
I feel like the premise of this video is kind of steering toward an answer.

If you rest both guns in a ransom rest at 25 yards - the groups may be comparable. However shooting off hand - and in any sort of context - the practical differences in accuracy will become apparent really quickly.

1. Sight radius is going to make marginal flash sight pictures generally more accurate on the longer gun than the shorter one.

2. rapid follow up shots will settle out of recoil faster on the heavier gun than the non heavy one.

3. Rapid (sloppy) trigger pulls will punish your sight picture less with the heavier gun than the lighter one.

4. The XDME has more precise sights than the fat front sight with short sight radius Hellcat. The hellcat has awesome sights for a gun that size but they make precision shooting difficult.

So while the mechanical accuracy of the guns may be equal - for argument sake - everything else about the bigger gun is going to make it easier to perform at an acceptable minimum.
 
I am a total non expert, and perhaps, my experience is valuable from that standpoint. I've owned an XDM 45 for some years and I love it because of how soft it is to shoot. My guess is it should be even softer in 9mm. And therein comes the Hellcat comparison - while it is smaller, it is a Springfield, after all, and the lessons learned from the XD series would undoubtedly have gone into the Hellcat? What I mean is that the softer a gun shoots, the better the accuracy would be from the shooter's standpoint, with all else being equal?
 
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