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Interested in the Hellcat

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Iceman

Alpha
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
 
My EDC is a PC Shield .40. It’s been flawless. I’ve carried it for going on 3 years now and close to 2000 rounds through it. I’ve never shot a Hellcat but I’ve handled one. I didn’t care for it personally. That’s just me though. The extra capacity would be nice for sure.
As with any gun I suggest getting your hands on it on a range.
 
I do not have a Hellcat but do have a P365. It has been flawless with 1200 rounds of all sorts of ammo. Easy to shoot and very accurate. It replaced my Kahr PM9. I am a Sig fan so I am very confident with it. I bought finger extensions for the 10 round mag. I am most comfortable with the 12 round mag. I do have a 15 round mag for the range and backup. The only bad thing I have heard about the Hellcat is that IF you press the trigger sideways it will sometimes fail but that is rare. All that said I only carry a gun that small on rare occasions I prefer a larger gun for EDC.
 
Iceman said:
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
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I own 4 S&W Shields (Gen 1 9mm w/APEX trigger, all three caliber Performance Center Ported Gen 1 Shields, and did carry the .45). I also own the Sig P365, Hellcat, and recently bought the Sig P365XL (but have not fired it yet). I currently carry the Hellcat, and fired that and the P365 together (among other pistols). Both feel the same to me in my hand (the Shields feel a bit larger to me, but they are comfortable). I'm currently carrying the Hellcat because I could pickup the Udot rear and front yellow sight quicker than the P365. Both fired fine with no malfunctions shooting Blazer Brass. I bought the P365XL (and have the 3.6"bbl S&W M&P 9mm & 40 compacts (and ordered the M&P 45 compact), because I like the idea of having a longer sight picture than the current Micro Compacts posses.
These are just my opinions, take them for what they are worth. Good luck in your decision & welcome to the forum @Iceman
 
BET7 said:
I own 4 S&W Shields (Gen 1 9mm w/APEX trigger, all three caliber Performance Center Ported Gen 1 Shields, and did carry the .45). I also own the Sig P365, Hellcat, and recently bought the Sig P365XL (but have not fired it yet). I currently carry the Hellcat, and fired that and the P365 together (among other pistols). Both feel the same to me in my hand (the Shields feel a bit larger to me, but they are comfortable). I'm currently carrying the Hellcat because I could pickup the Udot rear and front yellow sight quicker than the P365. Both fired fine with no malfunctions shooting Blazer Brass. I bought the P365XL (and have the 3.6"bbl S&W M&P 9mm & 40 compacts (and ordered the M&P 45 compact), because I like the idea of having a longer sight picture than the current Micro Compacts posses.
These are just my opinions, take them for what they are worth. Good luck in your decision & welcome to the forum @Iceman
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Anyone here have an XD Defender?
 
Iceman said:
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
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Have an M&P Shield 1.0 9mm with CT LL-801G laser/light, TruGlo Tritium Pro night sights, and the Hellcat with the Shield RMSc. I really like them, they're great shooters, and both are in my carry rotation. So far, never an issue with either one although my Hellcat came with a dead tritium front sight which SA took care of in a timely manner.

Edit for spelling and punctuation.
 
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Iceman said:
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
Click to expand...

A group of us tested both the 365 and the Hellcat in a side by side shootout. Here is a brief recap:

The Hellcat has far superior sights. Acquisition is less than 1/2 the time of the 365
The Hellcat took most of us several magazines to learn that we needed to hold it differently and change our trigger finger placement in order to hit where we wanted. By the end of two days we all had it down so it didn't slow us up.
The Hellcat is a little more accurate than the 365; at 7 yards however it really didn't matter. It did show up at 25 yards enough to matter. All of us had better scores with the Hellcat after getting used to it.
The 365 had four "hiccups" and the Hellcat had none out of 5000 rounds. We really were not cleaning them very well which made it more impressive. (No scrubbing - just strip and spray with Gun Medic and wipe.)
Some people strongly preferred the trigger on the 365. Others were strong on the better reset on the Hellcat.
We fed all kinds of ammo including some Viet Nam era ammo through both guns without issue. The 365 was more accurate with the Sig Ammo and the Hellcat did better with Federal Hydra Shocks. The Hydra Shocks did the best in the gel tests out of both guns. We also used a lot of older Lake City and a variety of other training ammo which worked well in both guns.

Conclusion:

The Hellcat outperformed the 365, but not by very much except for the sights. The guy that brought the 365 has ended up buying a Hellcat as did all the rest of the testers. One guy still prefers the feel of the 365 over the Hellcat but was really sold on the sights. All of us would feel well armed with either.

We also tested several other guns along side, including a Detonics Pocket 9 and a Bond Arms Bullpup. Neither has the high capacity and the Detonics is heavy. The Bullpup is a gun best reserved for experts with money. That said the Bullpup outperformed all of the other guns for speed of delivery and is extremely accurate. Unfortunately, the gun lacks the capacity of either the 365 or the Hellcat.

Full disclosure: My wife carries a Boberg which is the previous incarnation of the Bullpup. We also own a Bond Arms version which I used to carry as a backup to my SA .45 ACP XDs. I am now carrying the Hellcat as the backup.

Hope this helps.
 
My EDC is the Hellcat. I have probably 3,000 rounds though it without one hiccup. It has been flawless. I also second the above comment about the sights. They are outstanding. I also did a back to back with the SIG 365 and decided on the Hellcat as it seemed to fit my hand better. The SIG, however, is also an excellent choice. Go with what feels better for you. You can't be wrong either way, although again, I prefer the Hellcat.
 
Before I bought either, I held and worked the P365 and the Hellcat for a reasonable amount of time, even though I wasn't able to fire either. By every comparison I was able to do/see, the Hellcat held up better. I bought it and haven't looked back. The purchase was all before any actual range time on either, and I still have not fired the P365. But I'm completely satisfied with my decision.
 
I own both the Hellcat and the P365. I'm a Springfield fan, and love the XD line, but I just couldn't get into the Hellcat. I find the u-notch sight hard to pick up, and have difficulty shooting the Hellcat accurately at distances over 10 yards. The grip on the Hellcat also felt very blocky compared to the P365. For me the P365 was the clear winner, but the other replies to this thread show that a lot of shooters feel the exact opposite.
 
As with any gun, it comes down to what you shoot best in the end. I would check for a range that has one for rent near you and test one out. I'll be renting one next week myself to test it out. The range may waive the rental fee if you purchase the gun, but ask first just to be safe. I love the .40 shield, but I got money burning a hole in my pocket.
 
Iceman said:
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
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@Iceman like others have said, I would rent them both if you can. One other alternative you should consider is the p365xl. The slide is 1/2 inch longer but you get a larger grip that has a 12 round capacity. So more capacity than the standard 10 p365 and grip area. Also if you are into it, the slide is milled for a red dot already. Some people are getting the p365, then changing the grip module to the 12 round XL grip as well since the grips are plenty full and cheap.

it’s all personal preference really so hold them all, shoot them all of you can, and if you are using for edc make sure you consider the size and fit to your own body.

Best of luck!

edit/add- I should note I have all three but my hellcat is still my primary edc.
 
I own the Hellcat, Shield PC .45acp, and a 365 XL. I carry the Hellcat due to reliability, accuracy, concealment, and capacity. The Hellcat for me is more accurate than the 365 and on par (but slightly better) than my Shield. If the Hellcat fits you then wear it. IMO you won't be disappointed
 
Iceman said:
Hello,
I am new to the forum. I currently own a 2.0 .40 Shield. I have had some failure to extract issues with the Shield. I am interested in the Hellcat as an EDC. I looked at the Hellcat and the Sig P365 at my local gun shop. The Hellcat definitely felt better in my hand and was similar to the Shield in size. Any Shield and Hellcat owners on here? What are your opinions on both pistols?
Click to expand...
I just sold my old S&W Shield for a new Hellcat fde/osp and.will be putting on a Swampfox Sentinel and an Apex trigger...The S&W was a great old first gen gun but for a ccw I wanted more rounds and more speed on target... This new gen Hellcat had it all over my old Smith...As an Arizona Ranger/NRA firearms Instructor my duty carry is a Sig WCP 320 With a 4.7 in barrel...What you have to remember is going to a 3 in
barrel you have to be much more aware of your trigger control even when shooting at 5 or 7 yards..(Suprise Break..)
 
They are IMHO so close that it really comes down to how it feels in your hand.
When I first put the P365 in my hand, I couldn't drop it fast enough.
The HELLCAT felt natural.
Mechanically they are enough alike and both are reliable.

I've had my HELLCAT for over 1 yr now. I carry it whenever Im not asleep. In the morning when I get up, it goes in my robe 1st, then my phone. It has been completely reliable and has never had a failure.
 
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