Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Is This the Ultimate Hellcat Pro Torture Test?” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/ultimate-hellcat-pro-torture-test/.
Is This the Ultimate Hellcat Pro Torture Test?
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Loved the Hellcat when I bought it in January 20. Posted a video of my first shot on YouTube, a hut on steel at 50+ yds. However, it couldn’t take the torture test of being worn every day IWB in the South Carolina sun. Interior parts rusted up. Springfield refinished it and wanted 85$ Under protest they ended up not charging me. While many readers will say tsk tsk, take care of your firearm, I will say I’ve carried either a G26 or G43 FOR YEARS without them rusting up. Back to carrying my 43 now. Used to need to care of business with just 6 rds in my revolver, I can do it with 7 in my 43
That sucks. My SIG P226 liked to rust here in Florida, so I know your pain. As soon as I walked out of the house, it was like the salt air attacked it immediately. I haven't had any issues with my Hellcat or HC Pro, but I'll keep an eye on it!
SaltyMonkey
Professional
Thanks for the info. I not convinced that was a torture test; more of just a test.
SaltyMonkey
Professional
That sucks.
A month ago I bought the hellcat with the thumb safety. I'm a 1911 guy. I've taken it to the range twice, for a total of 500 rds. No issues of any kind. This will now be my carry gun. Prior to this pistol, I was carrying the Springfield EMP 9mm with 3 inch barrel. Great shooting gun but I changed to the hellcat.
My experience, blued mags are the worst, but those are easy to check often. My Glock mags have been essentially bullet proof. What called my attention to the rust on my HC was when I began to see it on the mag catch and the pins. When I broke it down (beyond field stripping) it was ugly. These are not items mentioned in the manual for maintenance and I suspect SA doesn't intend for customers to disassemble the firearm far enought to service them.
Attachments
I wish the author had pointed out a few ammo types which showed more manageable recoil. I'm very much interested in finding a softer-recoiling 9mm round for my Hellcat Pro which is reasonably available. All I require for defensive ammo is passing the LuckyGunner (FBI) consistent 12"-18" penetration test. However, with limited availability and high prices, I'm averse to buying a lot of ammo, "blind", to sort them out myself. Can anyone recommend a couple of "more manageable" 9mm cartridges?
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Old_Me
SAINT
wow, mine is about 2 years old now, we get very high humidity here, and mine still looks brand new....
Old_Me
SAINT
do you wear inside or outside waistband.??
i wear inside, with an Alien Gear shape fitter, that has a backing plate, covered in fabric.
N
nmedge
Guest
I do believe that I would purchase the Hellcat Pro. I like the idea of the longer barrel. For me this gun would be better than the Sig p365 x macro. I have the original Hellcat and I do have the 15 round mag for it but barrel length for me is important. I might just trade in the Hellcat for the pro at LGS but I can get pro for $200 cheaper if I purchase online. I'll just have to think about it because tomorrow I will be putting in a $350 storm door. My wife broke the other one that was only 2 years old. I think she figured out I might buy a new gun!
BreakingWind
Master Class
I have shot 5 different brands )whatever is cheap) and a box of hand loads without a single issue.
Try using the Federal SYNTECH RANGE 124Grain The muzzle velocity is 1050fps. The first 100 rounds I put through my Hellcat was this ammo. I was amazed at how soft it was. Using regular 115grain at the 1150- 1200 fps it is a little snappy. But Im used to a lot of 45acp and 44mag so its pleasant to shoot.
Thanks for the tip. Using an online recoil calculator, I make that round's recoil ~4.0 lb-ft. Using data from LuckyGunner's tests, I notice Speer 115-gr Gold Dot @1143 (measured) comes in 4.1 lb-ft, and was very consistent in penetration test, whereas Speer 147-gr G.D. came in 4.6 lb-ft. But "perceived recoil" is not just the lb-ft, it's the shape of the impulse vs time. Two rounds with the same recoil figure can feel more or less "snappy". So a heavier bullet and higher recoil might feel smoother. I think one may have to shoot a lot of types, unfortunately, to find what feels best in a particular gun, which is why I hoped the author might single out a few for us. ;-( Of course he set it up as "blind, random" so he had no idea which type he fired at any moment, so there's an end of it.
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