The Springfield Armory Hellcat Micro-Compact OSP Delivers

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Springfield Armory probably has had to add a trophy room at its Geneseo, Illinois, facility to accommodate all the awards its micro-compact Hellcat pistol has earned since it was released five years ago. Until recently, the Hellcat was available only in 9mm, but the company recently announced it would add a .380 version to the family.

The Hellcat 9mm and .380 are both made in Croatia and look very similar, and the dimensions of the two pistols are close as well. Barrel length is three inches for both, and the overall length, grip width and height are the same. But at 16.1 ounces, the Hellcat .380 OSP’s unloaded weight with flush-fit magazine is almost two ounces lighter than the 9mm version, which weighs 17.9 ounces.

The barrel is hammer-forged steel with a 1:10 twist and a Melonite finish. The .380’s slide is billet-machined steel, also with a Melonite finish, and it features angular slide serrations fore and aft that are large enough for positive operation and simple press checks. There’s an externally mounted extractor and a chamber window as well.

The slide on the OSP model—currently the only version—is cut to accept optics on the widely available RMSc Shield footprint. But if you choose not to add a red dot, the factory iron sights are among the best of any micro-compact pistol.

Design

The dovetailed sights are metal, not polymer. The Tactical Rack rear sight features a white U-notch and is designed in such a way that you can use it to rack the slide on a sturdy belt or flat surface in an emergency. The front sight has a green luminescent dot with a tritium insert, and the resulting sight picture is easy to see even in low light.

The Hellcat .380’s frame is made from polymer and includes the Adaptive Grip Texture (AGT), which has been popular on other Hellcat models as well as Springfield’s Echelon pistols. The Hellcat .380’s grip geometry is excellent, and the pistol is comfortable to shoot for extended periods. The beavertail is adequately large to prevent slide bite, and the finger grooves and textured finger pads are positioned for a firm thumbs-forward grip.

The pistol also has a universal-style rail with a single notch on the dust cover for mounting accessories such as lights or light/laser combos.

Capacity has become an important consideration when selecting a micro-compact pistol, and the Hellcat leads the class in this category. As with the 9mm version, both 11- and 13-round metal magazines are included. The magazines ship with finger extensions, and there’s a flush-fit mag plate that can be installed to make the pistol easier to conceal.

Controls

Controls include a slide stop positioned on the rear portion of the frame, as well as a rotating takedown lever. There’s an oval, reversible magazine release on the left side of the gun as well.

There is no manual thumb safety, at least not on the initial version. However, the Hellcat .380 does include passive safeties. There’s a blade-style trigger safety as well as an internal firing-pin block safety. The design prevents accidental drops or unintentional, indirect pressure on the side of the trigger from causing the gun to fire—important considerations for a concealed-carry pistol.

The operating system includes a dual captive recoil spring and a full-length guide rod, and disassembly is safe and simple thanks to the rotating takedown lever. Even relatively new shooters will be able to field-strip this pistol with ease if they follow the procedures outlined in the manual.

For testing the Hellcat .380, I mounted a Shield RMSc red dot. With the optic in place, overall height increased to 5.25 inches, and unloaded weight with the 11-round magazine was 16.7 ounces. I carried the pistol in a belly band in the appendix position, but because the dimensions are identical it should also work well with Hellcat holsters that you may already own.

Light Recoil

Why purchase the Hellcat .380 instead of the 9mm version, if both share the same dimensions and capacity? Recoil reduction, primarily. The Hellcat .380 is more of a pussycat, and if you’re someone who finds the recoil of a micro-compact 9mm a bit snappy, you’ll appreciate the Hellcat .380’s soft-shooting nature.

It has appreciably less recoil and muzzle rise, and that makes the gun flat-shooting and allows for fast follow-ups. I initially tested the pistol by shooting offhand groups at 21 feet to get a feel for it, and while my hands are not gargantuan, I do wear a large glove. However, I had no problems planting all my fingers on the gun using the 11-round magazine with pinky extension. If you are one of those shooters with oversize hands, the 13-round mag with pinky extension should still accommodate you.

Springfield pistols have an excellent reputation for reliability, and the Hellcat .380 OSP was no exception. Straight out of the box, the pistol fired a variety of .380 loads without issue. However, if you are a shooter who likes to ride your thumb on the slide stop 1911-style, you may inadvertently prevent the Springfield going to slide lock after firing the final shot in the magazine.

I was guilty of this on a few occasions, and each time the slide failed to lock back because I had placed too much downward pressure on the slide stop with my non-shooting thumb. In a real life-and-death situation that could slow your reload, so it’s something you should learn to avoid. Other than that self-induced issue, there were no problems with the Hellcat .380’s reliability.

Accuracy Testing

Here at Handguns we accuracy-test pistols with barrels under four inches from a range of 15 yards, and while that’s a relatively long shot for any pistol with a three-inch barrel, the Springfield managed quite well. The best five-shot group measured 1.6 inches, and other groups came in under the two-inch mark. That’s rare for three-inch autoloaders of any chambering.

There seems to be a bit of resurgence in .380 popularity, and Springfield is following in the footsteps of the relatively new SIG Sauer P365 .380 and Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0. Price-wise, the Hellcat .380 ($653) sits above theS&W  Bodyguard 2.0 ($449) and the SIG P365 .380 ($500).

If you want the smallest and lightest .380, then the Bodyguard takes the prize. It has a shorter barrel, it’s narrower, and it’s almost eight ounces lighter than the Hellcat .380. However, thanks to the irrefutable laws of physics, the Hellcat’s larger dimensions mean it will be softer shooting than the Bodyguard 2.0. Also, you can mount an optic on the Springfield but not on the Smith, and the Hellcat offers an extra round of capacity.

The SIG and the Springfield are quite close dimensionally, with the SIG P365 .380 being slightly shorter. The SIG’s slide is cut for optics just like the Hellcat. However, the SIG ships with 10-round magazines, so the Springfield offers increased capacity.

Market Segment

It remains to be seen whether the Springfield Hellcat .380 will occupy a major portion of the expanding .380 market, but the gun earns very high marks in every major category. Reliability is superb, fit and finish are excellent, the sights are some of the best on the market, and the grip geometry is excellent.

It doesn’t offer the same punch as a 9mm Hellcat, and unless you are a Springfield collector or very sensitive to recoil it probably doesn’t make sense to swap your Hellcat 9 for the new .380. However, if you prefer the .380 to the 9mm there’s really no reason not to check out the Springfield. It’s everything we’ve come to love about the Hellcat in a new, lighter, softer-shooting configuration.

Springfield Armory Hellcat Micro-Compact OSP Specs

• Type: striker-fired semiauto
• Caliber: .380 ACP (tested), 9mm Luger
• Capacity: 11-, 13-round mags supplied
• Barrel: 3.0 in., hammer-forged steel w/Melonite finish, 1:10 twist
• OAL/Height/Width: 6.0/4.24 (11-round mag)/1.0 in.
• Weight: 16.1 oz.
• Grips: polymer w/Adaptive Grip Texture
• Finish: matte black Melonite
• Trigger: 6.25 lb. pull (measured)
• Sights: U-notch Tactical Rack rear w/outline, green luminescent front w/tritium insert; slide cut for Shield RMSc footprint
• Safeties: trigger blade, firing pin block
• Price: $653
• Manufacturer: Springfield Armory, springfield-armory.com

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