Springfield Armory has jumped feet first into the handgun niche of subcompact defensive pistols with its 9mm Hellcat. The company is billing it as the “world’s highest-capacity micro compact,” and its round count is impressive.
The diminutive Hellcat ships with a flush-fitting 11-round magazine and a 13-rounder that extends the grip. The gun is also available in an optics-ready variant so RMR sights—an increasingly popular optic choice for defensive firearms—can be attached right to the slide.
With a 3-inch barrel, a width of just 1 inch, and weighing just 18.3 ounces (unloaded), the Hellcat features rear slide serrations that cover the top of the slide for easy manipulation. It also has a standard accessory rail for a light or laser sight. A loaded-chamber indicator and reversible magazine release round out the features, along with a flat trigger body with a nickel-boron–coated trigger group.
The irons that come on both the regular and optics-ready versions of the Hellcat are a bit different—a high-visibility tritium and luminescent front sight with a Tactical Rack U-Dot rear sight allow the user to quickly acquire a sight picture in all lighting conditions. SRP: $569, standard model; $599, OSP Model. (springfield-armory.com)
