Hellcat RDP

[Wyzz Kydd]

I read an article about the new Hellcat in a recent American Rifleman and thought it was a cool looking gun.  Week before last I made my once a week stop at the LGS and what do you know, they had one in the Display.  Long story short, it followed me home.

This is my first optic equipped pistol and I was surprised to discover it 'cured' my cross eye dominance problem.  I can shoot it with both eyes open and I only see one dot.  Typically when I try to shoot a pistol with both eyes open I see two front sights. 

 

[Wyzz Kydd]

I took it to the range and ran about 100 rounds through it, half and half 115 grain/124 grain with a few 147 grain thrown in.  My first impression was that it was a bit loud and I could feel some of the pressure from the compensator, which took a little getting used to.  Muzzle flip was very manageable as was recoil.  I had zero failures to feed.  The iron sights hit POA, but the Red Dot is a bit high, I'll adjust it this weekend.  I started out getting a little too much trigger and pushing my shots to the left.  Once I used a little less fingertip that was fine. 

 

It's been a long time since I shot for accuracy and it shows in my groupings.

First three shots from five yards.

[Wyzz Kydd]

Then a triple tap from five yards, pushing left just a bit.

 

[Wyzz Kydd]

Then I stopped trying to co-witness and just focused on the red dot.

Not bad for a fast triple tap at 15 yards with a micro-compact.

[Wyzz Kydd]

The only drawback.  This was another triple from 15 yards, but I got my thumb on the mag release while I was shooting it and it partially released in my hand resulting in the only flyer of the day.

 

[Wyzz Kydd]

I learned one thing for sure.  When you spend the last 10 years focusing on speed, your groupings suffer.  That's particularly true when you're used to shooting pistols with 1.25 lbs trigger pulls that only travel about a 1/16th of an inch.  Switching to an 8 lb long trigger pull made those head shots at 15 yards harder than I would have thought.

[gwalchmai]

That's some good shooting, Wyzz. Are those Hellcats made in Croatia? I have an xD that is everything it should be. Springfield's Balkan connection is a great idea for everyone involved, I think. 

[Wyzz Kydd]

Thank you!  Not exactly bullseye, but OK for minute of bad guy.

It is made in Croatia.  I've been pleasantly surprised.  In the past I've rejected several Glocks because of the trigger pull.  I'm very picky about my triggers.  My Colt Commander has a nice light pull, no grit, clean break with a very quick reset.  My competition guns have the sweetest triggers you can imagine, the proverbial icicle breaking. 

This is the first trigger with a blade safety that I've found acceptable.  It's smooth, too long, with a bit more stacking than I would like, but it has a nice break and a quick reset.  It's definitely not made for precision shooting, but very acceptable for fast, adrenaline pumping  close in work, which is what I bought this gun for. 

Having said that, if anyone knows of aftermarket triggers for the Hellcat I would love to shorten the travel a bit and drop the pull down below 5 lbs.

[minderasr]

2 hours ago, Wyzz Kydd said:

Having said that, if anyone knows of aftermarket triggers for the Hellcat I would love to shorten the travel a bit and drop the pull down below 5 lbs.

Not below 5 lbs., but 5-5.5 lbs.  I put these on a few of my Glocks and really like them.

https://www.apextactical.com/apex-hellcat-action-enhancement-trigger-black-4