When it comes to the slimmer 9mm striker fired polymer pistols, I do not have any particular favorite, nor have I really shot anything else besides a stock Glock 48 and the original M&P Shield. For the most part, it’s fair to say that all sub-compact striker fired 9mm pistols tend to be on the snappier side of felt recoil due to their smaller size and more diminutive weights; as result, they require a more assertive shooting grip. But recently I got to help a friend take his brand new Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro OSP on its maiden voyage at a local indoor range.

Hellcat Pro OSP First Impressions

The Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro is a 9mm Luger chambered striker fired semi automatic pistol originally made in Croatia. As a member of the Springfield Armory Hellcat product line, the Pro version specifically differs by virtue of its slightly larger frame, a longer barrel (3.7 inches vs 3.0 inches), accessory rail and the fact that it ships with 15 round magazines. Its slide is also optics ready from the factory, and it ships with a footprint for sights like Springfield’s own Hex Wasp or the Shield RMS-C (four lugs, two screws). Looking over the whole package, Springfield Armory is blurring the threshold between a sub-compact pistol and the slightly larger “Glock 19” form-factor pistols. The Hellcat Pro’s dimensions clearly stop at that margin allowing shooters to get the benefits and handling of those slightly larger pistols while remaining extremely easy to carry–with a total capacity of 15 + 1. Although the Pro is the largest member of the Hellcat family, this pistol is still only one inch wide. The Hellcat Pro’s closest rivals in terms of form and function are going to be the two larger members of the SIG-Sauer P365 family: The P365 XL and the P365 X-Macro. In my geographic area, the Hellcat Pro has a real world retail price at most gun shops and big box sporting goods stores of about $600 dollars not including tax.

For my normal sized hands, the Hellcat Pro’s grip did not feel too small, and the grip’s contouring is certainly geared towards every day carry and it seems like the Croatians did their homework on it. I was able to comfortably build a two-handed freestyle grip. Mild texturing that feels fairly grippy without being overly coarse or sharp wraps this grip, and it lacks any finger grooves. Like other modern striker guns in its class, the fact that such a pistol uses a magazine that crams 15 rounds of 9mm Luger into such a compact package is still something I marvel at. The pistol ships in in a small soft sided foam case and includes two magazines.

At a glance my single favorite thing about this pistol in particular are its factory night sights. The front sight is a thick and has a luminescent eye-grabbing laser yellow ring that surrounds a vial of tritium. The rear sight is a very generous U-notch with a white outline. Lining up the sights takes little effort and these make a lot of sense on carry gun. I have a minor reservation about the white outline of the rear sight. I think it is too busy, can be distracting to the eye and completely unnecessary. I found that when using either target focused or a front sight focused shooting technique, the white outline simply did not add anything. If I were to own and carry one of these pistols, I would personally use a permanent market to cover up this outline.

The Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro On The Firing Line

During our impromptu range session, we christened this new Hellcat Pro with three boxes of 115 grain 9mm CCI Blazer range ammo. I’m very comfortable using this cartridge across pistols and find it to provide very reasonable accuracy. Again, due to its smaller overall size and weight, the relatively mild Blazer round starts to feel somewhat warmer when fired from this pistol. It is not a big deal and it is only part of the territory of slimline 9mm pistols optimized for carry. At least it is easier to shoot than an Airweight J-frame! The Springfield Hellcat Pro’s trigger break is very reasonable and easy to manage; it does not have any spongy feeling or creep. I took some shots at 3, 5, and 7 yards just to get a feel for things. At one point, I decided to hang a clean target with an NRA B-8 sized ring and have the indoor range’s pulley system move it all the way back to their 25 yard line. I must admit that the result of my 10 round group at 25 yards using “range ammo” and a pistol I had never handled or fired before impressed me. More so because the Hellcat Pro’s night sights are great for defensive carry and shooting scenarios but are not necessarily ideal for precision shooting. Honestly, the Pro’s “shootability” is what prompted this review.

The Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro And Its Rivals

My review only covers first impressions and 3 boxes (150 rounds) of shooting should not be considered in-depth. This specific pistol appears to be extremely competitive against its SIG-Sauer P365 rivals, the XL and X-Macro versions. I’ve never shot any P365 so I cannot comment, but compared against a stock Glock 48, the stock Hellcat Pro not only comes with better sights and a better feeling trigger, not to mention the five extra rounds of magazine capacity and the fact that it includes an accessory rail. From a general real world retail price standpoint, this pistol is competes against the the P365 XL and the Glock 48, maybe with a marginally higher price. Compared to the real world retail price of the P365 X-Macro There are many holster companies that support this specific Hellcat variant. One of my favorite, Dark Star Gear, is currently developing an Apollo holster shell that is compatible with the Hellcat Pro’s slight larger frame.

Fort Worth, Texas (December 19, 2022) – XS^® Sights is pleased to introduce new Lever Rails for Henry Big Boy carbines chambered in .357 Magnum (HN-6001R-N) and .44 Magnum (HN-6002R-N).

The XS Sights Lever Rails are machined from aircraft-grade aluminum and hard coat anodized to provide a lightweight mounting system that is tough enough for a lifetime of service. The rail bolts on to round barrel models of the Henry Big Boy – no gunsmithing required – for a quick, do-it-yourself upgrade. Machined to Mil-Std 1913 Picatinny specifications, the XS Lever Rail extends from the rear of the receiver to the front sight dovetail cut to allow mounting of any optic – red dot, scout scope, or low-powered variable optic (LPVO) – giving you the most versatile mounting platform available.

The XS Sights Lever Rails for the Henry Big Boy carbines are designed for carbines with steel receivers and round barrels. Due to differences in barrel contour, the rails and sights are caliber specific.

The XS Lever Rail will not fit carbines with brass receivers, and it will not fit carbines with octagonal barrels.

Retail Price: $72.00

For more information, visit www.xssights.com.

About XS Sights

XS Sights is known for making the fastest sights in any light. For more than 25 years, the XS team has created some of the most innovative sights on the market today for pistols, rifles and shotguns. Whether used for personal defense or hunting, these sights are designed and built to be the absolute best for their specific purpose. American Made. Texas Proud. 2A Strong.

Let’s face it, women are different than men. In more ways than just the size of their hands..ha.

Editor’s Note: I snort laughed too, its ok.

Women have smaller hands yet the firearm industry is still very behind on ensuring that each range glove that comes out also has smaller female sizing. Many times even the small size listed for men is still too big for us. Below are the options that I have found and used to cover these little trigger pullers.

Note: This may be a small list because I am only sharing the ones that I have personal experience with. I will not recommend something that I personally haven’t tried. Especially when it comes to handling firearms. Even so though, this short list shows how behind the industry is as well..

Daily Range Use

When buying PIG gloves I highly recommend following their sizing guide as they can get TIGHT. Which is good, but it needs to be comfortable. For the Women’s Glove I went with XS due to it being my main shooting glove and wanting it tight. For the Utility Glove I went with Small due to wanting more room and using it for work more so instead of shooting.

Both gloves feature a thumb and pointer finger material that is compatible with touch screen devices (and actually works) and has a bar tacked loop to hang the gloves off of your pants when not in use.

PIG (FDT) Charlie – Women’s Glove

Price: $44.95
Sizing: Xsmall, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge
Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, Carbon Grey, Multicam, Ranger Green, Multicam Black

PIG (FDT) Echo – Women’s Utility Glove

Price:$29.95
Sizing: Xsmall, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge
Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, Carbon Grey, Multicam, Ranger Green, Multicam Black

The only downside with both of these gloves are that they don’t come up the forearm and wrist much to protect from hot brass. That can be fixed with separate sleeves or long sleeved shirt though.

Remember, FOLLOW THE SIZING GUIDE HERE BEFORE PURCHASING.

Winter

Women’s Arete II GORE-TEX Gloves

Price: $99.00
Size: Small, Medium, Large
Colors: Black, Red/Tan

These gloves are the best I’ve had when it comes to winter gloves. They come with a Merino liner that is easily to slip on and can be dawned separate of the main glove. They have shown to be waterproof and VERY warm. Coming from a company like Outdoor Research I expect nothing less. OR has a very full line of Women’s gloves specifically which made them a top contender.

Hand Muffs

When looking for warm shooting gloves I’d recommend instead looking for a hand muff. Instead of having big clunky gloves or freezing your hands by having to take them off every time you want to shoot, just dawn your normal shooting gloves and in between shooting iterations throw your hands into a muff.

Most muffs come with a belt that will attach to the waist. Many hunters use muffs, and more shooters are starting to jump on that train. It can be spun to be in the rear of you not to get in the way or the front if you are sitting and waiting. Many types of muffs also have a pocket in which you can throw hand warmers in, both the shake kind and battery.

Sitka Incinerator Muff

This muff is super soft and lightweight, but bigger than others on the market. I myself like the size because it keeps my butt warm when I spin it to my backside. I haven’t had to use handwarmers inside of it yet. It is on Amazon prime for the same price.

Price:$139.00
Size: One Size Fits All

“Your micro isn’t everybody’s macro”

This is a favorite expression of friend and mentor Cecil Burch of Immediate Action Combatives.

Without putting words in his mouth, my understanding is that this comment is born out of people’s tendency to view things through the lens of their own experience and use that to determine viability and validity, whether that be a technique, piece of equipment, or lifestyle choice.

This is going to be a short series on my observations of that saying’s applicability in various segments of the gun world.

I will preface this by saying that these articles are not intended as any sort of hit piece or critique of any specific individual, merely my observations having spent time in various segments of the defensive space, as well as seeing how some ideas are received by folks outside of the self defense community. 

My hope is to help bridge some perceived communications gaps that result in people talking past one another, to facilitate the transfer of the best possible information in the easiest possible manner.

GUN GUY MICRO ISN’T EVERYBODY’S MACRO:

There’s different flavors of “gun guy”. You hear a lot of epithets thrown around like “Fudd”, “Timmy”, “Gamer”, and the like, but I think that Prof. David Yamane quantifies it pretty well:

You’ve got Gun Culture 1.0 where people grew up with firearms as a part of daily life as much for sport or sustenance as defense against criminal violence.

Gun Culture 2.0 are the ones that may not have been the recipient of a .22 or .410 on their 6th birthday. Their childhood exposure to firearms may have been limited to non-existent. As adults they’ve felt compelled to pursue firearms as a means of protection.

The major thing that these two groups have in common, at least to some degree, is the acceptance of firearms ownership as logical, sensible, and relatively normal.

Especially given that gun ownership at large is vilified within certain segments of society, it’s not uncommon for gun owners/carriers to socialize and associate primarily with other gun owners. The challenge is that this creates a subculture that has definitions of “normal” and “acceptable” that don’t necessarily resonate with those outside their circle.

This, in and of itself, isn’t really a problem. After all, society is made up of lots of differing viewpoints. The challenge lies in the absolute incredulity that many gun owners/carriers have that people don’t see gun ownership as normal.

This issue is further compounded by the fact that all too often, when met with opposition, the 2A community likes to drape itself in this cloak of righteousness, and simply rebut critics with uncompelling talking points like “The Constitution is my carry permit” or “Shall not be infringed!”.

While they may be technically correct, they’re tactically ineffective. Zealotry, regardless of the actual position, does nothing but polarize the issue, and make the proponents seem unreasonable/unapproachable.

If someone’s having an interaction with a person that isn’t a staunch supporter of gun ownership, labeling them as a sheep or a coward does nothing to make the armed lifestyle more appealing or relatable.

While you’re likely never going to change the mind of someone who is adamantly anti-gun, the hardline ideologies will serve to alienate people who are otherwise gun-agnostic or possibly gun-curious.

If there’s an interaction with someone who’s managed to get this far in their life without being the victim of a violent crime, or otherwise experiencing something that would drive them to gun culture, trying to bully or shame them into ignoring the past 30+ years of their experience isn’t an effective way to build allies.

I don’t carry a gun out of fear, so why try and scare others into seeing things my way?

Missed Parts 1 & 2? Read them here and here.

Back when I worked at the gun shop in ‘09 I drafted a post on social media that I hoped would serve as a primer that I could direct people to when they had questions about what gun to buy.

Looking at it 13 years later it’s aged pretty well, especially compared to some of my other opinions about guns and self preservation.

I wanted to share it in its entirety, with the relevant updates and adjustments.

Let me know what you think:

“Because I have received so many questions about this topic over the past year, I figured it was time to put down some guidelines. Between having been a firearms enthusiast (ok, fine, gun nut) since about 13 years old, and having worked in one of the country’s largest gun stores for the past year, I figured this gives me at least a limited amount of experience that can be shared with those I hold dear.

THE GUN BUYING CRITERA:

(1) SIMPLICITY: You want all operations of the weapon to be simple. The reason for this is that, when under stress, you will lose a lot of your fine motor skill (I’ve since learned this is not an accurate statement. For more on this seek out John Hearne’s lecture on Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why) and will not be thinking as clearly as you normally would. I have heard tell that someone experiencing an adrenaline rush is as impaired as someone who is drunk. The easier the weapon is to manipulate and operate, the less you will have to think about during that “oh shit” scenario.

NOTE: This is my main reason for disliking manual safety catches on a defensive pistol. There have been numerous instances of professionals (cops, soldiers, contractors, etc) who have drawn their side arm and attempted to fire it, only to find that they had either a) neglected to remove the safety or b) accidentally re-activated it in the process of drawing the weapon. (I don’t have any sources to substantiate this) Remember this phrase kids: SAFETIES DONT MAKE YOU SAFER. (Still true. One of my biggest issues with manual/active safeties is that it creates an artificial external locus of control in novice users. I abhor the people that insist they need a safety on a handgun “because they have kids”)

(2) RELIABILTY: I figure this one is pretty self-explanatory. The sexiest looking or most comfortable firearm on the planet ain’t gonna do you any good if it’s constantly jamming on you or won’t consistently load rounds in the first place. Some would argue that this should be the most important criterion. I disagree for this reason: If the weapon is simple, it will be easy to correct a malfunction. ANY weapon, even the most reliable will jam or misfire eventually. So if it is a more complicated system, correcting that malfunction will take more time than you may have.

(3) EASE OF MAINTENANCE: People are naturally lazy. All weapons need to be maintained. You can see this Catch 22. The easier the firearm is to maintain, and the LESS routine maintenance it requires, the better it will perform for you in the long run. Routine maintenance usually entails field stripping the weapon, removing any carbon build up and lubricating the functional parts. Sounds easy, but some folks can’t spare the 30 minutes out of their day to do it (Guns run dirty, they don’t run dry. Routine maintenance is more about replacing springs, inspecting feed lips, and making sure screws haven’t backed out/vibrated loose)

(4) PARTS AVAILABILITY AND COST: Firearms are just like any other machine. Eventually parts are going to wear out and need to be replaced. The less expensive and more readily available these parts are, the more likely it is that your weapon will be in peak operating condition. More so, if the parts are easily replaced you won’t be scared to wear them out. I know that sounds strange, but follow me here. If you train routinely with a weapon, the parts will wear faster than if it only comes out once every couple of months just to go punch paper.

NOTE: There is a huge difference between learning how to shoot a gun and learning how to fight with a gun. The level of training that it takes to become effective with a firearm for personal defense is much more involved than just going to the range once a month and shooting at a bull’s-eye. True weapons training wears out factory parts much quicker than casual sport shooting. (Kinda true, kinda not. The mechanics of shooting don’t really change between bullseye and gunfighting, and the other aspects don’t really involve live fire, so they don’t really contribute to wear on the gun. I still maintain that it’s much more involved to become a well rounded defensive practitioner, but not because the mechanics of “gunfighting” are any more strenuous on the gun than competition. Plus the high volume of ammo that serious competitors go through also disproves the original statement)

(5) AMMUNITION PREFERENCE: Firearms have a personality. Not only that, but each INDIVIDUAL firearm has its own personality. For example, you can pick up one make and model pistol, and it will have a certain predilection for a particular type of ammo. You can then pull the exact SAME make and model pistol from a different production run and find that that same ammo may cause the weapon to jam routinely. While this is a bit of an exaggeration, the point is that some weapons are more particular about the kind of ammunition you feed it than others. (Yes “feed it”. It’s an industry term). The less of a “picky eater” your firearm is, the easier it will be for you to find ammo that works and you won’t be as hesitant to shoot your stockpile of that one special brand your weapon actually likes.

If you notice, nowhere in these criteria was COMFORT ever mentioned. I am currently a student of the school of “just shoot the fuckin’ thing!” The philosophy being that, if you are truly committed to becoming an effective defensive shooter, you will put enough time behind the trigger to master whatever platform is available. ALSO these people who say that they can shoot one type of handgun but not another are FULL OF SHIT! That’s like saying “When I get behind the wheel of a Ford I’m a great driver, but in a Chevy I’m all over the road”. You can either shoot or you can’t. The skills of a true marksman transcend any differences between models of firearms. (I was way off base with this one…mostly. There is a huge difference between a pistol being “comfortable” and being “ergonomic”. You need to be able to reach all the controls, and be able to build the appropriate structural support around the grip of the gun. Some guns fit certain people better than others. Additionally, as your skill develops you also develop preferences. I, for example, seem to shoot better with a rolling trigger instead of one that breaks from a hard wall. People are wired differently, they think and process information differently, and they interpret stimuli differently. As such, it makes sense to try and tailor the tool to the user as long as you’re not just trying to buy skill)

Now, all this being said, most of my inexperienced friends are sitting here, having read this saying “Well that’s great. All this is good information, if you already know the characteristics of the guns”. Which is true? I’m not going to end this by saying that everyone needs to go out and only buy one gun that I recommend, and if they don’t then we are no longer friends. The truth is that having me select a gun for you is a lot like having me pick out your underwear. It’s just too personal of a decision for anyone to make but you. I will, however, offer some friendly suggestions. Mind you, all of these recommendations are going to be for handguns that CAN be used for home defense, but is primarily geared towards concealed carry:

GUNS WORTH LOOKING IN TO:

-Glock 26 or 19

-Smith & Wesson M&P 9c

–Kahr 9 Series (Honestly I still like these guns, but they don’t really fit the aforementioned criteria. They’re somewhat ammo sensitive, not a lot of aftermarket support, and the recoil springs are very stiff.

–S&W Shield (I still own one, but I really feel that it’s been subplanted by the 365 series)

– HK VP9

– Sig 320 (Jury’s out on this one. I’m hearing enough mixed reviews to remove it from my recommendations out of an abundance of caution)

– There is currently a glut of quality 9mm handguns out there, and from the major manufacturers you’ve got a higher chance of picking a good one at random than ever before. 

– KelTec P32

You will note that all of these guns are 9mm. 9mm IS a good defensive caliber. You’ll hear a lot of old school guys, cops and military trash on the 9mm round because it doesn’t have enough “knock down power” or “stopping power”. Well guess what…..shot placement is far more critical than the size of your bullet. A good 9mm hollow point will generate a MASSIVE sufficient wound cavity. Also, the recoil is much more manageable than other calibers. This Hollywood concept of a “one-shot-stop” is almost entirely a myth. You are more than likely going to have to fire more than once to stop the threat, so you might as well have a weapon that doesn’t kick so hard that it takes you several seconds to get back on target. Also, you’ll be able to carry more rounds with a 9mm vs. larger calibers. I’ve never met anyone who has had to use a firearm to protect themselves say after the fact “I wish I had less ammo”.

The last suggested pistol is a small pocket gun. (I can’t find what I originally recommended in that category, I suspect it was the Ruger LCP. The P32 has become my preferred pocket pistol for reasons I’ve discussed in several videos.) That is for those who really don’t want to change ANY of their habits but still carry a gun. I call these people LAZY. I would rather adjust my daily behavior slightly and be able to carry a larger gun that will more than likely do a more effective job of helping me defend myself, but again this is all a matter of opinion. (This was written when I worked and lived entirely in the gun space, and interacted almost exclusively with gun people. I realized this mentality is a luxury of those folks that don’t have to interact with the public at large, or work/live/socialize in conditions where being armed is somewhere between unusual and unacceptable) You have to find what works for you.

All in all I hope this was helpful. Any questions can either be messaged to me directly, but I would prefer they be posted as a comment where I can reply so that everyone can benefit. Feel free to DM or email me directly on this, but obviously it’s not as applicable since it’s no longer on my Facebook wall.

Stay safe Dangerous!

I stole this from the late Dr. William Aprill. I don’t remember the exact story, but the summary is someone told him “stay safe” and his response was “if you can’t be safe, be dangerous!”

I appreciate the delineation. Being safe is a set of behaviors. Being dangerous is a set of capabilities.