Article courtesy of Springfield Armory: The Armory Life
By: Beyond Seclusion
If you’ve asked how far can the Hellcat pistol shoot, today’s article shows that 200 yards is within the reach of this micro 9mm. Check out the video to watch it happen. ~Editor
I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not a huge fan of concealed carry handguns. Don’t get me wrong, I have my permit and I carry. But, I don’t care for their feel in my hands and recoil when shooting them. They are very much purpose-driven guns in my opinion and not intended for a fun day at the range, competition, or just an all-around “play-time” gun. If you are familiar with my YouTube channel, you know this is what I like to do!
So, all that being said, I was not exactly the target audience for the Hellcat micro 9mm. Here is a real quick background on the Hellcat, just in case you are not familiar with it.
Springfield released the Hellcat in September 2019, and it’s chambered in the popular 9mm round. It’s very specifically designed and intended for concealed carry, and with the 11+1 or 13+1 round magazines and its features, it was named 2020 Handgun of the Year by American Rifleman magazine as well as numerous other publications and groups.
Ok …. so it is “intended” for concealed carry. Sure, but what can I do with this little gun? How much FUN can I have with it? I find a great deal of pleasure in pushing the limits on guns, especially pistols, and I like to see just what can I do with them. How much fun can I have “playing” with it at the range and how far a distance can I push it to?
The reason I was excited to test the Hellcat was because of how it “feels” in my hands. I have found that when it feels really good and as long as it has a decent trigger, we can be surprised what we can do with it. The other thing that made me think I can really push this little gun is that it came with the HEX Wasp red dot. Give me a red dot on a pistol and I can push the distance if it’s a decent shooter.
The Hellcat is small. It’s a concealed carry gun, so it is not meant for distance … at all. This is a close-quarters self-defense firearm. The practical intended distance for any concealed carry pistol is under 7 yards (21’), and that is the generally accepted maximum distance with typical ranges measuring from 3 to 7 yards. 25 yards is considered a maximum distance and, for most, completely impractical.
Well, doing what I like doing, I zeroed it at 50 yards. Yep, you read that correctly — 50 yards. Using Geco 9mm Luger 115-gr. FMJ, I was able to get around 4”-6” groups at 50 yards using a rest and sandbag.
Now, of course, who is using a bench and bag for a pistol, right? So, I went down to about 20 yards and did a mag dump on steel. This was not difficult at all. I then went back to 50 and tried it standing with pretty decent luck.
Well, of course, then I had to try 100 yards and see if I could hit the steel silhouette target. This definitely increased the difficulty, and it was moderately challenging to consistently hit steel using the rest and bag. What surprised me was what I was able to do at 100 yards standing. I was able to do surprisingly well!
So, that success led me to push the gun out even farther — yes, I am of course talking about trying to hit steel at 200 yards. While this was challenging, with some concentration, steady trigger pulls, and the rest and bags, I was able to do it. If you don’t believe me, check out the video.
The Hellcat is one hell of a gun. I like everything about it, and it shoots as well as it feels. I get lots of “interesting” comments on my YouTube channel about why am I shooting a pistol at 100-200 yards. My reasoning is simple; if I can bang the steel at those distances, I will have no problems at 10’. And, I get to have some fun doing it!
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