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Did the Hellcat Kill the XD-S?

Bassbob said:
About a year ago I got sciatica running down my right leg. I switched up my positioning and the sciatica moved to my left leg. Wouldn't go away. Chiropractor hooked me up. Left it at 4:00 and haven't had issues since, other than my Texas trip, but that's another story. The Reckoning. I think that's the one I was looking at. Those are available with a spare mag carrier attached right? It's in my near future ( along with a bunch of stuff). I love CB for IWB and Muddy River Tactical for OWB. Both Missouri owned and veteran owned and both make products that I like very much.
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Yeah, it has the mag carrier if ordered as an addition. Mine doesn’t have a mag carrier, but I did buy the clips to make it an OWB if I want to. Normally, I carry IWB, but if range or class permitted drawing, and only allowed OWB holsters, I’d be able to convert. It didn’t add a lot to the cost, so I figured why not.
 
Bassbob said:
I almost bought the 4" .45. I'm glad I didn't now because I think they will make a Shield Plus in .45 at some point. I will definitely be grabbing a PC version of that gun when they make it. The grips on the Shield just work really well for me. Even with the stock 2.0 trigger I shoot that gun incredibly well. Almost as good as @SimonRL. :cool:
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Between the wife and I we have a Shield 2.0 3.1", Shield 2.0 PC .45 3.6", Shield 2.0 PC .45 4", (2) Shield+ 3.1", Shield+PC 4". The 4's are very nice and not a chore to carry although I have predominantly only carried them OWB. I agree with your assessment on the Shield. No matter how my gun inventory changes I always have Shield / Shields
 
I really wanted to like the Hellcat, but I just couldn't do it. The XDS Mod.2 fit my hand much better. The flatter profile of the XDS was also easier for me to conceal with my body type. While guns like the Sig P365 and Hellcat are smaller, the grips always seems to print much more than the flatter grip on the XDS or the S&W Shield series.

I considered carrying the Hellcat because I wanted more capacity than the XDS. I wound up carrying an S&W Shield Plus because it offered the grip style that I prefer with the additional capacity that I wanted. I'd switch back to carrying a Springfield in a heartbeat if they gave the XDS the stack-and-a half treatment that S&W gave the Shield Plus. The Hellcat is a good gun, just not for me. An "XDS Plus" would be my ideal gun (if Springfield ever makes one).
 
Ok, my thoughts on this, I have both the Hellcat OSP and the XDs Mod 2, I wanted the Hellcat from when they first came out, it didn’t disappoint me, great little gun, but it does have a smallish grip frame, got my XDs later on, I actually prefer it as a carry gun over the Hellcat due to the grip frame size. Now at this time I carry a Sig 365, really like it, I don’t see the XDs going anywhere soon.
 
I prefer and love my XD Mod2 40
Never handled a XDs or XDe
I did rent and shoot a HellCat when they first came out, I had no problem with the trigger however the gun was just to small for my larger then average hands, reminded me of the S&W MP Shield 40 I owned, first gun I bought, no matter how hard I held that gun it moved in my strong hand. Anyway I’m sure the HellCat is a great gun but just to small.
 
I've shot both, but I carry the XDS every day. Couldn't get past the teency grip of the Hellcat. I even added a section of rubber tubing on my XDS to augment the narrowness of the grip and to tame that stupid aggressive texture on the XDS grip. I acknowledge that the Hellcat overcame that aggressive grip for a more "sandpaper" texture, but the smaller size of the handle just doesn't work for me.
 
BET7 said:
Hey Bob, Good video from Crossbreed on AIWB pros and cons and their two holsters (Reckoning being one), with attachments that can be used for AIWB.

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I agree! Thanks for the video, Bob. It really helped me get set up comfortably with my Hellcat RDP and Reckoning (and growing belly). AIWB and letting the holster "ride up" my belly was a big help.
 
Rpope308 said:
I carry the springfield emp 4 . Can't go wrong with a 1911 made for the 9mm round. Don't get me wrong I also carry a glock 9mm gen 5 when I work in Baltimore. Sometimes more is better
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If I was required to be in a sketchy area, I'd figure out a way to carry my XDM Elite Tactical OSP. 22+1 capacity would give me a fair head start :cool:
 
WellArmed said:
Not sure why the trigger staying back is an issue. The trigger is dead and useless whether it stays to the rear or not until the slide is racked again. The Hellcat is not the only platform with a trigger like that FYI. It's common on several other platforms.

Yes, it is small. That is the whole point of single stacks, mouse 380s, etc. Deep concealment, lightweight, small package. That's like wanting a deep concealment gun, buying a Glock 19 or 17, and then complaining and bashing it for being to big.

My guess is it's just a matter of time before Springfield discontinue the XDS just like they did with the XDE. Other than members on this forum, it seems the market and the rest of America have moved away from single stacks and the XDS to the Micro 9mm like the Hellcat.
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Like (apparently) the rest of America, I was swayed by the Hellcat, P365, and other micro compact 9mm offerings. They are functional, glamorous, and very well marketed across the industry. I dislike all the ones I've tried. Probably because of marketing hype, I rode the micro compact train. As a Springfield fan, I really wanted to like the Hellcat, and believed I needed one when I needed to carry something smaller than my XD Mod.2 subcompact.

Turns out, I can carry the Mod.2 subcompact pretty well (and concealed) even in summer. And it also turns out that, although I can shoot the Hellcat fairly well, it's not an enjoyable activity. On the other hand, I can take the XD Mod.2 to the range and run 2-3 hundred rounds through it without complaint.

For my use and preference, I'll leave the rest of America to their micro-compact fetish. It will probably fade soon and I won't have missed out on anything.
 
Shawn85206 said:
Having had both the Hellcat and XDS Mod. 2, I must agree. We originally purchased our non-OSP Hellcat for my wife. unfortunately, we quickly figured out that with her arthritis, she could not easily rack the slide. Meanwhile, I picked up an XDS Mod.2. When I shot them side by side, I much preferred the feeling of the XDS, and it shot more accurately.

I installed a DPM recoil spring in the Hellcat hoping it would make it easier for my wife. Soon came the Apex trigger and PRP internal spring kit. Still, she couldn't rack the thing, even after I'd run 500+ rounds through it. At this point, we stopped asking what we could do to make it usable for her and started looking at something like an EZ.

Okay, I inherited a new toy, a toy everything I read said was awesome, so investigated what else I could do to the Cat. I installed a threaded barrel as a suppressor was always part of the long-term plan, and added a Tyrant Unicomp to tame some of the recoil. In the end, except for cutting the slide for an optic, it got about every mod available. The spring kit and trigger I loved, made it a much more comfortable gun, but the funny thing was, I still didn't love it as much as my XDS. The only advantage I saw in the Hellcat was capacity.

I stopped and added up what I'd paid to upgrade the Hellcat, WOW. All this time I had planned to replicate this on the XDS, but when I looked it, it was a hard number to stomach, plus XDS parts weren't as readily available, I felt like my hands were tied. I started looking for something I could buy that already had much of what I did right out of the box. An XDM Elite was my target...then the PDP appeared on the market. A PPQ was at the very top of that "What I want next" list.

I talked to a lot of people at all the LGS and posed the question, "XDM Elite or PDP?" I was honestly shocked when even the people that didn't carry Walther ALL pointed to the PDP, a few who didn't carry Walther offered other "in stock" options, but between the two said PDP. I sold the XDS and put that into my PDP C4, a gun that was beautiful to shoot from day 1. I don't for a second regret the choice of replacement, just the gun I sold to get it.

Even today, I have just never fallen in love with the Cat and miss the feel of the XDS. Every time I take the Cat shooting, I feel more and more like I just don't want to be bothered with it anymore, but when I look at the loss I'd take. I feel like I'd dug myself in a hole with it and am stuck with it.
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I haven't shot it yet, but there is now a PDP F-series that is supposedly designed by and specifically for women. Not sure if the slide is easy to rack (at least easier than the Hellcat), but it might be worthwhile having your wife check it out if she's still looking for the right firearm for her. Feel your pain on the Hellcat. I sold mine for half of what I paid for it, but that's better than letting the full investment sit on the shelf and collect dust (in my opinion!).
 
My first CCW pistol was a G26, little bulky but concealable, then I moved to the original XDs in .45, carried that till it had to be sent back for the recall, then carried my Bulldog in .44spec, got the Hellcat, but never really carried it much, bought the XDs mod2 in 9mm, carried it until recently when I picked up the Sig 365, so if I were to pick either the Hellcat or XDs, I would choose the XDs mod2 due to a bit larger grip area.
 
Shawn85206 said:
Having had both the Hellcat and XDS Mod. 2, I must agree. We originally purchased our non-OSP Hellcat for my wife. unfortunately, we quickly figured out that with her arthritis, she could not easily rack the slide.
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Have your wife try either a Boberg or a Bond Arms Bullpup. My wife also has issues with racking a slide and she loves hers. They are also very accurate and extremely well made.
 
I bought a Springfield MOD-2 compact in 9mm 13/16 mag size years ago.
When the Hellcat came out I did a side by side comparison from Springfield's Web Site and I don't see much difference between the two to make me want to have one.
Sure you can have the Hellcat with a red dot, but for me being red green color blind I could not see the dot anyway so it's a moot point.
As far as single stacks go I have a revolver that would fill that spot, so for now the MOD-2 stays.
 
Invisibleflash said:
I'm Hellcat all the way. I carry 2 of them. Soon to be 3 Hellcats as things go further to hell in America. .45 has poor penetration and low cap.

Now...Hellcat is no target gun. If you are talking a gun for the range...then no Hellcat. Hellcat is for CCW.
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I sure do like my Hellcat. I'm probably going to buy the wife one shortly. I bought mine as the RDP and I used it to run a qualification course for a security team and passed with flying colors. I have purchased the short barrel and still like the pistol a lot.
 
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