You could try and load the mags and leave them sit loaded for a bit, sometimes this helps, on my Hellcat OSP FDE, mags were little stiff also, the recoil spring will loosen up after you shoot it more, mine shoots fine with the 115gr ammo, don’t forget the recoil spring will last 5,000-8,000 rounds so it will be stiff at first, not to repeat here, it needs to be taken out and shot, my recoil spring loosened up some after about 200 rounds
Thanks, guys. But the mags have been loaded for months without improvement and the recoil spring stovepipes every several rounds with 115gr bhp and 115 gr fmj even after polished feed ramp. Also difficult to rack 1st round.
Some were hand loads but tried factory loads with similar result. Heavier loads and heavier bullets seem better with recycling, but would have no effect in loading magazines. (Although stiff magazine springs could affect feed precision and extract/eject timing.) I posted , not as a complaint, but out of curiosity if anyone else had suffered similar issues.^ Good additional details.
So here's where the troubleshooting now goes, with the additional details you've supplied -
(1) With the mags, would you be wiling to buy a new magazine from a different retailer? Alternatively, do you know others with the same gun, with known-accurate round-counts, and can compare to see if your magazine springs may actually be problematic? Occasionally, heat-treatments will go wrong - or even an incorrect part could have been fitted.
(2) Smaller guns typically are harder to manipulate. As with the above, see if you can't get your hands on a few of the same guns -again with known-accurate round-counts- to see if yours is truly out-of-the-ordinary.
You noted specifically "light to medium loads" using 115 gr BHP and FMJ. I am assuming that these are your hand-loads? If so, has the pistol seen any function issues with factory-new ammo? Factory ammo is usually the acid-test for function, despite the many possible superior aspects of hand-loads. Additionally, if you are having issues with factory-new ammo, how many brands/makes/loads have you tried? It is not uncommon for unique guns to "like/dislike" one or even a few specific brands/makes/loads.
I intend to try other mags if replacement springs are not available. I like the pistol.
No limp wristing, I actually thought of that at the range. And that would not cause the difficulty loading the magazines.
I agree. I was a military small arms instructor for over 35 years. I have handloaded thousands of magazines on many different pistols and rifles, and have the lump on my index finger to prove it. The springs on these magazines are the toughest I have ever worked with. I have the 11 and 13 rounders and have yet to be able to fully load them since I purchased my HellCat 6 months ago. Even getting in number 10 and number 12 is a trick. With today's modern springs I don't think fully loading them and letting them sit is even going to work. In the military we had fully loaded magazines that sat in our safes for a year at a time. They always fired and always maintained their flexibility year in and year out. Oh well.....better safe than sorry.
This is a little strange, I swear I can load the 11 and the 13 in just a minute or two with the loader included with the gun.
We’ll, I’ll have to check my box. Maybe it did come with one. I got my Hellcat in July of 2020 - over a year ago. Maybe I just forgot. I really don’t mind loading mags by hand. I’ll check and let you know.
No loader came with the OSP Hellcat version new in box here. Must be with newer models? Hadn't seen loader advertised on SA's website either until the link.
I guess that's a perk you get if you spring for the RDP model...
