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I recently bought a Springfield Hellcat but can't find anything in the owner's manual about the following subjects:

1. They don't say anything one way or the other about using +P ammo. Does anybody know whether or not they discourage it?

2. They also don't say anything about inserting a magazine and racking the slide to put a round in the chamber and then replacing that first round in the mag and reinserting it into the pistol. Although this is a very common practice (I do it myself), I've heard that some manufacturers discourage the practice. Anybody know whether or not Springfield discourages this practice?

Any input appreciated.

Crash

You might try the big Springfield forum site - xdtalk dot com. There are forums for each of the SA gun families.

Best wishes

Going +1 is usually a question of reliability that can vary by specific mag used. So not surprising it wasn't mentioned in the manual. You'll have to run it that way on the range- do 1 shot drills and top off for each one, that will give you lots of proving reps without spending lots of ammo. It will also break in mags faster as you are working it repeatedly to full compression.

+p - I'd call or email them to verify. Are you normally running +p or is it more of a general question?

NewGunGuy3 wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:09 am You might try the big Springfield forum site - xdtalk dot com. There are forums for each of the SA gun families.

Best wishes

NewGunGuy3,

Thanks for the suggestion--I'll check it out.

Crash

flechero wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:12 am Going +1 is usually a question of reliability that can vary by specific mag used. So not surprising it wasn't mentioned in the manual. You'll have to run it that way on the range- do 1 shot drills and top off for each one, that will give you lots of proving reps without spending lots of ammo. It will also break in mags faster as you are working it repeatedly to full compression.

+p - I'd call or email them to verify. Are you normally running +p or is it more of a general question?

flechero,

Yeah, I plan on doing 1-shot drills as soon as I can get to the shooting range--hopefully today.

I e-mailed Springfield a couple of days ago about using +P ammo but haven't heard back from them yet.

Thanks for your help,

Crash

FWIW I top up the magazine on my XD45, so I’m always 10+1 (compact mags). Mine has been carried that way since I bought it 5 years ago and is my primary carry weapon.

Can’t offer anything on the +P question. I believe my XD can safely use them, but am not certain since I’ve never bought or used them.

jrs_diesel wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:04 am FWIW I top up the magazine on my XD45, so I’m always 10+1 (compact mags). Mine has been carried that way since I bought it 5 years ago and is my primary carry weapon.

Can’t offer anything on the +P question. I believe my XD can safely use them, but am not certain since I’ve never bought or used them.

jrs_diesel,

Just got an answer back from Springfield:

1. They say that +P should be OK, but to range test them first and that they will accelerate wear on the gun.

2. They also say that +1 loading is a personal preference and that it is up to the individual user

So, I'm hoping to get to the range today and try +1 loading in 1-shot drills and shooting a few rounds of +P to see how it works.

Crash

NewGunGuy3 wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 12:09 am You might try the big Springfield forum site - xdtalk dot com. There are forums for each of the SA gun families.

Best wishes

NewGunGuy3,

Just got an answer back from Springfield:

1. They say that +P should be OK, but to range test them first and that they will accelerate wear on the gun.

2. They also say that +1 loading is a personal preference and that it is up to the individual user

So, I'm hoping to get to the range today and try +1 loading in 1-shot drills and shooting a few rounds of +P to see how it works.

Crash

Crash wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:17 am

flechero wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:12 am Going +1 is usually a question of reliability that can vary by specific mag used. So not surprising it wasn't mentioned in the manual. You'll have to run it that way on the range- do 1 shot drills and top off for each one, that will give you lots of proving reps without spending lots of ammo. It will also break in mags faster as you are working it repeatedly to full compression.

+p - I'd call or email them to verify. Are you normally running +p or is it more of a general question?

flechero,

Yeah, I plan on doing 1-shot drills as soon as I can get to the shooting range--hopefully today.

I e-mailed Springfield a couple of days ago about using +P ammo but haven't heard back from them yet.

Thanks for your help,

Crash

flechero,

Just got an answer back from Springfield:

1. They say that +P should be OK, but to range test them first and that they will accelerate wear on the gun.

2. They also say that +1 loading is a personal preference and that it is up to the individual user

So, I'm hoping to get to the range today and try +1 loading in 1-shot drills and shooting a few rounds of +P to see how it works.

Crash

You shouldn't need +p for much... most of the good SD ammo makers have very capable loads in standard pressures. Although your SD ammo choices maybe limited art this time- hopefully you already have a supply of 9mm SD ammo put back.

Did you get the optic on your hellcat? If you posted pics, I missed it... the Hellcat was a gun I was interested in but decided to wait until after the Rona panic settles a bit to go looking for one.

flechero wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:46 am You shouldn't need +p for much... most of the good SD ammo makers have very capable loads in standard pressures. Although your SD ammo choices maybe limited art this time- hopefully you already have a supply of 9mm SD ammo put back.

Did you get the optic on your hellcat? If you posted pics, I missed it... the Hellcat was a gun I was interested in but decided to wait until after the Rona panic settles a bit to go looking for one.

flechero,

My question was more out of curiosity than anything--I normall use Federal HST 124 gr standard pressure.

No, I did not get the optic on my Hellcat. Since I was buying it as a small, concealed-carry handgun I didn't want to add anything to make it larger (taller in this case). Plus, you still have to get the gun up right in front of your eyes to see the dot. When one becomes available, I'm going to guy a Crimson Trace green laser sight for it.

Shot 50 rounds today from 7 yards and it was plenty accurate for defense use. No failures to feed, fire, or eject with Speer 124 grain TMJ. Recoil was a little snappy, but still manageable. Really like the front tritium sight. Trigger feels a little heavy, but I'm sure that it will get better with use.
No problems with +1 loading with either magazine. So far I'm a happy camper.

Crash

Crash wrote: Wed Sep 23, 2020 6:28 pm So far I'm a happy camper.

Crash

Sounds good!