If you liked the original Hellcat like I do, this new .380 will immediately feel at home in your hand. Same grip, same holster fit, but with a gentler recoil impulse for fast follow-up shots or more comfortable shooting. Springfield took everything that worked well on the standard 9mm Hellcat, narrowed the slide slightly, chambered it in .380, and retained the same micro-compact footprint.
What drew me to this one is simple: it’s optics-ready from the factory with the standard RMSc cut, and the reduced recoil is perfect for my wife, who is more recoil-adverse than I. The OSP design features a removable cover plate and accommodates SHIELD RMS/RMSc pattern optics, allowing for an RDS option if preferred. I run SHIELD Sights on almost everything because the optics mount low enough to co-witness the standard height sights without resorting to suppressor-height irons or weird spacer plates.
The basics are what you expect from Springfield Armory: a hammer-forged slide and barrel, the Adaptive Grip Texture that locks in a confident purchase without being abrasive, and class-leading capacity for its size. The 11+1 flush mag and a 13+1 extended mag that are included pack enough rounds to give a sense of confidence if you find yourself in a sticky situation. If you want maximum round count without moving to a larger platform, then this is a great solution.
On the range
I put four different brands through this pistol and had zero malfunctions while shooting some great groups. I shot ten-round groups at 15 yards, fired from a Wielbad Fortune cookie bag over the side of my truck bed. The average group across the four brands was right at 2.5 inches for 10-shot strings, including my initial zeroing group. The best two were 1.91″ with 95 Grain Federal American Eagle, and 1.93″ with 90 Grain PMC Bronze, and the largest string I recorded was a 2.9″ vertical string with Fiocchi Range Dynamics. Ten shots at 15 yards in a micro-compact is a demanding test; those numbers tell me the pistol is plenty accurate for its intended role.
The optic: SHIELD Sights RMSsc
I’ve got a SHIELD RMSsc mounted, and I really like the new take on the RMS design. The “SC” stands for Sub Compact, and this sight absolutely lives up to that. This sight is so slim that it’s narrower than the standard Hellcat and is just about a perfect fit on the 380. I have a buddy who has one on a 1911, and it’s a no-overhang, perfect fit. The dot is crisp, the lens is clear, and the low height allows co-witnessing with the Springfield U-Dot, which keeps the sight picture intuitive for quick defensive shooting. SHIELD Sights has been pioneering micro red dots for decades, and their RMSc footprint is a standard cut for so many popular factory guns. The RMSsc and OMSsc are Shield Sights sub-compact solutions to fit the slimmest pistols in the world with stylish red dot sights.
Final thoughts
The Hellcat OSP .380 is a micro-compact defensive pistol that keeps the Hellcat ergonomics and capacity you trust while softening the shooting experience with the .380 recoil impulse. If you loved the original Hellcat, this will fit right into the family for a perfect “his and hers” everyday carry solution. Pair it with a quality micro-dot like the SHIELD Sights OMSsc or RMSsc and you’ve got a very practical, ready-to-carry package.