When I first unboxed my Springfield Armory USA Hellcat Pro BB pistol, I briefly wondered if a mistake was made and a real 9mm was sent my way. I had to look a little closer to be sure. This semi-automatic BB pistol is a 1:1 replica of the real centerfire version from Air Venturi (the official licensee for all Springfield Armory replica firearms).
This BB pistol has a real "whoa" factor. It doesn't just look the same as the real Hellcat Pro, but functions nearly the same. It has a single/double action blowback CO2 action, but shoots .177 BBs from a 17-round magazine.
The gun comes with “U-dot” sights, which I found to be extremely fast to acquire and fire with. The sights are fixed, but for those wanting to upgrade their experience, the gun comes with an Air Venturi red dot sight (and yes, you do need a sight that's optimized for BB guns).
Other specs include a max velocity of 390 feet per second (fps) from a 4.3" barrel. The overall length is 6.5", and it weighs in at 1.25 lbs. The gun I tested was Flat Dark Earth (FDE), but it comes in black as well.
So, when I tested this gun, it was very cold out. Thanks to the laws of physics, CO2-powered guns do not function as well in cold temperatures. That said, this gun fired fine as far as I was concerned. I did not get as many shots off due to the temperatures before the CO2 ran out, but I did run the gun through its tests by rapid firing and slow firing. I often got at least five magazines of 17 BBs per CO2 cartridge before it sputtered. As can be expected, the slower I shot, the more reliable the gun seemed to be due to the cold temperatures and the CO2.
I first tested the gun with the U Dot sights and loved them. The gun was tearing up a large vegetable can at 20 paces with ease and I rarely missed, even with rapid fire. I shot at a target just to see how accurate the gun could be at the same distance and got groups averaging about 2", maybe a shade more. Remember, this was offhand shooting in the cold ... I find that impressive from a BB pistol.
Because I was so impressed with the U-Dot sights, I really did not want to put the red dot sight on the gun, but in fairness to readers I did so. Putting the red dot on was simple. There is a screw just in front of the rear sight that removes the cover plate and then shooters replace that with a red dot plate which is in the box with the gun. Mine was tucked under the cardboard insert, so at first I did not see it. Be sure to look for it.
The cover plate screws into the red dot plate with the Allen key, which is included. You will need to remove the plate on the red dot sight itself to install a CR1632 battery (which was not included with my gun). They are not at all expensive and are said to last 29 hours on high brightness, and 380 hours on low brightness.
Once I installed the red dot, I took it out to shoot it and found it dead on left and right but shooting high, so I aimed low for a few shots and was hitting the can easily once again. A few turns of the elevation screw and it was locked on for good. The advantage of the red dot sight would be for training purposes. If your centerfire 9mm Hellcat Pro has a red dot and you want to have a 1:1 training gun, this is your ticket. The red dot is nice and does the job, no issues.
The magazine drops out of the gun very easily. Inserting a CO2 cartridge is as easy as removing the magazine, pushing the backstrap tab at the bottom of the grip to remove it, then inserting the CO2, and using the Allen key integrated into the backstrap to tighten.
The grip on the gun is really nice. Even in cold weather it is easy to hold onto and handle. The slide racks easily and the blowback of the gun, particularly with a new CO2 in it, will get your attention. The gun is not super quiet, but it is not loud by any means. You can fire this in a large backyard without annoying neighbors. I think I would rate it a 2 or 3 of 10 on a loudness scale. The safety is in front of the trigger guard and under the slide where the Picatinny rail is, and it can be a bit tough to move position on unless you have a decent sized fingernail to nudge it to “fire.”
This gun handles superbly. There was one thing that I might suggest be improved and it could just be the gun I have. The trigger on the one I fired was tough on the first shot and although it was much better on the second and following shots, it has a burr or something in the trigger travel. In all fairness, I did notice it seemed to get better after I put magazine after magazine through it. So, perhaps a break-in period will cure this trigger grating issue.
What's my evaluation? Well, after shooting this BB pistol, I actually want to go get a "real" Hellcat Pro in 9mm. Perhaps that was the intent of Springfield Armory USA! They retail under $80, which I think is a steal given what you get. Check it out at Store.SpringfiedArmory.com.
