Mis feeds brand new Hellcat. Normal break in?

[jeep45238]

I would consider this gun to have a break in round count of exactly zero.

First time shooter, very small gun, and warm loads, tends to make me question your technique. That said, I'm also not sold on the Hellcat's reliability yet either.

If in doubt, send it back under warranty.

[RJ]

Another note: I'm not familiar with the specifics of the Hellcat. Does the manual specify releasing from the slide stop, or slingshotting the slide?

The Hellcat manual appears to recommend releasing the slide stop lever, but also includes the alternate method of sling-shotting the slide to load a round.

[Jared]

@Chomps

My first thought would be to find someone you know who is a good shooter shoot the gun. If it still has issues in their hands do not hesitate to send it to Springfield. Not to be rude, but new shooters and micro pistols often are not the best mix. This could very well be something you are doing.

My second thought is to just send the gun to Springfield right now. I’ve never used their CS, but my father did on a Springer 1911 and they were quite good.

[Chomps]

le sigh.

Without someone laying eyes on the gun, how you're shooting it, where your hands are, how you're handling it, etc, any guess is exactly that--a guess. Nobody knows.

What you're describing in your last post is that the slide isn't going back into battery, including the misfires. That could be a shitload of different things. Could be barrel--chamber issue, feed ramp, barrel hood, muzzle. Could be the magazine (number your magazines--it's literally the first thing I do after buying a pistol). Could be the ammo, although I would be surprised given that you've tried two different brands and I'd be a little surprised to see that sort of problem at all.

Another note: I'm not familiar with the specifics of the Hellcat. Does the manual specify releasing from the slide stop, or slingshotting the slide? I know the XD specified one or the other, and some of them ran perfectly when you followed the directions, but weren't reliable at all if you didn't (and still others that didn't care and worked fine). Could also be your technique--riding the slide stop, riding the slide, something like that.

On that note, I'd consider it somewhat odd that you could have problems with the first run of Gold Dots, come back on a different day, and have them work fine. That smacks of operator error or a magazine issue.

That said, if I'm checking to see if a serious-ish pistol is reliable, I tend to deliberately mishandle it, at least a little. I ride the slide stop, I ride the slide, I push and pull on the magazine, limp-wrist the hell out of it, etc. I want it to work even if I'm screwing everything else up.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your replies!!! Appreciate it greatly.

@Wise_A. There are A few terms there I'm not familiar with.

I'm not entirely certain what "Slingshoting" the slide means,.. but from context I assume it's grabbing the slide, pulling it to the rear and releasing it rather than using the slide release button?

I double checked the manual. It ONLY mentions chambering a round using the slide release. But it doesn't specifically prohibit the method I meantioned above.

I have been chambering rounds that way. But Again,.. I used the slingshot method with the range rental Hellcat and the Glock without issue. (It was the method the range employee recommended to use. )

Also,... as I mentioned in my missing post that has now miraculously
re-appeared above,..? (Shrug?) :O

...Im not sure if Im "Limp Wristing" my grip. How can I tell for certain if that is something Im doing?

I had NO ISSUES with limping the rental Glock48 or Hellcat using a lighter, fmj round.

I do concede that during my second range session,.. the one with the MOST misfeeds,... I was definitely a lot more focused on "WTF is up /w this gun" than I was on proper grip & technique. So it's possible I was at least part of the problem.

But I used FOUR different types of ammo. Two different grades of Gold Dot HP,.. 118gr & 124gr rounds. The Federal 147gr HST HP and the range FMJ 105gr reloads.

ALL FOUR produced several misfeeds each during that second session. And In all three of my mags.
(2-13 round and 1-11 round,.. ALL 3 are brand new, OEM SA factory mags. Not aftermarket!)

I can say for certain Im NOT riding the slide when I load or fire. That was addressed the first day I rented & I was aware of that issue.

I pull & release the slide. It seats in "Battery?" (...if that's correct terminology) Every time I load it that way. It Only malfunctions during firing.

Again,... if there is some method for determining "IF" I'm actually Limp wristing, or a foolproof way of correcting for that? I would appreciate a heads ip & I'll double check my grip & technique today.

After I clean & reassemble the weapon, Imma take one more shot at the range later this morning. Ill see if I can get any more of the Gold Dot 118gr. ($46 for 50!!!) arrrrgh!

I've still got a box of the Federal 147 and some fmj.

If anyone has another tip or trick to help me sort this out,.. very much appreciate hearing it.


Here's hoping,....

[RJ]

@Chomps good for you for sticking through this.

If it helps, here are a few suggestions. Mind you, I am no where near the skill and experience level of most of the shooters on this forum. I'm just a random retired engineer who took up shooting late in life. But I have tried to pay attention to the experts we have; there is some excellent advice in this thread.

1) Grip hard. No, harder than that. Some say you would want to see the imprints of "Springfield Armory" from the pistol's grip in your hand. I don't know about that, but I grip the pistol pretty firmly. (The idea being, a firm grip will help isolate the trigger finger, as well as allow the gun a firm platform for which to cycle the action, and tend to put your sights back on target for a follow-up sight picture.) So, bottom line, if you aren't sure, is to grip the gun pretty firmly.

2) The on-line Hellcat manual I posted a snip up above lists releasing the slide stop, but also includes the method usually referred to as "sling-shotting". So you should be good either way. What I try to do is explain it this way: With the gun held in your strong hand, grasp the back of the slide firmly with a pinch grip. At the same time, push the gun forward with your strong hand and "rip" the slide back, trying to hit your shoulder, with the support (slide) hand. This tends to give a pretty energetic kick to the slide to the rear, allowing it to firmly strip and seat a round. But I think you posted this issue only happens shooting; so you should be good?

3) There's one other point I don't think has been mentioned. The magazine on a modern autoloading firearm is a critical component of the gun. If you have had someone else fire the gun with the same ammo and are still seeing problems, it might be worth it to examine the mags.

I'd disassemble them into their component parts. This is typically the mag tube, the follower (plastic on the top), mag basepad, and the magazine spring. Shine a flashlight inside the mag tube, looking for high spots or "things that should not be there". On the springs, since you have multiples, make sure all the springs are the same size, uncompressed. On the followers, look for plastic flashing which is part of the manufacturing process, which might be fouling the follower in the magazine tube. Exact-o knife or sand off any rough areas. (I routinely do this inspection on all new guns I purchase)

Perhaps it would even be possible to ask the range to borrow one of their rental magazines and try that? The ones you did not have an issue with, I mean. Or maybe use one of the "new" magazines in a rental gun. The goal being to isolate the problem by part substitution. Just a thought.

Good luck!

[Caballoflaco]

@Chomps Noooo! Seriously, don’t waste any more money on ammo dude. You’ve given us enough info that I’m 100% sure that good technique isn’t going to fix your pistol. If you didn’t have any problems with the rental Hellcat or Glock I doubt you suddenly started having that many problems with this pistol. The guys here talking about technique have good intentions but I’m pretty sure they’re wrong on this one.

[Navin Johnson]

If you had joined here more than a week ago and done any reading.....

Seriously why come to a forum like this and ask about a gun that no one likely has? Likely there is an XD forum of some kind where people have experience with Springfield products.

Fortunately it is easy to sell guns right now......do some research and choose wisely......good luck!

[lwt16]

@Chomps Noooo! Seriously, don’t waste any more money on ammo dude. You’ve given us enough info that I’m 100% sure that good technique isn’t going to fix your pistol. If you didn’t have any problems with the rental Hellcat or Glock I doubt you suddenly started having that many problems with this pistol. The guys here talking about technique have good intentions but I’m pretty sure they’re wrong on this one.

This.

If the rental copy was drama free in your hands I’d send your problem copy back. If ammo was priced what it was in 2019 I might try to diagnose it but it’s too high for that now.

Send it back. SA should foot the bill.

Regards.

[critter]

If you had joined here more than a week ago and done any reading.....

Seriously why come to a forum like this and ask about a gun that no one likely has? Likely there is an XD forum of some kind where people have experience with Springfield products.

Fortunately it is easy to sell guns right now......do some research and choose wisely......good luck!

Well, how would he know whether anyone has it? I seriously doubt anyone would trudge through pages of post just to see if their particular problem would pop up..

New firearm owner seeking proper guidance. It's all good.

[Rick R]

An LEO agency issued XD-45s?

Interesting.

They weren’t my first choice, an instructor more popular than me suggested them. We brought in T&E guns from S&W, SIG, Springfield Armory and Glock. The XD in .45acp was the overall favorite. We carried them with few difficulties for 10 years then after the instructor who pushed them and myself had both retired the agency transitioned to new pistols.
The Springfield XD in 9mm.