The Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm is known across the world for its high capacity in a micro-compact frame, but Springfield recently subjected their own firearm to a brutal 20,000 round endurance test to prove its reliability as well. Springfield Armory took one Hellcat 9mm at random and laid a gauntlet of 10,000 rounds and it chugged through them like it was an appetizer. That brutal, single-day range session was thoroughly documented HERE.

While 10,000 rounds with no failures is definitely no joke, I can already hear keyboards warming up for the Comments section stating 10,000 rounds isn’t that many! Well, it is very possible some shooters may launch even more lead down range than that throughout the ownership of their pistol. So, with that in mind Springfield Armory recently upped the ante by working with Federal Premium and Action Target™ to shoot another 10,000 rounds through the same serial-numbered pistol as before! That endurance test can be witnessed HERE.

For one pistol to eat 20K rounds of ammunition without a failure is supremely impressive. Many people have come to appreciate and purchase the Hellcat 9mm for its capacity, but its reliability is not something you should sleep on either. Steve Kramer, the Vice President of Marketing at Springfield Armory, shared his thoughts about the recently accomplished endurance test:

We are very proud to see that the Hellcat once again proved its dominant position in the market as the finest and most durable micro 9mm available. Carlson’s test held the Hellcat to a very high standard, and it once again showed that the pistol has what it takes to deliver the performance and capability concealed carry users should demand.

If you are intrigued enough to potentially purchase a Hellcat 9mm you have quite a few options – six, in fact. There are two basic colors of black and flat dark earth (FDE) as well a couple different iron sight options or the OSP (Optical Sight Pistol) variant. All of those can be read below as presented by Springfield Armory along with their associated price-points:

• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact Handgun w/ Fiber Optic Sight | HC9319BFO | MSRP $569
• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact OSP Handgun w/ Fiber Optic Sight | HC9319BFOOSP | MSRP $599
• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact Handgun | HC9319B | MSRP $569
• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact OSP Handgun | HC9319BOSP| MSRP $599
• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact Handgun FDE | HC9319F | MSRP $610
• Hellcat 3″ Micro-Compact OSP Handgun FDE | HC9319FOSP | MSRP $643

With that many options, if your whole family and range posse wants to get a Hellcat 9mm hopefully you can all get different variations and still be unique to each other. While it is nearly impossible to predict the outcome of a 20,000 round endurance test, Dennis Reese, the CEO of Springfield Armory had no second-guessing in his mind –  he knew the Hellcat would crush this endurance test. He shared his thoughts in the quote below:

No one would ever expect a micro-sized pistol intended for CCW to be subjected to such an incredibly demanding test, but we never doubted the Hellcat would come out on top. Quality is our number one priority and it always will be, and the Hellcat proved that during this test. We’ll be watching as it continues to prove itself for the next 10K rounds, and beyond.

I, personally, own a Hellcat and can assuredly say that I am confident in my pistol. It shoots better than me and has not failed to eat hollow-points (HP) or full-metal jacket (FMJ) thus far. For all of our readers out there, have you had the opportunity to shoot a Hellcat yet? If so, what were your impressions? Did you dive in and purchase one? Let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.