SURPRISINGLY SLIM. The Springfield's Hellcat .380 is an encore follow- up to the company's wildly successful Hellcat in 9mm.

Springfield built the Hellcat around an eleven-round, double-stack magazine and the resulting frame fits the hand well.

The compact grip also makes concealed carry easier, as the shorter frame is less likely to print under your shirt or jacket. The frame has progressive checkering for a secure grip, while not overly aggressive for carry.

You might expect that a compact handgun like this would be hard to control, yet recoil is surprisingly low. The flex of the polymer combined with the shape of the frame minimizes recoil, despite the pistol's diminutive size. In addition, it will reliably feed a wide range of high velocity 9mm ammunition. The fact that this pistol is extremely accurate is a testament to the engineers at Springfield Armory.

This handgun weighs in at a modest 18.3 oz., which is fairly lightweight for a heavy duty micro compact pistol. The forged carbon steel slide is finished with a surface treatment called Black Melonite. It is extremely wear and corrosion resistant.

For those unfamiliar with the process, this is a ferric nitrocarburized case hardening treatment, which diffuses nitrogen, carbon and trigonal nickel directly into the surface metal, thereby elevating the Rockwell hardness to somewhere between a file and a diamond. Then, a black Parkerized finish is applied over the top to provide the guns non- glare, stealthy appearance.