The FN Reflex: How Does It Compare to the Springfield Hellcat Pro?

Competition these days among manufacturers with their little micro-9mm pistols is fast and furious. Most are very similar in size and features, so at this point, they’re down to shaving off fractions of an inch or ounces. That’s a wonderful thing because competition means that the products (handguns) will continue to get better.

Today, we’ll examine two contestants from two totally different companies: The Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro and the FN Reflex.

I realize that these two pistols are slightly different in that the Hellcat Pro is somewhat larger overall. However, they’re both aimed directly at the concealed carry market, where concealment is the name of the game. And, as we’ll see shortly, the dimensions aren’t all that far off.

We used two FN Reflex pistols for this review: mine and a friend’s. To be transparent, all the pistols in this article were purchased with personal funds—neither company gave us free pistols. That said, let’s dive in.

Features and Performance

We took these two guns—both of which are rather similar in size, weight, and capacity—and compared them head-to-head.

Grip

The grip of FN’s Reflex is the more sophisticated-looking of the two pistols, with two types of texturing. The front and rear of the grip have small squares that protrude to give the shooter’s skin purchase when the pistol is gripped. On the sides of the grip, there is stippling, which further contributes. Overall, FN did a really nice job crafting the Reflex’s grip. During shooting, it helps keep the pistol anchored into the hand with very little slipping.

The 11-round magazine has a pinky extension to give the little finger a place to perch, which greatly helps the grip. However, there’s no support toward the rear of the grip, which digs into the palm. With the 15-round magazine, the grip is full. It does, however, lengthen the grip considerably, which some folks might not like for concealment.

Springfield’s Hellcat Pro also has a stellar grip. In fact, the first time I ever held the Hellcat Pro, the grip sold me on the pistol in a matter of about two seconds. It wears an even finish that resembles sandpaper. This grip absolutely anchors the Pro into the shooter’s hand so decisively that there is no slipping during fire whatsoever. You could literally lather your hands up with soap, pick up this pistol, and it will not slip in your hands.

Be aware, though, that the sandpaper-like grip surface will probably wear on your clothing, abrade it, and cause pilling. On a thin shirt that I often wear with this pistol, the grip actually began wearing a hole in the fabric. But that grip surface does its job of keeping the pistol in the shooter’s hand. Springfield calls it the Adaptive Grip Texture.

Sights

The Reflex has metal 3-dot sights. The rear sight has two white dots, while the front sight has a post with a tritium insert with an orange circle around it. That orange circle stands out well against most targets, and I really love the color. It’s easy to see under most lighting conditions.

The tritium on my pistol was completely dead and did not even give off a slight glow in low light. My buddy’s pistol had a working tritium front sight. When they work, the sights are some of the better ones on the market.

Springfield’s Hellcat Pro (as well as their standard Hellcat, which uses the same sights) has some of the very best sights of any pistol I’ve ever used. They are metal, and the rear sight has a white-outlined “U” that perfectly draws the front sight down into it. The front sight features a white tritium insert surrounded by a light green circle. I wish all of my defensive pistols had these sights; they are outstanding in every respect. Both of these sights can be used to rack the slide of your pistol should you need to do so with one hand using the sights.

My Hellcat Pro wears a Shield SMSc red dot sight, but I’m ignoring it for this review because it’s not organic to the pistol, and the Reflex does not have an RDS, so I’m keeping it even across the board. The Reflex can be had with the option of being optics-ready, but I did not buy that model.

Slide

Both types of pistols tested have Flat Dark Earth finishes. The finish on the slides is PVD and is quite durable.

Forward and rear serrations adorn both models of pistol, and they all did their job, which is to give the user enough purchase to manipulate the slide. All edges on the slides of both pistols are melted, which is a nice touch and makes the pistols easier to holster and carry.

Trigger

The Reflex’s trigger is a single-action-only (SAO) internal hammer. It’s the only internal hammer of any of the micro-9s that I’m aware of at this time.  It translates into a trigger pull that I’d estimate is a little under four pounds. There is a long, easy take-up, followed by a wall. The wall breaks crisply, and it’s really a stellar trigger — possibly the best trigger on all of the micro-9 pistols. It’s about as light as I’d want to go on a defensive pistol, though, as anything lighter might end in disaster for a person dealing with the adrenal effects of a life or death encounter.

The Hellcat Pro’s trigger is a little heavier. However, the take-up is smooth and light. Breaking the wall takes some pressure, but it breaks cleanly and crisply. Overall, I like the Hellcat Pro’s trigger quite a bit.

Controls

We had no complaints about any of the controls on either pistol. All are placed in standard locations.

The magazine releases on both pistols are similarly shaped (elongated), and each has serrations to help the thumb make a purchase. The magazines eject smartly, and the slide release levers also functioned well and were accessible by the thumb.

Magazines

Both platforms have two magazine capacity options, with the caveat that each can be had in 10-round magazines for those living behind enemy lines.

The Reflex is offered with 11-round and 15-round capacity options. I really wish FN had a 13-round option for the Reflex, as it would add a little grip length but would not hamper concealment much.

The Hellcat Pro’s standard magazine is 15 rounds (flush fit). An extended 17-round magazine is an option. It’s pretty amazing that the Pro can hold the same number of rounds that a Glock 17 can!

Interestingly, with the Reflex’s 15-round magazine in place, it makes the grip appreciably longer than the Hellcat Pro’s grip with the standard 15-round magazine. The Hellcat Pro is actually more concealable because of this when compared to the Reflex with the 15-round extended magazine in place.

Reliability

Here is where things got hairy. I had mentioned that we used two Reflex pistols in the testing. The reason is that my pistol experienced feeding issues, where the rounds hung up on their way into the chamber. This happened time and again with my pistol, but only happened once with my buddy’s pistol. I tried several different types of ammo through my Reflex, thinking that maybe it was an ammunition-related issue, but that was not the case, as the stoppages continued.

I’ve owned the Hellcat Pro for about a year, and it has never hiccupped. I’ve fed it a wide variety of ammunition, and it has performed like a champ.

At The Range

Aside from the reliability issues, the Reflex is a great pistol. It’s shockingly accurate, and I shot some excellent groups at ten yards. We moved back to 20  yards, and the Reflex was still very accurate, and it will make great hits well beyond that range. The Hellcat Pro is also pleasingly accurate. I’ve fired it out to 75 yards, and it easily makes hits at that distance and beyond.

Both pistols were very controllable, although the Reflex had more muzzle flip than the Hellcat Pro. That’s not shocking, considering the Hellcat Pro weighs a little more and has a slightly longer barrel. For its size, though, the Reflex is among the more easily controlled micro-9 pistols. When the 15-round magazine is used, it dramatically increases controllability by reducing muzzle flip.

At first, I wondered if it was even fair to compare these two pistols, with the Hellcat Pro being larger. However, they’re both geared for concealable self-defense, so it’s all good in my book.

Final Thoughts

The Reflex offers concealability in a compact package. FN did a nice job on the sights, though I wish the sight on my pistol had tritium that worked. The orange dot on the front sight is a nice feature.

The little Reflex was very controllable, and accuracy was excellent, especially for such a compact pistol. Sadly, one out of the two Reflex pistols demonstrated completely unsatisfactory reliability. I realize that any company can produce a lemon, but it still sours one’s attitude when it is experienced.

Springfield’s Hellcat Pro, on the other hand, has exhibited perfect reliability since Day One. It’s accurate and, while not quite as concealable as a micro-9, it still hides pretty well in the waistband. Accuracy is more than acceptable, and it’s easily controllable in rapid fire.

Finally, when both pistols are configured to hold 15 rounds, the Reflex proves to have a larger footprint, making it actually less concealable than the Hellcat Pro. As for me, I’ll stick with the Hellcat Pro, considering that I no longer trust the reliability of the FN Reflex.

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