We were impressed by the Springfield Hellcat (see our review here). It’s a serious — and seriously popular — competitor to the SIG P365 in the “high” capacity micro-compact carry gun market segment (a segment that’s comprised of exactly two guns at the moment).
The Hellcat’s stock trigger is a good one. As we wrote . . .
…the Hellcat’s trigger is clearly one of the best bangswitches I’ve shot on a striker fired carry pistol. It may not be at the top with the likes of Walther, but it’s definitely up there. There’s a clean take-up with an ever-so-slight bump right before it’s fully staged. Then it breaks very cleanly at 5.7 pounds.
So when we heard that Apex Tactical was coming out with a new Action Enhancement Trigger for the Hellcat, it wasn’t something that jumped to the top our the want list. But then we installed it.
And by “we” I mean Jeremy S. installed it. Here you see everything you get with the Apex Action Enhancement trigger. A striker spring, a sear spring and the Apex trigger.
Here you see the original Springfield parts on the left and the Apex replacements on the right.
This is why I had Jeremy install the Action Enhancement Trigger. I’m good with basic work on my guns, but this wasn’t a job I wanted to tackle. Not that it’s terribly difficult. It took Jeremy about a half hour to complete.
Apex has produced a helpful video showing you how to install the upgrade (check it out here).
Once installed, the difference was immediately obvious. The take-up is now wonderfully clean and smooth. The break is — as they say — clean and crisp, far more so than it was and a huge improvement over most other stock striker-fired triggers.
Best of all, the reset has been shortened. As you can hear from the video below, it’s plainly audible and very tactile.
Apex says the Action Enhancement Trigger drops the pull weight to between 5 and 5.5 pounds. We found it did even better.
I’ve put about 150 rounds through the Hellcat since the trigger was installed and the difference is positive and very clear. Apex has priced the trigger upgrade at $79.95 for the black and Thin Blue Line versions (they’ll start taking pre-orders on 8/13). A red anodized version will be $84.95. That’s a very reasonable price for a big upgrade in your carry gun’s performance.
Springfield Armory is trash.
Then spend the money and buy a Sig
Good advice. Thanks.
$30 difference if that, your right buy the sig S.A. not friends of the 2A do your research ..then decide, pro 2A company or anti 2A company
SA Hellcat has a much more comfortable grip than the P365.
It ain’t the gun. It’s the company. 2A sellouts.
I apologize Dan you are correct about the company’s sellout actions
That’s an opinion. The fact is Springfield Armory is a treasonous company.
Didn’t you guys just do an article on this on Friday? Why anothe rone with no new or different info so fast?
I don’t know why there would be such a difference in factory triggers, but the one on my brother in laws new Hellcat jerks through the take up. I already forwarded him your previous article, and a link to the page on Apex’s website and advised to get in on the pre order when it is available.
that was an announcement this is a review?
That was a press release announcing the product. We’ve gotten one, installed it and used it, so can give you our real world impressions of what it does and how well it does it.
Dan, thanks for the (both) articles, I received my Hellcat recently, have only been able to get a box and a half thru it and have experienced the “hung” trigger that is talked about on the various Interweb sites. Does this cure that? from what you have written I will be ordering one on the 13th. Thank you for your website, I get a great deal of enjoyment from it. Regards JH
I would also like to know if this cures the “hung” trigger.
On the stock trigger, any side pressure on the trigger safety keeps it locked. Pretty scary when you are trying to save your life and maybe you don’t pull the trigger perfectly straight in…kept me from buying.
Got the Sig instead. But still curious.
Hurt But it says Springfield so I hate it Hur Hur
Things that do suck… Springfield Armory.
Oh a wed trigger….how ordinary.
Sounds like cancel culture is alive an well here at TTAG.
A repeat for Harry’s benefit.
Every golfer just knows that new driver, wedge or putter will take lots of strokes off his score except it never does. Why is that? Because it’s the golfer, not the clubs that makes the shots.
Same thing for these trigger upgrades on carry guns. You won’t become a better shooter if you put in a new trigger because it’s you and not the trigger. Better shooting experience you say? My shooting experience is directly related to me hitting what I aim at not whether I have a “silky smooth” trigger. I don’t GAS if my BHP trigger is gritty and rough. I still put more rounds on target with it than any other pistol I own; and yes I have shot BHP with a competition trigger and I didn’t shoot it any better.
While I agree that “it’s the archer, not the arrow,” a good trigger can make a HUGE difference in practical accuracy, especially for newer/inexperienced shooters. I dropped an Apex spring kit in my first handgun (S&W SD9), and the difference for me as a rookie was night and day. It boosted my confidence, which led to more trips to the range, which greatly improved my skill as a shooter (with handguns, at least; I still suck with rifles).
That being said, I wouldn’t recommend that someone buy and install an aftermarket trigger in their carry gun, since reliability is paramount. That Apex spring kit, which was a great help when I was first starting out, eventually started causing light primer strikes after 2500-3000 rounds, so I had to put the factory springs back in.
If someone is looking to buy a gun, I’d strongly recommend that they try before they buy. They should go to the range, rent a bunch of guns, and buy the one they shoot the best, even if it’s more expensive. They’ll be happier, and they’ll save money on ammo in the long run.
Just my $.02
I find that the 1911 is the best pistol to teach a new shooter trigger control. It may not be the best first pistol to carry but it is a great first pistol to shoot especially in 9mm. I have had new shooters putting all the rounds into the B27 silhouette at 10 yards after an hour.
Sounds like someone who shoots static targets and does fuck all when it comes to training. Cancel culture? Get real. SA are FUDD sellouts, like you. You run your mil spec trigger and I’ll run a 3.5#, see who can put 3 rounds in 5 targets faster and better, k? It’s cool if you don’t like to modify your firearms, because you don’t use them like people who do, but acting like you are better? Shut the fuck up douchebag.
Did somebody get up on the wrong side today?
there is no wrong side of montana.
That is a competition challenge. I have seperate pistols for that.
And I have completed a 40 round qualification shoot with a beat up M-9 in under a minute and a half with 36 hits and a 165 out of 200 score. That is with magazine changes. I shot a perfect 200 with a BHP with an unmodified trigger in about the same time.
You were saying F**ktard?
No, I already said it. Cool story tho.
Words of wisdom, honesty, and truth. Respect 💯.
better trigger= better shootin’.
hi power needs nothing but mag plunger gone.
False, unless by better you mean “feel.” I feel better when I hit the target and score well.
Amen, thank you.
Would like to try one of these, thanks.
A question for the gunsmiths – One of the replacement springs is shaped strangely, the windings reduce in diameter over the length of the spring.
What does that change about how it tensions? Does it increase or decrease in force as it stretches?
As the robber in a ‘Dirty Harry’ movie once asked – “I gots to know!” :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYgRVMxjLhc
i’m too conservative to put a progressive winding in my pistol.
Yes, changing the diameter does affect spring rate so that replacement spring is progressive rate whereas the factory one is linear. It increases in spring rate as it is stretched (the larger diameter coils will stretch more easily than the smaller diameter ones).
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