I.O. Inc. showed the Hellcat .380 ACP pistol at the 2010 NRA Meeting. The Hellcat is a lightweight, semi-auto pistol in the same vein as the Kel-Tec P3AT and Ruger LCP. Lightweight and compact, the Hellcat fits into the pocket- and backup- gun categories.
The Hellcat weighs only 9.4 ounces (empty) and comes with two six-round magazines. The Hellcat is a thin gun, measuring only 0.82″ at the widest point.
MSRP is $349.95, and I have seen the Hellcat selling for about $249 on some of the gun auction sites.
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About Richard
Richard Johnson is a gun writer, police trainer and really bad joke teller. Check out his other writing on sites like Human Events, The Firearm Blog and BlueSheepdog.
Those who are interested should visit http://www.ioinc.us or http://www.royaltiger imports.com
I.O. INC makes the best American made AK-47,AK-pistols, and other AK-style weapons. These rifles are very high quality and extremely accurate.
I just purchased the Hellcat .380 handgun from Cabelas, I took it out to fire it this weekend, and every time I fire it the magazine drops out. In fact, every time I take it out of the pocket holster, the magazine is disengaged from the gun. The next thing that I noticed was that after 2 or 3 rounds the main retaining pin that holds the gun together had to be pushed back into place so that the gun did not fall apart. I’m very disappointed in this purchase and will take it back to return this to Cabelas. I’m going to go with the Ruger or the Keltec.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like you definitely got a bad pistol. I’ve not bought guns from Cabelas before, but they may not take a return on it. They might have you send it back to the manufacturer for repairs. If you send it back for service, would you comment back here with your experiences with their customer service department?
Thanks,
Richard
I bought my Hellcat .380 about a month ago and have shot around 60 rounds through it. Now it will not chamber at all. I have called I.O. Inc. atleast 5 times and left messages. It has been three weeks and still no response. I will never buy another I.O. weapon again and have already advised my freinds the same. This company has the worst customer support I have ever experienced.
I had the same problem with calling them until I found out I was calling the wrong number. Once I got the right number the service was great and quick. Unfortunately I don’t remember the right number, but I found it on the internet somehow.
I agree. All I was able to talk to was the menu. No reply
I contacted them and they wanted me to send it back but have me pay for shipping. My gun was doing the same damn thing. I found this site while searching for people with similar problems. The guy at I.O. pretended to not know of any problems with the retaining pin. SMH.
Mike, I had the same problem. Cabela’s wouldn’t take mine back so I sent it off for repairs. After getting it back I ran it through as rough of a test as I could and it is working perfectly. I was dissappointed too, but don’t lose hope just yet. Once the bugs are worked out it will make spending $100 more on the Ruger or Keltec seem rediculous.
i bout my hellcat 380 took it home cleaned it it was from the factory dry so i cleaned it and oiled it inside and out and i have shot 300 rounds throu it with not one problem i love the gun granit it kicks harder than my 40 but its reliable to me u just need to oil it good and keep it cleaan like ur soposted to with every gun
I’ve had my Hellcat for 6 months now and have put around 200 rounds through it. No malfunctions for failures of any kind. I carry it everywhere. When I can’t have my Glock 23 on me I still have my Hellcat in my front pocket of my jeans or shorts. I load it with the best most powerful hollowpoint loads on the market. The kick is nasty but if you have to use it you won’t be noticing the kick.
I picked up a 380 hellcat today picked this one over the others
Because it had a shorter and lighter trigger pull also it felt better in my hand
I picked up a super fly pocket holster and have had it in my back pocket all day and cant even tell its there. Very comfortable! Now for the downside i got it home stripped it down and cleaned it took it out and put 106 rounds through it. It jammed 19 times out of 100 rounds of cci and at one point the assembly pin was hanging half way out so I had to push back in so gun wouldnt fall apart. I thought the jamming issue was due to the inexpensive ammo so I loaded it up with hornady critical defense but unfortunatly it jammed all 6 rounds. The last one I had to diassemble the gun to get the casing out.
to be fair I went on there website and they do reccomend using brass ammo and nothing I put through it today was. Almost all of the jams were due to the empty casings being pushed halfway back into the clip. May be as simple as an adjustment to the extractor. Am going to try a few differmt types of ammo before I send it back. Im hoping this geys straightened out because when the gun shoots like it is suppose to I really like it.
I got a hellcat 380, and after about 15 to 20 rounds extractor broke.I have it sent back in, and it took about 3 weeks to get it backI have sent them an email and they have yet to respond. I haven’t had a chance fire it agian due to a broken hand, but on the high note they did send the extra mag with it since I did’nt get it with the purchase. Now my issue is I can’t find a place that sells a paddle holster for it. No accesories seem to be avialable for it.
Not to impressed so far. Hopefully that changes.
One other thing if you try to chamber a round with the gun pointing down at any degree past parallel the slide will hang on the barrel and lock open.
I bought a Hellcat 380 3 months ago and have put 250 rounds thru it. Only had 3 jams withinn the first 50. BUT, the button for the magazine is out so far it releases the magazine all the time in my pocket. I now have a hard leather wallet holster and still happens from time to time. I called I.O. and keep getting a recording and have left 2 messages and not a word back. Customer service???
Brew, there are two phone numbers out there for them and one of them nobody ever checks, but the other is good. To elininate the magazine release problem I bought a Houge Jr grip and put in on mine. I did some trimming to make it contour perfectly and used a drimmel tool to make the cut edges look factory. I haven’t had a single problem since.
fired 500 rounds fmj brass ammo, no pro blem o, but i am afraid do to all the bad press, will not use it for back up, just for plinking,maybe i will hear better news, made in USA ,hopeful
I bought the nickel plated IO Hellcat with extruded magazine bottom.I have shot 24 rds and all is great except they seem to let only one company sell their magazines and holsters.This company is located next to them in NC and charges $16 to ship a $20 magazine 60mi to me in NC?No I don’t want any more of their products if they choose to rip people off!
Had my Hellcat 380 long enough to fire around 60 rounds before the extractor broke.gander mountain sent it back to io and have not seen my gun in about 4 weeks now. Very disappointed in my purchase wish I would have just spent the extra hundred dollars and received a quality product. Hoping the gun comes back soon and in working order so I use it as a carry gun I could trust my life with.
I was having extraction failures with my Hellcat right out of the box. I sent a couple of emails to IO and they were very responsive. I went with the easy option of having them send me the extractor and I watched their video on youtube for replacing it. It only took a couple of minutes to replace and has been feeding and extracting like a champ ever since. Reading some of the out of box stories for other pocket rocket 380′s, I don’t see a huge difference in satisfaction. I have shot both the Ruger and the Keltec and it’s comparable. The extractor for this gun is a small piece and I could tell no difference between the new one and the old one except the color but it made a huge difference on the range.
There are definitely more accessories available for the R & K 380s but I don’t really need a hard holster or a laser for a pocket gun. I take it with me everywhere and have no fear of it not performing in close combat. At a distance where you would need a laser, the 380′s the wrong weapon anyway. I would always rather have my 45 but that’s just not always possible.
It seems that IO will let only one company sell their hellcat 380 magazines.It looks to me they would lose a lot of money?You can buy other gun company magazines almost every where.So you might want to puchase their guns and stay away from this company.
I bought the hellcat 380. Sent my gun back 2 weeks ago, still no word, gun will not chamber a round from day one. wish i spent the money on a smith body guard .very disapointed .i hope I.O. does something for me and everyone that has problems with this little gun.I dont think they should sell something with this many problems.
i bought my hellcat amonth ago, used condition, from a dealer in n.c. made in 2010, s/n just over 1100. had read the stories of their problems. sure enough, failure to eject and feed. i almost threw it in the cow pasture. was shooting s&b brass casing. cleaned, oiled, helped some. took magazine apart, stretched spring, used small file to file two ribs on each side of plastic carrier at top of spring, inside the metal housing lightly, and oiled carrier lite coat. shot three mags thru hellcat, no problems yet. has worked for me so far, try it, it might help your hellcat.
when you call i.o., ask for keith. he WILL HELP you. i ordered an extractor for above problem. i live approx. 60 miles from monroe,nc, arrived next day. my extractor was not broken, just well worn. cleaned magazine, worn extractor works fine so far. keith will help you.
Have owned a Hellcat for almost two months. Took a bit of “homework” to overcome some spotty feeding (home-polished the feed ramp), and hand-painted the front sight dot WHITE, so I could see in in moderate light. Have gotten through 150 rounds without a major mishap.
Truly sad part of this review is my inability to find any spare magazines whatsoever for this pistol. The I.O. company steered me to another company (Royal Tiger Imports) as the only source for ‘authentic’ Hellcat magazines. Royal Tiger had NO magazines for sale at that time, or now. Have also been unable to find the specific product anywhere else online. (NOTE: Special warning in the Owners Manual against use of non-I.O. magazines in the gun.).
My Walther PPK/s .380 may be physically larger, and heavier, but I have THREE magazines for it (two standard and one aftermarket). I am relegating the .380 Hellcat pistol to be my new “bathroom” pistol, accessible if I’m caught on ‘the throne’ in a home invasion emergency.
UPDATE to my first comment:
Just today (April 17, 2013), I finally was able to order TWO spare Hellcat magazines from Royal Tiger Imports. They are now in stock! I shall note the time it takes for delivery of my new purchases. If they are too long in arriving, I shall add that comment to this group. Am willing to give anyone the benefit of a doubt.
The little pistol is, so to speak, now officially “out of the crapper”. i will soon have the ability to carry 19 rounds with me, ready for use, when away from home. Still searching for a “grip glove” for the Hellcat which would give it a bit better control with the small frame. Pachmayr is one possibility, but not the only one.
Selected a Hogue grip glove made for the Ruger LCP, which is very similar to the Hellcat. Had to cut off the hard plastic cap which would have fit the Ruger only, then pulled the grip on. It doesn’t secure to the upper pin because the dimensions of the Ruger LCP are different enough not to line up with the Hellcat pin, so it is not secured to the grip. Made no difference in how it functioned on the pistol. I have NO pain from the squared shape of the pistol grip, as I used to experience. My aim has improved because of no distracting pain, and the slight “swell” of the Hogue grip fills my hand better. Was hitting out to 15 yards without any further adjustments necessary. Have now put around 250 rounds through my Hellcat, and like how it works with the changes.