Drop It Like It's Hot
Drop testing is an important part of the Apex design process, supplying critical feedback on material selection, spring weights, and, of course, safety performance. In developing the new Action Enhancement Trigger for the Hellcat, Apex's engineering team conducted 99 total drop tests.
All drops of the Apex'd Hellcat were made from 6 feet onto concrete. Our drop test protocol calls for dropping the pistol in 27 different orientations, which tests the safety functionality at varying angles of impact.
Utilizing a high-speed camera allows us to see exactly what is happening to the trigger, the center mounted pivoting safety, and the gun, during impact and the subsequent rebound.
We dropped the Hellcat at room temperature, as well as at both a hot and cold adverse temperature. The hot ranged from 120º to 150º Fahrenheit, and the cold from -10º to 20º Fahrenheit.
Across all temperature ranges, and through all 99 drops, the trigger we designed for the Hellcat performed perfectly. The gun did not experience a single discharge during any of the drops. Which, is what we were aiming for.