First Look: Springfield 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm
- Thread starter Mike H.
- Start date
Lexie__M
Custom
Let us know, how the HEX works out?Yep, it's in the mail (Hex Dragonfly). Should have been here today but UPS decided against it
Bassbob
Emissary
Beats the hell out of a Glock ( sorry Anni).
Annihilator
Emissary
SimonRL
Hellcat
The big difference is on regular 1911s you remove the bushing and relieve the tension, but the 10-8 reverse plug stays in so all the tension is on the spring as it is exposed. That being said, I think the 10-8 reverse plug really adds to the look of the Prodigy.Thanks for all that info. I'm pretty used to the pitfalls of not keeping control of the recoil spring, as it's the same on all of my traditional 1911s, so I'm not too worried about that. The DP system looks pretty sweet as well.
Sending PM...
Stonezy511
Alpha
I’m new to this thread, I want to get into 2011s and I’m not sure what to get. I’m not getting a Rock Island and I don’t want to wait 5 months for a BUL Armory. Staccato is out of my price range. The Prodigy seems like a good option for me but I’m worried about reliability. Has SA ironed out the kinks yet or should I wait? If you had an unreliable Prodigy, what fixed it? Recoil spring, tune up by SA, Ejector, etc?
Hopefully you read this whole thread. Lots of info on what people have done. I completely had my Prodigy re-worked. I have close to 3500 rounds. It’s been flawless. Others haven’t done anything and they’ve also been very reliable.
Yes.
My advice, based on your questions and prequalifiers, as well as owning a Prodigy first then recently a Staccato P… get a Prodigy Commander (4.25” barrel). From what I’ve read, so take that as you may, the 5” seem to have more issues than the little brother.
I got mine December, long story short, it sucked. 10 day round drip to Springfield (very painless, btw) and they reamed the chamber, replaced the sear spring, tuned the extractor and polished the feed ramp. My Mags I sent back were all deemed fine.
2500ish rounds later, I upgraded the internals (Sear, disconnector, hammer, sear spring and mainspring) to EGW components. Roughly 1000 to 1500 rounds later, it just keeps running.
Said it before, say it again, most of what you hear on the Internet is the issue/problem guns. What you DON’T hear is the problem free…. One could argue, you shouldn’t have to send it back. I’d agree. But I’d counter…it’s new, brand spanking new…and SA customer service was excellent.
I’ll add this now, because I can. I’m at roughly 500ish rounds through my Staccato, zero issues of any kind. I did get a bad red dot, I can’t fault the pistol for that. I hear you it’s out of your price range…. I caught a great sale on mine from a local dealer.
Good luck!
While it's true that the Prodigy intro hasn't been without its problems I don't think you should overlook it. It offers unmatched value in the 2011 offerings and it seems that the problems have been addressed and most new Prodigies are coming through trouble free now.
Not many new models are without teething pains at first. What you do have with the Prodigy is a company which stands behind their product and will fix it is there is one. Those that have had to return theirs for warranty work are reporting that SA took care of the problems and they are happy with their pistol.
Remember, you generally only hear about the problems and for every reported problem there are more who have none and are happy with their Prodigy.
If Staccato is out of your price range and BUL Armory is unavailable (plus BUL only has a 1 year warranty), then a Prodigy with a lifetime warranty is your best bet.
Not many new models are without teething pains at first. What you do have with the Prodigy is a company which stands behind their product and will fix it is there is one. Those that have had to return theirs for warranty work are reporting that SA took care of the problems and they are happy with their pistol.
Remember, you generally only hear about the problems and for every reported problem there are more who have none and are happy with their Prodigy.
If Staccato is out of your price range and BUL Armory is unavailable (plus BUL only has a 1 year warranty), then a Prodigy with a lifetime warranty is your best bet.
If you would read the original post the OP said that he did not want a Rock Island so I didn't even consider that in my reply.
All due respect RLB, the OP was September 1, 2022 and a SA contributor… LOL.
But yes, I hear you… as it pertains to the question asked in the most recent posts in this thread… Just had to send a little Friday ribbing your way.
True, Post 666 (yeah…that may be a sign) asked about it and said no specifically to Rock Island, waiting on a Bul and no to a Staccato.
If you had said "the Prodigy is an unmatched value among the ones you are considering", I would have had no occasion to respond. But, you did not. You made a statement only qualified by "in the 2011 offerings". As the Prodigy itself is technically not a 2011, I applied the more liberal interpretation of "double stack 1911s". In which case, what you wrote is simply incorrect, in my opinion.
I don't know why that poster said "no Rock Island", but I personally think anyone who categorically refuses to consider them is shortchanging themselves. OTOH, the grip feel is a bit "blocky" and I could also understand if someone tried one, didn't like it, and ruled it out for that reason.
At the risk of sounding kind of argumentative, let me say that the post I was replying to was the question asked by Stonezy511 when he asked for recommendations about a new purchase. I mistakenly mentioned that I replied to the OP, and was wrong and I should have been more clear. In my defense it was 4 AM when I made my first post and maybe I wasn't fully functional yet as I had less than 4 hours sleep.
In his question about the Prodigy he listed three other pistols that he had considered, the Rock Island, Staccato and BUL Armory. He mentioned that for whatever reason he did not want a Rock Island so I didn't question that and didn't even mention that in my reply as he had apparently already ruled them out.
BUL Armory was cut because of the long wait time, and Staccato because of it's price. That left the Prodigy which seems to be his main consideration at the moment, but he was concerned about it's introduction problems and whether they had been cleared up.
I was merely trying to be helpful by relaying my opinion on the Prodigy by pointing out reasons why the Prodigy should be considered. I didn't mean to diss Rock Island but since it had already been ruled out, I saw no reason to mention it. I'm sure Rock Island makes a fine pistol.
Perhaps I should have mentioned that the Prodigy was an unmatched value in the group of pistols being considered, but thought that since no other pistols had even been mentioned in the discussion that it was understood.
As far as referring to the Prodigy as a 2011 offering, I realize that because Staccato has patented the term "2011" the Prodigy can't be technically or legally referred to as a 2011, hence the referral to the Prodigy as a DS 1911, but we all know by everyone's definition it is a 2011 regardless.
Now, instead of being so argumentative, can we all just get along?
In his question about the Prodigy he listed three other pistols that he had considered, the Rock Island, Staccato and BUL Armory. He mentioned that for whatever reason he did not want a Rock Island so I didn't question that and didn't even mention that in my reply as he had apparently already ruled them out.
BUL Armory was cut because of the long wait time, and Staccato because of it's price. That left the Prodigy which seems to be his main consideration at the moment, but he was concerned about it's introduction problems and whether they had been cleared up.
I was merely trying to be helpful by relaying my opinion on the Prodigy by pointing out reasons why the Prodigy should be considered. I didn't mean to diss Rock Island but since it had already been ruled out, I saw no reason to mention it. I'm sure Rock Island makes a fine pistol.
Perhaps I should have mentioned that the Prodigy was an unmatched value in the group of pistols being considered, but thought that since no other pistols had even been mentioned in the discussion that it was understood.
As far as referring to the Prodigy as a 2011 offering, I realize that because Staccato has patented the term "2011" the Prodigy can't be technically or legally referred to as a 2011, hence the referral to the Prodigy as a DS 1911, but we all know by everyone's definition it is a 2011 regardless.
Now, instead of being so argumentative, can we all just get along?
Here’s what I’ll say about the Prodigy vs. a Staccato that I now own.
If you can afford the Staccato, get it. Fit, finish, accuracy, quality of parts, it is better across the board.
However…
My Prodigy was my first 1911/2011 style pistol I ever owned, always been striker fired prior.
It is an EXCELLENT learning platform AND it is a great shooter.
I’ve learned the cerakote job on the Prodigy, at least MY prodigy, is not very high quality.
At close to 5K rounds through it, the cerakote is still flaking off when fired.
From where, I don’t know. But my last two range trips I never fired it, just my Staccato and Rival S. No black garbage on my strong arm mid-forearm. Every range trip prior, I thought maybe it was just gun powder/dirt/blowback. It’s not, it’s the cerakote on the Prodigy. Not a huge deal…
Putting in the EGW internals (hammer, 17# mainspring, sear, disconnector) along with an EGW Colt sear spring really, really cleaned up the trigger.
More importantly, it taught me how the sear, disconnector, hammer, trigger and safeties all work together.
Learning experience was priceless. A lot will say MIM parts are garbage. I disagree. They work and function fine.
But shooting about 2500 rounds through my Prodigy prior to putting in quality machined parts taught me the difference.
Game changer? Not quite. A better trigger break, cleaner action, better reset and much less weight? Yes.
Eventually, I’ll send out the barrel and get the LCI hole filled, there’s simply no need.
I may eventually replace the trigger and shoe with a medium flat faced trigger.
But as is, it’s a great, reliable shooter and even with the time spent, EGW kit, Magwell….I’m still in it for cheaper than a Stacatto P Duo. But as said, MSRP on the “P” is 1K more. Is it worth it? I think so. Must have? No.
If you can afford the Staccato, get it. Fit, finish, accuracy, quality of parts, it is better across the board.
However…
My Prodigy was my first 1911/2011 style pistol I ever owned, always been striker fired prior.
It is an EXCELLENT learning platform AND it is a great shooter.
I’ve learned the cerakote job on the Prodigy, at least MY prodigy, is not very high quality.
At close to 5K rounds through it, the cerakote is still flaking off when fired.
From where, I don’t know. But my last two range trips I never fired it, just my Staccato and Rival S. No black garbage on my strong arm mid-forearm. Every range trip prior, I thought maybe it was just gun powder/dirt/blowback. It’s not, it’s the cerakote on the Prodigy. Not a huge deal…
Putting in the EGW internals (hammer, 17# mainspring, sear, disconnector) along with an EGW Colt sear spring really, really cleaned up the trigger.
More importantly, it taught me how the sear, disconnector, hammer, trigger and safeties all work together.
Learning experience was priceless. A lot will say MIM parts are garbage. I disagree. They work and function fine.
But shooting about 2500 rounds through my Prodigy prior to putting in quality machined parts taught me the difference.
Game changer? Not quite. A better trigger break, cleaner action, better reset and much less weight? Yes.
Eventually, I’ll send out the barrel and get the LCI hole filled, there’s simply no need.
I may eventually replace the trigger and shoe with a medium flat faced trigger.
But as is, it’s a great, reliable shooter and even with the time spent, EGW kit, Magwell….I’m still in it for cheaper than a Stacatto P Duo. But as said, MSRP on the “P” is 1K more. Is it worth it? I think so. Must have? No.
Sport The War
Alpha
I have a 5" and it's broken 2 of my Dragonfly optics. I wonder if it's not rated for Springfield optics. Now both of mine will shut off after each round. Now I'm down two optics.Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “First Look: Springfield 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/springfield-1911-ds-prodigy-9mm/.
Is that the one that uses Sig P320 mags? I really like the looks of that pistol if it works.
SimonRL
Hellcat
The EAA/Girsan 2311 witness is advertised as using standard 2011 mags, so I’m assuming Staccato, Prodigy and Checkmate mags will work.
Girsan Witness2311® - EAA Corp.
The First Affordable Double Stack 1911 is here with the Girsan Witness2311®. Multiple configurations, slide lengths and calibers. 9mm, 45 ACP, 10mm
eaacorp.com