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First Look: Springfield 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm

I’m not by any means an expert but to me the magazine seems to be the issue. The ammo holds firm side to side but is very loose front to back. This is especially apparent when unloading to replace ammo. Sometimes bullets almost jump out of the clip, some rest in place in the back and others protrude. 20 round clip on 1911 too ambitious?
When I had feed problems they were from the 17 rounder exclusively. The 20 was fine. I’ve since ordered a second 17 rd mag and it has run fine too. There is a slight burr on the bottom edge of the followers from where the are cut from the plastic flashing. I filed mine smooth. I don’t personally think the mags are a problem.
 
Remmington 124g FMJ brass
I’ve run 124 gr Blazer Brass, Federal American Eagle, Browning and 115gr MagTech. The 4 feed issues I had were with the Blazer which has subsequently run fine. Sig 124gr V Crown jammed the gun twice out of three tries. The one that fired hit dead center bull!.
 
One of my 17s is out of spec and had a burr but it still ran, but had weak ejection on the last 2 rounds. It also set high in the gun. It was 3.600 front and 3.650 back. Should be around 3.5 plus minus 5 up front and about 10 thou less in the back. All my others are 3.55 to 3.5 up front and anywhere from 5 to 10 less in the back. So even an out of spec mag ran. I did disassemble and clean and run the folowers up and down a bunch until there was no resistance. But these are things I do with every mag and every gun.
 
Ok thanks! Lots for me to tinker with- glad I joined and posted. Very helpful and giving me hope that I didn’t blow a lot of money on an early release purchase.
 
Got off a little early tonight and hit the range. Put another 100 rounds of 124gr Blazer Brass through my Prodigy with no issues. I haven’t been to the range with it since last Friday. I’ve been cycling it each night since and put TW25 grease on the rails and I was caught out by how quickly the slide reciprocated. Unfortunately, it was also stupid accurate. 😎😜
 
Bought the 5” Prodigy back on 9/2. I had no issues my first hundred rounds, and then shot it in a class this past weekend. I had about 15 failures to feed—more towards the latter half of 300 rounds I ran through it. It seemed to get worse the hotter and dirtier the gun got. I could feel the slide tightening up when the gun was super hot and dirty. I cleaned it and lubed it, and it, then ran 100 rounds of 3 different brands of 115g FMJ with no issues, from each of my 6 2011 mags, including the duramags (which I have noticed have some rattle and play in the loaded rounds compared to the staccato-made ones). After reading here and elsewhere that the factory spring is light, I threw a 10 lb recoil spring in. Now we’re talking. Ran about 20 more rounds of FMJ and threw in some JHP to see if it would hang up on the ramp. Nope, shot great. Shot it in a match tonight and it ran beautifully—felt great and zero failures.

Ultimately it seems like 1) there’s a breakin period here 2) it’s gotta be kept relatively clean during that period, and 3) a little heavier recoil spring is going to help. I can’t find an association between the mags and the failures, but they do seem to be lower quality than the staccato ones. At this point I’m very happy with it.
 
I took my Springfield 1911 DS Prodigy (4.25") on the range today for the second time. Both times it jammed before I could get 60 rounds. Today's jam requires a gunsmith. For $1500 I expect reliability and performance - not a gun that can't run through three clips before jamming.
Not trying to be snarky but your problem could be the use of (clips)

There are multiple threads on the forum with multiple Prodigy owners reporting flawless performance after working to break the gun in and loosening up the slide/frame fit.
 
The issue with the prodigy is the mags, check out our report video:
There are many of us on this site and others that have had no mag issues whatsoever. I’ve purchased additional mags from Springfield and they have also run perfectly. My opinion - the problems start with the bit that attaches to the grip.
 
I had 4 failures to feed over the first 100 rounds and guess what, I didn’t run off home and polish my feed ramp, sand my feed lips, change my recoil spring or rant on the internet. I dropped the mag, reinserted each of the four rounds and shot them down range and then continued on without issue. That was 500 rounds ago. This is not my first foray into brand new platforms or 1911s and I had already heard about feed issues with the Prodigy before I picked it up, so when it did hiccup I didn’t bug out. I’ve shot thousands and thousands of rounds through .22lr pistols. They’ve taught me not to panic when the gun doesn’t go bang. I’m not saying people aren’t having legitimate problems. I do think it’s interesting that all the pre-release Guntubers like Collion Noir, XDMan and other very experienced experts did not have issues while a lot of people who have never even shot a 1911 before rushed out and bought a first release, bargain basement 2011. If you search my posts you’ll also find where I said prior to the release that I would pick up a Prodidy in a heart beat and that I was more than happy to be a beta tester - which is exactly what I did on both counts.
 
Thanks for the feedback! Our example prodigy is still experiencing feeding issues (with duramags) after well over 1,000rds.
Kudos to you for sticking with it, I don’t think I would have endured that long. Have you run Staccato or Triarc mags through it? It would be interesting to try Duramags that have run well in another gun and see if they run in yours. How close are you to Texas?
 
One of the things that tips me off to the relative experience of some of the YouTubers who were supposedly having issues with the Prodigy - the fact that they changed/modified multiple things in between range sessions, and then came back with a new vid saying, "ok, so I did x, y and z, and let's see if it works now."

Rule #1 is that should never change multiple things at the same time, esp. if you are not 100% certain if that's the actual problem or not. How else are you going to be able to isolate what the supposed issue was? If they're admitting on camera that this was their approach to problem-solving, then they've lost my faith in their credibility right there.

And while we're on the topic, why do people do reviews without properly cleaning and lubing the gun first? Anytime someone starts a review with something to the effect of, "Ok, so I just got this _____, and I haven't done anything to it, haven't cleaned it, haven't lubed it, etc. and here we are at the range and we're going to see how it runs," I immediately cross that reviewer off my list, esp. if they are then going to report that they are having "problems" with the gun. :rolleyes:

As @SimonRL said above, I'm not denying that some people may be experiencing some legitimate issues, but the low quality output of a number of people who have annointed themselves as "reviewers" definitely needs to be called out, and more openly weighed when we talk about whether there really are widespread issues going on (which I don't believe), or whether we are talking about some isolated cases of legit problems, and then a whole bunch of reported 'problems' that are really just examples of dumbassitude.
 
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Well, I received both my Prodigy's (4.25 & 5") back from Springfield today. Let's just say I am extremely disappointed. I opened the box for the 5" and found: Rear Sight Plate loose, Both Grip Module screws loose, Slide still getting stuck on the disconnector (original problem along with the FTF issues, two new magazines and the grip module damaged around the right side mag release cover and around to the front of the grip module and below the trigger guard. Large gouges like were it had been in a vise or something. Totally not acceptable as there was no damage to the gun when I sent it to them.

The 4.25" found both grip module screws loose to the point, the left one basically had 1 thread holding it is and fell out with a touch. Had two new magazines as well but could not tell if they actually did anything to it other than fire it as it was dirty when I got it back.

Called Springfield within 15 minutes of receiving them and told them my issues and was taking it to the LGS where I bought them and letting them deal with it.

At the LGS, called Springfield and spoke to a supervisor were they explained to her the issues and condition of the guns when I received them back. I told them I want a new grip module for the 5" since they damaged it and I want the disconnector issue fixed since they did nothing to correct it the first trip in. So she arranged for a FedEx tracking # to be sent to my LGS for them to ship the 5" model back to them to correct/fix everything. She also said it would be a "Priority" repair when they receive it.

I asked he about the quality control as it seems they have none. How could they damage a gun, leave e loose screws and plates and send it back to a customer in that condition. I asked if they even had a quality control to check them after repair as it appears to me they do not.

I kept the 4.25" as it is easy enough to tighten the grip module screws and I want to take it to the range to see if the FTF issues are still there or not.

I would have just fixed the 5" issues and I know how I can get the sticking on the disconnector resolved and would have rather done it myself at this point but the damaged grip module is on them and they need to make it right.
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Well, I received both my Prodigy's (4.25 & 5") back from Springfield today. Let's just say I am extremely disappointed. I opened the box for the 5" and found: Rear Sight Plate loose, Both Grip Module screws loose, Slide still getting stuck on the disconnector (original problem along with the FTF issues, two new magazines and the grip module damaged around the right side mag release cover and around to the front of the grip module and below the trigger guard. Large gouges like were it had been in a vise or something. Totally not acceptable as there was no damage to the gun when I sent it to them.

The 4.25" found both grip module screws loose to the point, the left one basically had 1 thread holding it is and fell out with a touch. Had two new magazines as well but could not tell if they actually did anything to it other than fire it as it was dirty when I got it back.

Called Springfield within 15 minutes of receiving them and told them my issues and was taking it to the LGS where I bought them and letting them deal with it.

At the LGS, called Springfield and spoke to a supervisor were they explained to her the issues and condition of the guns when I received them back. I told them I want a new grip module for the 5" since they damaged it and I want the disconnector issue fixed since they did nothing to correct it the first trip in. So she arranged for a FedEx tracking # to be sent to my LGS for them to ship the 5" model back to them to correct/fix everything. She also said it would be a "Priority" repair when they receive it.

I asked he about the quality control as it seems they have none. How could they damage a gun, leave e loose screws and plates and send it back to a customer in that condition. I asked if they even had a quality control to check them after repair as it appears to me they do not.

I kept the 4.25" as it is easy enough to tighten the grip module screws and I want to take it to the range to see if the FTF issues are still there or not.

I would have just fixed the 5" issues and I know how I can get the sticking on the disconnector resolved and would have rather done it myself at this point but the damaged grip module is on them and they need to make it right. View attachment 30808View attachment 30809View attachment 30810View attachment 30811
Im curious if any of these damage marks and the screw could of happened during shipping? Me, being a logical thinker would have to think no one in their right mind would let it leave the repair shop like this. Any sane person like yourself would do what you did and send it right back. That just makes the repair workers MORE work and cost them more money. Its a lose all around.
 
Have you tried holding the slide in one hand firmly while you slam the web of your other hand against the grip safety. This is an acceptable way to unjam a 1911. Obviously make sure you keep your finger away from the trigger and the pistol is pointed in a safe direction. This is almost certainly what your gunsmith will do. I had my Prodigy jam twice while I was at the range while trying Sig V Crown hollow points. That is exactly the technique I used to unjam it both times.

Here is one of the jams. Look familiar? You’ll notice that my slide was a couple of millimeters out of battery like yours
View attachment 30771
Thanks Simon! I’m obviously a novice but one who wants to master. Your ‘hold the slide and hit the grip’ took me two tries but ejected the live round.
I have read a lot of posts where people are postering instead of helping- again thanks, making a novice feeling better for spending big money to enter the game
 
I’m really happy that it worked for you. I know the first time you do it everything in your brain says “this is a bad idea”. You bought a great gun and you’re on one of the best, most helpful forums on the web. A lot of people here have helped me along the way and I’m glad I’m able to pass that on. Keep us up to date on your Prodigy.
 
My 4.25 is running great. I chose to run the 14lb spring since my slide was slow out of the box after cleaning and lots of racking.

With just 1 issue, a stove pipe in the first 500 rounds and my slide really feeling great I dropped in the stock spring yesterday at the range and it ran through the 200 rounds I had left without a hitch and was dropping with enough slide velocity.

I did increase my extractor tension because I had some erratic ejection after the swap, probably due to the higher slide velocity.

It literally takes a few minutes to pull the extractor and give it a few light bends. Now it is throwing the cases within inches of each other.

Very crisp but still too heavy trigger is my only legit concern at this point. I will work on that a bit next. My sight plate came loose again. The locktite I used was pretty old so will pick up a fresh tube and look up the torque specs.

Here are the first shots with the 12lb spring and before the extractor adjustment.

Hammer hit the nail on the head. 😆
 
Rob Leatham on GunTalk hints at other models in the works stating that the magazine is capable of accepting other calibers. Personally, I would like to see a lightweight model for concealed carry similar to the offering at Stacatto.
 
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