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First Look: Springfield 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm

Put another 50 issue-free rounds of Browning 115gr FMJ through my Prodigy today. This gun is a dream to shoot and silly accurate. I brought two of my classic Sigs along today as well, and easily out-shot them with the Prodigy. Unless I have a signficant issue with it at this point, I consider it GTG and won't keep updating. I trust it enough at this point that it's getting rotated in for nightstand duty.
 
xdman said:
Dude that gunstore sold you a used gun, I threw my Prodigy in the rocks and dirt three different times and my frame was not even that damaged.
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The gun store did not sell me a used gun, that is how I received it back from being sent in to Springfield for repair. Before being sent, no damage to grip module, the damage was noticed within 15 minutes of receiving it back via FedEx and I called them. The gun store just sent it back for me the second time, I sent it to them the first time. So no, the gun store did nothing, Springfield did.

I did get it back yesterday and everything was fixed to include replacing the grip module that was damaged by them or the way they shipped it back to me the first time.
 
Bryan1689 said:
The gun store did not sell me a used gun, that is how I received it back from being sent in to Springfield for repair. Before being sent, no damage to grip module, the damage was noticed within 15 minutes of receiving it back via FedEx and I called them. The gun store just sent it back for me the second time, I sent it to them the first time. So no, the gun store did nothing, Springfield did.

I did get it back yesterday and everything was fixed to include replacing the grip module that was damaged by them or the way they shipped it back to me the first time.
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Glad to see that Springfield’s CS is taking care of business.
 
Well I did get my 5" Prodigy back from Springfield for the second time. They did replace the damaged grip module. I was finally able to take it to the range and see if the issues I initially had were corrected. I must say, the gun ran without issue. I put almost 400 rds through it running various FMJ (115g & 124g) and JHP (115g, 124g, 147g).

I also had a chance to run my 4.25" again and put 250 rds through it as well with various FMJ & JHP. I did put a heavier recoil spring in it and had zero issues feeds 147g JHP this time, not sure the heavier recoil spring played a roll but was happy I had ZERO issues with it as well.

I did have one issue with both and that was after 3 or 4 mags run through them, the rear sight plate was coming loose. I did retighten at the range but kept coming loose. When I got home, I removed the sight plate screws and appears they had no locktite of any kind on them. I also had one with the head of the screw stripping out. I did put blue locktite on them and reinstalled/torqued them. They also seemed to be a bit short from what I was expecting.

I did contact Springfield about the one with the screw head stripping out and they have new screws being shipped to me.

In all, I must say Springfield customer service was very attentive and responsive. They turned the firearms quickly and I had them back in a very reasonable time. The first time with the 4.25 and 5 inch I had them back in my hands 10 days after shipping them to them. When I sent my 5 inch back for the grip module issue, I had it back within 7 days of being shipped. So kudos to Springfield for their service and turn around.

Will be keeping them both now, I have just over 1000 rds through the 4.25 and about 800 rds through the 5" model now.
 
You might not be, but there are some of us…
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Any new pistol I buy that has an optic plate, I'm going to remove it and check the screws. Whether they came with Loctite from the factory or not is of little consquence to me, and I'm certainly not going to feel ripped off if they don't have any. It literally takes a few seconds to put a dab on each screw, torque them and then move on. In fact, I'd rather do it myself, as most screws that come with Loctite from the factory have way too much on them. And, if I'm removing the optic plate to mount an optic, I'm going to have to do that anyway.
 
Smith Hammer said:
Any new pistol I buy that has an optic plate, I'm going to remove it and check the screws. Whether they came with Loctite from the factory or not is of little consquence to me, and I'm certainly not going to feel ripped off if they don't have any. It literally takes a few seconds to put a dab on each screw, torque them and then move on. In fact, I'd rather do it myself, as most screws that come with Loctite from the factory have way too much on them. And, if I'm removing the optic plate to mount an optic, I'm going to have to do that anyway.
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I had the sight plate come loose too, but the optic plate has not budged.
 
I know I said I wouldn’t report back on my Prodigy because it is running flawlessly, but today was a new benchmark, literally. I went to the range today and ran it side by side with The One Gun. My P226 Legion SAO RXP. I ran 75 rounds through each gun at 15 yards and it was a blow-for-blow, knock down, drag ‘em out. At 41oz, the steel framed Prodigy is clearly the heavyweight, absorbing recoil and instantly dropping back on target. The 34oz alloy framed 226 Legion is a snappy counter puncher that delivers precision hits, but demands solid technique. Both guns ran a red dot - the Prodigy, a 6 moa Vortex Viper while the Legion ran a 3 moa Rome1Pro. Both guns left gaping holes in their respective targets.

Both of these guns run within $100 of each other, but I feel like the Legion is better made, but I’m willing to admit that there may be some bias there. The Legion feels rapier fast, while the Prodigy feels sledge hammer fast. I wanted the Legion to smoke the Prodigy but that didn’t happen, they really matched each other on each shot. I’m tempted to give the Prodigy an extra point because of the ease that it settled back on target on each shot, but then I’d have to give the Legion 10 bonus points because I know that it will fire anything, FMJ or JHP, that I feed it. I can’t say the same about the Prodigy. I would go to war with the Legion. Here’s what I am sure about - at the range, either of these guns will make you That Guy.

And as an extra bonus on the way to the range I stopped into my local Gritr Sports and they had 17 rd Prodigy mags for $35. I picked one up and I used it exclusively today. Whatever problems the Prodigy may have, it’s not the magazines.
 
SimonRL said:
I know I said I wouldn’t report back on my Prodigy because it is running flawlessly, but today was a new benchmark, literally. I went to the range today and ran it side by side with The One Gun. My P226 Legion SAO RXP. I ran 75 rounds through each gun at 15 yards and it was a blow-for-blow, knock down, drag ‘em out. At 41oz, the steel framed Prodigy is clearly the heavyweight, absorbing recoil and instantly dropping back on target. The 34oz alloy framed 226 Legion is a snappy counter puncher that delivers precision hits, but demands solid technique. Both guns ran a red dot - the Prodigy, a 6 moa Vortex Viper while the Legion ran a 3 moa Rome1Pro. Both guns left gaping holes in their respective targets.

Both of these guns run within $100 of each other, but I feel like the Legion is better made, but I’m willing to admit that there may be some bias there. The Legion feels rapier fast, while the Prodigy feels sledge hammer fast. I wanted the Legion to smoke the Prodigy but that didn’t happen, they really matched each other on each shot. I’m tempted to give the Prodigy an extra point because of the ease that it settled back on target on each shot, but then I’d have to give the Legion 10 bonus points because I know that it will fire anything, FMJ or JHP, that I feed it. I can’t say the same about the Prodigy. I would go to war with the Legion. Here’s what I am sure about - at the range, either of these guns will make you That Guy.

And as an extra bonus on the way to the range I stopped into my local Gritr Sports and they had 17 rd Prodigy mags for $35. I picked one up and I used it exclusively today. Whatever problems the Prodigy may have, it’s not the magazines.
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Love to hear you're having fun and it's running well for you!

Mine's been solid through 600 rounds, not one issue. Haven't made any changes to it other than the Viper red dot.

It's a fantastic gun and thoroughly enjoyable to shoot. Incredibly smooth and soft.

Is it meant to be a 'Staccato killer?' No - it's meant to be a more affordable entry point into the 1911 DS/2011 market.
But damn, it sure does give the Staccato a run for it's money.

Kudos to Springfield, I think they knocked it out of the park on this one. (Not to mention bringing mag prices WAY down - I got another 20rd Prodigy mag for $40 over the weekend.)
 
Here's mine, I bought the 4.25in version. So far, a lot more issues than I expected. I own mostly Berettas, Sigs and CZs and they all run flawlessly. This is my first SA and it wouldn't run more than 2-3 rds at a time and I'd have FTF (failure to feed). You could feel the slide hanging up on the disconnector. Sent it in to SA, they reamed the chamber + polished the feedramp + returned it. Shot much better but still occassional FTF. Repolished feedramp myself, also polished leading edge of slide channel that operates disconnector. Found lips on top of 17 rd mag extremely jagged, smoothed those out, 20 rd ok.

Gun runs great now with every sort ammo I can throw at it. Accuracy is exceptional, fit finish very good, love the ergos and ambi safety. After shooting the other day, found optic plate sooo loose it was ready to fly off. Removed screws (finger tight) they had blue locktite on them but never torqued down. Also noticed grip safety quit working. Gonna check that this am, read loose grip can cause this.

If you want something that'll run flawlessly outta the box, I don't recommend this pistol at this time. If yah don't mind tinkering and maybe sendin it back a couple times, it's got everything you could ask for in a 2011 platform at this price point. Think SA released this a little soon and I'm the crash test dummy. But, all the features are there and once perfected it'll be a game changer for certain!
 

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Was able to get mine out again yesterday with a buddy and we were shooting lot of rifles and hand guns so only ran 150 round of that nasty Grind ammo(which is the only stuff that has had repeat issues due to undersized cases and varied powder charges, but have another 500 rounds to get rid of). No malfunctions and continued exceptional accuracy. My bud said he has never shot a pistol so well in his life. That sight plate was loose again after locktite and torque to 25ip, torqued it to 28 this morning.
 
Follow up to grip safety not working - did a google search + it turned up a post on another 2011 board. That post said grip loosens + prohibits GS from working. Check my Prodigy + sure enough loose grip. You push the grip module up + retighten the screws, GS works perfectly now. Sure beats sendin it back in, although gotta admit, turn around was about 10 days instead of the 3-4 weeks I was first told. Happy camper now, pistol is a joy to shoot. Might be more accurate than my 5in Kimber 9mm 1911.
 
I installed a Dawson Precision Tool-less guide rod in my 5in Prodigy. If you don’t like the two-piece guide rod - and I was not a fan - this thing is a no-brainer. It actuall natures the spring via a small lever that looks the spring in place. It also comes with the correct sized reverse plug which also becomes part of the captive spring assembly. The whole thing is stainless and matches the bull barrel quite nicely. Put a box of Mag Tech 115 gr through it today to do a function check. It ran just fine.

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