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Springfield Armory 1911 DS Prodigy
- Thread starter Clayman
- Start date
SA has always been a go to for 1911s. They aren't gucci, but they run. And before you start with the "My Nighthawk" let me dick slap you right there and remind you that you are comparing a $900 1911 to a $3000 1911.
Doesn't mean the prodigy wasn't a miss, but SA can make a good gun. In fact if a Dan Wesson is too much, SA is a good alternative.
A little backstory as I come at this as a competitive shooter. For "Limited" division is USPSA--the "go to" model was an STI 2011. Specifically a model called "The Edge". it was a 40 cal (think it came in 45 as well) 5 inch 2011 Double Stack. Sort of your base model. Ran at about $2000 even. When "STI" became Staccatto the 5 inch 40 cal became the XL and retailed for $3600. Same Damn gun. Now they don't even sell a 40 or 45 model. That's a problem because in competition you need to be at least 40 caliber to make major (an advantage in scoring--shooting minor your C/D zones hits count for less points). Limited Division was STIs--A lot of Custom Guns started as STI frames even. They owned that division. In one fell swoop they put a big middle finger to the shooting community which has supported them and been loyal customers. Its like Intel saying "Yeah we are not gonna be in the PC business anymore, we want to focus on memory--so all chips are now marked up 100% in price and yeah btw, we going to only sell Apple PC chips"
Please stop posting before you hurt yourself.
Limited Division is almost 100% 2011. (and typically the largest/most popular division) is USPSA AND IPSC
3Gun handgun is very much dominated by 2011.
Bullseye?
One of the reasons we even have divisions in USPSA is the rise of the double stack 1911, led by....guess who.... 2011s
My LB Premier II in .45 from circa '95 was so tight when I first got it, I had to seriously WORK to budge the slide from battery. I honestly thought something was WRONG with it when I first got it. Like they didn't fit the barrel correctly. It was reliable with ball ammo & 230 Golden Saber.
These interested me. I have a couple STI's that have run well and I like them and I'd like a 2011 platform with a red dot. That said I carry a CZ P01 and race with a CZ Shadow 2. I shoot the 1911/2011 as well as the CZ's but neither platform is dead reliable as the CZ with no tweaking mags, breaking in pistols or repairing. They just eat everything I feed them from day one. That said, I'll buy one of these after they get the issues worked out....if they do.
LOL...yeah, the industry is toxic as fuck and $$$ are ultimately all that matter. Though I must say, I loved listening to my competition buddies piss and moan about how this was going to crash and burn and STI->Staccato banking on "timmies" is a poor business decision...
Given the understanding of the time it takes to fit parts decently (especially barrel fit) and given how much parts alone cost for a build, it floors me how much people expect out of a 1911 that took minutes to assemble from parts that cost significantly less than the curiously low price they already paid.
What sucks is some of those 3k guns really aren't done THAT much better despite their price so paying big money doesn't guarantee more sadly enough.
I’m just wondering when everyone will quit being so surprised they use customers to beta test instead of working the kinks out and releasing it a little later than projected.
I should have gone through this thread before I picked my Prodigy up today. Wasn't even planing on getting one and then my LGS had one so, I got it. I haven't had time to compare it to my STI. That said I wanted it because it was optic ready and my STI isn't. One thing I noticed is they magazine release sucks. I have to manipulate the gun in my hand to get to it and I do not have to do that with my STI. For me this will be just a range gun for fun. If the magazines fit the STI and work well, it may be something to get some of the 26 round magazines for comps and toss some base plates on them.
This guy seems like he has the prodigy line down if you want the thing gone over and tuned to run perfect, or modified heavily, anywhere in between, whatever.
I have the 4.25" and ran 200 rounds through it right out of the box, only had 2 issues where the slide got hung up with the nose of the bullet hitting the feed ramp, tapped the slide and she went home.
Took it home and cleaned it and ran 300 rounds today as quickly as I could, and had zero issues, except the pistol being too hot to hold without gloves.
So far, Im happy with not spending the extra $1000 to get the staccato.
Took it home and cleaned it and ran 300 rounds today as quickly as I could, and had zero issues, except the pistol being too hot to hold without gloves.
So far, Im happy with not spending the extra $1000 to get the staccato.
Here is the deal. I have around 1000 rds through my 5” Prodigy and several more thousand through my Staccato P
Out of the box the Staccato is far better and ready to EDC for real
The Prodigy took work and money to make it equal
I do my own pistols and have for years so it was just parts
Extreme Engineering Hammer, Sear, disconnecter set 200.00
EGW Slide stop 50.00
EGW Ejector 40.00
Wilson BP firing pin 20.0
EGW Extractor 40.00
Fusion no tool guide rod 60.00
Wilson BP firing pin stop
That’s 450.00 in parts
Pistol 1200.0
Total 1650.00. Plus work I did
Polish ramp
Polish Barrel throat
Correct bolt face and disconnect track
Fit parts
Correct grip safety release so no need for rubber band be. Lol
Probably eight hours work
Now it’s fairly equal but I park would of b en about 500.00 from smith so almost the same into it as P
Out of the box the Staccato is far better and ready to EDC for real
The Prodigy took work and money to make it equal
I do my own pistols and have for years so it was just parts
Extreme Engineering Hammer, Sear, disconnecter set 200.00
EGW Slide stop 50.00
EGW Ejector 40.00
Wilson BP firing pin 20.0
EGW Extractor 40.00
Fusion no tool guide rod 60.00
Wilson BP firing pin stop
That’s 450.00 in parts
Pistol 1200.0
Total 1650.00. Plus work I did
Polish ramp
Polish Barrel throat
Correct bolt face and disconnect track
Fit parts
Correct grip safety release so no need for rubber band be. Lol
Probably eight hours work
Now it’s fairly equal but I park would of b en about 500.00 from smith so almost the same into it as P
I have the 5" Prodigy and have ran 500 rounds through it with no issues. The only thing I replaced was the Atlas gun works tooless guide rod.
Yea, but the question is... is that prodigy with that stuff done to it better than the staccato P?
I would venture to say yes, at least for you, if not in general. So yes, you may put staccato P money into it to get it where you want it, but now it is what you want, whereas the staccato P is still a stock gun that may not have what you want.
Of course it's always possible that they do have exactly what you want as a stock gun.
But it sounds like you, perhaps, have a better pistol for the same as P money... That isn't necessarily a lose because of it and could perhaps be a huge win over it.
But I understand the quandary behind the, "do I spend $1500 on x and $900 to improve it," or just buy Y for $2400 to start with...
The answer for me is, if $1500 + $900 gets you a better gun for you, then that is the answer, regardless the name on the $2400 to start with, gun.
So, if you built that Prodigy to be a better gun than the P, you shouldn't feel as if you made it just as good simply because the money adds up to be equal, your prodigy, at least for you, may be far better and that would mean money way better spent.
But maybe not... maybe you don't trust your work or the parts you bought, or they didn't turn out as you had hoped or whatever... but, the idea that buying a $1500 gun to spend another $1000 (or whatever the prices may be) to get it to run as you want is stupid when you could just buy a $2500 to begin with is flawed unless that $2500 gun gets you everything that $2500 built gun now has.
A quick simple example is that I HATE ambi-safeties, I've had the off-side safety flip the safety off on me several times throughout the years.
So, that built gun for me would have a single sided safety, and that means it's better for me than the stock Staccato P or whatever particular gun we're discussing when they have an ambi-safety.
And of course that can be applied to everything, the trigger job you did may have produced a better trigger, you may have also bought a trigger shoe that better fits your hand size, and on and on and on...
Your $2150 Prodigy may only be rivaled by a $3100 Staccato P... which means you've won a great victory.
Or put another way, you may be selling yourself and your gun, short.
I trust my work with my life when it comes to 1911/2011 and Glocks
I also fixed/adjusted grip safety on my Staccato
I picked a 5” because when I was done I wanted to end closer to the 3500 Staccato 5”
What I pointed out is the P in s actually a very good deal
Even with discounts if I had picked a 4.5” Prodigy I would be close to same price as the P but In the end the Staccato will be worth more than the Prodigy Plus the Staccato already comes with better parts in it
The internals from Springfield are not very good so replacing them is a must in my eyes
Could I make the Prodigy into a better weapon than the Staccato for same money? Depends on model. In the 5”? Absolutely
Could I make the Prodigy 4.5 better than a P? Absolutely. Just go a grade above the P original parts on the Prodigy build. In this case I was going for solid duty weapon grade as that’s what the P comes as
I also fixed/adjusted grip safety on my Staccato
I picked a 5” because when I was done I wanted to end closer to the 3500 Staccato 5”
What I pointed out is the P in s actually a very good deal
Even with discounts if I had picked a 4.5” Prodigy I would be close to same price as the P but In the end the Staccato will be worth more than the Prodigy Plus the Staccato already comes with better parts in it
The internals from Springfield are not very good so replacing them is a must in my eyes
Could I make the Prodigy into a better weapon than the Staccato for same money? Depends on model. In the 5”? Absolutely
Could I make the Prodigy 4.5 better than a P? Absolutely. Just go a grade above the P original parts on the Prodigy build. In this case I was going for solid duty weapon grade as that’s what the P comes as
What mag wells you guys using on the prodigy? I think a dawson could be trimmed up to fit vs just buying the egw
The start of some good info
Prodigy magwell options…
Anyone modify the Prodigy grip to accept magwells made for the STI grip? I know the Dawson tactical magwell fits, and that EGW makes one specifically for it. But others? I’ve got a box of Dawson ICE, SVI, and others. Would love to use one of them instead of buying yet another. Any help appreciated!
forums.brianenos.com
I've been very happy with my 5" prodigy that I bought back in early September shortly after it was released.
With a newborn and toddler I didn't have time to shoot it until this February.
After reading all of the issues others had I preemptively bought a 12.5 # Wolff spring to hopefully avoid the cycling issues many were having.
When my RMR and optic plate came in the factory sight plate wouldn't budge. I ended up sending the slide back to SA to fix the issue. Got the slide back a couple weeks later.
I finally made it to the range this past February and put 200-300 rounds through it with zero issues. Went again a couple months ago, put another 200ish rounds through it and zero issues again.
I used a variety of brass cased plinking ammo.
I know some people had reliability issues,and SA needs to take care of those, but I'd guess that these are the exception not the norm.
With a newborn and toddler I didn't have time to shoot it until this February.
After reading all of the issues others had I preemptively bought a 12.5 # Wolff spring to hopefully avoid the cycling issues many were having.
When my RMR and optic plate came in the factory sight plate wouldn't budge. I ended up sending the slide back to SA to fix the issue. Got the slide back a couple weeks later.
I finally made it to the range this past February and put 200-300 rounds through it with zero issues. Went again a couple months ago, put another 200ish rounds through it and zero issues again.
I used a variety of brass cased plinking ammo.
I know some people had reliability issues,and SA needs to take care of those, but I'd guess that these are the exception not the norm.
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I really like my 4.25”. No issues in 500rds so far. My first and only 2011, but it’s definitely my favorite pistol now.
So Staccato (I have the ‘old’ STI version of a Staccato-C), but with MIM guts.
Probably OK, but it’s no 2011.
Probably OK, but it’s no 2011.
I guess we all do for ourselves…. I meant an STI/Staccato 2011.
…and nothing wrong with MIM per-se, I have a Sig 1911 I built up for my son that was all MIM guts when I bought it. Foumd one with a super-tight slide, then lapped it in, and slowly replaced the guts with WC bits (a lot of which was actually manufactured by STI, btw). Great shooting pistol for 1/4 of the cost of a WC, or my Nighthawk.
…and nothing wrong with MIM per-se, I have a Sig 1911 I built up for my son that was all MIM guts when I bought it. Foumd one with a super-tight slide, then lapped it in, and slowly replaced the guts with WC bits (a lot of which was actually manufactured by STI, btw). Great shooting pistol for 1/4 of the cost of a WC, or my Nighthawk.
If we apply the same rules for other pistols (ie 1911’s) I would say the Springfield is most certainly a 2011
Staccato decides. "2011" is trademarked by them. Staccato can name anything they want 2011. Same with Colt & AR15.
I suppose you only refer to Kleenex-brand facial tissues as Kleenex, and call all other brands facial tissues right?
The old 2011 was the double stack frame (carbon fiber mag well and steel rails?) and other "improvement" options that STI made standard on their pistol.
I wouldn't mind finding the slide they made with the caliber swappable breach face. Swap the breach, barrel, recoil spring and mags to change caliber.
G-locks? 2011s? lol
I looked up and saw blue sky. But someone on the hide said I was wrong.
Prodigy is a pretty fun project gun. I'll fit new thumb safeties and be done tinkering for a while
I looked up and saw blue sky. But someone on the hide said I was wrong.
Prodigy is a pretty fun project gun. I'll fit new thumb safeties and be done tinkering for a while
Mine says "Platypus" on the slide and won't take an STI mag, so I'm pretty sure it's a Platypus and not a 2011.
Something like the Prodigy is definitely a clone of a 2011, but since that's pretty cumbersome I'm OK with just calling it a 2011.
I've resisted the urge so far to put a Prodigy into inventory and then play Lego with it - has anyone tried to mix and match grips and frames between the STI and Springfield pistols?
Couple of guys on the Enos forums have made pretty extensive changes to theirs… apparently mostly compatible with “standard” 2011 parts, exception being the shape of the trigger bow in stock grip. Good info in this thread (including a grip transplant from an STI).
No personal experience with it yet, though. Still trying to decided on 4.25 vs 5 version.
Springfield prodigy-a short-term review
forums.brianenos.com
(edit: forgot the link)
Just picked up mine today. Unfortunately this one made it 50 rpunds before it became a single-shot. That being said I did go straight to the range from the shop, "dry" from the factory. Oh well, I guess well see 
Rookie mistake. Cleaning of factory gunk and correct lube makes a difference on many brands of guns.
Think of it like a mil-surplus battle stick. Clean off the cosmoline, oil, put into service. The manufs dont know how long it will sit on the shelf, or what shelf. They dont want it rusting / whatever...
Think of it like a mil-surplus battle stick. Clean off the cosmoline, oil, put into service. The manufs dont know how long it will sit on the shelf, or what shelf. They dont want it rusting / whatever...
Thats why Im not too concerned at the moment. Going to go clean and lube it, see what happens. Always a good day when you have a new pistol.
As someone who has owned and shot a few 1911s over the years but not handled a 2011 I have to ask since I never see it talked about; isn't the grip insanely thick/wide compared to say a Glock? Maybe it's just how they always appear in photos/video.
It feels bigger than my G19 but only sleightly. Feels a little "rounder" than a Glock if that makes sense, I like it a lot compared to my 1911.
That makes sense. I've handled a ton of pistols over the last 10 years but oddly enough I don't think I've ever handled or maybe even SEEN a 2011 in person in any flavor in that time.
I'll have to hit up my LGS this weekend and see if they have a Prodigy to get a feel. Maybe it'll push me into wanting a Staccato. On paper the weight of a Staccato P isn't appealing vs the various Glocks and HKs I've had. I used to carry a 5in 1911 every day but I moved on from that years ago.
I will say that if you envision this as a "duty" gun then just save and go with a Staccato. There is some break-in with these and in my mind if I have to fiddlefuck the gun to get it to work itll just be a range toy until its proven otherwise.
Yeah I think I'd skip the SF (I pretty much always have anyway lol). I have my carry gun figured out, but have thought of the Staccato P vs say a 19X for a more general purpose handgun for things other than shoving into the waistband for CC.
I regret this one but if it takes a little work to get running then Ill play with it in USPSA rather than take a 60% hit by selling it back to the store. Idk, first world problems
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