Here is a link to the video review and the written review is down below.
Springfield Prodigy 2011 "1911 DS" enthusiasts Review
Despite having fondled and shot several Prodigy’s, for whatever reason I never really considered writing a review on one. That said, being that I just got a stock one in to use as a base for a project, I figured this would be a good time to do a review and make for a good “before and after” comparison for what the pistol will become.
The Prodigy’s have had an interesting existence in the 2011 space, coming on as the “Staccato killer” only to fall flat on debut, being plagued with issues. Since then, Springfield seems to have sorted them out alright and I think they represent the best entry point into the 2011 market for someone looking for a range or project gun.
My example is a fairly recent production 4.25” barrel with steel frame and fullsize grip module.
Weight – The pistol was a bit heavier than expected, coming in at 40oz with the Holosun 508T and Surefire X300 mounted, but has a nice balance in hand.
Slide to Frame- The slide to frame fit has opened up a bit on this gun with noticeable play, though not full on rattling. This is consistent with most Prodigy’s I’ve seen that have been shot. I find new examples feel like they are fit fairly tight, and then after 1000 rounds or so, the cerakote wears down and that “tight fit” goes away. Kind of a cruel trick. Racking the slide leaves a lot to be desired as the Prodigy’s suffer from some of the most prominent disconnector hangup of any 1911/2011 I have used.
Barrel – 4.25” bull barrel. I like that it comes flush cut and crowned from Springfield, though could do without the loaded chamber indicator hole.
Slide Serrations- Springfield actually does a really good job with the serrations. The aesthetic is simple and clean, the cuts are fairly deep and sharp providing solid traction.
Frame- Just short of a monolith, it lines up with a modified Bulter cut on the slide. Two things to note. First the frame is the same width of the slide. This is key because most custom and high end 2011s also use frames the same width as the slide, unlike Staccato, who uses a frame narrower in the slide. So, when holster shopping, for most non Staccato 2011’s, seek out Prodigy pattern holsters. Second, the Prodigy has its slide stop hole in the traditional 1911 location, not the STI 2011 location. The only other maker using this layout that I am aware of is Chambers Custom. That slight hole location difference is beneficial for barrel fitting and seems to provide a softer recoil impulse, all things equal.
Grip Safety- Honestly, it is pretty terrible. Poorly fit, not blended at all with sharp edges and activates towards the bottom of its compression.
Trigger – 4.5ish pounds of rolling meh. The shoe is fit pretty decently, and despite my preference for a flat trigger, I do appreciate the serrated face of the Prodigy trigger. Overall it is functional, but far from good. The stock parts don’t respond to minor tweaks nearly as well as Staccato’s.
Optic Mount – The optic mount is Agency’s AOS pattern. It mounts the optic fairly low and has a nice BUIS. That said, the mounts seem to be plagued with hardware loosening, despite thread locker usage, so it will be something I keep an eye on.
Slide stop – For the good, the Prodigy has an excellent cut out under the paddle, actually cut inward allowing for maximum space to get your thumb under the paddle. The negative is that the government profile slide stop is one of my least favorites, with its rounded lower ledge serving to take back a lot of the space the cut out had opened. On top of this, the detent is too aggressive making it unnecessarily difficult to manipulate. A 10-8 piece (like Staccato provides from the factory) would alleviate this.
Thumb safety – This example is better than other Springfields I have had in the past, but still not great. The ledge design isn’t my favorite and at this pointed is pretty dated. The edges are fairly sharp, though the base has a nice relief cut at the back to eliminate the grip hot spot. There is a slight bit of wiggle at full depression, not bad, but noticeable, similar to the Cabot Insurrection.
Mag release – Gritty with four audible clicks through the movement. Complete garbage
Grip – IMO Springfield actually did an excellent job with the grip. It is better contoured than the Staccato Gen2/3 and is WAY better than the old STI Gen 1 grips. The texture has a nice shark skin feel that provides good traction while shooting without being too much for carry. The Prodigy grip is my second favorite polymer 2011 grip option, only behind the offerings from MJD.
Range report
But does it shoot? In my experience, yes, the Springfield does quite a lot to redeem it’s uninspiring table top performance once you actually start putting rounds down range. The pistols have a soft and pleasant recoil impulse, that is actually a bit nicer than some more expensive offerings. I have shot Prodigy’s in several states of stock and modification and it is their nice recoil impulse that carries over and makes them shine with a little work.
As stock, my example did not have any malfunctions and was solid from 50 yards out. Drill times weren’t the quickest, but that was expected, especially because I was using a Holosun 407K that the previous owner installed, instead of a full size red dot. Overall the range performance served to support my decision to use the gun as a base.
Final thoughts
To play off of Dennis Green’s classic quote, it is what I thought it was. Not spectacular, not horrible, but would benefit greatly from several little things being addressed. Is a Staccato P twice the gun it is? Yes, IMO it is. If you want a 2011 that’s duty ready out of the box, you aren’t interested in modding, or sending your gun off for work, you want a ready to go pistol with a great warranty in tact, just buy the Staccato. Its slide to frame fit is better, its internals are better, its finish is better, its optic cut is better, its better dehorned and blended. Stock for stock, it is 100% better. But, if you are modding or tinkering, and going to be replacing all those things anyway, for me that is where the Prodigy makes sense, and in fact because of a couple little things is a better base than its peers. I’ll also say the Prodigy makes sense for someone wanting to dip their toes into the 2011 world with a solid gun that can grow with them if they want to wander in further.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Springfield Prodigy 2011 "1911 DS" enthusiasts Review
Despite having fondled and shot several Prodigy’s, for whatever reason I never really considered writing a review on one. That said, being that I just got a stock one in to use as a base for a project, I figured this would be a good time to do a review and make for a good “before and after” comparison for what the pistol will become.
The Prodigy’s have had an interesting existence in the 2011 space, coming on as the “Staccato killer” only to fall flat on debut, being plagued with issues. Since then, Springfield seems to have sorted them out alright and I think they represent the best entry point into the 2011 market for someone looking for a range or project gun.
My example is a fairly recent production 4.25” barrel with steel frame and fullsize grip module.
Weight – The pistol was a bit heavier than expected, coming in at 40oz with the Holosun 508T and Surefire X300 mounted, but has a nice balance in hand.
Slide to Frame- The slide to frame fit has opened up a bit on this gun with noticeable play, though not full on rattling. This is consistent with most Prodigy’s I’ve seen that have been shot. I find new examples feel like they are fit fairly tight, and then after 1000 rounds or so, the cerakote wears down and that “tight fit” goes away. Kind of a cruel trick. Racking the slide leaves a lot to be desired as the Prodigy’s suffer from some of the most prominent disconnector hangup of any 1911/2011 I have used.
Barrel – 4.25” bull barrel. I like that it comes flush cut and crowned from Springfield, though could do without the loaded chamber indicator hole.
Slide Serrations- Springfield actually does a really good job with the serrations. The aesthetic is simple and clean, the cuts are fairly deep and sharp providing solid traction.
Frame- Just short of a monolith, it lines up with a modified Bulter cut on the slide. Two things to note. First the frame is the same width of the slide. This is key because most custom and high end 2011s also use frames the same width as the slide, unlike Staccato, who uses a frame narrower in the slide. So, when holster shopping, for most non Staccato 2011’s, seek out Prodigy pattern holsters. Second, the Prodigy has its slide stop hole in the traditional 1911 location, not the STI 2011 location. The only other maker using this layout that I am aware of is Chambers Custom. That slight hole location difference is beneficial for barrel fitting and seems to provide a softer recoil impulse, all things equal.
Grip Safety- Honestly, it is pretty terrible. Poorly fit, not blended at all with sharp edges and activates towards the bottom of its compression.
Trigger – 4.5ish pounds of rolling meh. The shoe is fit pretty decently, and despite my preference for a flat trigger, I do appreciate the serrated face of the Prodigy trigger. Overall it is functional, but far from good. The stock parts don’t respond to minor tweaks nearly as well as Staccato’s.
Optic Mount – The optic mount is Agency’s AOS pattern. It mounts the optic fairly low and has a nice BUIS. That said, the mounts seem to be plagued with hardware loosening, despite thread locker usage, so it will be something I keep an eye on.
Slide stop – For the good, the Prodigy has an excellent cut out under the paddle, actually cut inward allowing for maximum space to get your thumb under the paddle. The negative is that the government profile slide stop is one of my least favorites, with its rounded lower ledge serving to take back a lot of the space the cut out had opened. On top of this, the detent is too aggressive making it unnecessarily difficult to manipulate. A 10-8 piece (like Staccato provides from the factory) would alleviate this.
Thumb safety – This example is better than other Springfields I have had in the past, but still not great. The ledge design isn’t my favorite and at this pointed is pretty dated. The edges are fairly sharp, though the base has a nice relief cut at the back to eliminate the grip hot spot. There is a slight bit of wiggle at full depression, not bad, but noticeable, similar to the Cabot Insurrection.
Mag release – Gritty with four audible clicks through the movement. Complete garbage
Grip – IMO Springfield actually did an excellent job with the grip. It is better contoured than the Staccato Gen2/3 and is WAY better than the old STI Gen 1 grips. The texture has a nice shark skin feel that provides good traction while shooting without being too much for carry. The Prodigy grip is my second favorite polymer 2011 grip option, only behind the offerings from MJD.
Range report
But does it shoot? In my experience, yes, the Springfield does quite a lot to redeem it’s uninspiring table top performance once you actually start putting rounds down range. The pistols have a soft and pleasant recoil impulse, that is actually a bit nicer than some more expensive offerings. I have shot Prodigy’s in several states of stock and modification and it is their nice recoil impulse that carries over and makes them shine with a little work.
As stock, my example did not have any malfunctions and was solid from 50 yards out. Drill times weren’t the quickest, but that was expected, especially because I was using a Holosun 407K that the previous owner installed, instead of a full size red dot. Overall the range performance served to support my decision to use the gun as a base.
Final thoughts
To play off of Dennis Green’s classic quote, it is what I thought it was. Not spectacular, not horrible, but would benefit greatly from several little things being addressed. Is a Staccato P twice the gun it is? Yes, IMO it is. If you want a 2011 that’s duty ready out of the box, you aren’t interested in modding, or sending your gun off for work, you want a ready to go pistol with a great warranty in tact, just buy the Staccato. Its slide to frame fit is better, its internals are better, its finish is better, its optic cut is better, its better dehorned and blended. Stock for stock, it is 100% better. But, if you are modding or tinkering, and going to be replacing all those things anyway, for me that is where the Prodigy makes sense, and in fact because of a couple little things is a better base than its peers. I’ll also say the Prodigy makes sense for someone wanting to dip their toes into the 2011 world with a solid gun that can grow with them if they want to wander in further.
