Yet Another Springfield Prodigy 1911DS

Now that I am offering an Enhancement Package specifically for the Springfield Prodigy 1911DS at RFV Tactical, I thought it would a good idea to buy used Prodigys and resell them on Gunbroker one at a time with my Enhancement Package already done to them to make a little bit of extra money as well as to indirectly advertise my services. So, I bought a used one to work on for around $900, which was still in really good condition.

Photos from the Gunbroker auction

I did everything to it that I include in my Enhancement Package and just went back with Graphite Black Cerakote on this first one, but was planning to do the next ones in a different color of Cerakote each time. Before I could list it back on Gunbroker to sell, I got kind of busy with orders and forgot about it for over month. During that time, I did several Prodigy Enhancement Packages to customer guns and decided that I didn't want to go through the hassle of putting work into a gun just to turn around and sell it (and hopefully gain a profit) when people were already sending me their guns to get worked on. So I decided to just keep it as a shop gun.

I went ahead and did a step cut grip chop on it and installed a Holosun 509T optic and a Surefire X300 light, so that I could carry it and shoot it occasionally, as I was really starting to get annoyed with how dirty all of my ported guns got after each practice session of only 100 to 150 rounds. So, out of sheer laziness, I have been carrying and training with this "shop" gun exclusively for several weeks as I can shoot it just as fast and effectively as any of my ported 2011-style guns without having to clean it so frequently and I don't have to deal with the loud concussion of a ported gun at my indoor range where I practice 2 or 3 times a week.

It seems kind of silly to own all these customized 2011-style guns only to end up carrying and training with a Prodigy 1911DS that doesn't look much different than a completely stock one, but it is definitely more refined, reliable, and performance oriented than a stock 1911DS. To be honest, I just really like the Prodigy 1911DS. It is a extremely value packed gun with all the aesthetic and ergonomic features that I want in a 2011-style gun and it can be made to run very reliably with just a few minor changes.

In addition to the normal Enhancement Package, I also shaved down the thumb safety levers (personal preference), did a relief cut on the underside of the slide stop lever pad to make it easier to lock the slide back manually, and installed an STI trigger shoe/bow to gain some pre-travel adjustment and to get rid of that classic 3-hole trigger that I am not particularly fond of. This gun will also allow me to compete in the popular Limited Optics division at USPSA matches since it is not ported instead of in the Open division, which is typically ruled by full blown race guns. 

Ported 2011 Shootout

Now that I have so many ported 2011-style guns, I thought it would be fun to do a Ported 2011 Shootout to rank them all. Plus it would give me an excuse to go shoot multiple guns during a couple of range sessions since I have not shot a match in a while. I separated them into two categories: Ported Steel Frame and Ported Aluminum Frame. My comparison tests were done at an indoor range, with the targets at only 5 yards. I shot 50 rounds of my reloaded match ammo with each gun, switching back and forth between two guns every 10 rounds with a separate target for each gun. I used two firing lanes so that I could go back and forth between each gun fairly quickly. My strings of fire were to draw the gun from an AIWB holster and shoot 5 pairs of predictive doubles. I took my time to make sure my grip was good out of the holster before firing the first shot of each string of fire. I intentionally kept my split times at a moderate pace of about 0.25 of a second in an attempt to prevent unnecessary tension from trying to go too fast so that I could focus on how well the dot tracked and how quickly and consistently the dot returned to the same spot after each shot was fired. I've tuned the triggers in each gun to have a pull weight of slightly under 3 pounds with virtually the same pre-travel, over-travel and reset characteristics.

Ported Steel Frame Guns:

The Bul Armory SAS II TAC 4.25 with DSCG V6 ports came out on top with the fastest and most consistent return to zero as evident with the hits on the target. This gun really surprised me with how well it performed compared to the other guns. It would've been very easy to shoot it faster and maintain the same consistency with the hits.

The Staccato P 4.4" with DSCG V8 ports came in 2nd place as it also had a very consistent return to zero, but it did not seem quite as fast as the V6 Bul TAC despite it having more port volume. This could possibly be due to it's longer/heavier 4.4" slide compared to the TAC's 4.25" slide with large window cuts which makes it significantly lighter.

The STI Staccato P 4.15" with DSCG V-Slot ports came in 3rd place. It was still a solid performer, but it wasn't quite as consistent as the V6 Bul TAC or the V8 Staccato P.

The Springfield Prodigy 1911DS with Magnaport V-Slot ports came in 4th place which doesn't surprise me as it has the smallest port volume. It felt very similar to the V-Slot Staccato P, but it was slightly less consistent with return to zero despite having the softest recoil impulse of all four steel frame guns. The one hit outside the A-zone on the target was most likely due to inadequate grip pressure and/or an overly aggressive trigger pull.

Ported Aluminum Frame Guns:

The Staccato C2 with Vulcan Ignis ports came out on top, which was kind of surprising to me as I previously never considered this gun to be that great of a performer. However, the consistent return to zero is very evident with the hits on the target showing to be the best out of all eight of these ported guns.

The STI Tac-Lite 4.0 with ICM Inline ports came in 2nd place as it was very similar to the Staccato C2 with return to zero as well as recoil impulse. The two low hits on the target were from my first cold shots of the day.

The Bul Amory SAS II TAC 4.25 with DSCG V8 ports came in 3rd place as the return to zero was fast, but definitely not as consistent as the C2 and Tac-Lite with their top inline ports.

The Bul Armory SAS II UL Viper (factory 1-port comp) came in 4th place as the gun was difficult to handle with it's extremely light weight and sharp recoil impulse which is evident from the hits on the target. The Streamlight TLR-7 HLX light that I normally have on the gun actually flew off during the first string of fire due to the mounting screw breaking, so it was run without a light or from a holster for 40 rounds.

Yes, its a comp rather than barrel ports, but I put it in the mix

because the gun is so light weight, and... I do what I want. 😁