Please refer to the video description for time stamps and links to other helpful content on this platform. Quick guide to the biggest issues: The extractor (skip to 12:55), debris in firing pin channel (skip to 16:42), disconnector hang up (addressed with work at 11:18, 28:14, and 39:33), magazine issues (skip to 40:56). Thanks for watching and I hope this is helpful!
Bought a new 4.25 Prodigy yesterday. Took it home and did everything you suggested in this video. Shot 100 rd.s with one failure to go into battery and one failure to lock back after the last rd.. After having 6 1911’s over the years I’m not worried about reliability. 3 of the six were not reliable out of the box but with a little tuning they all became great shooters without issues. Just takes a little massaging. Once you get it dialed nothing is better. 👍
Fantastic video! One of the best videos I’ve seen on 1911 work and even more appreciated as a prodigy supporter! When someone goes to the effort to put something like this out there, I consider a gift - thank you!
Man. I know you thought the video was long, but you really don’t notice because you’re so invested in it. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to do this video mostly in real time. Great, great information. I’d love for you to get hold of my M17 and review it and tear it apart 😅. Thanks again!
This was the most informative video I have seen on the Prodigy! Your approach in explaining the details and showing the interaction between components helped in understanding some of the issues I have experienced and how to address them. I think sometimes gunsmiths assume people understand what they are doing without going into the detail that fills in the blanks. Excellent job and I will be saving this video for reference.
Great video. I literally did every single thing you did the day I bought mine and never had a single issue. Only thing I did additional was polished the hammer face and smoothed out the radius on the hammer where it interfaces with the disconnector rail
Thanks! I appreciate it. Ah yes the hammer face. I was sure I was going to miss something. Although this one was reliable out of the box when I first shot it, the performance was very mediocre, and this work made it shoot so much nicer!
This is a great video for the Prodigy! I love knowing how my firearms work. Will defiantly help if I run into problems, and also gives me a great idea of some of the parts i'm going to replace.
Dude you kicked ass on this video. I carry the 4.25 for duty. I’m still qualified with my old TRP Springfield.45. I did change the hammer and sear to a nighthawk. Great job.
Great video - very informative! As a mechanical engineer, you shared great observations and solutions for optimal performance! Enjoyed the content and may watch this video a few more times down the road. Thank you in all respects!
Agreed. Unless you like tinkering, then this gun is a good option, makes for a fun little project. I've also calculated the cost of all the upgrades I would do to the pistol if it were mine and it came out to about $2100 total including the price of the gun (labor not included). If you dont wantna project, just save a few hundred more and get a Staccato P haha.
Excellent, This checklist can apply to every gun you own with obvious procedural changes. Get the schematic and trace down all the friction and reciprocating mass points. The key is to clean and ***INSPECT***.
Yep pretty much. I've refined this list and added to it for all 1911/2011 platform pistols and made a reference document for myself that includes a full trigger job for whatever weight I desire with instructions and measurements for hammer hooks and sear angles, etc. More broadly for all guns, out of the box, clean, inspect, lube, shoot 200 rounds minimum. See where wear shows up and polish those interfaces is how I approach it.
Freaking killer video. I love doing this. I am picking my prodigy 4.25 up today. I can't wait been wiring to get my dream pistol a 2011 for 5 years now and today's the day. I can't afford a staccot and actually think the prodigy is much Sexier pistol. I love doing upgrades. These tips and tricks are killer. Thanks alot. Keep up the great work.
Shot two of these, and honestly they are amazing shooters. I don't shoot irons, and even with irons the gun was so easy to get hits with. PS. Aquired a Prodigy, and in some ways it's great and in some ways it's a pain in the ass. The main issue I am fighting, is the disconnector still wanting to snag (barely), and the disconnector being sticky in the channel (lots of cerakote). I removed the cerakote in the channel, and switched to an EGW disconnector, but the EGW disconnecter still occasionally wanted to hang up in the channel...it's not as bad as when the cerakote was there, but it's still concerning. Reason I'm focused on this, is because the gun WILL suffer from hammer follow in its current configuration if the disconnector gets gummy enough to stick in the down position. Of course, I can just tweak the sear spring again, and likely go back to a 5lb trigger, but I'm hoping to find a solution at the 3-3.5lb trigger pull I managed to get. I will likely swap to EGW internals, but I wanted to give the gun a chance with stock internals (I've only had it suffer from hammer follow 2 times in 650~rds. I'm just not trying to have a gun that needs to be cleaned every 200rds or else it risks going full auto.
I'm new to the DS Prodigy, but not to 1911s. This is a great video. Thanks for posting it. I disagree with polishing rails and loosening slide to frame fit. In 1911s, tight fit will contribute to accuracy. Also (and it may be a myth) I heard that polishing compound can get embedded in steel surfaces - even after cleaning them, t will accelerate subsequent wear between surfaces.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Regarding the slide lapping - I was mainly taking off the extra thickness put on by the Cerakote finish. The slide felt quite gummy out of the box even with fresh oil on it. Cerakote goes on thin but still adds thickness - was just wanting to get that knocked down so the slide and frame can wear into each other. Nothing that wouldn't happen in 500 or so rounds. Slide lapping and polishing can open up tolerances but with very fine media I would guess it would be very minor if at all. I am not an expert in 1911 stuff but I think lapping slides to frame is a normal process for slide to frame fit? Also, if I happen to open up slide to frame fit .0005" it doesn't matter much on a gun of this fit, price, and mass produced numbers. I wouldn't expect any polishing compound media to get imbedded in the metal of the slide or frame as lapping doesn't occur with any lateral force pressing the metals together with the lapping compound in between. But certainly with either diamond or AlO2 media being harder than the steel I could see how that could happen with enough contact force - likely not a concern in this application. As far as I know (again no expert on this platform) but accuracy comes from the barrel-to-slide fit at the front (or barrel-to-barrel bushing if its not a bull barrel), and where the chamber area and locking lugs lock up into the slide (which can also be affected by the barrel link and barrel link legs). I would think the slide to frame fit would have to be VERY loose to affect accuracy if you had a good lockup at the front and rear or the barrel.
Totally agree that this is great gun if you enjoy working on and have the ability to work on 2011s. If your that person at this price this gun is a no brainer.
100%. Buy it if you want a tinkering project. I just bought an optics ready CZ Shadow 2 for $1200. I think these are going for around $1450 right now... The Shadow 2 blows this out of the water. The Prodigy is not even close to the level of reliability or performance of the Shadow 2 and it cost $250 more. Its pretty sad.
Brownells has a great selection of gunsmithing tools. I got my fine ceramic stone through them. The others I bough on amazon. It's important to have a higher quality stone for finishing, the stones leading up to that one can be cheaper. Keep in mind this is just what has been working for me - there are many other possibilities so some research is helpful. I also use lots of wet sanding paper from 400-2000 grit - having a variety helps. Here are some links: I use these for roughing in surfaces - they are very soft so get some honing solution. The 80-1000 grit set is nice for general use. www.amazon.com/CHEERBRIGHT-7pcs-Whetstone-Stone-Sharpening/dp/B0796RZL4N/ref=sr_1_16?crid=INKAR7LSC7AG&keywords=india%2Bstone&qid=1683730151&sprefix=india%2Bston%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-16&th=1 Honing solution: www.amazon.com/Smiths-HON1-4OZ-HON1-4oz-Honing-Solution/dp/B0013AXUOY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=PSXI2SQLKN6C&keywords=honing+solution&qid=1683730486&sprefix=honing+solutio%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-4 These are used for the next step - they are harder and finer and come in very handy shapes (the ruby stone): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796T3CT7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 Here is the fine, hard and sharp edged stone I use for final polishing work: www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/paint-metal-prep/abrasives-polishing/6-x-12-x-12-ceramic-stones/ Hope this helps! Thanks for watching and happy tinkering!
Great video, with all the time that you spent polishing/cleaning up burs and flashing, I'm surprised you didn't clean up the witness mark from the screw on the extractor. Definitely gives me things to look at when I pick mine up next Monday.
@@dltz absolutely, wanting one for EDC/Duty. I’m a certified Glock Armorer not that means much for my agency but a vast majority of the cleaning up you did and finishing work is not problem.
Picked up the 5 inch model a couple weeks ago. Sofar no issues but only put 400 rounds through it. My slide to frame has just a touch of play, which I assume is from the cerakote wearing off. No grit that I can feel in my trigger but definitely isn't as nice as my dan wesson specialist.
Glad to hear it has been reliable for you. I have since got my hands on a newer production Prodigy and it felt a lot nicer that this one that I worked on. With some tuning of the sear spring and adjustment of the trigger overtravel, the trigger action turned out pretty good.
Mine did that but played with slide before I went to range no issues my buddy gun smith and we saw that a lot of issues people was having cause of the coating
The Cerakote was sticky for sure. I do not like cerkote on guns in general - decoratively on a handguard or something... whatever. But when its on a functional part where tolerances and dimensions are critical it's awful.
Looks like a lot of issues for prodigy. I have seen a lot of videos where slide won't go in battery and failure to eject...bummer...I was going to get this gun..but I guess I have to go with Wilson combat next
This is a very early production one. I think the current production ones are better. I've had my hands on one and it sure felt better. It is a shame the amount of performance you get for the price though. I still think at current prices (~$1299) they aren't worth the money.
Great video, but you left out one more person who this gun is for. It’s for the person who understands its limitations and issues but is willing to keep sending it back to SFA until it’s fixed. I bought mine about 2 months ago. I went into it understanding that I would probably have to send it back to SFA for a warranty repair at least once. Sure enough after about 300 rounds I was having failure to feed and weak extraction issues so I sent it back and they are working on it now. I love the way it shoots and I have the patience to let SFA fix it.
Just came across your video. Looks like you put the recoil spring on backwards. Open end of that spring should be towards the muzzle.....otherwise, good video.
Good eye. I know thats the "correct" way to install it. But honestly I have never paid much attention to it during install and it's never caused me problem. I have ran some aftermarket springs with two open ends.
I really wish you showed how you polished these parts and what you used....rather i wish you had made this more beginner friendly lol it's not your fault I'm a starting idiot That being said I've learned more about pistols than ANYTHING I've ever watched or read. Thank You!!!!
Damn video would have been 3 hours long. I use medium, fine, and super fine stones, fine sand paper, small files, dremel with various sanding and polishing pads. If you look thru some of my other videos I show how I dress up a sear face and polish various parts in pistols and rifle trigger groups.
@@dltz Thank you so much. You've actually inspired me to just buy a Staccato with a Holosun, two mags and a holster. What sold me was you mentioning the internals being of higher quality. So it's twice as much but way more worth it imo. Also did more research and the Hex Dragonfly is dog shit. So the Staccato coming with a Holosun and two high quality mags and a nice holster makes up for the price difference. I'll just have to save up a bit but it's totally worth it imo
@@ElHombreGato the prodigy is a great place to start If you want to upgrade it yourself. If you just want a super solid, good to go 2011 out of the box, the Staccato is the way to go! And yes the Hex optics are dog shit hahaha. Glad the video was helpful. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Agreed. I think Springfield has fixed a lot of the issues on the newer production models and the price has dropped a few hundred making them a better value.
4-6 hours multiplied by whatever the gunsmith hourly rate is would be my guess. Gunsmith rates can vary widely so I cant really give you a dollar figure there.
Genius: The Mounting Screw Its Not Long, you don't even have to cut it... You just have to turn it on its side. It happens that one side has longer screws than the other.
A bit crazy isn't it? They have come down in price and I have gotten my hands on a newer production model and it's a lot better. But they beta tested the pistol on customers unfortunately. That new Kimber double stack is sweet. Why I would still prefer this personally is the compatibility with the (increasingly popular) 2011 platform. The Kimber looks like it has many proprietary parts which would limit how much I could modify it, and less options for magazines. But I like to modify my guns. I bet out of the box the Kimber would be a lot nicer and a better option if you had no plans to modify it. Thanks for watching!
@dltz i need to get some stones, i have files but those will take WWAAAYYY too much off. Id rather polish the MIM first. Even doing a monthly IDPA I'll probably never outshoot the MIM parts. And since Im looking to transition this into a carry piece to replace my 1911 Operator 45 I EDC (which is alot heavier lol) I dont want to drop the trigger pull thst much either so win win
@@EngineMedic7 having a good set of stones is key. The MIM parts in the prodigy are high quality. I doubt many people would ever get high enough round count to experience issues with them. I would be worried about the longevity and reliability of a really light trigger... like sub 2.5#. But other than that no issues. They clean up nice and you should be able to get whatever kind of trigger you want within reason. On some areas of MIM parts if they got a nasty parting seam or something I'll even start with a fine file. Of course not on a sear face or hammer hooks. The critical surfaces on the ignition parts were fine. Easy to clean up. Dense metal, no seams or flashing.
I really wanted this to be my next firearm but I keep running across videos like this. I feel like I heard they did some shadow updates to their production of these, but I dont know that for sure.
This one was pretty early production. Was rough but still functioned fine. I have gotten my hands on a newer production and it felt better. I don't think "shadow updates" is quite right although I understand what you mean by that. I think they have just better dialed in their manufacturing and tolerances on parts. I would say it's more of a safe bet to buy one now. The 4.25" version had less issues and I feel that slide length is better suited to the 9mm cartridge anyways.
No affiliate link - I'm not cool enough to get paid to do this. There is a comment buried in a reply with this info but its hard to find so I'll repost it here: Here are some links: I use these for roughing in surfaces - they are very soft so get some honing solution. The 80-1000 grit set is nice for general use. www.amazon.com/CHEERBRIGHT-7pcs-Whetstone-Stone-Sharpening/dp/B0796RZL4N/ref=sr_1_16?crid=INKAR7LSC7AG&keywords=india%2Bstone&qid=1683730151&sprefix=india%2Bston%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-16&th=1 Honing solution: www.amazon.com/Smiths-HON1-4OZ-HON1-4oz-Honing-Solution/dp/B0013AXUOY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=PSXI2SQLKN6C&keywords=honing+solution&qid=1683730486&sprefix=honing+solutio%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-4 These are used for the next step - they are harder and finer and come in very handy shapes (the ruby stone): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0796T3CT7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 Here is the fine, hard and sharp edged stone I use for final polishing work: www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/paint-metal-prep/abrasives-polishing/6-x-12-x-12-ceramic-stones/
It’s cerokote keep playing with slide of clean it and that’ll stop I have a 5” and no issues with about 300 round going to shoot again tomorrow just cleaned it
I've never had extraction issues with aluminum cases personally. Way more issues with steel case. I have shot thousands of rounds of this Al case ammo and it's generally been good. Certainly the optic plate mounting screw binding on the extractor would be a bigger issue to fix first.
The prodigy is a good gun if you want to tinker and can fix it up yourself. Generally yes, go with Staccato for better performance and reliability. The earlier prodigy pistols had more issues than current production ones.
Could it not be that at the end of the novel you want to return the weapon and in Springfield they refused to accept it due to changes in specifications and tolerances, scratches and "massive destruction" ?
Not quite sure what you mean by this comment. I don't think any of the work shown here would void the warranty but I cant be sure of that so I wont say for sure. In general, if the gun does not function properly when purchased it should go back to the manufacturer for repair. Some people may want to work on their own gun to see how they can improve it without the hassle of returning it to Springfield. Or maybe it is operating fine just like this one was, but they want to improve the function and make it smoother.
I dunno, couple hundred thousand sold and maybe 20 or 30 videos with people having issues doesn't sound like much. I haven't had any out of my 5in. I did wait several months as gun companies seem to beta test on their customers. Lol😂
This one was 100% functional right out of the box. But there was tons of room for improvement. The fit and finish were pretty bad, and things like the disconnector hanging up are some simple fitting that I would expect to be done for a ~$1500 price point.
@@dltz yeah mine is very tight. I could feel the disconnector but after a couple hundred rounds it's worn in. People don't understand that even a Smith and Wesson 1911 from performance center is over 2k. They hand fit parts. 😂
Magician... Do you want me to believe the story that with a screwdriver, an old hammer and a sheet of out-of-use sandpaper and without precision measuring instruments... you can improve the performance of a factory-new gun ?
This gun hasn't given anyone any problems... the problem is your clever tricks: Springfield Prodigy 1911DS | An In-Depth Look ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PXbjTBexMkk.html
Do u own one? Did u run out and buy the first batches 😐…guns coming out the box running now and folks who putting egw kits n them out shooting them overpriced 2011’ off the stock weigh alone paired wit the upgrades and they laughing last and loud…I speak cus I own a later production model because I wasn’t thirsty to buy the first batch which I don’t do with any man made item 🤷🏾♂️
I am sorry to hear that had been your experience with the ammo. It is not quite the cheapest out there. However, I have had no problems with it in the 3000+ rounds I have shot with it. Therefor I deemed it acceptable for my testing purposes, and it showed me what I needed to see about the operation of this firearm to begin work on it. Feel free to test with whatever ammo you like and have good experience with. You may personally deem my testing unreliable based on experience with that specific ammo. The application of this testing to a broader audience who doesn't have the same experiences as you may still be acceptable. I am just one dude, testing a sample of one gun, with one type of ammo so I would hope people wouldn't take what I am presenting as the absolute truth about the nature of this firearm or the ammo. Thanks for watching and commenting!
