Springfield Armory Releases 3.5" Prodigy Model: Now Less Confused?
- Graham Baates
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
*Some of the external links found on this website are affiliate links. Those links use cookies to generate revenue and fund continuation of this website. By clicking an external link you are consenting to a temporary cookie, by purchasing from that link you are supporting this website. To opt out of cookies do not click external links.
The Springfield Armory Prodigy has a troubled past. When it was first released it was praised as one of the most-affordable double stack 1911s on the market. That title didn't last long, but what did were early fitment and reliability issues that only further primed consumers to jump onto the less expensive Girsan and Tisas-made guns when they became available at even lower prices just shortly after initial release of the Prodigy.
What Sprinfield's army of influencers all seemed to miss as they sung praises about the Prodigy was the confusion of design cues it the original model. Rather than build a carry gun or a competition gun, it was as Springfield made a list of characteristics each side wanted and then haphazardly picked back and forth to produce a gun that was ideal for neither. Early consumers either didn't know enough to identify it, or didn't care because the price was right until the Girsan and Tisas guns took the price floor out from under the Prodigy. I identified some of the Prodigy's identity crisis in the video below by comparing it to a gun that is now named the BUL Armory EDC.
The new 3.5" model seems to resolve some of the identity crisis by taking inspiration from the BUL Armory Ultralight in the use of an aluminum frame to shed some weight and a shortened beaver tail to further abbreviate the gun, though the 18-round magazines don't make as much sense for a small carry gun as the 16-round used by the EAA Girsan CMX XXX or the BUL Armory Ultralight.
Specs
Caliber: 9mm
Color: Black
Barrel: 3.5" Forged Stainless Steel, Black DLC, Match Grade, Bull, 1:16
Slide: Forged Carbon Steel, Black Cerakote®, Optics-Ready
Frame: Billet 7075-T6 Hardcoat Anodized Aluminum, Black Cerakote
Sights: Tritium Front, Black Serrated Rear
Recoil System: Captured Guide Rod
Grips: Polymer
Magazines: (2) 18-Round
Weight: 29.3 oz
Length: 7"
Height: 5.5"
MSRP: $1,582
SKU: PH9114AOS
Prices around the web as of 18AUG26
Check links for current pricing and availability
Is It any good? We'll have to wait and see. The Patrons may elect to spend funding on aquiring one, but just looking at specs I don't see replacing the BUL Armory Ultralight we've reviewed and loved or promising EAA Girsan CMX XXX we have in for review.
Why go with 3.5" and not 4.0"? With an 18-round double-stack it isn't exactly a micro...