By Massad Ayoob<\/a><\/p>\n This article is about Springfield Armory\u2019s Prodigy pistol<\/a> and its capabilities in the home defense role. For those of you not familiar with the pistol, it\u2019s a single-action 9mm with double-stack magazines and an optics-ready design as well as a rail for light\/laser attachments.<\/p>\n The home defense handgun should be operable by every member of the household deemed competent (and authorized by the owner) to use it. It should be drop-safe. Ideally, it will mount a light and perhaps a laser, and will contain enough ammunition to finish a gunfight with one or more home invaders.<\/p>\n Also ideally, it will have some degree of \u201cproprietary nature to the user\u201d in case the Bad Guy gains control of it. Still ideally, it will be able to fire at press contact. It should not have a hair trigger.<\/p>\n The Prodigy checks all those boxes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why no \u201chair trigger,\u201d generally defined in court as lighter than factory spec for a duty weapon, or lighter than common practice by professionals with that particular type of weapon? Because in the extreme stress of fending off a home invasion, it is possible for too-light a trigger to be unintentionally activated.<\/p>\n Prosecutors know there is no such thing as a justifiable accident. Plaintiff\u2019s lawyers know that the deep pockets of your homeowner liability policy will be closed if they claim you deliberately shot their client: self-defense is always intentional, and intentional acts which harm others are known as \u201cwillful torts,\u201d which almost certainly won\u2019t be covered. (See Terry Graham v. Texas Farm Bureau<\/a> <\/em>for a good example.)<\/p>\n But if they claim negligent discharge, that\u2019s exactly what liability insurance is for. These are the reasons that an unscrupulous lawyer might claim that your intentional defense was instead an unjustifiable negligent shooting.<\/p>\n The Prodigy is a polymer-framed 1911 with double-stack magazine. Our test sample, serial number NMH44326, has a crisp, short trigger pull weighing an average of 4.76 lbs. on our Lyman digital trigger pull gauge. With 1911s, four lbs. seems to be the red-line minimum pull weight. It is what the National Rifle Association deems minimum for one at the Presidents\u2019 Hundred and Distinguished matches where they are used. So, the Prodigy is good to go on that count.<\/p>\n Live The Armory Life.<\/strong> The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gun\u00a0giveaways!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Why white light- and laser-compatible? The light provides positive last-instant verification of a deadly target that must be shot, and the laser beam is helpful when firing from awkward positions behind cover, not to mention the fact that few people have time to don eyeglasses or put in contacts when grabbing a gun after the burglar alarm goes off at 2 AM. Our test Prodigy worked fine with Streamlight and Surefire attachments. Carry optics ability is icing on the cake for those with imperfect vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sufficient ammunition reservoir can be critical. Home defense guns are generally grabbed by the Good Guys and Gals from a static location, often with a phone in the other hand, and little to no practical option of grabbing spare ammo. The Prodigy magazines are available in 17-, 20- and 26-round capacities plus the chambered round. The late gun expert Col. Jeff Cooper wrote of one of his South American students whose home was invaded by multiple assassins, and who needed every one of the 14 rounds in his 9mm to prevail. Only a fool would doubt that 26 rounds would be more comforting yet.<\/p>\n The proprietary nature to authorized users <\/strong>is found with all 1911s and anything else with a manual safety. Repeated tests have shown it takes an average of 17 to 18 seconds for someone unfamiliar with a cocked and locked pistol to figure out how to off-safe it and make it fire. I have always felt that this is ample time to do something very unpleasant to the violent felon who snatched your gun\u2026or to run a considerable distance.<\/p>\n Usability by all authorized personnel? The fat grip extends trigger reach for small hands, but the relatively short trigger of the 1911-style Prodigy helps to ameliorate that. I need to use the pad of the trigger finger of my average adult-size male hand, but five-foot-tall Gail Pepin \u2014 former Florida State and Florida\/Georgia Regional IDPA Champion, and twice high woman at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference \u2014 had no problem running our test Prodigy.<\/p>\n Press-contact capable? <\/strong>I\u2019ve lost count of the gunfight survivors I\u2019ve debriefed who survived by pressing the gun against their would-be murderer\u2019s body and pressing the trigger, because they were grappling so closely. Most semi-auto pistols will go out of battery and fail to fire at press contact.\u00a0 Note in the photos that the Streamlight unit was mounted to extend forward of the barrel, creating \u201cstand-off effect\u201d to keep that from happening.<\/p>\n Drop-safe is important because almost no one practices grabbing a home defense handgun out of a safe or drawer as much as they practice drawing their concealed carry sidearm. That plus the stress of a real-world encounter makes fumbling likely and dropping a real risk. Springfield Armory designs its pistols of this type to prevent \u201cinertia discharge\u201d if the gun is dropped.<\/p>\n So there you have it \u2014 a detailed consideration of the 1911 DS Prodigy in the home defense role. Being a well-made and capable pistol, it should perform quite well in that role. But, you must do your part as well and prepare and train.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: Be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in!<\/em><\/p>\n Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n
Home Defense Pistol Needs<\/h2>\n
![\"prodigy](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/prodigy-equipped-for-home-defense.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>Checking Those Boxes<\/h2>\n
![\"prodigy](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/prodigy-in-the-hands-of-a-husband.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>![\"prodigy](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/prodigy-in-the-hands-of-an-average-sized-woman.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>Hands-On<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n![\"ambidextrous](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/ambidextrous-controls-on-the-prodigy.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>![\"optics](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/optics-ready-prodigy-by-massad-ayoob-1600x1000.webp\")
![\"author](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/author-demonstrating-shooting-the-prodigy-one-handed.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n
Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"1911](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/PH9119AOSD-v2.png.webp\"\/)
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<\/p>\n1911 DS Prodigy\u2122 Series<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"Streamlight\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/product-streamlight.jpg.webp\"\/)
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<\/p>\nStreamlight <\/h3>\n
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