Yeah, I changed my plans, although this was an alternative plan.
The plan was to obtain a 5″ 1911 in 9mm. I’d chosen to purchase the Prodigy DS 5″, but since I’m (sort of) not satisfied with the Prodigy DS Compact that I received last week (heavy trigger, pinching thumb safety), I was sort of not wanting to commit to another Prodigy.
Another alternative plan was to obtain a 5″ Emissary AOS 9mm, but then started thinking that I’d want a double-stack 1911 if I this gun’s purpose was for training.
So, I decided to check pricing on what I’d been looking at a few weeks ago – the Fusion Firearms XP Pro Stainless 4″. Normally, it’s $1200+ for the stainless gun (and $100 less for the non-stainless version). I found a (new) stainless version for less than $1000 at KYGUNCO, so I bit on it.
I’m awaiting for KYGUNCO and my gun store/range to chat with one another, which they’ll probably do tomorrow or the day after.
I can’t remember if I’ve spoken about why I had the XP Pro on my list, but the reasons why I wanted it are:
- There are no 2011-patterned guns under $2500 that have metal grips (although the grips don’t have the best texturing).
- The gun has gotten great reviews.
- The gun uses Glock 17 mags, which are far cheaper than 2011-pattern mags.
- The gun includes several optic plate adapters (the Prodigy guns only come with an obsolete formatted plate and to switch plates, you’ve to pay $120).
- Fusion Firearms have updates/upgrades in the works (grips, 5″ versions, comp barrels, etc).
This might also bump up my Youtube viewership count, too, as I’ve looked at what folks are searching on on both Youtube and my blog and there’s a LOT of folks looking for information on the XP Pro.
I’m not sure if the great characteristics of my Bul Armory Ultralight made my experience with the Prodigy DS a bit sour. Granted, I’ve the grip safety issue with my Ultralight, but the gun is outstanding to shoot. It has a great trigger, good finish and great fitment, and great performance in general. The things about the Prodigy that pissed me off were the trigger being heavy, the pinching safety, and the optics plate offering. The MSRP between my version of the Ultralight and the Prodigy DS Compact are almost the same, but the Prodigy Compact lacks when comparing the two.
Some folks might say, “Well, what did you expect?” I’m the type of guy that wants to experience things for myself. As well, there are many folks who shit on a gun they’ve never owned and parrot what they’ve heard other folks say. There have been plenty of times where I bought what folks think are shitty guns and those guns turned out to work as intended. I’m not a trusting person when it comes to information that resides on the internet. I’d rather find out on my own.
Folks say the Prodigy DS has reliability issues. I’ve not seen that yet with my example. It’s been dependable thus far. My issues are that I think Springfield Armory could’ve done better. The trigger is sloppy. The choice on optic plate is crappy. The safety lever pinching folks is something they should’ve caught — I’m not sure why this isn’t occurring with the larger Prodigy DS variants. So, all my issues have nothing to do with reliability/dependability.
I’m not sure when the XP Pro will be ready for me to pick up. If I’m lucky, it’ll be Friday or Saturday. If not, it’ll probably be early next week.
Once I know it’s coming, I’ll order some KCI G17 mags.
UPDATE (4/2/2025): The two gun stores have chatted to one another. The gun is in final processing now and I think it may ship tomorrow (4/3). If it does, I might have it by 4/5.