Springfield Armory has reduced the Prodigy pistol to a smaller, compact size. This new Springfield Prodigy 3.5″ Compact comes with a 3.5-inch barrel with slightly less capacity but in a much more concealable package. If you’re familiar with their full-size pistols, this is a significant decrease from the 5-inch and 4.25-inch barrel configurations. I’m no stranger to the Prodigy line of pistols. You can read and watch my full review on the 4.25-inch Prodigy and watch me run the unloaded table start drill with the 5-inch Prodigy. 

This compact pistol design includes some new features, but the controls and functionality remain unchanged. This firearm is still a double-stack, single-action 9mm 1911 with an ambidextrous thumb safety and standard grip safety. The 3.5-inch pistol comes outfitted with a lightweight aluminum frame and compact polymer grip module to reduce the gun’s overall weight. Springfield Armory also shortened the beavertail and re-contoured the hammer to downsize the overall footprint of the gun. This is precisely what you want in a compact concealable pistol to make it easier to conceal and more comfortable, especially with an external hammer.

Springfield Prodigy 3.25″ Compact

While the Prodigy features a tritium front sight post and a black serrated rear sight, Springfield Armory has retained the Agency Optic System (AOS) on this smaller pistol. The AOS system is thoughtfully designed with interchangeable optic plates that have an appropriately sized rear sight for that optic footprint. This system allows nearly every red dot optic to co-witness with the iron sights. Installation is straightforward: remove the rear iron-sight-only plate and replace it with the compatible footprint plate for the optic you wish to install. When mounting your red dot optic, use the correct torque specifications outlined by the optic manufacturer.

The previous models have a minimum capacity of 17 rounds, while the 3.5-inch compact pistol has a capacity of 15 rounds. Springfield Armory also includes two magazines so that you have a primary and a backup. The Picatinny rail remains, as it should since this is a perfect everyday carry pistol. With the short frame and dust cover, I had to change the key on the Streamlight TLR-7X to make sure the light mounted into one of the rails. This is a super easy swap, and Streamlight includes multiple series keys to make the light as compatible as possible with different firearms. A light is a necessity for any carry gun. The TLR-7X is rechargeable, or you can use a CR123A battery. It casts 500 lumens with a 140-meter beam and will run for an hour and a half with the CR123A battery.

Holster Fits

With any new pistol release, finding Kydex holsters molded to the exact model firearm can be challenging. You should always get a holster with proper retention and that covers the trigger guard completely. Nowadays, many holster manufacturers are designing holsters molded to a specific light yet compatible with multiple guns of the same style, length, or design. I had an ANR Designs Lightbearing Appendix holster at home set up for a 1911 4.25-inch pistol with a Streamlight TLR-7A mounted to the Picatinny rail. This holster is the perfect fit for the 3.5-inch Prodigy with the TLR-7X. The retention is strong and gives an audible click when the gun is holstered.

All holsters are not equal, and there are features on this holster that make it better than others on the market. It is designed for appendix carry and is cut for most red dot optics and suppressor-height iron sights. This model holster comes with a claw on the side that sits behind your belt and pushes the gun’s grip more inward toward your body to reduce printing. I’m also a big fan of the Discreet Carry Concepts clips that go over your EDC belt and keep the holster in place by hooking onto the bottom of the belt. I recommend KORE Essentials belts that are thick, rigid, and ratchet to the exact tightness you prefer. I use the Multicam Tactical gun belt.

Range Test

I shot five different types of defensive ammunition through the 3.5-inch Prodigy to test its functionality and accuracy. Due to the shorter barrel, I expected decreased accuracy, but I was still pleased with the groups it shot. I also used my Garmin chronograph to compare the loads and see how much variance in velocity there was between the 115-grain and 124-grain 9mm loads. The velocities were very close, varying only by about 100 feet per second. The Super Vel ammunition performed the best out of this gun, with the other four shooting similar group sizes. I always use the Caldwell Shooting Orange Peel ‘Sight-In’ targets to zero my optics, test accuracy, and visually see each hit on paper.

After shooting the 4.25-inch and 5-inch pistols for so long, I had to get used to the difference in felt recoil from the 3.5-inch pistol. It is more than manageable, but there is a noticeable difference if you’re used to full-size double-stack 1911s. Springfield Armory did a great job reducing the gun’s footprint while still leaving enough grip length to get a good hold on it. The texture of the Prodigy pistols is the same and provides a good rough grip without being overly aggressive. Overall, this pistol will do the job and is reliable running various types of ammunition.

Accuracy Results

• Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 115-grain JHP (top right) 1,043 fps – 2.06 inches
• Federal Punch 124-grain JHP (top left) 1,160 fps – 1.97 inches
• Hop Munitions 124-grain JHP (middle) 1,140 fps – 1.79 inches
• Hornady Black 124-grain XTP (bottom left) 1,143 fps – 1.97 inches
• Super Vel 115-grain +P SCHP (bottom right) 1,102 fps – 1.52 inches

Zero Tech Optics Thrive HD 

I had the AOS optic plate for the RMR footprint that I installed and mounted the compatible Thrive HD red dot reflex sight. The main benefit of this optic is the multi-reticle options. You can change the sight from a single 3-MOA dot to a 40-MOA circle or use both. It uses the popular CR2032 battery, which is easy to find in any convenience store. The other benefit of this optic is the side loading port for the battery. Rather than removing the optic to replace the battery, you can leave the optic on and slide out the battery tray when needed. There is also an auto-shutoff and auto-on functionality to ensure you don’t run your battery down.

Hearing and Eye Protection

Lately, I’ve seen people not wearing eye protection at all (including sunglasses) and using the cheap orange foam inserts on the range. The issue I have with the foam inserts is that almost no one puts them in their ear correctly, and they never create a good seal to protect their hearing. Folks, you get one set of ears and one set of eyes for the rest of your life. There’s no getting your hearing back or replacing an eyeball, so let’s talk about property safety wear.

Hunters HD Gold Lenses

Hunters HD Gold is a lens manufacturer based in Alabama that produces one lens at a time. They specialize in their gold lenses, but they also create Ruby lenses, which adjust according to the level of UV light exposure, allowing them to darken or lighten without you noticing. Their lenses are made from Trivex, which is more impact-resistant than standard plastic or polycarbonate lenses. Hunters HD Gold offers stock glasses online, and their optical lab can produce lenses for nearly any pair of glasses with two separate lenses (excluding face shields). They also offer prescription lenses, including single vision, trifocals, and bifocals, and work with shooters to customize lenses if they have different needs (such as frosting one lens). All their lenses are ANSI safety-rated for both prescription and non-prescription options.

Walkers Disrupters

Walkers have been around for years, and while you might be familiar with their shooting earmuffs, they also make some excellent in-ear protection. The Disrupter Earbuds have 360-degree directional sound with active noise cancellation technology and rapid impulse cancellation. The earbuds double as omnidirectional microphones and can connect to your phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to take hands-free calls. Walkers include multiple silicone and foam tips of different sizes to ensure you can get a proper seal.

Gun Butter

I have used Gun Butter for quite some time now and only use this on all my pistols, rifles, PCCs, and shotguns. The texture of Gun Butter isn’t quite oil and isn’t grease but lands somewhere in between that spectrum. I needed lubrication to keep up with me and the high round counts I put on my guns without stopping to re-lubricate every 250 rounds. This doesn’t evaporate like your traditional gun oils do. It has a medium viscosity and increases performance even in temperatures up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, they have tested Gun Butter on various machine guns, and it’s a game-changer.

Springfield Armory DS Prodigy 3.5-inch Compact Specifications 

• Gauge: 9mm
• Action: Single action only
• Capacity: 15 rounds
• Barrel Length: 3.5-inch forged stainless steel, Black DLC, match-grade bull barrel 
• Sights: Tritium Front, Black Serrated Rear, Optics-Ready
• Weight: 25.5 ounces
• Length: 7 inches
• Height: 5.1 inches
• MSRP: $1,549.00