On September 1, 2022, Springfield Armory launched the 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm. I was fortunate enough to get one early and spend ample range time with this double-stack 1911 pistol. The gun looks sharp, and it’s lightning fast, especially compared to my other pistols. Shooting it and getting hits on steel is so easy that I feel I’ve found and entered a cheat code for range time.
Then I began to wonder: What if I could carry this gun daily? Is a full-size pistol like this actually practically concealable? Sure, I could wear a duster jacket or order clothes 2X my normal size, but I was talking about practical carry of a pistol like this. Shortly after that, I began to look for solutions.
Practical Options
My search took me to a holster company I had always heard about and wanted to try — LAS Concealment. Upon visiting the site for the very first time, I learned what “LAS” actually stands for: “Loaded And Safe”. These two things are obviously crucial parts of the concealed carry lifestyle and a great place to start. Maybe this project was feasible?
It was at this point that I decided to make the project a true challenge: I figured if I was going to carry the Prodigy, I might as well go big or go back home. So, I decided to find a holster that let me carry it with both my HEX Dragonfly and my X300 Surefire U-A weaponlight.
On a 5”-barreled pistol, this is one big package; certainly bigger than anything I have carried before. On the LAS Concealment website, there are a few options that fit what I needed. But ultimately, because I didn’t want a sidecar holster, I went with the SAYA 2.0 Holster.
My holster of choice, the SAYA 2.0, is named after the Japanese word for a scabbard, Saya (鞘), used by the samurai to carry their katana swords. The holster is, of course, an inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster. The SAYA 2.0 is a 3D CAD design, CNC machined tooling, closed barrel design, with adjustable ride height, adjustable retention. It includes a concealment wing, and is optics and suppressor height sight compatible.
The holster comes in just about every color and camo pattern imaginable. There is a multitude of belt clip options available, and you can add a foam wedge if you’d like. The SAYA 2.0 seemed like the perfect tool to conceal the 5” Prodigy and X300 Surefire U-A.
Fitting Choices
Once the holster came in, it was time to put it to the test. The first and biggest obstacle that I was most worried about was the length of the barrel, plus the added width of the X300 light. The extra length below the belt line is a huge obstacle to overcome for comfort while carrying.
If you’ve carried in the appendix position as I planned to do and for which this holster is wholly capable, you know that you can often be stabbed right in the groin by the end of your holster. This was the one thing I thought would ruin the Prodigy being an everyday carry gun for me.
However, I was wrong. In some ways, it’s more comfortable than carrying the Hellcat. Let me explain. The Hellcat is small, while the Prodigy is in no way compact. But, the pistol’s extra length decreases the chance of a spill-over effect where the grip end of the pistol wants to spill over the edge of the belt, making printing possible.
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Believe it or not, the 5” barrel length is comfortable, keeping the gun upright against my torso. But yes, it does stab into you while you sit. That being said, I did not find it terrible, no doubt due to the comfortable rounded closed end of the LAS concealment holster.
The next big issue I knew I’d fight was printing. Now obviously, in the cool months of the year, this isn’t an issue. Once you have clothing items like a flannel, a sweatshirt jacket, etc., printing would become a non-issue. But is it possible to have no printing in something as simple as a T-shirt? The answer is yes! I can conceal it quite well in T-shirts, and then once I mix in a shirt with a pattern — something like plaid, checkered, stripes or even floral — the “print”, if there even is one, disappears.
The Question
Lastly, you have to ask yourself, just because you can conceal it, should you? Would you need a gun with all the capability of the Prodigy inside your belt? Chances are, probably not. But then again, if you were to have to draw it, wouldn’t you want a gun with all the capability of the Prodigy?
If you ask me, yes, I think you would. When testing this out on the range, I have to admit I felt as if I was shooting better than I ever had before. The Prodigy is accurate, points on target easy, and man, oh man, is it a fast gun. Then shooting at distances of 40 yards or more from concealment was easy, also.
If you decide to conceal it, here’s my advice. Get a good holster. For me, the LAS Concealment Saya 2.0 was perfect. I placed an order for the gun option labeled: “STI/Staccato 3.9″ – 5″ w/ x300U {C-C2-P-XC}.” I do believe there are some size differences between an STI Staccato and the Prodigy, but I found that this holster worked with the Prodigy for my needs. As always, you should ideally order a holster designed specifically for your gun, so bear that in mind. Maybe we need to ask LAS to make one specifically for the Prodigy!
The next piece of advice is to properly maintain your Prodigy. I say this because the Prodigy is a gun with precise tolerances. The fitment is perfect with no slop. If you do all these things, you will be all set to carry one of the newest, most aesthetically pleasing, accurate and fast-shooting pistols on the market every single day. I will be!
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