Springfield Armory 5-inch Prodigy; MIM parts and 1 piece guide rod

[MarkMilton]

Hi, I have a couple of questions about this gun.

There seems to be some consistent commentary and concerns around the use of MIM parts by Springfield. In doing some reading, some have recommended the replacement of some of the critical parts (i.e. sear, sear spring, hammer, MSH parts, and mostly the disconnector) with products from EGW or similar.

And while I am at it, the replacement of the guide rod and reverse plug. EGW advertises a One-piece guide rod and Reverse Plug kit. I assume these exist for a reason. The way that it looks that this One-piece set up serves as a "Shok-Buff" idea and, according to EGW, is recommended for replacement at less than 100K "compressions".

I have always done a few things with all of my 1911's, along the way, and running Shock Buffs is one of those things.

Have you guy's any in-sight, thoughts or commentary on any of this? I own one of these but, as of today, not spent any time with it, nor taken it apart as it is a new purchase.

Thanks in advance, Mark

[Hawkmoon]

Probably most of today's handguns (and rifles) use MIM parts. Kimber is considered (by some) to be a "premium" 1911 brand, yet they use so many MIM parts that they are widely referred to as "Mimber."

What's the intended use of the pistol? If it's for range-only use, I wouldn't replace any MIM parts unless they fail. If you carry the pistol every day for self-defense, then the consequences of failure are obviously higher and you might want to replace the MIM parts with machined parts. FWIW, I carry a Colt (with machined parts) or a para-Ordnance (with MIM parts) more or less interchangeably. I don't anticipate failure with the Para, or I wouldn't carry it.

[MarkMilton]

Good points. I've known that about Kimber, but I've also replaced parts on my TRP for that reason.
It's going to be a range/training gun for now, so I can work on some performance improvements for me, at a better cost and the lower recoil.
But, in the end, I will revert back to my highly dependable TRP.

[denstoe2]

If I build a custom gun I use hard tooled parts. But I have guns that come with mim and I leave them the way they left the factory. Mim has come a long way and I don't see an epidemic of failures. There is nothing wrong with "properly" made mim parts. My $.02.

[Jim Watson]

My SA retains its MIM hammer, sear, and disconnector. Thousands of rounds after adjustment to 3.75 lb.
The extractor would not hold tension, I replaced it.
The slide stop gave premature engagement due to bullet bump. I filed it too much and had to replace it.

The two piece full length guide rod is an invention of the devil. I replaced it. Another one I applied green Loctite, drilled for a trap pin, and treated as one piece.