I give the Prodigy a little leeway since it's a gen 1 model.  I expect problems with a 1st gen gun.  Same goes with a gen 1 car. 

CZ's are also fun if you look at the Shadow line.  But these will be maxing out your budget.  Mrs. CMO just picked up a Shadow 2 and is much more accurate with it than any of her striker fired guns.  Like on steel at about 20 yards, she got 9 of 10 hits.  The steel size is like watermelon.  Then she immediately shot her P10C (striker fired) and got only 4-5 of 10 hits.

Since the main range is closed, you got lots of time to decide.  Also a factor is what you can get your hands on.  DCT was able to bring in a 40cal Shadow 2 in like 1-2 weeks.  Compared to asking about a P365XL, he had no ETA and could not order it.  it arrives when it arrives due to the high nationwide demand.  SEC had 3 on the shelf in stock.  I asked them when they're getting more since we didn't want the one that comes with the Romeo Zero RDS and we were told the same thing.  They come when they come due to high demand. So unknown when the non RDS model will arrive.  Young Guns only had the model that has the manual safety and same with them, it comes in when it comes in.

I give the Prodigy a little leeway since it's a gen 1 model.  I expect problems with a 1st gen gun.  Same goes with a gen 1 car. 

That's true, but it comes down to the severity of the problem.

If it's an annoyance, such as the Glock Gen 4 9mm extractor that randomly ejected hot brass into the user's face, then the issue is not critical.  At some point, Glock started using a new part number for their 9mm extractors.  If you complained, they would have you send it in, and they swapped out all the parts that involved empty cartridge extraction.  I wound up just buying a drop-in trigger upgrade, which used all new, polished OEM parts.  Problem solved.

However, if you have FTF, jams, light primer strikes, or any of a number of safety failures/issues, I consider these critical and deserving of a repair or replacement by the manufacturer at their expense.  Anything that interferes with the function of the firearm to chamber, fire and eject each round as expected makes the gun untrustworthy.

I know that last part is a "duh" for most here, but the point is to keep the severity of the problems with new production models in mind.  Lots of overreactions on the Web when people find ANY issues with the design, manufacturing or testing process.  The #1 thing people say is, "If I'm spending this much for a firearm, I expect there to be no problems out of the box."  In today's manufacturing environment, is that a realistic expectation?  Can every gun maker test and identify every possible defect on every single gun sold before they ship?

No matter the product, there is always a certain degree of expected design and production "errors" anticipated.  They make enough spare parts ahead of time to handle those expected errors. As time goes on, the number of defective guns diminishes, as does the cost of customer returns.  No process is perfect.  QA is applied only to the point where the cost doesn't exceed the benefit it offers.

Anyway, manage your expectations, anticipate unforeseen problems with all new models (and even new gens of old models), and if you don't trust the thing to be reliable, sell it and move on to something else.

I give the Prodigy a little leeway since it's a gen 1 model.  I expect problems with a 1st gen gun.  Same goes with a gen 1 car. 

CZ's are also fun if you look at the Shadow line.  But these will be maxing out your budget.  Mrs. CMO just picked up a Shadow 2 and is much more accurate with it than any of her striker fired guns.  Like on steel at about 20 yards, she got 9 of 10 hits.  The steel size is like watermelon.  Then she immediately shot her P10C (striker fired) and got only 4-5 of 10 hits.

SNIP

Be careful of basing evaluation on back to back with vastly different trigger types.  Try shooting P10C cold and then the Shadow. 

From personal experience, I have noticed that I need to "reset" between guns.  Particularly between my CZ SP-01 Shadow and any striker fired gun.  Sort of like cleansing your palate when doing food or drink tasting.

When I tried the Staccato XC, I had been shooting one of my Gucci Glocks and was shooting it pretty well.  Shot my 17 with a good trigger after the Staccato and was like "WTF is this?"   

i got the comment, "stop letting off the trigger so far, it's not a Glock!"

Be careful of basing evaluation on back to back with vastly different trigger types.  Try shooting P10C cold and then the Shadow. 

From personal experience, I have noticed that I need to "reset" between guns.  Particularly between my CZ SP-01 Shadow and any striker fired gun.  Sort of like cleansing your palate when doing food or drink tasting.

When I tried the Staccato XC, I had been shooting one of my Gucci Glocks and was shooting it pretty well.  Shot my 17 with a good trigger after the Staccato and was like "WTF is this?" 

i got the comment, "stop letting off the trigger so far, it's not a Glock!"

Must have been from someone who doesn't know you.  Or they would have said "it's not a HK".

SNIP

No matter the product, there is always a certain degree of expected design and production "errors" anticipated.  They make enough spare parts ahead of time to handle those expected errors. As time goes on, the number of defective guns diminishes, as does the cost of customer returns.  No process is perfect.  QA is applied only to the point where the cost doesn't exceed the benefit it offers.

There are also some quirks of certain firearms that some don't appreciate, or fans accept or look past.  Like the magazine issues with 2011s. 

i got the comment, "stop letting off the trigger so far, it's not a Glock!"

#doyouknowwhoyouretalkingto

i'm surprised he never scold me for flinching with the flattest shooting gun i ever shot...

#doyouknowwhoyouretalkingto

never shot one of these but I've always wanted a P220 in 45acp or a P226 in 9mm
this X5 made in USA is new

i got the comment, "stop letting off the trigger so far, it's not a Glock!"

from #IF'nHateGlocksSinceOne BitMe 

 

This is now what I want 

This is now what I want 

I don't know about the SAO.

My P226 MK25 Navy Seal version has the DA/SA trigger.  No need to keep it in Condition 1, which is why there's no manual safety.  Point and click!  

1911s have 3 safeties: mechanical safety, hammer uncocked, and grip "squeeze" lever.  Together they make carrying Condition 1 relatively safer than other hammer-fired guns with just the mechanical safety.

The review kind of brushes this issue off as a "if you aren't used to it or grew up in a Glock world," implying it's a simple training and familiarity problem.  If that were true, the safeties for the 1911 would have been redesigned long ago.  Mechanical safeties are a 50/50 proposition.  They can fail (can't unlock it to fire, or it doesn't prevent firing when it should), plus operator errors happen ("I thought the safety was on!").  Without a trigger or grip safety lever, you're trusting the mechanical safety to protect you 100% when in Condition 1.

I get that the DA trigger pull on the first round has a greater chance of being less accurate, but I don't see it as a real show stopper.  I used mine in the MPPL competitions, and I never had an issue hitting the target with the first round.  If anything, the 1/2 second longer it took to squeeze the trigger gave me time to line up the sights.  if you're yanking the trigger first pull, you're doing it wrong.

Also, the trigger looks similar to my upgraded Sig P320 with the flat design.  I kind of like my P226 stock trigger better.  It's the Navy Seal version, therefore many internal parts are coated like the exterior to resist rusting.

Visually, it's a nicer looking piece than my MK25, but I do think the lack of DA is a mistake.  Why couldn't they make it DA/SA AND include the manual safety, too?  Why is it either/or?  Lots of examples on the market of DA/SA Hammer-fired semi-autos with manual safeties.

I'll stick with what I have -- for now at least.

 

I don't know about the SAO.

My P226 MK25 Navy Seal version has the DA/SA trigger.  No need to keep it in Condition 1, which is why there's no manual safety.  Point and click!  

1911s have 3 safeties: mechanical safety, hammer uncocked, and grip "squeeze" lever.  Together they make carrying Condition 1 relatively safer than other hammer-fired guns with just the mechanical safety.

The review kind of brushes this issue off as a "if you aren't used to it or grew up in a Glock world," implying it's a simple training and familiarity problem.  If that were true, the safeties for the 1911 would have been redesigned long ago.  Mechanical safeties are a 50/50 proposition.  They can fail (can't unlock it to fire, or it doesn't prevent firing when it should), plus operator errors happen ("I thought the safety was on!").  Without a trigger or grip safety lever, you're trusting the mechanical safety to protect you 100% when in Condition 1.

I get that the DA trigger pull on the first round has a greater chance of being less accurate, but I don't see it as a real show stopper.  I used mine in the MPPL competitions, and I never had an issue hitting the target with the first round.  If anything, the 1/2 second longer it took to squeeze the trigger gave me time to line up the sights.  if you're yanking the trigger first pull, you're doing it wrong.

Also, the trigger looks similar to my upgraded Sig P320 with the flat design.  I kind of like my P226 stock trigger better.  It's the Navy Seal version, therefore many internal parts are coated like the exterior to resist rusting.

Visually, it's a nicer looking piece than my MK25, but I do think the lack of DA is a mistake.  Why couldn't they make it DA/SA AND include the manual safety, too?  Why is it either/or?  Lots of examples on the market of DA/SA Hammer-fired semi-autos with manual safeties.

I'll stick with what I have -- for now at least.

 

I agree, a DA/SA would be nice. I'm used to a 1911 style of SA with the safety, so that's why it appeals to me. But the DA version is nice too 🤙
Solid pistol either way

Just to add more confusion. First there are wonderful suggestions and advice on this thread. Kudos.
Do you imagine just going to the range plinking targets, going home, maybe cleaning and putting away your firearm? Do you like trying to make one hole in a paper target? Do you like to figure out how things work, a tinkerer?  Do you get satisfaction from your own creations?
plain jane reliable, G17
like to modify and add things, I'd say Glock again, or Glock clones
Like the mechanical aspect? PSA Dagger, Polymer 80 serialized build kit, or other glock clone kits.
Accuracy, well can't help here, for me my skills are the limiting factor, not the firearm.

That being said, I have had Glock , polymer 80, Ruger, Canik, Gerson, Sarsilmaz PSA, and Taurus. I do feel the Canik SFX9 in most forms is an incredible pistol, and find I am considerably more accurate than the Glock platform ,For me. My newest toy before the range closed is a Taurus 22LR. If you want to have fun and not blow loads of money .
That being said, since you mentioned a Range toy, I would say look for the " Best bang for the buck" pistols, and get a 22 pistol. Awesome plinkers.

Just to add more confusion. First there are wonderful suggestions and advice on this thread. Kudos.
Do you imagine just going to the range plinking targets, going home, maybe cleaning and putting away your firearm? Do you like trying to make one hole in a paper target? Do you like to figure out how things work, a tinkerer?  Do you get satisfaction from your own creations?
plain jane reliable, G17
like to modify and add things, I'd say Glock again, or Glock clones
Like the mechanical aspect? PSA Dagger, Polymer 80 serialized build kit, or other glock clone kits.
Accuracy, well can't help here, for me my skills are the limiting factor, not the firearm.

That being said, I have had Glock , polymer 80, Ruger, Canik, Gerson, Sarsilmaz PSA, and Taurus. I do feel the Canik SFX9 in most forms is an incredible pistol, and find I am considerably more accurate than the Glock platform ,For me. My newest toy before the range closed is a Taurus 22LR. If you want to have fun and not blow loads of money .
That being said, since you mentioned a Range toy, I would say look for the " Best bang for the buck" pistols, and get a 22 pistol. Awesome plinkers.

I love playing with .22 LR.

I have a cowboy pistol SA 22LR that I've had for 43 years.  Just recently bought a Walther P22 that, besides all the hoopla of it being finicky, the only thing that bothers this toy is that you gotta use high velocity rounds or it gets.......finicky.  Mini-Mags and the like: No problem.  Love shooting them.

Not sure if I would go down the rabbit hole of accessories, RDS, lights, etc.  Well, maybe lights.  Then again, maybe not.

Just a range toy that goes bang every time and is fairly accurate.  A gun that shoots better than me and as tough as a tank.

Hope the range opens soon.  I'm not young.  Wanna get a bunch of sh*ts and giggles in while I still can.