kpp80202
03-31-2010, 07:19
I recently purchased this Colt Delta Elite:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/kpmtns/IMG_0311.jpg
I have been wanting a 10mm for a while, and thought I couldn't pass this up since I really like the feel of 1911s, and I'm a sucker for Colts. Unfortunately, it had the idiot mark, as you can see in the pics, but was in nice shape overall. On takedown, I found that the slide was filthy inside! There was a ton of powder residue in the extractor channel and the firing pin channel, and it took a bunch of q-tips and patches to get it clean. Once cleaned out, it looked really good inside and out.
Now, knowing how I like my 1911s set up, I figured I'd be reconfiguring it, but I wanted to see if it was a dog before I put more money into it. So, I picked up some Blazer (200g FMJ @ 1050) and some Silvertips (175g JHP @ 1290) and headed out to the range with a couple .45s and a .22 for testing and comparison.
At the range, I started shooting my .22 to get a baseline for accuracy for the day. At 7 yards, I was shooting a consistent 1" offhand with the .22, which is typical for me with this gun. I moved on to the 1911 and the Glock 21SF, which both gave me about 1.5" 8-10 shot groups at the same range with WWB (230g FMJ). (I had a few nasty fliers, especially with the first shot out of the Glock after transitioning back to it--I need to practice with them more, as they are both fairly new to me.) The last gun in the rotation was the Delta. It shot about the same as the .45s did accuracy-wise, though the Silvertips shot more like 1", and the Blazers shot more like 1.5-1.8" in 9-shot groups. The recoil on it with Blazers was just a touch sharper than my Champion 1911, and both 1911s were sharper than the Glock's springy-feeling recoil. With Silvertips, the Delta's felt recoil was softer than the 1911 and about the same as the Glock. The Delta was about as fast as the Glock for double taps though, and a touch faster than the Champion, which surprised me. It ran 100%, with no hiccups of any sort, just like the other three guns did. Overall, I was very happy with it, and think it will be a great shooter.
After running 100 rounds through the Delta, the web of my hand was a little red and sore, since the stock grip safety has rather sharp corners that rub my thumb web when held in a high thumb grip. The standard thumb safety also tended to make a high-thumb grip less comfortable and less secure for me for rapid fire, which is common to all USGI set up 1911s.
So, as anticipated before I shot it, my plan is to fit an Ed Brown tactical extended thumb safety, and to fit a Wilson semi-drop in beavertail safety. These changes should improve the comfort substantially, and make it feel like my other 1911. Having read up on Deltas, I am also planning to swap out the firing pin stop to an EGW square bottom version, and increase the mainspring to a 24# unit to help reduce recoil with full power loads and reduce frame stress. (None of the loads tested were full power loads.) I also plan to replace the recoil spring with a 20# or 22# unit on a USGI guide rod with shock-buffer to reduce frame battering when the slide returns to battery (it currently has the factory double spring 23# unit on a factory shock-buffered rod). The change in firing pin stops allows a lighter recoil spring, since the mainspring is doing more work controlling the recoil impulse. At some point, I'll swap out the polymer mainspring housing for an arched steel one, just "because."
I'll add a "part 2" to this range report with those mods, and shooting full power loads, since this was more of a shakedown session.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/kpmtns/IMG_0311.jpg
I have been wanting a 10mm for a while, and thought I couldn't pass this up since I really like the feel of 1911s, and I'm a sucker for Colts. Unfortunately, it had the idiot mark, as you can see in the pics, but was in nice shape overall. On takedown, I found that the slide was filthy inside! There was a ton of powder residue in the extractor channel and the firing pin channel, and it took a bunch of q-tips and patches to get it clean. Once cleaned out, it looked really good inside and out.
Now, knowing how I like my 1911s set up, I figured I'd be reconfiguring it, but I wanted to see if it was a dog before I put more money into it. So, I picked up some Blazer (200g FMJ @ 1050) and some Silvertips (175g JHP @ 1290) and headed out to the range with a couple .45s and a .22 for testing and comparison.
At the range, I started shooting my .22 to get a baseline for accuracy for the day. At 7 yards, I was shooting a consistent 1" offhand with the .22, which is typical for me with this gun. I moved on to the 1911 and the Glock 21SF, which both gave me about 1.5" 8-10 shot groups at the same range with WWB (230g FMJ). (I had a few nasty fliers, especially with the first shot out of the Glock after transitioning back to it--I need to practice with them more, as they are both fairly new to me.) The last gun in the rotation was the Delta. It shot about the same as the .45s did accuracy-wise, though the Silvertips shot more like 1", and the Blazers shot more like 1.5-1.8" in 9-shot groups. The recoil on it with Blazers was just a touch sharper than my Champion 1911, and both 1911s were sharper than the Glock's springy-feeling recoil. With Silvertips, the Delta's felt recoil was softer than the 1911 and about the same as the Glock. The Delta was about as fast as the Glock for double taps though, and a touch faster than the Champion, which surprised me. It ran 100%, with no hiccups of any sort, just like the other three guns did. Overall, I was very happy with it, and think it will be a great shooter.
After running 100 rounds through the Delta, the web of my hand was a little red and sore, since the stock grip safety has rather sharp corners that rub my thumb web when held in a high thumb grip. The standard thumb safety also tended to make a high-thumb grip less comfortable and less secure for me for rapid fire, which is common to all USGI set up 1911s.
So, as anticipated before I shot it, my plan is to fit an Ed Brown tactical extended thumb safety, and to fit a Wilson semi-drop in beavertail safety. These changes should improve the comfort substantially, and make it feel like my other 1911. Having read up on Deltas, I am also planning to swap out the firing pin stop to an EGW square bottom version, and increase the mainspring to a 24# unit to help reduce recoil with full power loads and reduce frame stress. (None of the loads tested were full power loads.) I also plan to replace the recoil spring with a 20# or 22# unit on a USGI guide rod with shock-buffer to reduce frame battering when the slide returns to battery (it currently has the factory double spring 23# unit on a factory shock-buffered rod). The change in firing pin stops allows a lighter recoil spring, since the mainspring is doing more work controlling the recoil impulse. At some point, I'll swap out the polymer mainspring housing for an arched steel one, just "because."
I'll add a "part 2" to this range report with those mods, and shooting full power loads, since this was more of a shakedown session.