high_caliber
New member
(I originally posted this report and followup on the 1911 Forums)
I purchased this pistol in the first week of January, this year. The price was $640 plus sales tax. While examining the Defender in the gun shop, I noticed that the barrel-to-slide fit and lockup was excellent. After getting home and looking it over, I discovered something I had overlooked while viewing it in the gun shop. The top grip screw on the right side was standing above the grip about the same distance as the thickness of the screw head. Thinking it was just not screwed all the way in, I proceeded to get the appropriate screwdriver from the toolbox and finish driving it to the correct depth. Not so. It wouldn’t budge. So I proceed to remove all the grip screws and find where the problem is. Another grip screw is very tight and very difficult to remove. Once the grips are off, I see that the tops of the problem grip screw bushings are malformed and the one creating the initial problem has a large burr on the bottom of the threads.
At the range, test firing with 200-gr. bullets at 15 and 25 yards reveals that the point of impact is low and to the left. A close examination of the sights reveals that the front sight is staked about 1/32 of an inch to the right of the slide's center. Moving the rear sight to the right about the same distance corrects the point of impact for left to right.
The next range trip involves shooting 50 rounds with 230-gr. bullets. The vertical point of impact is better but I experience a few failures to feed and a lot of ejected brass is using my forehead for a landing zone.
During the third range trip, the Defender still experiences a few failures to feed and I notice that the brass has a scrape mark that runs almost the length of the case, from the case mouth back. The point of impact seems to be getting closer to point of aim like it’s breaking in. I disassembled the pistol for examination and on the barrels feed lip I see the problem. If you hold the barrel so that you are viewing it from the breech end, on the feed lip there is an abrupt tool mark ending in a burr at about the 7 o’clock position. I filed and buffed this area of the lip to mirror the other side’s contour. I also put a taper on the face of the ejector so the brass (hopefully) will not eject over the top of my head. After re-assembly the next 100 test fires go smoothly with no failures to feed and no scrape marks on the brass. A couple more rounds hit the forehead, but most ejected brass trajectories follow a path that is a high arch about 45 degrees up and to the rear.
All in all I am rather disappointed with this purchase although I intend to keep it and carry it for a CCW. I can partially understand the grip screw and barrel burr problems passing through a QC final inspection, but I believe true QC begins with a caring on the part of the employees performing the work.
Follow-up
Over the weekend I went to the range for some more testing. On firing the first magazine-full of rounds, the slide failed to lock back after the last round. So I disassembled the pistol and took the frame assembly and magazine into the range shop for a closer examination. Here I could check the stacking tolerances of fit between the frame, the magazine body, the follower, and the slide stop. There now existed enough looseness at the extremes to allow the follower to slip past the slide stop on occasion. I “tweaked” the shape of the magazine lips and the follower so as to null the negative effects of the stacked tolerances.
Back to the range, I resumed testing. Fired were a total of 100 rounds of 230 gr. JHP and 50 rounds of 230 gr. FMJ. At this point, the Defender had not shown even a hint of malfunctioning. Accuracy continues to be very good, as the Defender makes a detergent bottle dance at 35 yards.
I feel like this pistol is now ready for CCW, although this Colt Defender had far more “bugs” than it should have had from the factory. The 45 ACP cartridge is my caliber of choice and I need a lightweight pistol. I have a deteriorated disk in my lower back, which makes CCW difficult for anything heavy, especially at the waistband.
I hope these reviews at least have the effect of reinforcing the notion that buyers should run at least 200 rounds through their new pistols before serious use. Also to note that the magazine to be carried should be the one tested.
Best Regards to All Shooters,
high_caliber
I purchased this pistol in the first week of January, this year. The price was $640 plus sales tax. While examining the Defender in the gun shop, I noticed that the barrel-to-slide fit and lockup was excellent. After getting home and looking it over, I discovered something I had overlooked while viewing it in the gun shop. The top grip screw on the right side was standing above the grip about the same distance as the thickness of the screw head. Thinking it was just not screwed all the way in, I proceeded to get the appropriate screwdriver from the toolbox and finish driving it to the correct depth. Not so. It wouldn’t budge. So I proceed to remove all the grip screws and find where the problem is. Another grip screw is very tight and very difficult to remove. Once the grips are off, I see that the tops of the problem grip screw bushings are malformed and the one creating the initial problem has a large burr on the bottom of the threads.
At the range, test firing with 200-gr. bullets at 15 and 25 yards reveals that the point of impact is low and to the left. A close examination of the sights reveals that the front sight is staked about 1/32 of an inch to the right of the slide's center. Moving the rear sight to the right about the same distance corrects the point of impact for left to right.
The next range trip involves shooting 50 rounds with 230-gr. bullets. The vertical point of impact is better but I experience a few failures to feed and a lot of ejected brass is using my forehead for a landing zone.
During the third range trip, the Defender still experiences a few failures to feed and I notice that the brass has a scrape mark that runs almost the length of the case, from the case mouth back. The point of impact seems to be getting closer to point of aim like it’s breaking in. I disassembled the pistol for examination and on the barrels feed lip I see the problem. If you hold the barrel so that you are viewing it from the breech end, on the feed lip there is an abrupt tool mark ending in a burr at about the 7 o’clock position. I filed and buffed this area of the lip to mirror the other side’s contour. I also put a taper on the face of the ejector so the brass (hopefully) will not eject over the top of my head. After re-assembly the next 100 test fires go smoothly with no failures to feed and no scrape marks on the brass. A couple more rounds hit the forehead, but most ejected brass trajectories follow a path that is a high arch about 45 degrees up and to the rear.
All in all I am rather disappointed with this purchase although I intend to keep it and carry it for a CCW. I can partially understand the grip screw and barrel burr problems passing through a QC final inspection, but I believe true QC begins with a caring on the part of the employees performing the work.
Follow-up
Over the weekend I went to the range for some more testing. On firing the first magazine-full of rounds, the slide failed to lock back after the last round. So I disassembled the pistol and took the frame assembly and magazine into the range shop for a closer examination. Here I could check the stacking tolerances of fit between the frame, the magazine body, the follower, and the slide stop. There now existed enough looseness at the extremes to allow the follower to slip past the slide stop on occasion. I “tweaked” the shape of the magazine lips and the follower so as to null the negative effects of the stacked tolerances.
Back to the range, I resumed testing. Fired were a total of 100 rounds of 230 gr. JHP and 50 rounds of 230 gr. FMJ. At this point, the Defender had not shown even a hint of malfunctioning. Accuracy continues to be very good, as the Defender makes a detergent bottle dance at 35 yards.
I feel like this pistol is now ready for CCW, although this Colt Defender had far more “bugs” than it should have had from the factory. The 45 ACP cartridge is my caliber of choice and I need a lightweight pistol. I have a deteriorated disk in my lower back, which makes CCW difficult for anything heavy, especially at the waistband.
I hope these reviews at least have the effect of reinforcing the notion that buyers should run at least 200 rounds through their new pistols before serious use. Also to note that the magazine to be carried should be the one tested.
Best Regards to All Shooters,
high_caliber
