Colt Delta Elite 1989

L

lettierej

Inactive
Guys i just purchased this gun off gunbroker and now am a little worried after reading different things about ammo brands and what type 10mm to run through the gun. Should i be concerned about this? Are the frame durability problems associated only with the older style Elites like this one?
 
As far as I know the Delta Elites handle 10mm just fine. I've never heard of any systemic frame problem with them.
 
By "full house", you mean overloads?
When the Delta Elite was designed, the only 10mm ammo that existed was Norma (200@1200, 170@1300), so it might follow that the gun was designed for that?
Get a Glock, and see how a cartridge case can be made to look like a guppy!
 
I was asked to test fire a couple of hundred rounds out of a Delta Elite for a guy back when the Norma ammo was pretty much the only game in town. Big flash, loud noise, but not much else to report.

Early Delta Elites had the "bridge" over the cut-out for the slidestop- later it was found that the bridge would crack, so Colt just left it out.
 
If it is SAMMI spec ammo you will be good to go but I would steer clear of the ammo that pushed the limits on that round.
 
The very early Delta Elites were prone to develop a crack through the receiver rail on the left side, starting at the top of the slide stop window. Colt's solution was to mill out the material above the window, leaving a short gap in the left side frame rail and a rectangular notch, rather than a round-topped window, for the slide stop.
 
Early Delta Elites had the "bridge" over the cut-out for the slidestop- later it was found that the bridge would crack, so Colt just left it out.
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Correct. And that change became a subsequent design standard on all their 1911s, not just the Deltas.
 
As far as I know the Delta Elites handle 10mm just fine. I've never heard of any systemic frame problem with them.
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No, you're right, not "systemic." It was found on a *relatively* small amount of the 1st Gen Deltas (Colt introduced the DE in 1987), but it was enough to cause Colt to make that "cut-out" design mod to the frame for all subsequent 1911s. My blue Delta, which was produced about '91 or so, has that mod.

But what gets debated occasionally is the more general question of whether the 1911-design can withstand a steady diet of *real* 10mm ammo. There are some minimalist tips and tricks you can do that will ensure its longevity, although, frankly, there are enough 1911s in 10mm out there that seem to have successfully run through many thousands of rounds in the cartridge's upper mid-range-to-full-throttle level by just changing out the springs, say, every 500-rds. You can also add an EGW f.p. stop and ditch the factory recoil set-up entirely for Wolff XP springs, with or without a FL recoil guide rod. Some owners, or their gunsmiths, add a stronger mainspring as well.

I remember reading somewhere that pistolsmith Richard Heine had put something like 10,000-rds through his personal DE and it was still going strong, but I'm sure he also did regular spring changes as well as some of the other mods.

In the early 2000s, after running about 600-rds thru my then-stock DE, I sent it off to master pistolsmith Vic Tibbets for custom work and upgrades, some of which he suggested from having customized a number of Deltas previously. Since then - and several thousand rounds later - it's still running without issues, and I can assure you that it's seen very little watered-down 10mm ammo, whether my own reloads or factory.

I will admit to running some of the recently arrived and relatively inexpensive PPU 10mm through it - basically a .40-level 180gn load masquerading as a 10mm - and it felt like I was shooting a round at the 9mm+P+ level. :eek:

 
Weakest load I EVER put through my Delta back in the 80s and 90s was 170 gr hp @ 1200 fps. Not nuclear, but far from weak. Nary an issue with thousands of rounds through.
 
Awesome gun. Congrats on the acquisition. That model should be heavy enough to handle 10mm recoil just fine. Or at least as well as any 10mm.
 
The Delta is fine pistol. The only issue I have seen was some had limited case support at the feed ramp. It pays to look over some fired cases of full power loads and look for a bulge or a "Smiley" imprint on the brass. If this is present, you need to watch how often you are shooting full power loads or think about replacing the barrel with a fully supported one if you want to shoot full power loads on a steady basis. Hope this helps.
 
There was a tiny amount weak brass a while back that got into the production stream, HOWEVER, most current production ammo will be fine to shoot as long as it's not over pressured. Some heavy BB and Underwood are indeed beyond the edge of being over-pressured. (Pull 'em and check the charge for yourself) And their boxes are not marked as such. That's not good for any gun. Supported barrel or not. Underwood has a warning on their website, but not on their boxes. To me, this is a BIG mistake. Loading 10mm ammo "to" (beyond) the edge of safe is irresponsible. If you need something bigger than a 10mm, get a .44 Mag or a rifle. The "not fully supported chamber" bull**** is simply an excuse to overpressure ammo then blame the gun.
 
Delta

Always wanted a Delta....went to buy one used...it had sold, but the guy had a G20, w/ 5 hi cap mags in the days of the mag ban....so I bought it. Gripped like a 2x6 compared to a Colt. Still have the Glock, and Deltas have priced out of sight.

Congrats
 
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