New Colt Defender

[SingleAction]

www.hunt101.com/img/248061.jpg

I got this a week ago, new. It is my second Colt, and I love it, with reservations! First off, when I inspected it in the store, new in the box, it had the factory grease, on it. After getting it home, and cleaning it, the left side of the receiver, had stains, and black spots (on the dust cover), that looked like mildew, that you get on the mat of your bathtub. I tried everything to remove it. I finally used a pencil erasure, and got most of it off, along with some of the teflon coating! It looks like someone at the factory, picked up the frame with greasy dirty hands, and then sprayed it with the Teflon.

I've put 500 rounds thru it so far, and I've read on various sites, that the Colt is the only one that is 100%, and will eat, and feed anything,NOT! I've been reloading for a while, and the club I belong to,has a indoor range, and will not allow any jacket, or magnum bullets. So when I go there with my Gold Cup, I use Meister 200gr lswc, that I load, and it has never had a problem. Not the Defender! It seems to like RN FMJ's the best,and complains about JHP's. If I spray some Rem oil, on the feed ramp, it will go another 50 rounds.

I took it to an outdoor range, yesterday. We were having a heat wave in the northeast, 32 degrees, and shot 50 rounds of Speer 200gr JHP's that I loaded. Never using these before, I may have used a close to mim charge, and had 2 FTE. Next shot 50 rounds of Hornady 230 RN-FMJ's without a hitch, and finally, factory UMC 100 pack Wally World 230 gr JHP's that even my Gold cup balks at, without a hitch.

So maybe after 500 rounds, and a small fortune in ammo, maybe I might have a reliable CCW.

I hope the picture link works. Thanks for listening to my rants! SingleAction

[TMan]

Well SingleAction, the picture link works, and it certainly is an attractive looking Colt. Personally, I hate to send a gun back to the manufacturer, but with your experience with the Teflon, I would recommend it.

The one gun that I did send back to the manufacturer was fixed and it shot far better than it did when it was brand new. I think it is because a real gunsmith had his hands on it.

I must add that your photography with the background and the shadows made a very interesting effect. The only way it would have been better would be to retain the shadows on the gun and not have the shadow of the gun on the tile, but that would take some tricky fill lighting (or manipulation with a photo editor).

[SingleAction]

Thanks TMan, for the fast reply! Unfortunately in my photo, you can't see what I'm talking about. I realize that this gun is designed as a carry tool, and that is what I plan to do with it, and I, for the most part have heard horror stories of guns coming back far worse than they left! I'm glad you had great results with yours. If I can be assured, that I 'm finished with the feeding problem, I'll let the cosmetic issue go, and maybe in the future, have the frame plated, or NP3-by Robar.

["DoubleAction"]

SingleAction; It's good to see another Colt in the house. I'm not surprised that you might have problems feeding it's throat with the lswc bullets; I bought a Gold Cup Trophy a couple of years ago that has an extra channel cut in the throat to accomodate the reliable feeding of wadcutters. Being a primary defense pistol, rather than a target pistol, I would be concerned about it feeding the JHP if nothing else. With the shorter recoil on the 3" tube, you will probably end up settling in on a favorite cartridge for the pistol. Some new Colts are bad about fouling up around the feed ramp and chamber until the metal is conditioned or the ramp is polished.

[SingleAction]

DoubleAction, from what I have read, about the Colt's with alloy frames,(lightweight), it is not advisable to polish the feed ramp, and remove any of the "soft" metal! There is a dealer on one of the sites from Alaska, that has one of these guns, that said the only way to make them reliable, is a steel inserted feed ramp! So, how much weight would you loose, doing this, and why wouldn't Colt do this with all of their lightweight receivers? (Commanders, officers, etc). If you look at the top of the line Kimbers, with the 3 " barrels, the feed ramp is steel attached to the barrel itself. I know they are having major problems , with their extractors, but I think it is still a good Idea, as far as longevity! I'm just a little disappointed, after spending almost $800.00, with tax, and having the cosmetic problem, and feeding problem. This maybe the last Colt for me. I really wanted a Colt SAA, but for $1350, I think I'll just buy a Uberti, and if it turns out to be a piece of junk, at least it didn't cost a small fortune, to buy a Legend, of days past!!!!!!!!!!!!! FourFive

["DoubleAction"]

SingleAction; I wouldn't give any thought, other than to smooth the ramp up with some flitz polish on a cloth, nothing as radical as cutting the angle. I have a few Colts myself but always insisted on the steel frames. For alloy frame pistols I always insisted on the integral ramped barrels and steel insert blocks; That's why I have the Sigs.
Coltalloy frames were okay on the Commander but anyone around here will tell you that I will not touch an alloy Colt with a 3" barrel ( or any 1911 with a 3" barrel). My Steel Frame Officer's ACP is fitted with a dual shock buffer and a reversed taped recoil plug, the recoil spring barely has enough space to fit in the plug when compressed. Every Colt I own has had to have something done to it, sometimes before I shoot them the first time.
Looking at Colts is kind of like picking out a good horse; It's always a good idea to open it's mouth. I've seen where a half dozen Custom Shop Colts were in a single counter with only one being a decent fitted pistol. I've seen some innovative Colts that were doomed before they left the factory. I know of one dealer that has the Colts on one counter and the aftermarket parts counter next door.
Some Government Models, Gold Cups, Commanders, and Steel Frame Officer's Models are excellent; the Python is good, as is the SAA, the Detective Specials, and some Custom Shop 1911s. I understand Colt cannot provide us with everything in a handgun; Much better to share our wealth with others who might be a little better at providing something else sometimes.
Not difficult to understand the legitimacy of your complaint; That's a chunk of change to shell out on such a piece. For the price of one Colt SAA, you can buy two Ubertis, a Double Rig From Tombstone leather, two sets of Stag Grips, and have money left over for some new brass.
I say shoot the snot out of the little gun, and if it don't smooth out on it's own send it back to Colt. I buy the Colts for the Frames, slides, and barrels, they can keep their innovative ideas. The Series 80 safety lever is the only good thing I've seen new from them in the past twenty years. The recoil system on that 3" Colt of yours was not even Colt's idea, it looks more like a recoil master; They could have done the same thing to the Officer's ACP but didn't. And that Beavertail; Heck, If it wasn't for Colt, Wilson Combat would quit making their drop in grip safeties altogether.
I've handled some Kimbers, from ther custom shop, with price tags of over $1700 and had to hammer out their sear and hammer pins, and pry out the thumb safety to disassemble the guns. Thank the Gun God for CNC manufacturing and simple assembly.
Custom Pistolsmiths are in business for a reason.
It's no darn wonder why H&K, Glock, Sig, and others are doing so well.

[SingleAction]

Hi DoubleAction! I keep getting our handles mixed up! Just corrected my last post. Thank you for making me feel better, and I have a year with Colt's warranty to send it back. BTW, I'm a little confused about that warranty. Some people selling Colt's, say they come with a lifetime warranty, but if you read the manual"warranty statement", they offer no express warranty on their product line, but will service the product for one year, for defects in materials or workmanship, at no charge to the purchaser.

I will have to really consider spending any more money on Colts. Thanks for all your help, and advice. SingleAction

["DoubleAction"]

SingleAction; As long as I've known Colt, their warranty has always been up to a year. I usually violate the terms of that warranty within the first few weeks of purchase as many others do ;D. If you want to remain compliant with the conditions of the warranty do nothing to the pistol, nor let anyone other than a Colt Service agent do alterations or repairs on the gun. Many dealers are also Colt Warranty Service reps, which helps in not having to ship the gun off and provides you with a more personnal approach to discussing the particular problems your having with the gun.
Look in the back of your manuel to find an authorized Colt service representative closest to your area of residence. Some might not be listed in the book, you might try the Colt website, give them a call, or call dealers in your area.
If any recent changes in Colt's warranty policy has changed, it too would be on their website or literature with the gun.
Another thing about the Defender; This pistol was introduced as the alternative to the Officer's acp which was discontinued. Colt has been manufacturing the Defender for a few years now, and like the lightweight Officer's ACP ( my Dad has one ), they are made to be carried alot and shot little. Many lightweight defensive handguns are known for this common trait; Logically speaking, they are designed for the ease of CCW and for fending off attacks during a high risk life threatening situation. Although I find carrying the wider profiling Sig Sauers a bit compromising for CCW; I have often pondered thoughts of obtaining a Lightweight Commander in 70 series but I could never find one when looking.
If you are ever in doubt about the alternatives to a Colt, I've found many other choices but I still love the steel and feel of a good Colt.