Colt Delta Elite
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The Colt Delta Elite is a modified
M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
, Series 80 configuration, chambered for the
10mm Auto The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
. It is similar to the M1911 in design and operation. Colt manufactured both stainless steel and blued versions with eight-round magazines. A Delta Gold Cup model was also offered for target competition. The stainless steel Government Model version has recently been reintroduced. Released in 1987, it was the second commercial pistol chambered in the 10mm cartridge, following the Dornaus & Dixon manufactured
Bren Ten The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
pistol, which was released in 1983 and pioneered the 10mm Auto chambering.


History

The Delta Elite is credited as being the first firearm produced by a major manufacturer to chamber the 10mm. The ill-fated
Bren Ten The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
sparked interest in the 10mm round with outdoorsmen and as a defense round. The pistol was dropped from production in 1996 due to lackluster sales and the availability of smaller pistols with higher magazine capacities chambered in .40 S&W. Colt announced the re-introduction of the Delta Elite at the 2008 SHOT Show. This new generation is generally similar to the previous version. The "new" Delta Elites will be manufactured with the traditional barrel/bushing arrangement. Colt Customer Service stated they had a lack of acceptable accuracy problem with the "bull" bushingless barrel setup. That was the cause of the delay in the Delta Elite's production schedule. The new Delta Elite pistol was released March 31, 2009.


Design

The Delta Elite is a standard M1911 design, with a few minor differences from the latest Series 80 derivative of that pistol. It carries the rowel "
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
" type hammer of that pistol and the same overall features of the 1911 that have made it so popular with users. However, the Delta Elite carries a stiffer double recoil spring to handle the increased recoil of the 10mm round. Unlike the
.400 Corbon The .400 Corbon is an automatic pistol cartridge developed by Cor-Bon in 1997. It was created to mimic the ballistics of the 10 mm Auto cartridge in a .45 ACP form factor. It is essentially a .45 ACP case, necked down to .40 caliber with a 2 ...
, the 10mm can easily exceed the pressure levels of the
.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
, thus stressing the original design's limitations, unless care is given. Many gunsmiths have their own modifications which they feel adjust the level of felt recoil of the Delta Elite. Some of the first Delta Elites had a tendency to suffer flex-induced slide rail stress cracks. This was quickly addressed by removing the section of the rail above the slide-stop cutout.


Variants

*Variant 1 Blued – a standard blued Delta Elite. *Variant 1 Stainless – a standard stainless Delta Elite, featuring pebbled texture wrap-around grips and a solid silver aluminum trigger. *Variant 2 – Colt Gold Cup Ten. Assembled by Colt Custom Shop with only 500 being produced. Serial Numbers begin GCTEN ending with numerals from 001 to 500. *Variant 3 – Colt Match 10. The Gold Cup versions were not available at the time, so this was the most advanced 'Gold Cup' type available. The adjustable Millet style sight allows it to be centered for decent groups at 25 yards. According to Colt, approximately 400 were manufactured in 1988. *Variant 4 – spur hammer with black grips *Special variant – Colt Elite Ten Forty — the Colt Elite Ten/Forty was a special edition for Lew Horton Co. in the early 1990s. This edition is a special dual caliber offering of the Combat Elite semi-automatic pistol. The pistol is furnished in .40 S&W and includes a 10mm Auto conversion kit consisting of a barrel slide stop, two recoil springs and guide, and a stainless steel 10mm magazine. In addition, each pistol is specially roll-marked "ELITE TEN/FORTY" on the left side of the slide and features a flat mainspring housing. This edition consists of approximately 411 units and utilizes a special serial number prefix 1040E. *New variation – reintroduced in 2009 (model O2020) with diamond texture wrap-around grips. Updated recoil spring and guide rod. In 2015, a version with wood grips and serrated front strap was introduced (O2020WG). In 2016, a small run of two-tone blued slide/ stainless steel frame O2020s was manufactured for distribution by Bill Hicks (box marked O2020 but sometimes referred to as O2020Z). Also in 2016, the Delta Elite was upgraded to model O2020XE, with Novak sights, extended thumb safety, beavertail grip safety, enhanced hammer, flared ejector port, Gold Cup serrations, and 3 hole trigger. A FDE cerakote version of this gun was offered by Davidson's (O2020FDE). In 2017, Colt introduced the Delta Elite Rail Gun (O2020RG).


See also

*
Glock 20 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
, another relatively successful pistol chambered for 10mm Auto * Kimber Eclipse, another 1911-style handgun chambered in 10mm Auto *
Tanfoglio Force The Tanfoglio Force, also known as Force 99, Force 2002, EAA Witness Polymer or EAA Witness P-Carry, is a modified clone of the Czech CZ-75/ CZ-85 semi-automatic pistol. It is made in Gardone Val Trompia near Brescia, Italy by Fratelli Tanfoglio ...
, a popular Italian-made clone of the CZ-75 chambered in 10mm Auto


References


External links


Carryconcealed.net reviews the Colt Government 10mm
{{Colt's Manufacturing Company 10mm Auto semi-automatic pistols Colt semi-automatic pistols 1911 platform Police weapons Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1987