jamz
Member
I picked up a used Colt Defender this morning at the local Kittery gun shop. I had gotten tired of the weight of an all-steel 1911 and felt that, despite Tuner and Old Fuff's feelings 
, something lighter was called for, and so started looking at the cut-down and alloy versions.
Most of my guns I buy used, and the Kittery Trading Post near me is like a mecca for gun enthusiasts, and they have a ginormous used long gun and handgun section. I went there last week and saw a used Colt Defender, an aluminum and stainless 3” barrel 1911. I didn’t know much about it, but it was beautifully light and pointable, and felt great in my hands, so I put it on hold and went home to do some research.
Well, a little research on goold old THR and other places confirms what I sort of knew, that the shorter they go with this design, the less reliable it gets. However, as far as these small ones went, the Colts were the most reliable, followed by Springfield’s Micro-Compact, followed by….. the rest. Many people reported huge volumes of ammunition cycled through the Defender with total reliability.
I decided it was worth the risk. Being cash-shy, I took stock of my guns and decided I could live without the Sig P239 in 9mm. I like the P239, but it’s too big for a 9mm. It’s fine in .40 or .357 sig though. Anyway, I brought it to the store and traded it in for the Defender. The Sig netted me $430, plus another few bucks for a holster, so for about $150 out of pocket, I had the Defender. On Saturday, I had picked up a couple hundred rounds of .45ACP for National Ammo Day (You got YOUR ammo, right? ) so I was ready to test it out at the range after work.
A couple things about this gun that I didn’t like. It has a plastic trigger! C’mon, plastic? I guess they were trying to save weight, but I’m going to see if a standard 1911 trigger will drop in there. Also, it comes with Houge wrap around grips, which feel okay, and I suppose are designed to help assist with controllability of the more powerful recoil. I found them way big though, and my gloves come in x-large. If you are used to a 1911 style grip, these feel weird. Also, they are a lot thicker, and kind of wreck the 1911’s classic slenderness and concealability. I’m going to change them out for standard grips.
In a half an hour or so, I put 100 rounds through it with no troubles at all. It shot a touch high, maybe an inch and a half at 15 yards, but the groupings were great. Half the time, I was putting effort into aiming, the other half I was blasting away as quick as I could to check the reliability. I did not pull the target back for 50 rounds or so, but when I did, there was one area that was cut out of the paper, about an inch and a half in diameter. So I assume this is when I was actually aiming. I even limpwristed the hell out of the thing for a mag or two, trying to see if that would hang it up at all, but it still ran like a champ.
Shooting this thing was actually reminiscent of shooting a medium-hot load from a 4” .357 Magnum. The recoil .357mag-ish, more than a regular steel 1911, and there was a LOT of muzzle flash, and it was considerably louder than a normal 1911. I was shooting regular 230 gr hardball, so I bet some lighter bullets burning some quicker powder would result in reduced flash and better controllability.
The only issue I had was with one of the magazines, sometimes the slide would not lock back, and once it semi-stovepiped a case. Upon closer inspection, this magazine was not a Colt factory mag, but an aftermarket one. Never did have any problems using the Colt mag though.
All in all, this is a great gun. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a light carry gun in .45ACP, who likes this particular platform. All I need now is a Milt Sparks Versa Max II holster, and I’ll be much more comfy from now on!
Colt Defender:
Aluminum Frame, Stainless Slide
Wrap around Hogue grips
Novak-style sights (White dot)
7+1 .45ACP
3” Barrel
6 ¾ “ Length overall
Beavertail grip safety
Standard thumb safety
-James
, something lighter was called for, and so started looking at the cut-down and alloy versions.Most of my guns I buy used, and the Kittery Trading Post near me is like a mecca for gun enthusiasts, and they have a ginormous used long gun and handgun section. I went there last week and saw a used Colt Defender, an aluminum and stainless 3” barrel 1911. I didn’t know much about it, but it was beautifully light and pointable, and felt great in my hands, so I put it on hold and went home to do some research.
Well, a little research on goold old THR and other places confirms what I sort of knew, that the shorter they go with this design, the less reliable it gets. However, as far as these small ones went, the Colts were the most reliable, followed by Springfield’s Micro-Compact, followed by….. the rest. Many people reported huge volumes of ammunition cycled through the Defender with total reliability.
I decided it was worth the risk. Being cash-shy, I took stock of my guns and decided I could live without the Sig P239 in 9mm. I like the P239, but it’s too big for a 9mm. It’s fine in .40 or .357 sig though. Anyway, I brought it to the store and traded it in for the Defender. The Sig netted me $430, plus another few bucks for a holster, so for about $150 out of pocket, I had the Defender. On Saturday, I had picked up a couple hundred rounds of .45ACP for National Ammo Day (You got YOUR ammo, right?
) so I was ready to test it out at the range after work.A couple things about this gun that I didn’t like. It has a plastic trigger! C’mon, plastic? I guess they were trying to save weight, but I’m going to see if a standard 1911 trigger will drop in there. Also, it comes with Houge wrap around grips, which feel okay, and I suppose are designed to help assist with controllability of the more powerful recoil. I found them way big though, and my gloves come in x-large. If you are used to a 1911 style grip, these feel weird. Also, they are a lot thicker, and kind of wreck the 1911’s classic slenderness and concealability. I’m going to change them out for standard grips.
In a half an hour or so, I put 100 rounds through it with no troubles at all. It shot a touch high, maybe an inch and a half at 15 yards, but the groupings were great. Half the time, I was putting effort into aiming, the other half I was blasting away as quick as I could to check the reliability. I did not pull the target back for 50 rounds or so, but when I did, there was one area that was cut out of the paper, about an inch and a half in diameter. So I assume this is when I was actually aiming. I even limpwristed the hell out of the thing for a mag or two, trying to see if that would hang it up at all, but it still ran like a champ.
Shooting this thing was actually reminiscent of shooting a medium-hot load from a 4” .357 Magnum. The recoil .357mag-ish, more than a regular steel 1911, and there was a LOT of muzzle flash, and it was considerably louder than a normal 1911. I was shooting regular 230 gr hardball, so I bet some lighter bullets burning some quicker powder would result in reduced flash and better controllability.
The only issue I had was with one of the magazines, sometimes the slide would not lock back, and once it semi-stovepiped a case. Upon closer inspection, this magazine was not a Colt factory mag, but an aftermarket one. Never did have any problems using the Colt mag though.
All in all, this is a great gun. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a light carry gun in .45ACP, who likes this particular platform. All I need now is a Milt Sparks Versa Max II holster, and I’ll be much more comfy from now on!
Colt Defender:
Aluminum Frame, Stainless Slide
Wrap around Hogue grips
Novak-style sights (White dot)
7+1 .45ACP
3” Barrel
6 ¾ “ Length overall
Beavertail grip safety
Standard thumb safety
-James
