Colt 1911 Delta Elite - Western Arms

I have always liked the look of the Colt Delta Elite. I don't really know why, as it's pretty much just another Colt 1911, albeit chambered for the 10mm round, but I was strangely excited when I was loaned one for review by Elite Airsoft.

The Delta Elite was only the second gun chambered for the 10mm round (after the Bren Ten), but was not, as is sometimes believed, made for Delta Force Special Forces.

In the Box

The SCW guns come in smart Grey boxes, with "SCW" in white on the top and only a sticker on one end to indicate the contents. Businesslike, but a bit more finished than the normal uncoloured cardboard, although I have come to miss the real steel logos on the box lids. No doubt, WA find a universal box design more cost effective...

Inside, however, it's WA business as usual, with the gun, a bag of paper work, including the manual and a target, a small bag of 6mm BBs, a couple of Allen keys and the gun. Unusual to the pukka 1911s (rather than the Infinities and the like) is a barrel bushing wrench - more on that later.

First Impressions

First impressions of the Delta Elite are favourable.

This is another very attractive airsoft pistol. The quality shines out of it, from the bright chamber cover to the rubberised grips to the flawless finish of the heavyweight material.

The gun has a nice balance in the hand and being a single stacker (in real steel form, at least) is pleasantly slim, which I like, but that will vary from person to person.

All the appropriate markings are present including the Delta triangle on the slide and the grips.

Metal parts include the hammer, trigger, grip safety, mainspring cover, sights, slide lock and barrel bushing, as well as the outer barrel.

Closer Look

The Delta Elite is made mainly of Heavyweight ABS with metal controls. Overall finish is flawless, with no seams and no pitting on the metal parts.

At 860g, the gun is not a real heavyweight, but it feels very solid and well balanced in the hand. Being much slimmer than a double stack Infinity or Para-Ordnance, the difference in weight certainly doesn't lend an air of fragility to the 1911.

The simple, button magazine releases the magazine smoothly to reveal a plain (like the rest of the gun) black magazine.

The Delta Elite is a SCW1 gun, so the magazine is the single stacker design, with metal jaws. Some people find these more reliable feeders than the latest SCW2 double stackers, with their replaceable, plastic jaws, although I haven't encountered any serious problems with either type myself.

The outer barrel is metal and is a straight tube, without the bulge sometimes seen on other examples of the 1911.

On the left of the slide the markings read "COLT DELTA ELITE"/"COLT AUTO" arranged around a triangle with "10mm" inside the bottom edge.

On the right of the slide the text reads "GOVERNMENT MODEL". The chamber cover is engraved with " CAL. 10mm AUTO". On the right side of the frame, just above the grip, in small font, is the text "COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CONN. U.S.A." and there is a WA ASGK mark above the trigger.

The grips are unique to the Delta Elite and are rubberised wrap arounds, with smooth section running around the front of the frame. On the grips are red Delta Triangle inserts. The grips are very comfortable and I'm sure would provide a secure grip under most conditions.

There are grooved serrations on the rear of the slide which make it very easy to rack, helped by the very smooth action of the slide itself.

The grip safety is quite discrete compared to the wild Beaver tails on some of the 1911s derivatives and the trigger is minimalist although more like the original 1911 in length than most later 1911s.

There is a single (left mounted for right handed operation) thumb operated hammer safety, which works with the hammer cocked, much like any other 1911 derived gun, or any other single action automatic, in fact.

The sights are extremely simple, with no adjustment, but they do feature white dots, making these amongst the best sights I have seen on a true 1911 style gun.

The 'transfer hammer' mechanism (first seen on the Beretta 1934) works well, letting you decock the single action 1911, simply by pulling the trigger and letting the hammer down gently. However, I could not work this single handed, having to use one hand to pull the trigger, whilst engaging the grip safety and the other to lower the hammer.

Much was made, when they were first lauched, of the SCW guns being WA's first guns where you can adjust the Hop-Up without stripping the gun down and it is true. Like KSCs, you simply open the slide and adjust the hop over the barrel. In this case, there's an allen bolt which needs adjusting with an Allen key. I didn't fiddle, but I've read other reports which suggest it's still quite tricky to get the Hop-Up set just as you want.

Shooting Impressions

Gassing the magazine was easy, as was loading the 15 BBs and the gun gives off a very satisfying crack, decent amount of kick and a sharp, snappy recoil when fired.

What is most impressive about the Delta Elite is the accuracy. Quite simply, this is the best pistol I have EVER tested (as of July 2005).

Even just plinking away with the gun to familiarise myself, it was noticeable that the gun was putting BB after BB into a very close grouping and this was borne out in my formal testing.

Click on image for bigger version in separate window.

Carrying out my standard 5m/6 round, off hand test, the grouping was an astonishing 0.55 inch (1.4 CMs) in diameter.

Those shots are shown as triangles on the target and only a snatched shot to the left prevents the full six group being just as accurate. Remarkable and I was able to reproduce this kind of grouping time after time.

Interestingly, someone, unprompted, posted on a forum that they had found the Delta Elite especially accurate, although I am at a loss to explain why this should be, unless it is simply that much easier to aim and shoot, with the white dotted sights and rubberised grips, than the other, otherwise identical, SCW 1911s.

Power, too, in all the SCW 1911s is impressive. Over 10 shots, the Delta Elite averaged 234 fps (using 134a gas) indoors (at 21C), which will equate to around 300fps with Abbey Ultra or similar powered gasses.

Trigger pull was 840g (29 Oz), which is a medium weight pull for a GBB.

Take Down

Take down is a faithful replication of the real steel process.
After removing the magazine, move to the front of the slide and depress the chequered button, under the barrel. With this depressed, use the bushing spanner to open the bushing with a quarter turn anti-clockwise.

Slide the slide back until it locks and unscrew the outer barrel. Then remove the slide lock (push it through the frame from the side opposite where it locks the slide) and let the slide and inner barrel slide off the frame. Once off, the inner barrel/chamber can be removed from the slide.

Conclusions

The Colt Delta Elite is a little different for a 1911, without being radical, like an SVI.

Some will like it, some not. Personally I have always liked the Delta Elite look and the WA version doesn't disappoint in any respect.

Essentially, it is technically just like all the other SCW 1911s, but it seems something makes it a particularly accurate variant, which is a good reason for you to consider it, whether you are a particular fan of the styling or not.

Weight : 820g (220g magazine)

Realism : *****
Quality : *****
Power : ****
Accuracy : *****

Real Steel link at World Guns

Buy this gun from Elite Airsoft