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The 8+1 Colt Delta Elite, Delta Elite Two-Tone and Delta Elite Rail semi-automatic pistols pair 10mm Auto caliber to an M1911 chassis. This single action only (SAO) gun debuted in the 1980s as the first large-scale 10mm evolution of the M1911. It launched as a Series 80-type 1911 and remained on the market for about 10 years. It went away for years then returned at the 2008 SHOT Show with production starting the following year.

In an era where replicas of classic heritage pieces are commonplace, few companies do a retro pistol like someone doing one of their own. And few guns are as classic and timeless as Colt’s own M1911, which debuted in 1911 and remains in production world over to this day.

The standard Colt Delta Elite takes the M1911 from the 1980s, tweaks it for 10mm and makes it even more fetching. The receiver is brushed stainless steel like the classic slide. It still uses the standard Government 5” barrel and has an 8-round single-stack detachable box magazines.

The gun’s key components are forged stainless steel. This includes the barrel, receiver and slide. The slide stop is forged as well! The back had the standard thumb safety and grip safety.

For 2013, you got white 3-dot sights and an expansive 6.5” sight radius between them. The slide back had a tight formation of vertical grip serrations followed by a Commander-style circular loop hammer. The beavertail was long, but not fully extended like on some other M1911s. The Delta Elite had a nice black aluminum solid curved trigger. The black polymer grips were diamond checkered punctuated by an integrated red Delta Medallion and conventionally affixed using two flat head screws. Overall length was 8.5” and weight is 35 ounces, or just over two pounds.

More recently, the Delta Elite was tweaked to have loop hammer, triple circular ported trigger, an extended upturned beavertail, forward leaning rear grip serrations, etc. Perhaps the most compelling change was the upgrade to Novak white-dot sights. They extend the rear-sight further back than on traditional ones, increasing the sight radius to about 7” and producing a more stable and accurate shooting experience.

Also, Colt now offers the Delta Elite Two-Tone and the Delta Elite Rail. The Delta Elite Two-Tone uses a black carbon steel slide in conjunction with the stainless-steel frame, barrel, etc. Predictably, weight remains 35 ounces. The Delta Elite Rail adds a four-slot MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny accessory rail just ahead of the trigger guard. Weight grows to 38 ounces.

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