The Delta Elite was a fairly basic 1911-style gun made by Colt from 1987-1996. It is not a rare gun, and good examples can be found fairly easily for reasonable prices. However, they seem to be getting more popular with shooters, and so the prices are starting to creep up. The Delta has a rather mixed reputation, and some truly wild rumors have been circulating about how the guns crack, blow up, and so forth. Most of what you have heard about the guns is bogus, and is probably the reflexive reaction of sissies who had their masculinity challenged by the 10mm recoil impulse and were found wanting. However, there is some basis in fact for this nonsense, as the Delta Elite did have some teething problems and design inadequacies.
Figure 8: Original frame design (left) and modified frame design (right).
Colt made some other design mistakes with the gun, though fortunately they are easily and cheaply corrected. Although Colt gave the gun a heavier slide, they otherwise sought to control the increased recoil energy simply by using extremely heavy recoil springs. In fact, it had two concentric recoil springs with a combined weight of 23 pounds (versus 16 pounds for a standard .45 of the same size). The result was that the Delta Elite had a very strange, pogo stick-like feel in recoil that was both uncomfortable and subjected the gun to excessive wear and tear as the slide slammed forward with excessive force after each shot. Strangely enough, the short recoil guide rod used in this system was almost always made of plastic, and tended to break prematurely. Fortunately the fixes for these problems are both simple and cheap.
Those problems aside, the Delta Elite in my experience is a very creditable handgun. The examples I have owned were accurate and reliable out of the box, with acceptable triggers ~6 pounds and the excellent subjective feel common to Colt 1911s. Like most Colts of that era, they tend to have sharp edges, unlike more modern guns that look like a used bar of soap. This is both a blessing and a curse; the guns look sharp and crisp, but the edges can be uncomfortable. I personally like Deltas a great deal, but I am a sucker for Colts in general and 10mm guns in particular.
Another common question about the Delta Elites is how to tell the pre-Enhanced from the Enhanced models. The major differences between the two variants are:
1. Standard trigger guard shape on pre-Enhanced, undercut trigger guard on Enhanced.
2. Vertical slide serrations on pre-Enhanced, angled slide serrations on Enhanced.
3. Commander-style (ring) hammer on pre-Enhanced, skeletonized hammer on Enhanced.
4. Narrow grip safety on pre-Enhanced, downturned beavertail grip safety on Enhanced.
Another difference is the top of the slide; on the pre-Enhanced models, the top of the slide is rounded. On the Enhanced models, it has a clearly flattened top. Most pre-Enhanced and all Enhanced versions of the Delta Elite have the modified frame design noted earlier. Functionally, there is really no difference between the pre-Enhanced and Enhanced models; choosing between the two is largely a matter of personal preference. There is also a Delta Gold Cup version with the standard Gold Cup trigger and adjustable sights. Colt also made many limited-production variants of the Delta Elite, such as the Elite Match 10, Combat Delta 10, Ultra 10, Elite 10/40, Delta 10, and so forth. These should be considered mildly collectable oddities.
Figure 9: pre-Enhanced Delta Elite (left) and Enhanced Delta Elite (right).
