Colt’s Delta Elite 10mm, a longtime favorite amongst combat pistol shooters, offers the power to hunt medium sized game with near .41 Mag ballistics in a legendary 1911 style pistol.

It was with a good bit of nostalgia that I put this pistol through its paces. Both the 10mm cartridge in general and 1911 pistols, particularly in this chambering, have been some of my favorites for years. There has been a 1911 pistol in 10mm in my collection for well over 10 years. Having grown very fond of the terminal ballistics of the cartridge, it was my favorite duty round for much of the latter years of my active law enforcement service.

After testing several pistols, the Colt Delta in one form or another always ended up in my holster. It was familiar, and despite their age the Delta Elites were always reliable, accurate, and comfortable to shoot—even with this round.

Colt maintains the characteristic markings on the slide, duplicating the design of the original.

Early on the 10mm was not all that popular in the mainstream, and many myths were floating around out there about the Delta Elite handguns. The idea that after a few rounds were fired the frames would crack was the most prevalent. Having put several thousand rounds of 10mm through several of these guns, I can confidently say that just never happened with me. Early on the choice in return springs was limited, but as new double springs, and even some of the one piece systems with graduated tension came out, that became a completely moot point. In most cases it was often someone putting a great deal of ammunition through the gun and never changing the springs out. Through several guns and tons of ammunition, that was never an issue for me.

Anyone familiar with this pistol will recognize the iconic Delta symbol in the rubber grips.