Colt Defender Overview

In the 1970\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s, Colt realized that there was a market in producing smaller sized versions of the company\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s ever popular 1911 model. The most compact of these was the Colt Defender. With a 3\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" barrel and an overall length of just 6.75 inches, the Defender was on the cutting edge of development. By taking all of the attributes that made the standard size 1911 so desireable, and converting them into a smaller pistol, Colt once again had struck firearm gold.



From as far back as 1948, Colt had been perfecting the use of lightweight aluminum alloy as a material for frames, so the frame on the Defender wasn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t a great challenge for Colt. One of the problems, in the 1970\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s, that manufacturer’s did experience was called “galling”. Galling is where the stainless steel frames and slides on pistols sometimes had issues mating. When Colt married the stainless slide with an aluminum frame, galling wasn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t an issue. To further insure the smooth cycling of the slide, Colt was able to incorporate a Teflon coating on the frame of the Defender. Not only did this help to make the aluminum more wear resistant, but it made the slide glide effortlessly on the frame. This made it one of the most efficient sub-compact 1911 pistols on the market.



The Colt Defender is perfect for defensive carry, and flaunts amenities that make it the gold standard. Amenities such as the Novak low profile white 3-dot sights, a beveled magazine well for swift reloading, a skeletonized aluminum trigger, an enhanced hammer, a flare and lowered ejection port, and an upswept beavertail safety top the list. The wrap-around Hogue type rubber grips provide a solid, comfortable hold on the pistol.



Available in both the .45 ACP and the 9mm, there is virtually no real difference in the two guns

……...if you don’t count recoil. Both rounds are extremely manageable in this firearm of most excellent design. The .45 ACP has a 7 round capability, while the 9mm has an 8 round. The .45 ACP version weighs in at 24 ounces, and the 9mm version actually weighs 25 ounces. The overall length of this beautiful small frame 1911 style weapon, is 6.75 inches. You’ll only kick yourself later, if you settle for anything less than a Colt Defender.