COLT DEFENDER 9MM 3 RASPBERRY SS 1 OF 300 - Stainless/Silver, 3" Barrel, 8+1 Rounds, Polymer Grips, 3-Dot Sights

For perspective of review, I am a 50-something non-professional petite female my preferred pistol is a full size 5" 1911 in 45acp (9mm being a close 2nd).
This Colt Defender is in a word beautiful. It has all of the features that I love in a 1911, the iron sights, easy-enough take down, easy cleaning, grip safety and the wonderful 1911 style trigger. The high-polished slide is a mirror finish and the pink raspberry frame just can't be captured in a photo. It is always an attention grabber at the range. I would not holster/concealed carry it because I would not want to mar the beautiful finish. It is not a safe-queen, I keep it in a well-padded sleeve in my range bag as it is joy to take to the range. I have better mechanically-speaking higher end manufactured pistols of this same barrel length, I still enjoy this Colt nearly as much. The short barrel makes for more muzzle rise and snappier recoil, which is why I prefer a full size pistol. That said, the recoil is still quite manageable even for us ladies. My groupings are good with this pistol, though they are not as good as I am with a longer barrel. My husband enjoys & often shoots it when we bring to the range, tho he is not a fan of the color as I am. Ladies will enjoy having this useful work of art in their collection. I am proud to have this stone cold beautiful Colt Defender in my collection & would buy it again. I give it 4 out of 5 stars, because I would prefer a 5" barrel version.