Finally - acqured a Delta Elite

[sw.sharpe]

Have been looking and waiting for 2 years for a Delta Elite to round out my collection of 10mm handguns. Now have the Kimber, Dan Wesson, RIA and the Elite.

So the question is, why does the Elite have a dual recoil spring (inner and outer) and a cheap plastic guide rod? Are there issues with this setup or has this been reliable?

[The_Shadow]

Not sure about the recoil system, but the poor support at the chamber entrance has limited the use of upper end ammo.  Why do I say this, those who have used the higher impulse ammo have had not only bulged casings but some have ballooned out.


So just a heads up! 

[sw.sharpe]

Thanks for the heads up Shadow. I suspect that those bulges will not straighten out when I pass them through a resizing die 

[The_Shadow]

Had they been in a different make of brass (alloy or brittleness) they quite possibly could have torn apart and blown out.

I suspect that those bulges will not straighten out when I pass them through a resizing die 

No that brass is history!

There are loads being sold that are slightly reduced (For Delta Elite) to allow maximum loadings but safer use for the chamber design.

[danwe]

Congrats on your new Delta Elite sw.sharp. I've had one since 89 and they are good shooters. I'm still running the same dual recoil spring and polymer guide rod that came from the Colt factory. I was also skeptical about this setup when I first saw it ,but it has been very reliable. I believe that if its not broken don't try to fix it! As for the bulging brass, I've never seen that problem with mine. I've never shot any high pressure ammo through it , so I don't know about it. I've probably ran a couple thousand rounds through mine over the years with zero problems. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I've enjoyed mine.

[sw.sharpe]

Danwe- Thank you for the reassurance regarding reliability. I have put 50 rounds through the Delta Elite using "modest" reloads (180 grain bullet with 7.2 gains Autocomp) and have seen no evidence of case bulging. These reloads are probably at the low pressure end (~30,000 psi) of SAAMI maximum - 37,500 psi.

I have also read that the polymer (Delrin) recoil guide rod takes the majority of abuse so the that metal parts will last much longer. Makes sense to me now.

[Barry in IN]

I always thought the guide rod was probably a sacrificial part also.  It is by far the cheapest item that could get pounded to death. 

I remember some of the early tests in the 80s had this guide rod practically destroyed in testing, but they always seemed to last a long time in actual use.  This made me wonder if the guide rod material was changed to something a little tougher. 

[dakota1911]

I have shot several different flavors of commercial ammo through my Delta Gold Cup with no problems.   Although I have ordered a couple extra recoil assembly sets, including the guide rod, I note that Wolff lists a single 23 lb spring and notes use it with the regular guide rod.  I plan on trying that in the future.