Some now-banned dude dropped one of those perennial bits of internet wisdom in a thread:
Also the [Delta Elite] 10mm had a reputation for cracking the frame at the slide
stop hole. I saw one crack after only firing a 50rd box of Norma ammo.
Because bailing the
Titanic with a teacup is a hobby of mine, I had to reply.
Just in case anybody stumbles across this thread via search engine in
the future who isn't familiar with this issue, early Colt Deltas would
crack the frame rail above the slide stop cutout. This was no biggie,
since the slide stop cutout effectively stop-drilled the crack,
preventing it from propagating, but "zomg Delta Elites crack their
frames!" became such a staple of the gun store commando that Colt fixed
the problem by removing that section of frame rail.
Despite this fix being applied several years before the letters "www."
meant anything other than the "w" key on your IBM Selectric was stuck,
it somehow persists with guys like the one I'm quoting.
Oddly, they all talk about the "zomg Delta Elites crack their frames!"
thing, and yet none of 'em ever comment on the junky plastic recoil
spring guides they came with that disintegrated in short order under a
diet of Winchester Silvertips... Makes me wonder how many of them
actually had any time with the pistol in question. 
Sincerely,
A Recovering Delta Elitist
You know the saying "From my cold, dead hands"?
ReplyDeleteNot even then.
I love my Delta Elite, expensive boutique ammo and all.
I've got to say, if Internet & Gunshop Derpes was to become sentient and start posting, it would have been that dude.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had a first gen Delta Elite. Blued with the rubber wrap arounds. After about 1200 rounds the hole was not round anymore-but defenitely not cracked.
ReplyDelete"A Recovering Delta Elitist"
ReplyDeleteSublime irony alert!
Wow that brings back memories. I had a Delta Elite when they first came out, I couldn't hit sh-t with it. Traded it in for a Para P12.45 and never looked back.
ReplyDeleteJack
I'm an accidental elitist. One of my employees got ate up with 10mm magic bullet lust. When he lost interest he called me from a gunshop and asked if I would match their generous offer. As it turns out , I dig it. And it ain't perfect, so I feel no compunction about sending it out for a date with the dovetail cutter.
ReplyDeleteSo that's why my Series 80 Gold Cup has a portion of the frame cut away. Learn something new every day.
ReplyDeleteLots of 1911 makers did the same, getting rid of that section of rail. Doesn't seem to be a problem anywhere.
ReplyDeleteFunny, my 4 digit DE serial numbered Delta hasn't had any problems of the sort, even with close to 500 rds of Blazer 200gr down the pipe. Of course, the plastic rod had to go, but what's a piece of plastic here and there?
ReplyDeleteSome retard making a big deal of a common cosmetic problem. Delta Elites weren't the only 1911 frame with this minor issue.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, removing that section fixes it. So does internally radiusing the corners there. No corner, no crack.
Of course, no one mentioned the epidemic of cracked Lightweight Commander frames that kept right on ticking....
ReplyDeleteMy Ford pickup - and almost a majority of all Ford pickups in Texas and perhaps the world - have a somewhat similar stress release crack issue, wherein the windshield gets hit by a flying rock or heavy flying bug, then a harmless crack propagates slowly across the entire expanse of glass.
ReplyDeleteBased on the number of trucks I see daily driving with these stress release cracks, function of the pickup truck is not affected. Just like the Colt Elites.