ltwguns.com

"How to give an old horse new life"

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I promised this post a few weeks ago, but due to a few small difficulties, I had to delay it a bit. But... the time has come.

This Delta Elite started out as an internet deal gone wrong for me. I bought the gun from a ‘reputable’ seller over Guns America, and the gun was supposed to be an as new, flawless, pristine example of a good Delta Elite. Well, it was not, to say the very least. Already out a few hundred bucks more than I wanted to pay, I took it to my regular gunsmith, Dave Sams, to see what he could do. After laughing at me for quite a while, he settled down and took a good look at it. The gun was very rough both inside and out, the tolerances were terrible, and machine marks covered the entire gun. Pin holes were slightly out of spec, the frame rails were of different heights, widths, and depths, the disconnector slot was almost destroyed, and the feed ramp was way too deep. These were but a few flaws. Without getting into too much detail as to what Dave did to fix it, here’s a short list of the mods:

- BarSto C/P ramped Barrel & NM numbered bushing, flush crowned
- Brown strong side safety, BT grip safety, and smooth flat MSH, hand checkered at 30lpi
- AFTEC Extractor
- Greider Long Solid match trigger, pull set at 3lbs
- Original Colt Hammer beveled, relieved, and blued
- Flush cut pins
- High cut trigger guard and 30lpi front strap checkering
- Novak Lo Mount sights and dovetail serrated front sight, black
- FLGR with take down hole for ease of disassembly
- Beveled mag well
- Match slide to frame fit
- Hand made burled walnut grips with Delta escutcheon inserts
- Brown Hex mag catch lock and grip screws

Dave did an absolutely outstanding job with this entire gun. I feel terrible that he had to go through it, but he saved a Colt and gave me my first truly custom Delta. The grain in these grips is simply amazing, and the gun is now smooth as silk and screams “shoot me!”

Thank you for your time.

God Bless,
~Jim Keeney

My apologies for the background. It's a bit crazy on the eyes, but it's all I had at the time. I'm not at home and don't have access to much right now without taking a trip.

Before:








After:

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Jim,
Very nice indeed!!!
How about an 'after' shot of the disconnector cut-out at the inside, bottom rear of the slide?
As shown in pic #3.

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http://www.rogersprecision.com

Jim,
Great gun. I have never been really "into" Deltas but after your post I'm sort of getting the idea for one. The gun looks great and it sounds like you and Mr. Sams made it something special. Congrats. BTW, the grips look great. Let us know how it shoots!

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

Chuck,
I added two pictures of the slide and frame above for comparison. What I do know about the work he did on it is that no welding was involved. Dave didn't think it was necessary, as the machine marks could be smoothed out slightly and the dent and dings around the series 80 FP stop hole wouldn't be a problem since those parts were removed anyway. He straightened the outside of the disconnector raceway a bit, smoothed it as good as possible while maintaining proper dimensions, and ran with it. It still looks a little rough, but it is not bad, and definitely better than it was. The gun cycles smooth and locks up extremely tight.

BTW - Both the before and after pictures of the slide and frame were taken with a clean gun.

The biggest problem for Dave was getting the rails squared away so the slide sat in the center when it was peened and squeezed to fit. He said it took him almost twice as long as a "normal" Colt. He then went on to ask me why I even wanted a peened and squeezed Colt after he's built me so many Caspians. I told him my Caspians are great, and they do fit and feel better. I then went on a 30 minute rant about the allure of the Rampant Colt and the importance of having the Delta logo inset in the grips. I guess he realized that I'm just picky, weird, and anal like 99% of all the gun nuts out there... and returned to building my gun.

I have only had the chance to run about 50 rounds through it, but I will report as soon as I have an extended range session. I do know that Dave was getting sub 3" at 50yds from a rest with Federal 180gr Hydra Shoks when he cut he sights, so if that's an indicator...

Dave is an awesome builder to deal with. He's taken on every task I've given him and never batted an eye. This Delta was by far my most costly endeavor, but it was worth it in the end. Since a large majority of the parts were replaced, it cost a great deal. The only rip off was what I paid for the base gun. I just burns the hell out of me when one asshole gun seller does something to tarnish the usually outstanding manner in which gun owners deal and do business. Oh well.

Thanks for looking, and an even bigger THANK YOU to the craftsmen on this site, and all good gunsmiths, for putting up with guys like me on a regular basis. You guys make it all happen. Without your talents and patience, none of this would be possible.

God bless you all.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Mr. Bailey,
He got me, too. I've had a few 10mms, and several 1911s, but no 10mm 1911s. Now the wheels are turning.

Mr. Keenen,
That's a beauty.

Thanks for putting in the "before" pictures. It makes to work done even more impressive.

This gun is for sale.

http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/vie ... php?t=1584

Thanks for looking.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Dang, Jim, first Sean Smith wants to sell his Delta and now you want to sell yours! I'm getting my boots and heavy jacket out of the closet, there must be a heck of a snow storm coming in June!

BTW, glad to see you made it off of the roof.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

nice DE!why would some repuable dealer scam a hack job off as pristine origonal etc????the next question that comes to mind is why someone would hogg out a gun to start with?just to see how much a gun can take?nice rescue!

Scootdoo,

Believe it or not, the condition of this gun was just as it left the factory. It just started out as bad parts and got worse by whoever put it together. The rollmarks were very bad, frame lines uneven, and machine marks inside the slide deep and rough. It is better now, and I decided not to sell it. I'm getting Dave to finish the job by straightening the lines and adding the final cosmetic touches. I thought that it would be a waste of time and money if I let it go and sold it... need to finish what I started and make it "right." I have another Delta now that is much much better, and it. too, will soon go off to be worked on, but a bit less extreme.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

THATS JUST UNACEPTABLE FACTORY WORK.I m suprized colts manages to stay in business!again nice rescue!

Unfortunately when the Deltas were first released, Colts Mfg. was in the middle of an ongoing series of labor problems. The result more often than one wished, was some really sub-standard offerings coming from the Colt factory. I had one customer at the time who found so many things wrong with his Delta that I suggested he send it back to Colt for warranty work. They ended up replacing the entire gun for him it was so bad. Colt does seem to be really trying to put out a very nice product currently, and most of the Deltas I've seen other than the very early samples were much better pieces.

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com

ok i got to thinking.so i pulled my non enhanced DE out and striped her down.well at first i noticed swerls and machine marks on the underside of the slide like yours but lucky for me they were just light not nearly as bad as your picture shows .still i wasent impressed.i pulled the slide off my goverment mod and well nodda clean and smooth as a babys arrss.aand my kimber well needless to say it made my goverment model look ruff.o well

Scootdoo,

I have found the same thing in Colts, Springfields, Kimbers, and Dan Wessons. I have had Colts run the spectrum from horrible to outstanding, and I've seen Springfields that were loose & sloppy with bad finishes to my $400 WWII model that was tight as could be and extremely smooth and evenly finished. It's just the luck of the draw sometimes. My "new" Delta (still unmolested) is still not perfect, but a far cry from the roughness in the one posted here. I have a new series 80 and new series 70, both stainless, that are well finished, and the series 70 is about as tight as I like a stainless gun. With factory guns, the finished product depends on a few variables that are beyond the consumer's control: How recently was the tooling (cutters, dies, drills...) replaced/sharpened, how well the frame/slide/barrel tolerances match up, and how skilled or caring the assembler was. This is the reason I try not to get caught up in the game of buying only Colts or only Springfields, or only... I have a thing for trying to make decent current or neglected older guns like new or better. In all honesty, if I could own only one 1911, I would spec it on a Caspian frame and slide and never look back. But, chances are, someone would take a look at it and say "Where's the pony?" Sorry for the rant. I'll post new pics of this Delta when it's done and some of my other Colts when I get the chance and urge to dig them out of my storage vaults.

GOD Bless, and take care.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Definite nice save, love to see the results when a bad gun, becomes a good gun...

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-Matt (http://www.the-gunsmith.com)