I have concealed carry this pistol for years. Extremely reliable and accurate. Recoil is predictable and controllable. Federal hydro shock feeds well without a single issue ever.

i did carry a gold cup a long time ago. kind of big. i Have carried a Defender for years, love it. trigger pull 5lbs 1 oz.

I carry the m1911a1 compact which is the daddy to this. I prefer the extra weight and just thr history i have with it. Plus i got it for free so cant beat that

I have a new reverse two-tone Defender with the aluminum dull gray frame and black blued slide. I wish I had the older model like yours because I prefer the flat slide over the "new improved" tapered end personally. I should have bought one way back in the day, but I was and still am primarily a 5" Government guy. I had a Kimber Ultra Carry II Eclipse for a brief time around 2007-2008. It was a jam-a-matic and I got rid of it never trusting another 3" 1911 again until I got this one. Colt did it right and ironed out all the flaws so this little stubby runs and runs! The build quality and fit n finish is much better than the Kimber as well. Kimbers are full of MIM parts that aren't always fitted the best. Given the choice between the two for a 3" 1911 I would pick the Colt any day of the week! I started customizing mine to be unique and personal. I ordered a pair of the Hogue fancy hardwood (Pau Ferro) checkered finger groove grips to duplicate the rubber ones that originally came on older generation Defenders like yours. I also plan some Wilson Combat Bulletproof forged steel parts in the future as well. I may even send it in and let them do a 3.5# - 4# trigger job on it like my 5" CQBs I already own. Looks sick!! www.hogueinc.com/officers-model-pau-ferro-with-finger-grooves-checkered

I've had one for a few years, great gun. Save yourself the idiot scratch and buy the 1911 ultra tool. Makes reassemble easy without risk of the scratch

I cleaned 3 magazines for my Colt Defender last night and had to give it a much stouter push than normal in order to seat it in place with 7 rounds, one in the pipe. Thought at first it may have been a problem with just the one, but I'm experiencing it with all 3 mags. I've cleaned them several times over the years, but can't recall ever having this issue before. I don't want to experience a possible FTF, so I dropped them down to 6 rounds and they all seated easily as before. Think it's just going to take a few days for the springs to settle back in.

Take the advice from someone who actually did push up and have scratched 2 colts! Get a second person with a butter knife and have them depress the spring loaded safety plunger, then the slide stop goes in perfect! If u have a brand new gun and the spring loaded pin is not yet broke in, there is a real good chance it u simply push up on the slide stop to reinsert it the pin will not budge and the slide stop will ride up on to the frame and scratch it!

The spring can be compressed and held compressed with a wire tool or a kimber tool that can be purchased. Much easier to reassemble when the spring is assembled.

Had my .45 Defender for a couple years or so, works well so far on the range. Does not seem to like Sig Sauer rounds, had multiple jams... it likes various Fiocchi ammo though. My only issue is assembly, its a real pain to reassemble & easy to scuff side with idiot marks!

Good info. I'm wanting to get one of these Colt Defenders in 3", .45 ACP. However, I live in California. We'll see.

I love the grips. What kinda are they?

I’ve always wondered. If you don’t go in through the front of the barrel, why do you pull it back through the barrel?

Thanks sir

Out of the box, it’s a pretty good gun. A plastic trigger on a Colt? Trashy looking! Buy a Kimber trigger, and replace it! The recoil spring that came in it is Trash! Order the Kimber UC2 recoil assembly and replace it! Just for GPS, I replaced all the other springs with Kimber UC2 springs. NOW, my Defender works like “Butta”. It works like my Kimber Ultra Carry ii did out of the box. Complete the job by putting a set of Cocobolo grips on it, my Colt Defender came with them, but a nasty plastic trigger? Really? Do the work! It’s easy and fun and it will look and feel like the Kimber. Now that Colt and Kimber are a matched pair of thousand dollar guns. Thanks, Dave

Thank You for this Excellent and Informative Video. Not only was it very informative, but the Clarity and Audio were very easy to enjoy and very much appreciated. I've been running an HK USP Compact for the last 25 years and totally love it, but now I'm looking to go with an even smaller and slimmer profile for my business suits and growing waistline. Remarkably they are both 7+1, so I don't lose out what my rhythm has been, regarding ammo and tactical/combat reload. This video is even more informative and helpful to me due to the recoil spring difference from most 1911s. So now that I've Subscribed, and my Gunshop has just received my new Defender .45ACP, all I need now is a great holster for it. Do you know anyone who could help me with that??? lol ;-) (going to your website now) Also... any recommendations for a magazine Butt plate/cap that supports the little finger of the firing hand? Thanks Very Much for being Quality!

I just bought one & the thumb safety is very hard to engage will it get easier to use as I use it more?

In 1999 it came in 40. I have one.

is this gun reliable? i heard that barrel shorter than 4 inch are prone to malfunction.

Should have went the other way with the spring as well.

Great cleaning video but you should really be wearing proper PPE. Pretty harsh cleaning chemicals....

wow that cleaning section was way to long, ok if you're a newbie, but others it should have been a max of 5 minutes.

No oil? I watch the entire video to see how much oil to put in there, I am fucking angry.