Not what I’d expect from Colt

[Acmemfg]

Brand new Delta Elite 1911 (10mm), about 100 rounds. Found these during cleaning. Not sure if Colt will correct this under warranty. Had the gun for 4 months.
No idea what’s going on with the outside of the barrel,(picture #1) funky weld with sub-par machining? Scratch in the rifling is another mystery.

 

[ColtRevolver]

That looks like a crack

 

[Whisky]

That looks like a crack

My initial thought as well.

 

[nortac]

No Bueno!

 

[Rob72]

Hmmm. If they're still doing 2 piece barrels, they didn't learn anything from their "issues" in the '80s.

Sorry you're experiencing that.

 

[Acmemfg]

Looking at it at 40x it does not seem to be a crack; ugly machining is my thought right now. The rifling scratch? Good question. Colt CS said unless it has an adverse affect on accuracy, don't worry about it. No need to send it to the factory .
Gonna prove interesting if I push for a warranty claim here.
For what it will cost to ship back to Colt, parts and labor..Nah.
I'll get it repaired locally with a Wilson (or similar) barrel.

 

[Lockback]

Looking at it at 40x it does not seem to be a crack; ugly machining is my thought right now. The rifling scratch? Good question. Colt CS said unless it has an adverse affect on accuracy, don't worry about it. No need to send it to the factory .
Gonna prove interesting if I push for a warranty claim here.
For what it will cost to ship back to Colt, parts and labor..Nah.
I'll get it repaired locally with a Wilson (or similar) barrel.

That's a shame.

 

[nortac]

I was going to suggest a Wilson barrel.

 

[Whisky]

Looking at it at 40x it does not seem to be a crack; ugly machining is my thought right now. The rifling scratch? Good question. Colt CS said unless it has an adverse affect on accuracy, don't worry about it. No need to send it to the factory .
Gonna prove interesting if I push for a warranty claim here.
For what it will cost to ship back to Colt, parts and labor..Nah.
I'll get it repaired locally with a Wilson (or similar) barrel.

I would respond to CS with, if this turns out to be a weak spot and you refuse to even look at it, what is my course of action if the barrel separates during firing and I’m injured? You have the pictures, hopefully you sent them to Colt, backing up that something was not right with the barrel. Was the defect/poor machining there before you fired it?

 

[Rob72]

I find the mark on the rifling concerning because of it's proximity to the external mark, but it may simply be bad finishing.

 

[Acmemfg]

Gonna have a local gunsmith take a look also. Got an RMA from Colt but you won’t believe the hoops involved to ship it and get it back.

 

[Acmemfg]

@nortac Wilson is exactly what I had in mind.

 

[Whisky]

@nortac Wilson is exactly what I had in mind.

In true B&B fashion you should still get the Wilson barrel even if Colt replaces the factory one.

 

[nortac]

Wilson barrels are very robust. Waaayy back in the day, I double charged a .45 ACP case with Bullseye powder. I had a Wilson barrel in my Springfield 1911 at the time. The resulting "detonation" sheared the locking lugs off of the Wilson barrel, but the barrel itself looked un-phased, no bulging chamber, etc. Of course I put another Wilson barrel in my 1911. I stopped using Bullseye except for .38 Spl. wad-cutter loads, and even then, triple checking the powder charge.

 

[jar_]

It's what I expect from Colt butt definitely not what I expect from CZ.

 

[Rob72]

It's what I expect from Colt butt definitely not what I expect from CZ.

Well, someone else DID say it...

With a 10mm DE, I would replace the bushing, as well as the barrel. You can crack a bushing, sometimes not the slide on many iterations of the 1911, but...

10mm is stout to say the least, and if they didn't change the design or tooling from the original runs, I would be inclined to use a Briley spherical bushing or the IGW bushing (Ingenious Gun Works).

 

[OkieStubble]

I have read quite a few forums on Colts storied history of quality and craftsmanship deteriorating compared to back in the day. But most of the QC issues I have read have been on their civilian side of AR manufacturing but not having any bearing on their military side of things? Very disappointing.

 

[Acmemfg]

Well....Colt has authorized a return for repair under warranty. Thats good. Shipping sadly will be tedious. FedEx won't accept a firearm for shipping unless it originates from an FFL holder and the local shops (even the one where I work) are hinky about that unless they transfer the gun to their inventory prior to shipping it to Colt. Hey, it's not my store.....
Then, when it is returned it will have to be turned over to "ANOTHER" FFL holder in TN for eventual delivery to me. Thats another $25-$40. Egad....
What a mess.
Probably going to see if GT Distributing in Chattanooga (from whom I purchased the Colt in the first place) can help out here.
In the meantime I'm still gonna look into just dropping a Wilson barrel in. Plan on visiting a local gunsmith later today.

 

[jar_]

Well....Colt has authorized a return for repair under warranty. Thats good. Shipping sadly will be tedious. FedEx won't accept a firearm for shipping unless it originates from an FFL holder and the local shops (even the one where I work) are hinky about that unless they transfer the gun to their inventory prior to shipping it to Colt. Hey, it's not my store.....
Then, when it is returned it will have to be turned over to "ANOTHER" FFL holder in TN for eventual delivery to me. Thats another $25-$40. Egad....
What a mess.
Probably going to see if GT Distributing in Chattanooga (from whom I purchased the Colt in the first place) can help out here.
In the meantime I'm still gonna look into just dropping a Wilson barrel in. Plan on visiting a local gunsmith later today.

FedEx does accept from at least this individual. I've shipped two back to a Mothership using FedEx directly. Dropped off at a local PostNet.

 

[jkingrph]

We have a local location of a chain called Going Postal, and I have had no problems with shipping via them. at least for air guns. I cannot even get a shipping label from UPS if I indicate that it is a gun. At this business I told them what it was, and she simply compared shipping cost from USPS, UPS, and Fedex, and compared shipping times for me to make the decision. Said firearms were no problem, just no handguns via USPS.