From the moment I knew my CCW permit was in the mail I knew exactly what I was going to carry, it had to be a Colt! Having owned several "original" colts I have grown to love the look of the prancing pony. I decided that my main carry gun would be a Colt Defender in 45 acp. At 22 oz empty and 6 3/4 long, I find it very easy to conceal in an IWB holster and with 7+1 rounds of 45 JHP I feel secure knowing the gun would do its job if so called on. My initial impression was that it was a very well made gun, very tight slide to frame fit and well balanced in the hand. The weight is very similar to that of most polymer frame guns I have handled. The only gripes I had were the hideous wrap around grips and the flat beavertail safety both of which I quickly replaced. My first range trip found it to be a very accurate gun for a 3" barrel and I found it to shoot big for a small lightweight gun. The sights, which are a low profile novak style sight, give a good sight picture. While the gun fed, fired and ejected every round with our fail it does occasionally throw the empty
HOT case straight back on my forehead. While the short action prohibits use of anything but jacketed bullets it has not had a single FTF or FTE.
Here it is out of the box
With the new grips and Wilson High ride beavertail
