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AR15.COM
8/6/2015 8:36:55 PM EDT
I always wanted a Colt defender 9mm to use as a carry gun and my buddy bought one and brought it out to the range today. Well needless to say I'm glad I didn't buy one. It's very picky with ammo. We shot 4 different types of brass factory ammo and the only thing it would run was the hot +p stuff. FTEs and FTFs all day with all of the other stuff. Anyone else own one and what is you take on it?
8/6/2015 10:43:29 PM EDT
[#1]
I can't speak to the 9mm, I've been carrying a Colt Defender in .45acp for a number of years.



I'll never say that micro compacts are unreliable, but they do need a bit more breaking-in period than full size pistols.



Mine use to have problems with HP's other than GD's, a little polishing on the feed ramp solved that.



The recoil springs are stout because of the short length, until they break in a little, it can be a little finicky about ammo.



Just lubing it and shooting it more will solve most issues.




8/17/2015 3:32:47 PM EDT
[#2]
My Defender 9mm has been very agreeable with anything I've put through it except for some reloads that I was trying to find the minimum charge it would run at. That was my doing, of course.

I would say that greasing the slide rails and shooting a couple hundred rounds from it would be the best thing to bring a new one around.

These pistols are really quite simple. Close inspection and trouble shooting will yield a solution if you have any experience with 1911's.
9/23/2015 3:25:04 PM EDT
[#3]
I have a 45 Night Defender and a 9mm New Agent as far as 3" Colts go.  With either factory mags or Wilsons the 9mm New Agent has been good to go.  With full-size "generic" 9mm mags I have had some feeding issues, but with the Wilson or the (I'm assuming Checkmate) mags that came with it I've had zero problems.
10/17/2015 2:00:29 PM EDT
[#4]
In my opinion, grip becomes critical when shooting the 3" 1911 style guns. I had issues with my first short 1911 (Kimber) and I later realized that most of the problems were my fault and could be corrected. Once I got used to shooting it, the gun became quite dependable.
10/27/2015 8:27:59 AM EDT
[#5]
I have one and its been reliable with everything I've feed it (no +P rounds).

My only issue is with it ejecting brass straight back at my head. I've read that you can tweak the ejector to fix this, but I'm not confident in myself to do this.
2/14/2016 5:42:16 PM EDT
[#6]
Was it cleaned and lubed before shooting?
I've had 2 Defenders and 2 New Agents, all 100% no matter the ammo, and even with generic gi mags.
2/21/2016 2:47:06 PM EDT
[#7]
I have a 9mm new agent. So far hundreds of rounds of cheap steel case through it with no problems. Have run a couple of boxes of hydrashoks without problems also. The only issue I have with it was when I changed the slim factory grips to Crimson trace. Apparently the original bushings are proprietary and Colt no longer supports the new agent. I've been unable to find another set.
2/26/2016 2:55:25 PM EDT
[#8]
No problems with either my Agent or Defender.