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I've purposely never bought a high $$ over $500 firearm. This colt defender in .45 was my first and I followed advise that you cant spend too much to defend yourself. I had an issue in the parking lot after work today where I thought I might need to pull my CCW. Luckily I didnt, thankfully as well. I got home to unload and clean the gun and couldnt get the thumb safety down.

Turn out the pop rivets on the piece in front of the thumb safety on an $1000 retail gun have failed with less than 100 rounds of 160 grain through it. I am truly disapointed beyond words. I've run 1000's of rounds through Taurus's of all types and my Desert Eagle in .40 with NO problems. I've owned this weapon less than a month and its the most expensive weapon I own and I cant trust it.

Hopefully their customer service and repair is worth while. I will make updates as this goes forth. I expect to catch a little from the purists however this is no joke. If I would have needed that firearm it would have failed me.

If you're speaking of the plunger tube, it is just 'staked' into the frame.

Depending on how insistent you are that Colt fix it, you might want to see what a local smith will do it for.

If Colt won't pay shipping both ways, it may be cheaper to have the minor job done locally.

Hopefully their customer service and repair is worth while.

I swore off Colt's years ago after experiencing their warranty NON-service with a Mk IV Series 70 Government Model Jammamatic.

I hope you fare better than I did.

"with less than 100 rounds of 160 grain through it"

Sorry to hear of your problem with the Colt. But they all put out a lemon every now and then - some much more frequently than others. That's one of the reasons the bare bones minimun 200 rounds of "carry load" with zero malfunctions is recommended before risking one's life on it.

Don't feel lonesome though. I know of a local small town police chief who bought a "big name" .380 for off duty carry. And had been carrying it for several months without firing it whatsover before discovering that it would not go bang ...

Greybeard wrote:That's one of the reasons the bare bones minimun 200 rounds of "carry load" with zero malfunctions is recommended before risking one's life on it.

this may sound like a remedial question to some, but when you say "carry load", do you actually mean what you intend to carry in it or a similarly weighted/charged round? I can see actual carry ammo being expensive for this.

HooG19 wrote:

Greybeard wrote:That's one of the reasons the bare bones minimun 200 rounds of "carry load" with zero malfunctions is recommended before risking one's life on it.

this may sound like a remedial question to some, but when you say "carry load", do you actually mean what you intend to carry in it or a similarly weighted/charged round? I can see actual carry ammo being expensive for this.

Yes it "can" be expensive, however "carry load" is exactly that. Only then can you carry with faith in your weapon.