The Demise of Colt??

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Doyle

New member
It's their own fault - again. This is the same company that said a few years ago that they didn't want to sell to the individual market - only government contracts. Now that government contracts are drying up they are in a world of hurt. Serves them right.
 
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BarryLee

New member
Colt has been suffering from bad management for several years, so regrettably this isn’t really a surprise. As for the other firearms companies you would hope they all realized the craziness of the last few years wouldn’t last. Also, due to recent election results it seems any future run on firearms is at least a few years away.

At this point the best thing for Colt might be bankruptcy and acquisition by another firearms manufacture. S&W/Colt anyone?
 
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BarryLee

New member
Serves them right.
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I don’t totally disagree with your statement, but keep in mind there are a lot of employees, stakeholders, and enthusiast that weren’t involved in those decisions.
 
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Doyle

New member
I don’t totally disagree with your statement, but keep in mind there are a lot of employees, stakeholders, and enthusiast that weren’t involved in those decisions.
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I agree about the employees. They shouldn't suffer because of bad management. I'm hoping BarryLee is right and some other company buys out their assets (including production lines).
 
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22-rimfire

New member
Not pleased by this article. Colt has depended on defense/military contracts for their bread and butter cash flow and when that shrinks, they have a problem. I hope they work this out.
 
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SPEMack618

New member
I hope Colt does find away to straighten this mess out; but, it is apparent that when they doubled down on defense contracts and shunned the private consumer, they made their bed.

There are dozens of companies that make AR- pattern rifles and Government Model clones, some better, some cheaper, some cheaper and better than Colt.

Paying for the pony doesn't get what it may once have.

That being said, I'd happily purchase a Colt M-45 if I could find one. Or the new Gold Cup, once again, if I could find one.

I did purchase a Colt AR-, but only to replicate what I carried in the Sandbox.
 
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madmo44mag

New member
Not a good thing but the firearms market is not what it was 10 years ago.
There is a large number of smaller manufacturers seeking government contracts and some winning those contracts for specialized arms.
Colt has tried to live on it's reputation (To Big To Fail Mentality)
Also there has been an up-swing in guns from outside the US they are having to compete with.
I hope they make it, we will see.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
Several years?

Colt was going through this exact same mess in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and for many of the same reasons.

They've either ignored, or paid faint lip service, to the civilian market in the United States for decades, and they've never learned, just repeated the same mistakes.

When the Wonder9 phase kicked off in the United States, it put a major crimp in Colts 1911 sales, and they didn't have anything to sell.

Their two hurry-up choices were the Double Eagle and the AA 2000, both of which were fiascos.
 
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madmo44mag

New member
I agree Mike.

They depended on the government and old models to keep them afloat.
Now the government is cutting back plus the amount of competition in the civilian market they theft themselves hanging in the tree so to speak.
I honestly believe they felt they are to big to fail.
They put all their eggs in the government basket and that basket just kept getting smaller and smaller.
 
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Machineguntony

New member
If Colt needs money, I hope they bring back the snake guns: the Python, King Cobra, Grizzly (it counts as a snake gun because it's just a nicer King Cobra), Cobra, and the Anaconda.

I hope they make them expensive to ensure their rarity and collector's value.

I just love the Colt revolvers.

If Colt does go bankrupt, it would probably just be a Chapter 11. The Colt name is too valuable to die in Chapter 7.
 
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TMD

New member
Never understood all the praise for their AR's just because they had a military contract. After 20 years of service one thing I've learned is low bidder isn't necessarily the best quality. I've owned dozens of AR's and even a Colt or two. I've since of the last few years narrowed down that collection and they were the first to go. Personally they were no more reliable, accurate, or better built than dozens of other makers for several hundred less. Must be the fancy logo that enhances its value.
 
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4 Paws

New member
Can't be true. I just read on the internet the other day that the production of the Colt Python is right around the corner ;)
 
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C7AR15

New member
Hire Ron Coburn

Ron Coburn turned Savage arms around after a decade of great decisions.
I mean look at Savage now.

It really is a shame Colt with its 1911 pistol could have kept going and modifying that 1 gun and built an Empire.

I won't even mention the best looking revolver ever made Colt Python

Sure hope it gets turned around, JD
 
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Doyle

New member
I hope they bring back the snake guns
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I really don't think that is possible. Those guns were prohibitively expensive to make decades ago - even before the rise in the cost of union labor. The skill to make them evolved in those workers over decades. That skill set has long gone. To reacquire it and produce those revolvers with the same kind of precision today would take way more money than Colt has to spend.
 
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