# COLT REPORTEDLY TO STOP MAKING RIFLES FOR CONSUMER MARKET



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

*Colt Firearms has reportedly decided to cease AR-15 production *

https://www.guns.com/news/2019/09/16/colt-reportedly-to-stop-making-rifles-for-consumer-market

Was Colt really what people buy?

I like Daniel Defense


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

They are devoting all current production to military contracts until those obligations are met.
They are not stopping sales to the public permanently.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I wonder if the value of our two Colt ARs will increase because of this?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Cabin Fever said:


> I wonder if the value of our two Colt ARs will increase because of this?


They might increase a little if Colt doesn't make more, but I'd be surprised if that happens.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

Bearfootfarm said:


> They are devoting all current production to military contracts until those obligations are met.
> They are not stopping sales to the public permanently.


I have not seen where they said that.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I'm a big fan of the Colt AR's, own several of them.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

HDRider said:


> I have not seen where they said that.


https://www.militarytimes.com/off-d...tedly-out-of-the-civilian-rifle-game-for-now/



> Colt is reportedly out of the civilian rifle game — for now


"Colt moving away from selling ARs to civilians isn’t a sign that the company wants to stop selling guns to civilians altogether, however. Instead, the company will ramp up sales of pistols and revolvers, including its 1911 models, Cobra, King Cobra, and Single Action Army collectible series.

In a statement to NRA’s Shooting Illustrated, Colt’s senior vice president for commercial business, Paul Spitale, said that the civilian AR production cut was based on consumer feedback and a close analysis of the market’s ebbs and flows.

According to Spitale, rifles aren’t heavily favored by the civilian market, resulting in lower profit margins for Colt while the company continues to go full steam on producing rifles to fulfill outstanding military and law enforcement contracts.

*The move away from the civilian market isn’t permanent*, Spitale says, noting that the company would be willing to make a return to building and selling rifles to retail customers should the demand return and profit projections increase."


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## JeepHammer (May 12, 2015)

Fishindude said:


> I'm a big fan of the Colt AR's, own several of them.


The AR design is way out of patent, so many places making parts and rifles, if they can't make a profit producing a safe, well made rifle it's a business decision I understand...
Just a shame considering how much junk there is on the market.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

HDRider said:


> *Colt Firearms has reportedly decided to cease AR-15 production *
> 
> https://www.guns.com/news/2019/09/16/colt-reportedly-to-stop-making-rifles-for-consumer-market
> 
> ...


I bought my son a 6920. Good rifle.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Although Colt would never say, I wonder if ceasing production on the AR-15 has anything to do with possibly getting sued if one were to be used in a multiple shooting.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

it probably has more to do with the fact I can buy a 50 dollar lower at fleet farm with a different pony on it when I catch a sale $45, and assemble a rifle for half what colt gets for theirs and no target yet has been able to tell the difference as far as I can tell.

with every ones QA so high there is a lot of competition and that kind of competition makes it very low margin.

now a colt python to sell to Walking Dead fans , at 900 dollars for 3 pounds of steel there is still room for proffit. 

Colt has been in financial trouble before , following the money rather than continuing to make product that isn't selling well makes sense.


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> it probably has more to do with the fact I can buy a 50 dollar lower at fleet farm with a different pony on it when I catch a sale $45, and assemble a rifle for half what colt gets for theirs and no target yet has been able to tell the difference as far as I can tell.
> 
> with every ones QA so high there is a lot of competition and that kind of competition makes it very low margin.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately due to the handwork involved they'd lose money at that price....

I've owned 2 of them and still have my 6" "Ultimate Stainless" model which I've shot to the point it had to be re-timed about 10 years ago. That was a 6 month trip back and the trigger wasn't as nice as when I 1st bought it. There's just not many of the skilled folks around to work on them.

For a long time IF you wanted an AR15 that followed the TDP a Colt was actually the cheapest solution. That's no longer the case. While I believe they still make a quality rifle that goes through some pretty stringent QC IAW the TDP, other companies are making quality rifles cheaper. You often read on gun forums statements to the effect of "just as good as" when in fact AR15 "B" hasn't been MPI'd or shot-peened or the bolts are "batched checked" VS each and every one. etc. 

I believe it's purely a business decision and if it keeps the company going, I'm all for it.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

There is a lower demand for ARs than in the past so retail pricing has gone to about the cost to build them. Colt can't compete with the discount brands so they finally made a smart decision and cut back on things that don't sell.

Besides, most of their production is for government and law enforcement. Handguns are selling well in the civilian market so they are increasing those.

Jeff


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

The market is glutted with ARs
Colt just suspended production, they'll be back when the market comes back.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Cornhusker said:


> The market is glutted with ARs
> Colt just suspended production, they'll be back when the market comes back.


If I recall correctly, Colt either suspended revolver production or drastically reduced it as semi autos gained in popularity but are now beginning to increase production again as 6 shot wheel guns are beginning to gain popularity among those interested in the simplicity of function of revolvers as a home defense or concealed carry firearm and while not wanting double digit round capacity. prefer 6 rounds to the 5 most other revolver producers tend to offer.

A friend asked me once why I seldom carry a high capacity semi auto and prefer my 6 shooter and I told him the bulk and concealment factors are tops on my list but also if I had to use my weapon for self defense , odds are it would be a one on one short range situation and the first two or three shots at most would decide if I survive so for self defense a derringer would probably be enough but if it took 3 my revolver would fill the need and give me one "do over" if needed.

As we talked, he agreed that most self defense situations are one on one and even home invasions where we could grab the scatter gun aren't like a full scale war zone but maybe two fighting us on our home field so a 6 shooter and short barrel scatter gun are good basic self and home defense firearms.


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

I seem to recall that Colt announced several years ago that they were shifting away from focusing on consumer fire arms and focusing upon military and law enforcement guns. And then they failed to get Federal contracts.

Then they tried to move back into the consumer market.

Or did I just dream that?

Regardless, I predict more trouble ahead for a once great company.

Read this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt's_Manufacturing_Company#1980s–1990s

--------------------
_1980s–1990s
The 1980s were fairly good years for Colt, but the coming end of the Cold War would change all that. Colt had long left innovation in civilian firearms to their competitors, feeling that the handgun business could survive on their traditional revolver and M1911 designs. Instead, *Colt focused on the military market, where they held the primary contracts for production of rifles for the US military. This strategy dramatically failed for Colt through a series of events in the 1980s. In 1984, the U.S. military standardized on the Beretta 92F*. This was not much of a loss for Colt's current business, as M1911A1 production had stopped in 1945. Meanwhile, the military rifle business was growing because the U.S. military had a major demand for more upgraded M16s; the M16A2 model had just been adopted and the military needed hundreds of thousands of them.[54][55]

*In 1985, Colt's workers, members of the United Auto Workers went on strike for higher wages. This strike would ultimately last for five years, and was one of the longest-running labor strikes in American history.[56] With replacement workers running production, the quality of Colt's firearms began to decline. Dissatisfied with Colt's production, in 1988 the U.S. military awarded the contract for future M16 production to Fabrique Nationale*.[57]

Some criticized Colt's range of handgun products in the late 1980s as out of touch with the demands of the market, and their once-vaunted reputation for quality had suffered during the UAW strike. Colt's stable of double-action revolvers and single-action pistols was seen as old-fashioned by a marketplace that was captivated by the new generation of "wondernines" – high-capacity, 9×19mm Parabellum caliber handguns, as typified by the Glock 17. Realizing that the future of the company was at stake, labor and management agreed to end the strike in an arrangement that *resulted in Colt being sold to a group of private investors, the State of Connecticut, and the UAW itself.*[58]

The new Colt first attempted to address some of the demands of the market with the production in 1989 of the Double Eagle, a double-action pistol heavily based on the M1911 design, which was seen as an attempt to "modernize" the classic Browning design. Colt followed this up in 1992 with the Colt All American 2000, which was unlike any other handgun Colt had produced before—being a polymer-framed, rotary-bolt, 9×19mm handgun with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. It was designed by Reed Knight, with parts manufactured by outside vendors and assembled by Colt; *its execution was disastrous. Early models were plagued with inaccuracy and unreliability, and suffered from the poor publicity of a product recall. The product launch failed and production of the All American 2000 ended in 1994.[59][60] This series of events led to the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992.*[61]

In 1992, the creditors, state and shareholders enlisted the aid of turnaround specialist RC (Ron) Whitaker to overcome the bankruptcy challenge. He developed a new team to address the company's situation. In addition to creating a positive working relationship with the UAW to introduce new techniques like cellular manufacturing, operator quality assurance and single piece flow, they developed a renewed focus on product development. This resulted in the M4 carbine and Colt 22 pistol, two of the most successful new product offerings in the late 1990s, capturing 50% market shares in the first year of production.[citation needed]


M4 Carbine
*The 1990s brought the end of Cold War, which resulted in a large downturn for the entire defense industry. Colt was hit by this downturn, though it would be made worse later in the 1990s by a boycott by the shooting public in America.* In 1994, the assets of Colt were purchased by Zilkha & Co, a financial group owned by Donald Zilkha. It was speculated that Zilkha's financial backing of the company enabled Colt to begin winning back military contracts. In fact during the time period it won only one contract, the M4 carbine. However, the U.S. military had been purchasing Colt carbines for the past 30 years (See Colt Commando).[citation needed] *During a 1998 Washington Post interview, CEO Ron Stewart stated that he would favor a federal permit system with training and testing for gun ownership. This led to a massive grassroots boycott of Colt's products by gun stores and US gun owners.*[62]

*Zilkha replaced Stewart with Steven Sliwa and focused the remainder of Colt's handgun design efforts into "smart guns," a concept favored politically, but that had little interest or support among handgun owners or police departments.* This research never produced any meaningful results due to the limited technology at the time.[62] Colt announced the termination of its production of double-action revolvers in October 1999.[citation needed]

21st century
2002–Present
The boycott of Colt gradually faded out after William M. Keys, a retired U.S. Marine Lt. General, took the helm of the company in 2002. Keys salvaged Colt's reputation and brought Colt from the brink of bankruptcy to an international leader in Defense production.[62] In 2010 Gerald R. Dinkel replaced Keys as CEO of Colt Defense LLC, while Keys remained on the Board of Directors for Colt Defense.[63]

Colt has to compete with other companies that make M1911-style pistols such as Kimber and AR-15 rifles such as Bushmaster. Bushmaster has subsequently overtaken Colt in the number of AR-15s sold on the civilian market. Colt suffered a legal defeat in court when it sued Bushmaster for trademark infringement claiming that "M4" was a trademark that it owned. The judge ruled that since the term M4 is a generic designation that Colt does not specifically own, Colt had to pay monetary reimbursement to Bushmaster to recoup Bushmaster's legal fees. The M4 designation itself comes from the U.S. military designation system, whose terms are in the public domain.[55]


Modified Sport Rifle
Colt has entered in several US contracts with mixed results. For example, *Colt had an entry in the Advanced Combat Rifle (ACR) program of the 1980s, but along with other contestants failed to replace the M16A2. Colt and many other makers entered the US trials for a new pistol in the 1980s, though the Beretta entry would win and become the M9 Pistol. The Colt OHWS handgun was beaten by H&K for what became the MK23 SOCOM, it was lighter than the H&K entry but lost in performance. Colt did not get to compete for the XM8 since it was not an open competition. Colt is a likely entrant in any competition for a new US service rifle. Current M16 rifles have been made primarily by FN USA since 1988. However, Colt remained the sole source for M4 carbines for the US military. Under their license agreement with Colt, the US military could not legally award second-source production contracts for the M4 until July 1, 2009*.[55]

*Reorganization and mergers*_

_In a 2002 restructuring, Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc, spun off Colt Defense, LLC, to supply military, law enforcement and security markets.[64] Colt's Manufacturing Company itself become a subsidiary of New Colt Holding Corp, LLC. In 2013 Colt Defense acquired New Colt Holding Corp., in part to protect a licensing agreement set to expire in 2014, where Colt's Manufacturing sold sporting rifles marketed to consumers that were manufactured by Colt Defense.[2] This formed a single company to develop, manufacture and sell firearms under the Colt name for all markets for the first time since the 2003 completion of the restructuring.[65]

*Following persistent reliability problems, the reunited Colt lost its contract with the US military for M4 rifles in 2013*.[66] Parent company Colt Defense, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 15, 2015,[67] citing both assets and debts in the $100 million to $500 million range.[68] According to analysts, Colt's problems were due to the loss of the contract and low demand for its civilian handguns.[66] In January 2016, Colt announced that the bankruptcy court had approved its restructuring plan.[69][70]_


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

I once worked for a company called Coltec. It was the result of us spinning off Colt Firearms. Before we spun Dean Witter was our majority stockholder, and had a lot of influence over our Board and management. Colt had an incredible collection of firearms. Dean Witter sold that off, piece by piece.

DW went on to leverage Coltec 4x sales, which is high. BF Goodrich (post tires) acquired Coltec. United Technology now owns Goodrich (they dropped the BF part of the name).


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