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Colt - No more AR-15's


Isom Dart, SASS#8096

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Well here it comes. Colt's not making any more AR-15's for the civilian populace. For more info go to www.firearmdaily.com for full story. Try to do it today, topics change daily. Aaannd here it starts.

Isom

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Not the point. The point is that an original manufacturer of one of our (Cowboy Shooters) quintessential firearms (the Colt SAA) has capitulated and caved to the Left. Disgusting! 

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GUYS, guys, can I propose another scenario?  Colt’s AR15s are priced higher than most other suppliers, except for the “Expanse” models. So right now I am going to suggest 2 thoughts for your consideration?  1) Colt has an abundance of rifles already made and is now saying they aren’t going to make more, for now. And 2) usually when people hear that Colt is stopping production on a firearm, doesn’t that increase the desire by us to get that firearm before they are gone?

 

Colt isn’t capitulating, they are not increasing the inventory amounts of a rifle that is overpriced compared to other AR15 makers, and are starting to concentrate on firearms that the demand is high and that has no competition, Cobra & King Cobra, with a Python coming soon. 
 

IMHO

Nimble Fingers. 

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Misleading news - Colt is simply suspending sales of the AR to the civilian market at this time.

 

https://www.colt.com/news/2630

 

Published 09/19/2019

Company Response to Questions about Colt Participation in Consumer Markets

 

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (September 19th, 2019) – There have been numerous articles recently published about Colt’s participation in the commercial rifle market. Some of these articles have incorrectly stated or implied that Colt is not committed to the consumer market.  We want to assure you that Colt is committed to the Second Amendment, highly values its customers and continues to manufacture the world’s finest quality firearms for the consumer market. 

The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity. Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.  

On the other hand, our warfighters and law enforcement personnel continue to demand Colt rifles and we are fortunate enough to have been awarded significant military and law enforcement contracts.  Currently, these high-volume contracts are absorbing all of Colt’s manufacturing capacity for rifles.   Colt’s commitment to the consumer markets, however, is unwavering.  We continue to expand our network of dealers across the country and to supply them with expanding lines of the finest quality 1911s and revolvers.

At the end of the day, we believe it is good sense to follow consumer demand and to adjust as market dynamics change. Colt has been a stout supporter of the Second Amendment for over 180 years, remains so, and will continue to provide its customers with the finest quality firearms in the world.  

 

Very respectfully,

Dennis Veilleux, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

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Yes Colt has a high price but you get what you pay for! Colt uses better steel and alloy, better additives like vanadium (which help cool the barrel faster and better) Colt puts all bolts and barrels though test that others do not (others only test some of them)! Colt uses military specifications, other do not! Colt uses bolts capable of full auto, other do not! Colt cuts longer feed ramps, others do not! You need to compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges! I love my Colt 6920 and do not plain to let her go!

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Colt is going to concentrate on their law enforcement and military rifles. Obviously with all the low priced ARs out there it’s hard for them to compete. I wish them all the luck in the world. They’re NOT caving in to antigunners! It’s a business decision! Colt makes great firearms ‘

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1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

Colt is going to concentrate on their law enforcement and military rifles. Obviously with all the low priced ARs out there it’s hard for them to compete. I wish them all the luck in the world. They’re NOT caving in to antigunners! It’s a business decision! Colt makes great firearms

 

Yup - Beto ain't  getting my Colt AR15-A3 (6721)

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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Fellas, remember that Colt did this in the early 90's as well when they " voluntarily" suspended sales to the public the 1st time they caved to the liberal left agenda! That was the end of the line for Colt in my book as I sold off my SAA Colts and made a conscious decision to support firearms manufactures that were supporting the shooting PUBLIC!  Colt has been a long wretched business train wreck for decades and cares not one bit about the 2nd amendment as long as they can stay cozy with Uncle Sam/ Big Government.... IMO:mellow:

 

Yes I still own a Colt..... My 1st firearm I ever bought with my own money when I was a teenager. Sad for what they became and even more so to see how they sold out the American firearm owner!

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19 minutes ago, Captain Clark said:

Fellas, remember that Colt did this in the early 90's as well when they " voluntarily" suspended sales to the public the 1st time they caved to the liberal left agenda! That was the end of the line for Colt in my book as I sold off my SAA Colts and made a conscious decision to support firearms manufactures that were supporting the shooting PUBLIC!  Colt has been a long wretched business train wreck for decades and cares not one bit about the 2nd amendment as long as they can stay cozy with Uncle Sam/ Big Government.... IMO:mellow:

 

Yes I still own a Colt..... My 1st firearm I ever bought with my own money when I was a teenager. Sad for what they became and even more so to see how they sold out the American firearm owner!

I don't remember them "caving" to the libs, please refresh my memory. I bought my first two Colts in the early 90's, a 1911 and a SAA in .45!

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27 minutes ago, Captain Clark said:

Fellas, remember that Colt did this in the early 90's as well when they " voluntarily" suspended sales to the public the 1st time they caved to the liberal left agenda! That was the end of the line for Colt in my book as I sold off my SAA Colts and made a conscious decision to support firearms manufactures that were supporting the shooting PUBLIC!  Colt has been a long wretched business train wreck for decades and cares not one bit about the 2nd amendment as long as they can stay cozy with Uncle Sam/ Big Government.... IMO:mellow:

 

Yes I still own a Colt..... My 1st firearm I ever bought with my own money when I was a teenager. Sad for what they became and even more so to see how they sold out the American firearm owner!

 Well, if you are referring to the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban - it was a BAN. Colt continued to sell all other legally allowed firearms they manufactured.

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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They suspended sales of ARs to the public during the Bush administration. Your 1911 and SAA were not included in the mix. This was during the period of time that all " black rifles" we're first portrayed as the boogeyman. Colt was selective, guess they thought they knew what was good for free Americans.... Kinda like liberals IMO

Colt chose the easy route to suspend sales rather than upset the Feds , which are their target customer base!

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23 minutes ago, Captain Clark said:

They suspended sales of ARs to the public during the Bush administration. Your 1911 and SAA were not included in the mix. This was during the period of time that all " black rifles" we're first portrayed as the boogeyman. Colt was selective, guess they thought they knew what was good for free Americans.... Kinda like liberals IMO

Colt chose the easy route to suspend sales rather than upset the Feds , which are their target customer base!

 

Please share when they did that - from Wiki (which I know isn't always the best source...but...)

 

"Although the sale of new AR-15s was banned by the Federal Assault Weapons Ban from 1994 to 2004, Colt and others continued to sell legally compliant versions during that period"

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_AR-15

 

Couldn't find anything here:

 

https://thecoltar15resource.com/

 

https://www.ammoland.com/2016/04/ar-15-rifle-historical-time-line/

 

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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19 minutes ago, Captain Clark said:

 

Thanks! My uncle bought a new AR in '92 (my last year loving in his area - Longview TX). First time I fired that platform - loved it :D 

 

Maybe that was extra supply that the distributor or gun store had at the time.

 

Sure would like to know more since Bush ultimately did not support the ban (during his term).

 

GG ~ :FlagAm:

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If you read the linked story you will see the same liberal hand wringing being used by such notable rhinos Republicans like Bill Bennett that is used today by liberal leftist like Beto  and others.  The Colt voluntary ban was championed by the left and in the eyes of many led to the 1994 Ban.

 Ruger was steadfast in resisting the bans then, as they are now!:FlagAm:

 

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32 minutes ago, Captain Clark said:

If you read the linked story you will see the same liberal hand wringing being used by such notable rhinos Republicans like Bill Bennett that is used today by liberal leftist like Beto  and others.  The Colt voluntary ban was championed by the left and in the eyes of many led to the 1994 Ban.

 Ruger was steadfast in resisting the bans then, as they are now!:FlagAm:

 

The way I see it is since Colt had a big contract with the Feds it was trying to appease them in case the AWB went in to effect. Remember Bush said he would sign the AWB if it was put on his desk. It never made it to his desk and Colt then continued to sell civilian ARs. In my mind that does not make Colt anti gun! I will continue to support Colt. I recently bought a new King Cobra. Great gun, thanks Colt for making a great product !

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6 hours ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said:

GUYS, guys, can I propose another scenario?  Colt’s AR15s are priced higher than most other suppliers, except for the “Expanse” models. So right now I am going to suggest 2 thoughts for your consideration?  1) Colt has an abundance of rifles already made and is now saying they aren’t going to make more, for now. And 2) usually when people hear that Colt is stopping production on a firearm, doesn’t that increase the desire by us to get that firearm before they are gone?

 

Colt isn’t capitulating, they are not increasing the inventory amounts of a rifle that is overpriced compared to other AR15 makers, and are starting to concentrate on firearms that the demand is high and that has no competition, Cobra & King Cobra, with a Python coming soon. 
 

IMHO

Nimble Fingers. 

Pretty much nailed what I had read on the subject. They are not selling them to the public at this time to focus on fulfilling their government/military contracts. also they have a higher end item (their opinion?) and the market is flooded with pretty much the exact thing they were trying to sell. It's nothing new for them to stop producing/selling certain models. There's nothing to really be alarmed over in this instance. 

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Essentially Colt isn't competative in the civilian AR15 market - too many manufacturers of AR15's and AR10's that offer much more for the money. Colt is better off selling M4's to the government and focusing on revolvers for the civilian market where they don't have the competition. Seems like a business decision at it's base - did they virtue signal with the timing (maybe) but the left and the media are happy to spin this as a gun manufacturer foreswearing selling evil black rifles to the public no matter the reason. Colt did say this in no way means that they will not resume manufacturing them for the civilian market in the future. Mostly I don't think this either endears me to Colt nor does it turn me against them. Probably makes sense for Colt when it comes to their bottom line. 

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The previous Colt virtue signaling was when they publically announced discontinuing selling hand guns to the "people".  When they lost sales to the DOD to other mfg's they got back into selling hand guns to us serf's.  They were missing out on the Obazo handgun sales surge.  The 1st rifle I ever purchased is a 1999 Colt A2 HBAR Sporter.  I bought it before CA baned 1994 AWB compliant EBR's.  It is a tack driver with trigger equal to the Geissele single stage & two stage target triggers in two of my AR builds.  If the current Colt AR-15's have M-16 bolt carriers that is a change from the pre ban & ban AR's.  The Colt AR bolt carriers are machined so that if the lower has an auto sear trigger group the bolt carrier will not trip the auto sear.  Additionally besides not having the "auto" engraving on the lower the front take down pin is a special screw.

Whomever at Colt that made the decision to announce their terminating civilian sales should be escorted to the door by security.  The positive reaction by the gun grabbers ain't going to improve bottom line profits & will cost them sales of their handguns.  They would have been better-off keeping their mouth shut & turned down orders from distributors when inventory was gone.  Then the word would get out to the firearms community through the grapevine.

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2 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said:

The previous Colt virtue signaling was when they publically announced discontinuing selling hand guns to the "people".  When they lost sales to the DOD to other mfg's they got back into selling hand guns to us serf's.  They were missing out on the Obazo handgun sales surge.  The 1st rifle I ever purchased is a 1999 Colt A2 HBAR Sporter.  I bought it before CA baned 1994 AWB compliant EBR's.  It is a tack driver with trigger equal to the Geissele single stage & two stage target triggers in two of my AR builds.  If the current Colt AR-15's have M-16 bolt carriers that is a change from the pre ban & ban AR's.  The Colt AR bolt carriers are machined so that if the lower has an auto sear trigger group the bolt carrier will not trip the auto sear.  Additionally besides not having the "auto" engraving on the lower the front take down pin is a special screw.

Whomever at Colt that made the decision to announce their terminating civilian sales should be escorted to the door by security.  The positive reaction by the gun grabbers ain't going to improve bottom line profits & will cost them sales of their handguns.

When was that they announced not selling handguns to the "people"? I must have missed that! I've never had a problem buying a Colt except for SAA's and even then I managed to buy some. SASS was even selling them in the 90's, remember SASS Colts?

 

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1 minute ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When was that they announced not selling handguns to the "people"? I must have missed that! I've never had a problem buying a Colt except for SAA's and even then I managed to buy some. SASS was even selling them in the 90's, remember SASS Colts?

 

It was around the time that S&W's English owners inadvertently committed suicide when they signed an agreement with the HUD secretary who would later become the governor of NY.  In the time before social media the word wen across the US ten times in less than a week most firearms retailers canceled all their orders.  S&W shut down machining & assembly lines & the owners sold the company for a couple of bucks & percent of future profits. 

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10 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said:

It was around the time that S&W's English owners inadvertently committed suicide when they signed an agreement with the HUD secretary who would later become the governor of NY.  In the time before social media the word wen across the US ten times in less than a week most firearms retailers canceled all their orders.  S&W shut down machining & assembly lines & the owners sold the company for a couple of bucks & percent of future profits. 

Okay I must have missed that, it was a long time ago. I still love Colt and will continue to support them! Thanks for the info.

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6 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

Okay I must have missed that, it was a long time ago. I still love Colt and will continue to support them! Thanks for the info.

I must have missed that also.

 

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20 hours ago, Captain Clark said:

They suspended sales of ARs to the public during the Bush administration. Your 1911 and SAA were not included in the mix. This was during the period of time that all " black rifles" we're first portrayed as the boogeyman. Colt was selective, guess they thought they knew what was good for free Americans.... Kinda like liberals IMO

Colt chose the easy route to suspend sales rather than upset the Feds , which are their target customer base!

Possibly they had to deal with outside influence, their credit institutions dictating their product mix? 
Not saying that Colt hasn’t been mismanaged or misdirected lately just saying that they are trying to keep surviving!  

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Back in ‘94 when the “ban” went into effect there was a clause that went along with the ban allowing things in the pipeline to be made and sold as preban. Colt pushed out many ARs as preban.  But come 7 years later, when someone asked about a serial number, the reply was 1995.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Colt has not been our friend for more than 30 years. They pulled the AR 15 off the market before, then brought it back with a drilled out pin hole replaced with a screw. added a sear location block. That didn't work out for them. When they pulled them from the market it was to kiss up to the government. Shortly thereafter they lost a M 16 contract to Bushmaster. Then they lost another contract to FN. I would never own stock in a company that don't have a clue. They have lived on their name way too long. They haven't made a product I can't live without in the last 30+ years. I think the company is run by hillary's brother.

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I have owned 2 Colt firearms. A Colt Combat Government and a 1991A1. Both were fine weapons. I have never owned a Colt AR and never cared to. Too much money for what you get.

 

I noticed Colt only has the Cobra and the King Cobra on the California Gun Roster. No 1991s or any other handguns they make. 

 

I was in one LGS the other day and a guy rushes in asking about Colt ARs and of the store had any. The owner laughed and told him they never carried Colt ARs and gave him the name of another store. The guy was looking to buy up any he could find “because the price is gonna go up on these things.”

More power to him. I hope he finds what he’s looking for. 

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On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 9:35 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I was in one LGS the other day and a guy rushes in asking about Colt ARs and of the store had any. The owner laughed and told him they never carried Colt ARs and gave him the name of another store. The guy was looking to buy up any he could find “because the price is gonna go up on these things.”

More power to him. I hope he finds what he’s looking for. 

 

Just look on Gunbroker. Already sellers are trying to get $1500 or more for OEM-1 6920s. They're freakin' $700 U-builds, for cryin' out loud! :angry:

 

Another person wants $700 just for a stripped Colt lower receiver. :rolleyes:

.

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What Colt has done here is recognized that they can't compete in the market that exists today.  They have survived on govt. contracts for years because they can sell at the inflated prices that they demand to a wasteful defense department that can afford the extra expanse!!  So lang as they can underbid and oversell their "quality" to the government, they will survive.  If they ever decide to get off deep into the public market, they will have to lower their prices and produce products that are economically competitive with the other producers in the public marketplace.

 

I REALLY don't see any serious capitulation in their retreat from retail sales.

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