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.
SEE ALSO: Mammoth Gun Control Bill Reveals Dems’ Agenda If They Secure White House
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
Very sad! I WAS excited about the new Python! Then I read THIS, showing that Colt has surrendered too the anti-American, gun-hating loud-mouths! “Saturated Market”!? MY SWEET AUNT! “Can’t keep up with production – with gov. contracts”! Do they really think we are THAT stupid out here?? I don’t know WHAT they think they are accomplishing with this B.S., but I can tell them what I KNOW they are doing! SALES JUST WENT DOWWWWWNNNNNNN!
So Colt folded under the same pressure your senators and representatives will. Here’s the rub, every time some gun manufacturer, or corporate giant caves under political pressure we all jump on our favorite Pro Gun/2nd Amendment website, social media sites and vent about how our Target of the Day didn’t stand up to their prospective pressure. But, how many of YOU have called/written to your Representatives when a new anti 2nd Amendment wave sweeps the Country? Very damned few of you…. So take your anger, rage, sense of American pride and contact your Representatives and make your feelings known until their Staff knows your name by heart! Otherwise you are just part of the problem. And save your time reply/telling me how much you do for the 2nd Amendment, if you all do half as much as you think we would not have the hairbrains in Office who keep putting our 2nd Amendment Rights in danger.
What a cowardly response. Colt obviously thinks that the public they serve and who buys their product is as stupid as the public they are submitting to is ignorant.
I think I will exercise my right to vote (with my wallet) and I will stop purchasing their products as I will not support a company that makes a political decision to suborn the Constitution and then thinks that making it about money makes it okay.
I am sure those that or founding fathers and those that have sacrificed for our country and what it stands for will understand,… NOT!!
I will never buy another Colt as long as I live
All they are doing is tipping the scales in favor of big brother. As if the scales weren’t already tipping that way. America will soon be a dictatorship run by extreme leftists “democrats” socialists. We will have no guns and no way to rebel or revolt. It will be a sad day when freedom dies. Half of the constitution has already been destroyed. We have enemies within our government. Our forefathers would have already revolted but this snowflake generation will watch freedom slip away into the fog that was America.
Sounds like cop out to me. If it wasn’t for Gov’t contracts, Colt would have folded long ago.
I am not buying the business decision angle. If the AR market is saturated why would it tax Colt’s manufacturing capacity to meet the reduced retail demand for Colt ARs? Also, if they were unable to keep up with demand, why make a public announcement that you are exiting that market? Why not just let dealers run out of stock? It’s a common occurrence in the firearms business.
No, I see a pathetic attempt to pander to the gun controllers and yet try to keep from offending the gun buying community. No more Colts of any type for me.
Can Colt survive without the goodwill of the retail market? Many of those wholesale, institutional contracts are dependent upon people who had goodwill towards Colt as retail purchasers. It is fanciful thinking of Dennis Veilleux, President, and Chief Executive Officer, to believe that institutional contracts won’t be affected. Especially given the circumstances: Colt hasn’t manufactured in years contracting out to others and branding them Colt. Colt was a branding proposition in the retail market, not a manufacturer. So why give up the retail market with Veilleux’s veneered lie of production capacity choke point? Methinks Colt was pressured to give up retail AR-15 sales in order to preserve their institutional sales. Yah, so much for commitment to the 2A. Very poor corporate stewardship of Colt Manufacturing. This move will affect sales for generations. Hear that “whooosh”? That’s the sound of millions jettisoning their Colt loyalty Mr. Veilleaux.
It’s simply a business decision. Although I will say the timing of this announcement could not have come at a worse time. Whoever released that statement should be fired. This same thing has happened a few times in the last 60 years. Colt gets a big contract, halts production of civilian arms. That’s why the snake guns went away. Colt finishes that contract and focuses back on civilian production. Like them or hate them that’s just the way it is. But it has nothing to do with politics. Just selling to the highest bidder. You know capitalism.
Wifes a wheelgun fan.was considering a cobra but i think ill go with a couple ruger lcrs! 2 is 1 and 1 is none. I might get 4 and make her a nice leather vest.
She runs snubs real good but hates autos
Colt hasn’t made an AR-15 in years, they contract them out. Anderson Manufacturing made hundreds of thousands with Colt’s name on them.
I’ll give Colt the benefit of the doubt on this one. The MSR market IS rather over-saturated right now. And many companies are underpricing what Colt can sell for. Don’t forget Colt originally brought the semi-auto AR to civilians, after equipping our military with M-16’s.
Colt has not yet decided to move their production facilities, as far as I know, to lower tax, lower labor cost, gun friendlier states in the south or other parts of the country, as most of their competitors have. That plus older less efficient factories has to be a factor in pricing. Looks to me like suspending AR production for now is only a business decision, not a sellout.
I’ll continue to build my own just to get what I want that being said I always thought colts of any model are way overpriced just due to the name alone
yes I think we have enough assault style rifles (and ‘pistols’) now and a lot of them are cheapos that Colt can’t compete with. Not enough of us gun nuts are willing to pay for the name and American made quality and salaries. I understand their decision and still support them. All my 1911’s are Colt.
What American made are you speaking of? Colt doesn’t make Civilian AR-15’s and as far as I know, has not for many years. Like many other manufacturers they contract them out, and pass the markup to the purchaser making their statements even sillier than they sound. Colt isn’t being honest and with the ease of finding information today, they will find loyalist don’t like being deceived by a Left appeasing Corporate giant no matter what their product is.
I had a bad feeling Colt would one day do this and that’s why I have always bought Rock River, better quality and less price for excellent performance.
Colt has priced themselves out of the civilian market. The competition is literally giving away AR15’s and Colt could not compete in price. Unfortunately people do not believe in buying quality like a Colt rather they buy the cheapest gun on the market and then bitch about shoddy workmanship and unreliability.
Unfortunately my FFL wasn’t able to figure out which “competition” you were referring to when you stated one of Colt’s competitors is giving away AR15’s? I’m certain anyone who would make such well informed statements about gun owners who cannot pay Colt prices would certainly know what “literally” means…..
Colt can kiss my ass, i will be trading my AR and my colt 1911 for another brand. I no longer want any colt product made by this sellout company in my collection. I’m ashamed i ever brought there product
Well you sold us out again colt. First you sold us out after the 1994 ban on semi-auto AR-15’s by still selling them to people without a flash hider or bayonet lug. Never again will I purchase another colt firearm. Besides, FN make a much better version anyway.
Goodbye! I won’t buy anymore… Sorry.
o-k,fuck colt,I’ll buy something different.
I remember when William Ruger told Tom Brokaw that, “No honest man needs more than 10 rounds in any gun.” He even sent a letter to every congressman urging them to pass a “high capacity magazine” ban. I didn’t buy a Ruger product for decades over that.
Seems we’ve got another Ruger on our hands.
If you live on the border of Mexico. You need 30 round clips and hand grenades. Drug cartels come in 20 at a time.
I read Colt’s official statement and initially OK, but then clicked on their rifle sales tab and noticed each model is showing ‘Out of Stock’. Colt has folded to the Liberal Left’s antigun agenda.
Remember what political correctness did for Smith & Wesson about 20 years ago? They barely survived. Maybe Colt’s next move is to sell their ownership to some Brits and complete their self-inflicted coup de gras.
Colt has always made bad business decisions. Always. Ever since Samuel Colt passed away. This will just cost them, again.
So you mean to tell me Colt making a big media spectacle about not selling ARs to citizens anymore has nothing to do with propaganda about “Assualt Rifles?” Cmon.
I absolutely love my Colt Le, was my first AR. Way over priced but great rifle. Didn’t they used to sell the Colt Le rifle at Walmart? Man sucks these big American companies are such little bitches now.
Way back when Colt betrayed us by selling only three round mags for the AR, I sold all my Colts and have not bought another. I have a long memory of those who betray us.
Seems like everyone and his grandmother are crafting AR-style rifles these days, in every price range.
So I’m going to accept Colt’s statement that’s it’s a business decision based on the market.
That’s capitalism, in case you Colt detractors have forgotten.
For me, having a Colt 1911, and a Colt single action revolver, gives me great satisfaction and sense of American history. They are high quality firearms and I love to own and shoot them.
I could not agree with your response more, level headed
Will never buy a Colt. Ever. This is a cave to the Hogg-warts that use the Bill of Rights for butt wipe.
It’s amazing how many people on this thread seem to think it is Colt’s or any other manufacturer’s responsibility to fall on the knife for the Second Amendment. That isn’t their responsibility. That is solely the responsibility of the gun owners. Instead of wasting time bitching about a business decision by a manufacturer, get off your asses and make sure your elected officials feel the pressure from you not to cave to the anti-gun crowd. Let’s bury the media narrative that only the NRA lobbyists can put pressure on politicians to oppose gun control. Take the opportunity to grow our ranks by winning over the undecided and even the bitterly opposed by introducing them to firearms. I’ve been able to convert a half dozen anti-gunners over the years by the simple expedient of taking them to a range. I have yet to find anybody who is truly anti-gun who has actually spent any time firing one; take the fear out of guns for them by letting them actually see what it is like to shoot.
Colt has a long history of poor business practice. Big military contracts are attractive since they guarantee a large volume and long term stability.
A reasonable company would increase production and act aggressively to compete for the consumer dollars against AR 15 rifles that are often much lower quality. Colt, however, doesn’t think like this, it’s either/or which is why Smith & Wesson dominates the revolver market and does make AR 15 type rifles. Then, when Colt loses the military contract it’s back to bankruptcy court.
The moral of the story is that they can be incompetent and not be anti-gun. They’ve proven this many times. If you want a Colt, and the quality is decent, and they happen to be making that model this year- go for it.
After reading the article I have to go and clean the bullsh_t off of my boots.
First they say “the market for MODERN SPORTING RIFLES has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity”
THEN THEY SAY that they are going to continue to sell to law enforcement and the military and that: Currently, these high-volume contracts are absorbing ALL of Colt’s manufacturing capacity for rifles.
IF ALL OF COLTS CAPACITY TO BUILD “SPORTING RIFLES” IS TAKEN UP BY THESE MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRACTS, why are they stating that the rifles have been over built and suggesting there is no PUBLIC MARKET.
IF THEY WERE BEING TRUTHFUL (or were good at lying) they would have said Currently, these high-volume contracts are absorbing ALL of Colt’s manufacturing capacity for rifles and we have to complete these contracts before we start building for the public again.
I SAY BULLSH_T
bullsh#t is what we get………..i will be getting rid of mine that should help with there manufacturing problem…….piss on ya…dk
It’s about time Colt started paying attention to the handgun market ! They lost it in the fifties and their going to have a hard time getting it back from S&W , Kimber, Sig and all the rest who jumped in when their mindset went to only the military ! Jims Gun Shop, a dealer for over fifty years !!!
So Colt decides to not sell the public an AR of their manufacture… Well I will choose to not buy a Colt made handgun… Colt may make firearms…but it seems they are not on the publics side of the 2nd Amendment. Why should we support them if they won\’t support us??
I’m not buying Colt, they are dead to me
Charles – Colt, like most other manufacturers of ANY product, has limited capacity. Colt has been a provider of firearms to the military for many decades and, as a strong supporter of our military, has chosen to continue providing them with the highest-quality firearms. Diverting their sales from an over-saturated civilian market to the military makes good business sense and helps keep our military well armed. I don’t see this as abandoning the civilians and am sorry and surprised you do.
Spot-on, Mike. Seems to me that Colt will be happy to see us “civilians” as many Colt firearms as we’d like to buy. Has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. Has to do with business.
Sometimes I don’t understand the over-the-top, I’m never gonna’ … kneejerk responses that appear on this site.
I’m curious…How did you interpret “excess manufacturing capacity” as a lack of support by Colt for consumers? Do you grasp the idea of supply exceeding demand?
And nobody thinks that UAW had a hand in this?
Ever since Colt lost the contract to produce weapons for the military to FN they have turned a blind eye to civilian sales and law enforcement sales. I talked to their law enforcement rep at the Shot Show in Vegas a few years back on why they never produced a high capacity 1911. His reply was that law enforcement and civilian sales are miniscule compared to their military sales. I told him law enforcement has changed substantially and a 7 or 8 round 1911 was obsolete in todays law enforcement world. Everyone knows that Chip McCormick actually presented his high capacity polymer lower to Colt to see if they were interested in producing it and they were not, but that is a story for another day. I wish the best to a historical firearms company but in my view they need to change their way of thinking for marketing and sales. They are right though, there are a lot of companies producing a lot of AR-15s with great quality control and a lower market price then what they are selling theirs for.
Colt’s same argument could be applied to justify their discontinuing manufacture of 1911s and revolvers.
Now that Colt has shut down operations for AR15’s, maybe they can concentrate on bringing back the Colt Python. I would buy a “Quality” made Python
Back in the 80s-90s, Colt pulled the same thing with handguns (the dems/media were trying to ban handguns back then) with predictable results. People stopped buying Colt products. They didn’t learn their lesson.
That is absolute horseshit. Colt didn’t restrict sales of handguns in the 80s and 90s. They had substantial trouble making deliveries due to quality control issues as a result of a prolonged union strike. That is what killed their share of the market.
Colt’s biggest enterprise seems to be employing bankruptcy attorneys, as going out of business, seems to be a pattern for them. The “Real Colt” ended in 1989 when the parent, Colt Industries decided to sell their consumer firearms business, as they were concerned about their overall image as a corporation, etc.
Since that time, Colt has continued to struggle as a company, lacking vision, new products and a real sense of what they need to do to innovate and remain competitive. They have been saved by the various panics and some large government contracts in the past. Those days are over for them, as there are many other makers, offering better products at competitive prices.
The sad fact is today, the company is really just a name now, as most of the people and the production capability are simply gone. Other than maybe bolt carriers, the majority of “Colt” AR-15 production is parts bin products from other companies, with Colt doing assembly. The only exception is Colt Canada (Diemaco) who continues to make high quality, mil-spec firearms, which can not be imported in the United States for civilian sale. I suspect this is the real reason that no more civilian AR-15’s will be offered by Colt.
With all that said, what a poor time for a company like Colt to “Virtue Signal” to the world that they are cutting off civilian sales, whatever the true reason is. This hurts their customers and gives ammunition to the tyrants who wish to strip us of our God Given Natural Rights.
Wake up guys. Lest than 60 days ago the Military signed a contract to start buying Sig M400 to start replacing the Colt M4. Sig has their handgun business. Beat Glock bid by millions. Are losing money on ever gun the military buys. They make it up on the retail end. I’m sure the same is true on Modern Sporting Rifles. Get off Colts back. Their business model went south back in the early 1990’s. Corporate Greed got in the gun making business. Stupid Bastards do’t even know how load a gun.
Amen. You hit the nail on the head.
The colts I’ve owned and presently own are treasured. Only time will tell if this decision by colt is enemy created or economic. Whatever the case, we’ve been in a war and remain in a war with those who must destroy us if they are to achieve their sinister goal of a one party (red) America.
Colt now serving weak sauce. I’m ok with a darwinian survival of the fittest: (you’re out of business if you cannot compete). Basically they tell us point blank they’re getting outcompeted, we’ll add that it’s because they’re AR is technically subpar now & overpriced. And everyone smells the BS of political ‘timing’ here anyway.
So here’s what happens: Colt AR gets replaced by any other brand AR. Colt SAA replaced by modern metallurgical replicas, many from Italy. Ruger is chewed into Colt’s mkt share for a long time. Why would I respect a cowardly loser? My .38 and .45LC open-top conversions are Cimarron imports from Italy, I can shoot them all day, while I wouldn’t try to shoot a 150yr old colt original museum piece.
Colt can go under! So should poorly performing airlines and automakers. No govt bailouts! Let a natural die-off actually happen.
Colt makes a decision to not sell AR’s to the public and people freak out. Spouting 2nd amendment, boycott, with opinions about the future of Colt. There’s plenty of AR’s out there if you want one. It’s over people. The larger number of citizens in this country don’t want these types of weapons manufactured and sold here. It’s just a matter of time now. Oh, the 2nd amendment will still be on the books but, not for assault style rifles. There not coming to get what you already got. There could be restrictions on private sales? It’s a socio political issue now….
Traitor!
I won’t argue with you, John. But only because I favor weapons that make the AR platform look anemic. No doubt your prophecy will come true if the liberals capture all the marbles again, and stack SCOTUS.
Moron, AR does not stand for assault rifle. An assault rifle is a select fire weapon capable of multi or continuous round fire. And if you think the 2A will read except for an AR style, how long before the other Amendments are modified further reducing our Constitution to just worthless paper.
Yeah after they criminalize ARs they won’t do the same to Handguns or any other modern firearm. Right?
@MDinKS, you are so far off base that nobody wants an AR style rifle. The AR is no more an assault rifle than any other. Easily fooled people like you believe the lies being spewed by the demonrats in this country and their lapdogs in the media. Get a clue
Large number of citizens my ass. It is the Leftist media that floats this falsehood that a majority of U.S. Voters supports Any Ban on the 2nd. Keep burning and looting this year and see how media will spin Trump/Pence 2020 win into a “Republican Administration rigged vote for Trump win” and set their little groups of SJW, Anarchists and BML Looters loose on major urban areas. Oh yes, a clear majority of voters (not the 3-5% that actually vote of that special 13% of population dems have been serving since 65) supports radical dem gun banning and hood rats burning & looting. You are a special kind of poster.
I have had a few colts in my life. They were all over priced. Sad to say that colt is caving into the anti gun crowd. I hope that colt goes under. There are companies who produce much higher quality firearms for less money.
Goodbye Colt.
I think Colt is actually being pretty truthful this time. Their rifles are good quality, but so are 50 other manufacturers out there. And Colt’s products are overpriced. The last half dozen rifles I have assembled, from good parts, cost me about $250 each. So my Colts stay NIB as potential collector’s items.
Agreed. I own no less than 3 AR platforms (maybe 4) in various calibers, not a Colt in the bunch and $439 is the most in one of them and MUCH less in each of the others….and I actually prefer the AK platform anyway.
Even in Colt’s handgun lines, they are over priced, and almost everybody out performs them in any price / platform / quality per $ comparison.
So….R.I.P. Colt, you weren’t killed off, you committed suicide.
Sorry to see you go. Your position shows your cowardice. I have no use for your company or your products. Not only is your rifle sub-par compared to your competitors, so is your 1911’s. I hope once your military contracts run out that that is the end of a formerly iconic brand. You haven’t done anything of merit in decades.History has passed you by while you have rested on your laurels. Samuel Colt must be spinning in his grave seing what you have done to his company.
“I have no use for your company or your products.” Well, duh, that would be the reason why they are halting production: They aren’t selling, They would be fools to continue to manufacture rifles they can’t sell.
I’m selling every Colt I own. The company has become political and gives up to easy to the PC of today. Shame with such a proud name and brand.
What Colts are you wanting to sell?
watcha got? I’m a buyer…
Great!! Send ’em to me. I’ve never lost a single dollar on any Colt I’ve ever owned, and trusted my life to one for over 30 years in law enforcement. I don’t understand everyone’s urgency to try to kill off an American firearms manufacturer, ESPECIALLY with no evidence whatsoever that Colt’s decision is anything but financial.
Any company that plays ball with the enemy loses my business. End of discussion, as far as I’m concerned.
Colt lies like a dog…. they bowed to same antigun sentiments couple decades ago and almost bankrupt them…. this time I hope it shuts their doors. They care less about our 2nd amendment rather just playing liberal politics rather then capitalisms. Government contracts are fickle and won’t butter their bread forever and just like before watch them come squirming back to public to bail them out again.
Colt and any other gum mtg. Needs to tell the government and media to take a hike. The gun is not the problem in America. It is the mental state of mind our people are in and
The non back bone politicians are in our government, The absent of real
Government figures just idots.
“Government figures just IDIOTS.”
Fixed it for you.
So which GUM manufacturer do you think isn’t supporting us? Wrigley? Hershey? ZOFT?
Colt LE series (AR-15) rifles have been “out of stock” for a long time. They have been at nearly 100% production for U.S. and overseas military for some time. And, it is being trounced by often better made “generics”, some of which have improved internal mechanics.
I can understand the business decision to do this, given the glut of ARs on the market from a huge number of manufacturers. After all, I can get a decent AR for not much more than $400, and can even make one of my own from an 80% lower. Colt’s press release was not pandering to liberals like many other virtue signalling companies (Dick’s comes to mind, as well as S&W back in the 1990’s), so I will give them a pass.
Kevin…. I been in this business a long time. Look at Colt’s history about 15+/- years ago when they pulled same stunt…. and was nothing more then pandering to the left…. almost shut them down.
This all makes perfect sense now. I just heard Beto O’Rourke recently joined the Colt board of directors.
Just stop buying any Colt Firearms. When they start losing business they will rethink this decision. I wonder if Bloomburg is an investor?
Not a loss!
Why pay a premium for a subpar rifle based on the fact they used to be the best manufacturer for the military?
Hell, ever companys like Ruger and Springfield are producing rifles of superiority!
“Mil spec” no longer equals “best”
Most companies have realized that a 1/8 twist, mid length gas system that is running anything other than phosphated parts is going to last longer and perform better!
Bullshit … For those of you old enough to remember, colt turned their back on the public sector during the ‘slick willie’ era because they were scared to death of getting sued and would no longer makes products for the public.
Screw colt … I hope they fold and go out of business!
Bullshit is right! They’re afraid of the Democratic hatred of these guns, and true, they’re really not competitive on the open market. And the market is down, because people have been loading up on these, especially during the Obama anti-gun years!
Very true. Pulled everything but SAA revolvers and years later limped back to the civilian market but behind the other ARs and 1911s since competition drives development.
C’mon, people… Knee jerk reactions and calls to boycott a gun manufacturer do nothing to help our collective cause and interests. I remember hearing over a year ago Colt was considering getting out of the consumer market temporarily to concentrate on LE and military contracts. If you want Colt to stay financially healthy enough to continue introducing new revolver lines, semi-auto pistols, and the like, take a moment to consider how difficult it is for them to make a profit on AR-15s, given the current glut of AR manufacturers.
Turning on each other is exactly what our opponents want.
Good point. I realize their action is financial, a business decision with no influence from the liberal gun grabbers. However, give them credit in this current democratic push on gun control, this move keeps them in the news because the liberals want to take credit and give them kudos. The bad part is the 2A community may snub them. They have a tough political battle every day located where they are in the country. There move away from civilian arms back in the 90’s was a disgrace however.
Stopped buying anything “Colt” when they went political and started putting the “sear block” in their AR15 receivers.
I AM A STRONG SECOND AMENDMENT SUPPORTER. I FEEL COLT MADE A WISE AND BRAVE BUSINESS DECISION.
Troll.
Ellen – I agree. The headline would be more accurate if it read, “…decision to divert production of rifles to the military market”. I don’t sit in the Colt Boardroom and don’t know what prompted this decision. However, I do agree that the AR market has become quite over-saturated and that the profit margins have to be very thin or non-existent.
Shifting the current production capabilities to a hungry military market makes very good business sense and help solidify its relationship with the military now and for the future.
Shush! If you yack you cant service the bloomberg unit!
How much is the lil Napoleon paying for working moms?
And isnt there a sammich needing made?….
I smell BS. why ? well first anyone who owns a colt ar15 knows that they use non standard size pins between the upper and lower… what does that mean? that all after market uppers and such don’t fit. this is why almost nobody buys colt ar’s to begin with . I have not seen one in ages … , so what is colt to do ? jump at the opportunity to get in the news and get support from the uneducated. Some people will go “Colt is trying to help our children by taking out the ar15 , my next gun purchase will be a Colt… while all along their sale of ar15’s to the public have been in the toilet for years ! Springfield Armory should do cart wheels about right now , their Saint line is a clear winner ! very well built ! nice try colt … but I don’t buy your BS, (or your guns )!
Back in ‘99, I got me a Colt Pocket Nine…then Colt sold out and got out of most (all?) handgun manufacturing for a while… that lil Pistol would have been a HUGE seller, just in the last few years have we seen single stack 9s in subcompact form going gangbusters.
Colt seems not to be able to read the market, and to be heavily influenced by political winds, but their actions will spawn new innovation from smaller and alternative companies.
Kel-Tec, Ruger, Sig, Kimber, they all have lil 9s on the market now, to fill the void. Maybe Colt should’ve just Pony’d up the license fee to Kahr??
Speaking of bullshit, since Colt owns the Technical Data Package for AR-patter rifles, where do you get the idea their take-down pins are non-standard? They define the standard.
I have seen several articles on this and the one that stuck was Colt reportedly also made a comment that the issue was the prices have dropped due to the ‘overabundance’ of MSR in the market. IMO all they are doing is driving a market for their over priced guns. ‘If they stop making them…. I MUST have one, no matter the price.’ Example: Python $2800.00
as a dealer maybe it’s about time to stop selling colt products
doing what they did hurts small dealers like me
not counting the fact there are many other companies making similar products just as good
they should remember dicks sporting and how well it worked for them!!
People are going to think what they want to think about Colt’s decision being announced in the current political climate. But they’ve been a household word in handguns since Sam’s little factory came out with their first mass-produced revolvers which, after a rocky start, became legendary as we all know. With everybody and their brother making me-too AR’s these days, as a bean counter I can see it being simply a business decision to concentrate their retail-market resources on what they’re best known for by consumers.
I’m actually surprised they stayed in the market that long. Every sku is money they have to keep up in production. Good budget rifles have been so heavily marketed that since the best gun salesman in history, Obama, left office lots of AR manufacturers have gone out of business. Many smaller boutique manufacturers are already gone or are being bought. The glut on the market is pushing everyone to lower profit margins. Colt is an inefficient company that can’t survive without high prices and since they aren’t as good as many others in their price brackets.
Easy there!!!! As a business they are just holding back on a model that the market is flooded with. Makes perfect sense. You can buy these black guns every where cheap. I dont even waste my time building them anymore. its cheaper to buy the whole thing. But I’m not a huge Colt fan either.
Cant believe colt sold us out I dont believe one word of their explanation for this . They caved in to the left . Boycott colt firearms now .
Well I wont be buying any of there products.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE! I was born and raised in Connecticut and unfortunately still live here. Growing up I was so proud of Colt and couldn’t wait to buy my own. Now I’m ashamed of them. I never thought that they would cave in to the leftist groups but that’s exactly what they did. I will NEVER purchase a Colt product again. I hope that the government pulls their contracts and that 2 Amendment loyalists will boycott Colt. Like they said themselves, there’s plenty of other HIGH QUALITY products to purchase. WE DONT NEED COLT! Let’s see if they need us.
You don’t have to boycott them…they’re doing a pretty good job of failing on their own, and have been for some time. Maybe they’ll sell the name to someone who actually WANTS to be in the firearms business….the Chinese???? Naaaaah!
Sorry to see colt buckle under the pressure another great company goes down the tubes what a shame
I have been a Colt fan since I was a little boy and I have several historic Colts in my collection. I have had only one problem with any Colt product in my life my Army issue Colt XM-16E1 rifle that nearly got me killed on 16 May 1966 in Vietnam. That foul mouthed Marine sergeant in waiting Gene Stoner became a friend and when I complained about my Colt XM16E1 rifle Gene gave me an extremely graphic and caustic commentary on the mating habits of McNamara’s Gang and the employee of the Springfield Armory an U.S.Army Ordnance Corps. The only reason I am still here is that I was carrying a Colt 1911A1 pistol that was older than I. By the time I walked back to the landing zone I had acquired five AK-47s from P.A.V.N. that is People’s Army of Vietnam to young kids who did not need them anymore my cut of the deal was a case of Jim Beam.I also met Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov and we joked that of course he knew what he was doing when he designed the AK-47 after all he was a sergeant not an officer.
And I thought that Colt was full of shit!
No more colt firearms for me. And selling any I have. Weak excuse.
Is this really true? Or is Colt caving in to pressure from the political left? The timing to suspend AR 15 production is suspect. I hope I’m wrong.
This is my thought on the matter as well.
It’s unfortunate timing that Colt would do this at this time, I consider it a risky business move on there part considering today’s political climate.
But on the other hand. The AR market is flooded with cheaper competition. And Colt has been known to drop product lines before, only to pick them up again at a later time when the market demands.
The jury is out, so to speak.
Sorry meant to say colt can keep there 1911.
What a crock colt has gave into the government they can keep there 911 and I hope all America’s don’t support colt at all
I don’t blame Colt for stopping production of their AR15’s, go to a gun show and see how many AR’s there are. The market is flooded. Colt makes one of the best and most expensive and it’s hard to complete against $400.00 rifles!
Colt can kiss my ass, i will be trading my AR and my colt 1911 for another brand. I no longer want any colt product made by this sellout company in my collection. I’m ashamed i ever brought there product
Interesting to see Colt talking out of both sides of their mouth. On the one hand they say they are a dedicated supporter of the second amendment and will also continue to build rifles for the police and military. On the other hand, they say that they will discontinue building them for the public. Does Colt understand what the second amendment is all about? I don’t think so.
From a business point of view, I can understand their position. There are too many low cost suppliers making their higher priced product uncompetitive. Police and military are a logical market at the present time.
A slap in the face to me. We as mere civilians are not worthy That’s exactly how I read their statement. I never owned a colt but used them in the military. I suppose I will never own one either.
Adequate supply? So what happened to actually creating new designs? Why not advance new rifle designs? Colt has been ran into the ground if ya ask me.
Colt is a great company and always has been. I am so glad they are going to continue to serve let’s make America great again.
Don’t think I’ve ever heard a publicly owned company say we’re happy only making so much money. Every other company I can think of would add production capacity if they were truly that busy and putting out that good of a product.
The BS flag is out of the pocket on this one.
That is the point. The margin is so slim on the AR15 it is hard to justify an investment that has a long payback period. The stock holders don’t want to see investment for break even, they want growth. I am sure the government contract has growth and high margin. Remember the $2,000 hammers? That is the point where you rationalize your product lines and manufacturing capacity.
Wow, am I the only one smelling BS here? Oh well Im going to share a secret, the Colt M4 I used in the service was a poorly fitted rattle trap. The 1991A1 I previously owned was the most inaccurate hand gun I’ve ever shot.
Good news, hopefully this will give them more time to make the Single Action Army, Series 70 Government Model and bring back the Python.
Bullshit!! I’m positive there’s more to it than what there telling us! And like always it will come out eventually, and now is not the time to abandon the people! I mean just think about it for one min. They kicked the general public to the curb for what? GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS!! To me that says everything I need to no.
It’s all about Legal Tender!!!
Colt stopping the manufacture of Civilian AR-15 should tell the mindless primitive anti gun dimwits that the AR-15 available to civilians is NOT the same as the Military or Police Version!!
It is NOT a True Assault Weapon!
By the way, there are literally dozens of other gun manufacturers that use the AR-15 platform for some of their long guns!
Not to Worry.
Translation: We have noticed that a bunch of other companies also build modern sporting rifles. Therefore, we are exiting the market for commercial sales.
We will build 1911s until we notice that a bunch of other companies build those, at which time we will also exit that market.
We at Colt continue to have nothing but contempt for “civilian” gun owners, and more so when we get a big government contract.
I agree with Shawn, Colt is making money from the gov`t and said to Hell with the civilian market. Well, the civilians will boycott Colt and they will eventually go away. I will personally never buy another Colt and I`m sure many others feel just like I do.
In other words Colt is kowtowing to the liberal left in this country and are too cowardly to stand up to the anti-gun crowd. Congratulations Colt, you have officially become a sellout to the liberal left.
I suspect the price of rifles left in retail supply chain and sales on the secondary market are going to go the way of venerable SAA and snake revolvers. Colt caved and their explanation is nothing but plausible logic.
Apparently Colt Canada is continuing to produce & sell to the Canadian market (& other markets open to them).
I see these prices going through the roof with what’s left in the supply chain and bringing a hefty premium on the secondary market. Sad day. I think Colt caved and rationalized it with a plausible statement.
Let’s see some more concealed carry revolvers.
Knives kill or is the person holding the knife?? Guns kill or is th the person holding it . Drunk drivers kill but is it the drug in him or his fault? Are you asking all drugs and alcohol be taken away or all cars taken away ?Where is common sense has it been taken away?
Colt will not allow Distributor sales to DEALERS (they require their Distributors to follow this policy) unless the Dealer is a Colt stocking dealer (minimum $5,000 order). This policy is hard for small Dealers to follow so Colt discriminates against the “mom & pop” gun stores.
Now they have decided that there are enough other AR manufacturers supplying civilians that they don’t need to. Talk about elitist! If they lost their military contracts they would come crying back to the civilians and wonder why no one wants to buy Colt….
They would slowly deflate like a soufflé. Then the government would have some senator up in arms that colt us threatening to close a plant in his neighborhood and they’ll magically get another contract.
Very glad to hear that Colt is a continuous manufacturing of great firearms I have several of my own and I have a concealed carry permit