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Problem was, people tried to ''tune'' them and the surface is hard as "F" but the insides were soft and wore extremely quickly once the surface was cut into. It became known pretty quickly but ''gunsmiths'' and the owners still did it with poor results. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Quoted: There is a bit of that in there, the realization that the commercial market is offering up a great many options now at a lower price point. I'm cautiously optimistic on the Snake revolvers, but wonder how they'll build them to the levels they did in the past; all the hand fitting that was done is as much art as anything else. Time will tell... It became known pretty quickly but ''gunsmiths'' and the owners still did it with poor results. And, LOL @ all the Colt haters getting blue balled by the realization this has nothing to do with Colt halting sales to the civilian market because "feels". When you read something like this, it is always best to wait a day or two fort hings to shake out before going into orbit. |
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-labor-idUSKBN1VZ091
Now the UAW is on strike. Not sure if this impacts Colt |
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hmm, they said stopping "PRODUCTION" not sales. Kind of implies stopping one production line for a while. Then they can start producing and SELLING at a later date.
Now if they had said stopping "SALES" I might be somewhat concerned, maybe a little. |
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Colt is not cutting off civilian sales. They are refocusing production to fill LE / Military contracts:
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 View Quote |
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns".
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". View Quote Speculation on when they might resume production? Next time there's a panic? In other words, if Trump doesn't go retard anti-2A we might not see more Colt AR's until there's a sudden spike in demand nationwide due to a Dem president and Congress, for example? And to compete, would Colt reduce the quality of all their commercial offerings to that of the Expanse, for example? I have watched a few of smallarmssolutions' videos on YouTube about Colt and their trials and tribulations. He seems to think their retro rifles are overpriced and not 100% collectibly authentic, while Brownells hits the mark better and at a better price. That's very telling. For the 25+ years that I've been in and out of the AR collecting mode, I've found that "mostly" Colts hold their value better than other brands. Colts tend to appeal to those that just have to have the horsey on the side and may or may not grab the average shooter that just wants quality that will go bang. This move by Colt will make that true in spades, especially if they stay on the sidelines for a few years. In my past experience, if I had to thin the herd, the first thing I'd hear when trying to sell an AR was, "Is it a Colt?" But.....it's a different market now. The older guys that have to have the horsey are diminishing in number just due to age and attrition, I suspect. Why spend $900 on a Colt 6920 if you can get the same thing (in the mind of the buyer) for a little less money from PSA? Bottom line, and this is just my opinion: IF you have one or more Colts, keep them in mint condition and don't shoot them so that they retain or accrue in their value for the "collector" if you decide to sell, and buy a good quality shooter of another brand for your everyday use. The thing is: In the future you may find it a little more difficult to find a Colt "collector" than in the past. |
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Quoted: Yes. Speculation on when they might resume production? Next time there's a panic? In other words, if Trump doesn't go retard anti-2A we might not see more Colt AR's until there's a sudden spike in demand nationwide due to a Dem president and Congress, for example? And to compete, would Colt reduce the quality of all their commercial offerings to that of the Expanse, for example? I have watched a few of smallarmssolutions' videos on YouTube about Colt and their trials and tribulations. He seems to think their retro rifles are overpriced and not 100% collectibly authentic, while Brownells hits the mark better and at a better price. That's very telling. For the 25+ years that I've been in and out of the AR collecting mode, I've found that "mostly" Colts hold their value better than other brands. Colts tend to appeal to those that just have to have the horsey on the side and may or may not grab the average shooter that just wants quality that will go bang. This move by Colt will make that true in spades, especially if they stay on the sidelines for a few years. In my past experience, if I had to thin the herd, the first thing I'd hear when trying to sell an AR was, "Is it a Colt?" But.....it's a different market now. The older guys that have to have the horsey are diminishing in number just due to age and attrition, I suspect. Why spend $900 on a Colt 6920 if you can get the same thing (in the mind of the buyer) for a little less money from PSA? Bottom line, and this is just my opinion: IF you have one or more Colts, keep them in mint condition and don't shoot them so that they retain or accrue in their value for the "collector" if you decide to sell, and buy a good quality shooter of another brand for your everyday use. The thing is: In the future you may find it a little more difficult to find a Colt "collector" than in the past. View Quote The average buyer still gets a complete gun off the rack. But the prices for them are far less. Guns like the S&W Sport II or a PSA Freedom Line since they're usually $500 or less. The biggest buyer of factory builds I see right now though are government agencies due to standardization and quality requirements for liability purposes. A PD doesn't want to shoulder a AR going Kaboom because Officer Snuffy didn't assemble the AR right. They want the manufacturer to deal with that. I came up in the era of Colt or Bushmaster. Armalite was not even in my personal picture. It was factory built guns and that was it. It wasn't until the repeal of the Clinton AWB that I even got into assembling my own and the first one I dismantled was my Colt 6721. The only thing original on it is the upper and lower receivers. Everything else is different. But I still have a Colt SP1 along with a few Bushmaster Factory Built Guns and one S&W Sporter II. The rest of my ARs are home builds. |
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Local news hacks (CNN cooptees) Ran this article today as if it’s a win for the gun control crowd.
https://wnep.com/2019/09/19/colt-will-stop-making-ar-15-rifles-for-consumers/ |
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Well my SOCOM just increased in value https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/20856/6F2ED8B5-878E-452F-86FE-428672AE964C-760695.jpg View Quote |
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SOCOM? No M4A1 rollmark? View Quote To beat it all I also ‘think’ the box label will say 2013 Config https://www.ar15.com/forums/Industry/Colt-LE6920-SOCOM-14-5-PW-2017-Revision-/29-284172/?page=11 It’s Colts quirks that make collecting so much fun. The prices are already climbing on GB. As many have stated previously, AR15com is probably the most in the know on Industry issues and some of our guys are still posting new threads with bad info. Johnny Public probably has no idea of the truth. Either way I created a custom search on GB to watch the circus. It’s queried for Colt Semi Autos and listed by highest bid count (meaning they should sell) |
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Colt is not cutting off civilian sales. They are refocusing production to fill LE / Military contracts: https://www.colt.com/news/2630 View Quote |
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"Colt has been a stout supporter of the Second Amendment for over 180 years, remains so..."
That is absolute bullshit from the CEO. Colt voluntarily took off bayonet lugs, discontinued any model with a "CAR" stock, and only shipped with a 10-round magazine (among a couple of other things) in 1989 after the Purdey shooting in California. The 1989 "assault weapon" import ban had no effect on them but they bent over for the antigunners. Colt has been mismanaged for over 30 years and hasn't had a new designed handgun since then in their failed Double Eagle. If they would have brought back the Python and hired skilled gunsmiths to build it that alone could have been a huge boost to the company. They don't even make their own retro ARs - pathetic. Their long line of failure CEOs and presidents was never more evident as when around 1999, their new CEO was presented with a Colt pistol and his hands were visibly shaking - he had never held a gun before that. What a damn shame, it was a great company at one time. I got my first Colt in 1978, an AR-15 SP1. |
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Yes, but the media is spinning it like there will be no more AR15s on the civilian market at all. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Marketing ploy then. One article stated that "Colt was making a stand" by not selling to civilians Even non-gun folks recognize the name Colt and they're more than ready to believe articles like the one above Damage is being done. |
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http://soldiersystems.net/2019/09/20/despite-ending-civilian-carbine-sales-colt-still-in-the-game
Announced by the US Department of Defense for 19 September, 2019.
Colt’s Manufacturing Co. LLC, West Hartford, Connecticut, was awarded a $41,924,594 firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Federated States of Micronesia, Hungary, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Palau, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Tunisia) contract for production for the M4 and M4A1 carbines. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-19-D-0116). View Quote |
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So basically a lot of people owe TTAG an apology. The guy who sent the email deserves his job back and an apology. View Quote I'm waiting since I'm a writer for them and I've posted my articles here on Arfcom before I did on TTAG as a way of saying thanks to Arfcommers for being awesome. |
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http://soldiersystems.net/2019/09/20/despite-ending-civilian-carbine-sales-colt-still-in-the-game View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
http://soldiersystems.net/2019/09/20/despite-ending-civilian-carbine-sales-colt-still-in-the-game Announced by the US Department of Defense for 19 September, 2019.
Colt's Manufacturing Co. LLC, West Hartford, Connecticut, was awarded a $41,924,594 firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Federated States of Micronesia, Hungary, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Palau, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Tunisia) contract for production for the M4 and M4A1 carbines. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-19-D-0116). I've stated before that many in the industry pay lip service to the civilian market but their bread and butter is government sales and if given the choice. They throw civilians under the bus. Colt's past history has shown it. They're still under the same ownership since they were back in the 1990s. S&W has changed ownership since their last "fuck you". Ruger has too. |
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That could be interpreted as Colt showing their true colors (as other gun companies have done too) of chasing the all mighty government contract. I've stated before that many in the industry pay lip service to the civilian market but their bread and butter is government sales and if given the choice. They throw civilians under the bus. Colt's past history has shown it. They're still under the same ownership since they were back in the 1990s. S&W has changed ownership since their last "fuck you". Ruger has too. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
That could be interpreted as Colt showing their true colors (as other gun companies have done too) of chasing the all mighty government contract. I've stated before that many in the industry pay lip service to the civilian market but their bread and butter is government sales and if given the choice. They throw civilians under the bus. Colt's past history has shown it. They're still under the same ownership since they were back in the 1990s. S&W has changed ownership since their last "fuck you". Ruger has too. Colt’s Manufacturing Co. LLC, West Hartford, Connecticut, was awarded a $57,722,819 firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales (Jordan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Senegal, Tunisia and Pakistan) contract for procurement of up to 10,000 additional M4 and M4A1 5.56mm carbine rifles. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in West Hartford, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 20, 2019. Fiscal 2018 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $57,722,819 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-18-F-0115). |
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Colt is based in a state where they made law abiding citizens crimals over night.. Really? Lol.
I don't recall Colt standing up to be counted when the bureaucrats in Connecticut killed half their retail business in their own state. No, no, Wait colt is just trying to get ahead of the next nut job who decides to go off on the general public.. Colt can say hey we don't sell AR's to the general public anymore.. Sooooo, what if other firearms manufacturers start to follow suit. This could get really ugly in a hurry So how does that old adage go, where there is smoke there is fire.. I'm not buying it!!! |
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". That's why they're out of the civilian market. They can't compete. It's a shame because they have a really nice product. Colt is becoming a legacy product. They are choosing to not compete. |
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Couldn't agree more !!!!
But I just have this really bad taste in my mouth.. Its a real shame what has become of Samuel Colts company. I'm done with Colt, let them sell to whome ever they want, it use to be a free country, anyways live by the sward die by the sward. I will not buy another Colt !!!! |
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It's a simple fact that you can buy a quality rifle for way less then Colt's prices. They are still living in the 80's and 90's where they were the only game in town. I'd consider a Colt if they were priced competitively and or did LEO sales. Hell, regular retail prices on AR's are lower than the individual officer pricing available to me in Ohio. There's just no reason to buy Colt at a premium price any more. That's why they're out of the civilian market. They can't compete. It's a shame because they have a really nice product. Colt is becoming a legacy product. They are choosing to not compete. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". That's why they're out of the civilian market. They can't compete. It's a shame because they have a really nice product. Colt is becoming a legacy product. They are choosing to not compete. As a CEO would you lower your price to be competitive? If you said yes, what will you do when your 87,000 order government contract comes back at you and says, ‘Why are you charging us $800 and selling to Buds for $500? Colt has government CONTRACTS with several countries. Most government contracts have a ‘most favored’ clause. Basically you can’t charge more than your lowest pricing to other entities. Government procurement is a serious business with contractual repercussions. Again, If your the CEO what’s your play? Sell at $800 to contracts you have a PO in hand for? Lower all your pricing to $500 and sell to both contract and civilian markets. Every market has a price point. Recognizing your products price point is business 101. |
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Couldn't agree more !!!! But I just have this really bad taste in my mouth.. Its a real shame what has become of Samuel Colts company. I'm done with Colt, let them sell to whome ever they want, it use to be a free country, anyways live by the sward die by the sward. I will not buy another Colt !!!! View Quote "UPDATE: TTAG was able to speak directly with Paul Spitale, Senior Vice President of Colt's commercial business line. He confirmed the above. Colt has halted production of its commercial long guns lines and is focusing its manufacturing and sales on 1911s and revolvers. He also stressed that Colt has about 110 days of long gun inventory in its distribution network and if market conditions change down the road, they could revisit this decision." That is a shit ton of new merchandise sitting on shelves not being bought. |
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And their announcement just got all that inventory moving.......at a premium View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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So they are going to focus on lowest bidder contracts instead of selling high margin guns to idiots? Makes sense View Quote The market is absolutely flooded with ARs and the Trump Slump is real. Obama was America's best guns salesman in history. |
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". View Quote More power to them! |
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Let’s imagine for a moment Colt could produce and sell the 6920 for $500. As a CEO would you lower your price to be competitive? If you said yes, what will you do when your 87,000 order government contract comes back at you and says, ‘Why are you charging us $800 and selling to Buds for $500? Colt has government CONTRACTS with several countries. Most government contracts have a ‘most favored’ clause. Basically you can’t charge more than your lowest pricing to other entities. Government procurement is a serious business with contractual repercussions. Again, If your the CEO what’s your play? Sell at $800 to contracts you have a PO in hand for? Lower all your pricing to $500 and sell to both contract and civilian markets. Every market has a price point. Recognizing your products price point is business 101. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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They believe there adequate supply of MSRs and they admit that commercial manufacturers are pumping them out left and right along with fulfilling government contracts. I see that as corporate speak for "we're bowing out of the market for now, and we're going to make more 1911s and Wheel Guns". That's why they're out of the civilian market. They can't compete. It's a shame because they have a really nice product. Colt is becoming a legacy product. They are choosing to not compete. As a CEO would you lower your price to be competitive? If you said yes, what will you do when your 87,000 order government contract comes back at you and says, ‘Why are you charging us $800 and selling to Buds for $500? Colt has government CONTRACTS with several countries. Most government contracts have a ‘most favored’ clause. Basically you can’t charge more than your lowest pricing to other entities. Government procurement is a serious business with contractual repercussions. Again, If your the CEO what’s your play? Sell at $800 to contracts you have a PO in hand for? Lower all your pricing to $500 and sell to both contract and civilian markets. Every market has a price point. Recognizing your products price point is business 101. Bottom Line and I’m sure some government procurement officers can chime in..... One of the terms and conditions of the contract contain a ‘Most Favored Nation’ clause. Ignore the word Nation as it has nothing in contexts of being a foreign nation. It’s just ‘contract speak’. Basically if you are caught selling your product at a lower price, you will be subject to fines, sum of the differential per unit AND can be barred from doing any and all business with the US Gov! Nobody risks that. So let’s say we believe, Colt had $xxx,000,000 in purchase orders allowing their lines to operate for 3 years. They have to lower their price to the government $300 to compete commercially $500 AR. (random numbers but as the price increase it just makes the proposition stronger). To lower their price to the commercial market $300 a rifle you would then need to retroactively lower their $800 AR for existing orders. Again, Business 101. You don’t mess around with government contracts! In fact I would wager, the cost of the rifle to the government, dictates the cost to the public !. If Colt sells $800 rifle to Uncle Sam they must sell it to others for at least $800. And that’s why they are not price competitive. I have no insider information, this is my ponderings, but I do know government contracting from a ‘sellers’ point of view. But in the end, it’s a corporate secret regulated by yet another law (Sarbains Oxley) that making the real answer public would be market manipulation Hating a company, (not directed at any ARFr) who has survived 180 years by arming our military is a sad day for me. By hook or by crook, surviving 180 years and fending off buyout rapists and 87 others challenges of 180 MF years is success by definition period. |
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New article out on the Colt ‘foolishness’. Answers a few questions but an important point I copied below will effect AR-15 Military Classics” series. If so, GOOD NEWS for collectors and Cloners.
Full article at link. The Keefe Report: Colt’s Mfg. and Foolishness Turns out it is not all Colt rifles that are suspended, either. I reached out to Spitale because I was very concerned about Colt’s “AR-15 Military Classics” series. They made a very special XM177E2 for my dear friend and hero Major John L. Plaster, USAR (Ret.), replicating the gun and serial number he carried as a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam—in semi-automatic only, of course. Spitale assures me that those guns, although pricey, are still available. And they have no plans to discontinue them. |
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Arfcommer on another board has a used one for $2100. Hilarious that he’s too chicken to use his actual name like he does in his other ads. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
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This thread inspired me to dig a few out of the safe. Nothing too exotic, just a SP6920 sporter/M4 marked and a couple of SP-1s. Not pictured is a restricted marked LE6920. Wish I had bought a SOCOM and a 6520.
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hmm, they said stopping "PRODUCTION" not sales. Kind of implies stopping one production line for a while. Then they can start producing and SELLING at a later date. Now if they had said stopping "SALES" I might be somewhat concerned, maybe a little. View Quote |
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