Colt Halts Production of Long Guns for the Retail Market

[Cory]

There is a very large an active "clone" market amongst gun owners. People who seek to very accurately mimic military rifles (albeit usually semiauto). Colt rifles are understandably very popular for this. USGI M4s, M4A1s, M16A4, MK18, CQBRs and Mk12 Mod0, Mod1, ModH… and a lot of others... all normally based on Colts.

-Cory

Personal Rant starting.....

I want to say first and wholeheartedly that my vitriol is in no way, shape or form directed at you Cory but ........

....the only group of people I tend to collectively despise more than antigunners are friggin klone kiddies.... Cloning started as a way to use us old obsolete parts that you happened to have laying around in the morning bottom of your or your buddies parts bin....and then suddenly a bunch of assholes did asshole things and went full retard with it and are now paying stupid money for mostly stolen government property..... Nothing makes me vicariously happier than seeing another one of those Yahoo's caught by CID or NCIS and thrown in jail..... And believe me I see more than my fair share of them around Camp Lejuene... Many of them are current mil as well..... Which doublely blows my mind. Why you ask? Do not fret I'll explain below.

It's sad really.... Because most of them seem to think nothing of stealing shit from their supposed brothers armories to support their hobby..... And try to justify it by saying they paid taxes too...... Not only that, but they are putting their careers at risk over AR parts..... really?!!! It ain't that serious bro. You really want that special rifle... Go to selection and they will give you one....

I get that many consider cloning the new version of milsurp collecting but while some of it may be oldeparts that are no longer in service, much of those parts are still in use and most of it is stolen from armsrooms.... And DRMO DOES NOT SELL GUNS, GUN PARTS OR OPTICS IN A USEABLE CONDITION ON TO THE CIVILIAN MARKET....

When I have guys in my rifle company rocking BUIS as their primary day sights due to us having a shortage of RCO's or some of my dudes being without a working PEQ due to shit breaking and going WIR without a inbound replacement and then I see obviously stolen shit on tacswap et al..... It make me want to throat punch people....

Rant over....

I consider cloning military arms to be similar to collecting military surplus rifles of the past. Difference is you can't actually get surplus rifles of the modern military.

I understand not liking thieves or those who steal from the military, but that's people being shitbags. It isn't required to clone rifles. Most rifles can be cloned buying parts on legal markets, with parts manufactured for the civilian market. Judging all who ake clones because a few are assholes doean't seem right. I dont believe most people who clone are thieves, or knowingly market stolen goods.

The only reason I don't own clone rifles is because I don't have the finances to do so.

To say you hate those who want to clone military rifles worse than antigunners... I wish I could say I'm suprised to see gun owners turning on themselves.

-Cory

[TGS]

The explanation I've seen...and that I tend to trust because it's coming from people who have actual connections rather than TTAG clickbait dipshits...is that at the moment Colt has a couple of time-sensitive contracts that are large enough that they need to dedicate personnel and production capability to getting them filled in time. Distributors seem to be well stocked at the moment so it would make sense for them to target their maximum production capacity at the contracts until those contracts are filled.

That's totally what I would've expected, and without hearing so I just assumed that was the case instead of Colt being anti-2A and pulling commercial rifle production due to the recent shootings.

[Borderland]

If you are talking about the major components like bolts, barrels, carriers, and receivers, Colt is absolutely manufacturing their own. I would assume they are buying some of the polymer parts they install on guns from someone else, but they most certainly make the core of the weapon themselves.

Of course I don't know who makes their bolts and barrels and I'm not saying they don't do that in house, but I found this which suggests they weren't. At least the unions that represent the employees made a case out of it and sued Colt.

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/art...ourcing-breach

It matters naught to me personally because I've never purchased one of their rifles. I do have a few of their 1911's and Colt is the only 1911 I will buy. That's because they're competitive in that market and they build a good product. I can attest to that much anyway.

[Robinson]

I buy Colt 1911's but I couldn't care less if it has a Colt or Ed Brown barrel. As a matter of fact Brownells is showing out-of-stock for all Colt Gov't model barrels. That tells me they aren't in the parts business. Somebody other than Colt is probably making their parts anyway.

This is just FYI and not meant as an important revelation.

Colt buys forged frames and slides that are made using equipment owned by Colt. But they still make their own pistol barrels. The normal non-NM barrels are actually pretty decent, but Colt doesn't use them in many models anymore. National Match barrels have a little more material at the end where the bushing fits and the lugs are cut slightly differently. They can be noticeably more accurate than the standard barrels. The barrels used in the Custom Shop are over-sized and hand fit to the gun.

[Amp]

However, this recent news begs the question: when, if ever, will Colt resume commercial production of its rifles?

“It’s not forever,” Spitale said. “It’s to say that, at this moment, we’re listening to consumers and putting our resources where they’re most valued.”

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/...15-production/

[fly out]

Now I feel like I've heard from Colt. Still don't like current management; still not organizing a boycott.

I wouldn't be surprised to see that the inventory in the distribution chain dwindles over time, and they still hold off until they see where the AWB talk goes. Perhaps all the way to November, 2020, if it takes that long to get clarity?

The headline on that article was a subtle, but appreciated, dig.

[BillSWPA]

However, this recent news begs the question: when, if ever, will Colt resume commercial production of its rifles?

“It’s not forever,” Spitale said. “It’s to say that, at this moment, we’re listening to consumers and putting our resources where they’re most valued.”

https://www.shootingillustrated.com/...15-production/

If that is the story then Colt is back on my list of companies whose products I will purchase.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Spartan1980]

I know this is almost a year old, but it's really getting hard to tell what the hell is going on. Mixed signals and all from the kneejerk media. The AR market is utterly flooded with AR stuff, which drives prices down, so Colt seems to be doing what they need to in order to survive. But have they fulfilled this already?

https://www.guns.com/news/2018/11/13...ontract-awards

[Borderland]

This is just FYI and not meant as an important revelation.

Colt buys forged frames and slides that are made using equipment owned by Colt. But they still make their own pistol barrels. The normal non-NM barrels are actually pretty decent, but Colt doesn't use them in many models anymore. National Match barrels have a little more material at the end where the bushing fits and the lugs are cut slightly differently. They can be noticeably more accurate than the standard barrels. The barrels used in the Custom Shop are over-sized and hand fit to the gun.

I have both types of barrels. A regular gov't model without the NM barrel is the best shooter I have. Probably has more to do with the barrel bushing and slide/frame fit on the gov't model. All of my pistols are stock from Colt and I shoot them without any mods. Those are good barrels.

[Robinson]

I have both types of barrels. A regular gov't model without the NM barrel is the best shooter I have. Probably has more to do with the barrel bushing and slide/frame fit on the gov't model. All of my pistols are stock from Colt and I shoot them without any mods. Those are good barrels.

Not to take this thread too far afield, but accuracy in the 1911 is tied mostly to the fit of the barrel to the slide. The fit of the bushing can also affect accuracy though to a smaller degree. Slide to frame fit has little bearing, which is why Colt's design philosophy doesn't call for an extremely tight fit there. Colt makes good barrels, the Custom Shop ones are very serious and precisely fit. All others are drop-in.