Colt will stop making AR-15s for civilian sale, says there's already plenty on market

[OfTheCross]

Colt will suspend production of AR-15 rifles for civilian sales, saying there's an "adequate supply" of the high-powered weapons already in the market, the famed gun manufacturer said Thursday.

The gun-maker, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, said its decision is purely market-driven and made no mention of any public pressure over the AR-15's use in several mass shootings in the United States.

"The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity," Colt President and CEO Dennis Veilleux said in a statement.

nbc

[thackney]

Too much low priced competition.

[verga]

Too much low priced competition.

And it is now fairly easy to build one to your specifications at a reasonable price.

[sneakypete]

I hope there is someone out there in a position to keep an eye on Colt's government contracts as well as their tax bills.

Seems to me like they have been bought out with cash or government contracts.

Won't be the first time,either. I haven't bought or even looked at anything produced by Colt since the 60's.

With the obvious exception of a couple of my 1911A1's,that is. Even then,they were bought used and the newest one is my all-steel Combat Commander.

[roamer_1]

Colt continues to piss me off. Them and Winchester. Two names I set considerable store by that are so woke as to be useless to me.

[Cyber Liberty]

Colt continues to piss me off. Them and Winchester. Two names I set considerable store by that are so woke as to be useless to me.

The possibility exists this move was because they weren't selling enough units to keep a line running.  There comes a market point where everybody who wants an AR-15 has at least one.

[roamer_1]

The possibility exists this move was because they weren't selling enough units to keep a line running.  There comes a market point where everybody who wants an AR-15 has at least one.

I don't think so. Yeah, there's a billion AR manufacturers.
But there's also a billion 1911 manufacturers too.

[Cyber Liberty]

I don't think so. Yeah, there's a billion AR manufacturers.
But there's also a billion 1911 manufacturers too.

I honestly don't know why this move, and I prefer not to ascribe motivations based on my ignorance.   

[sneakypete]

I don't think so. Yeah, there's a billion AR manufacturers.
But there's also a billion 1911 manufacturers too.

@roamer_1

How ironic is it that one of the best 1911A1 clones ever built was built by the Chinese,and sold through Norinco. Whose chief legal consul in the US was/is Nancy Pelosi's husband. Which means she is a stockholder in a Chinese weapons manufacturer.

[roamer_1]

I honestly don't know why this move, and I prefer not to ascribe motivations based on my ignorance.   

Alright. But I think they're just pu**ies... Like Winchester, who threw away their rifles and carbines...
There probably is not a more venerable rifle on the planet than the Winchester model 94 carbine...I don't think there is anything at all that has knocked more deer down and thumped more coyotes.

Oh, you can still get one, if you want to throw down a grand or two... But not for joe sixpack. sonsabiches just threw it away, and have earned my ire forever. 
 

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1

How ironic is it that one of the best 1911A1 clones ever built was built by the Chinese,and sold through Norinco. Whose chief legal consul in the US was/is Nancy Pelosi's husband. Which means she is a stockholder in a Chinese weapons manufacturer.

Hey, mine's a Rock Island. 
The only thing I will insist upon is a genuine Peacemaker .45 single. There is no other.
But the idea that the manufacturer that cranks em out for the military in huge volumes can't compete is just ridiculous. The cheapest of the best ought to be the Colt.

[Cyber Liberty]

Hey, mine's a Rock Island. 
The only thing I will insist upon is a genuine Peacemaker .45 single. There is no other.
But the idea that the manufacturer that cranks em out for the military in huge volumes can't compete is just ridiculous. The cheapest of the best ought to be the Colt.

@roamer_1 See, you know more about it than I do. 

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1 See, you know more about it than I do. 

It's why I walked off from the six-shooter... Exactly Colt's lack of commitment.
And I hate it btw. I would take that six-gun over a 45ACP any day.

[sneakypete]

Hey, mine's a Rock Island. 
The only thing I will insist upon is a genuine Peacemaker .45 single. There is no other.

@roamer_1

They were never as good as a Ruger Single Six on the best day they ever saw. You can shoot loads through a Ruger that will shake the screws out of a Colt.

[Elderberry]

The Ruger Single Six is a .22. You are most likely thinking of The Ruger Blackhawk. I would load mine so hot it was beginning to obliterate the case head markings. A Colt would explode with those loads.

The issue with the AR-15 is the Colt patent expired in 1977. So now everyone and their uncle is making them, and for far cheaper than Colt is selling them for.

[sneakypete]

104
The Ruger Single Six is a .22. You are most likely thinking of The Ruger Blackhawk. I would load mine so hot it was beginning to obliterate the case head markings. A Colt would explode with those loads.

The issue with the AR-15 is the Colt patent expired in 1977. So now everyone and their uncle is making them, and for far cheaper than Colt is selling them for.

@Elderberry

You are right on both counts. I stand corrected on the Ruger 6's. In my defense,I am not and never have been a big fan of guns you have to cock before each shot,and as a gunsmith I just never got to work on Rugers. Damn things are almost indestructible.

Not that the Colts were bad,they just weren't as good.

[Jazzhead]

It sounds to me that they are buying off the Dems on the expectation of regime change in 2020.    You know,  don't expect to keep your government contracts if you keep selling assault weapons to citizens.   

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1

They were never as good as a Ruger Single Six on the best day they ever saw. You can shoot loads through a Ruger that will shake the screws out of a Colt.

Don't care about hot loads @sneakypete ... In fact I find em counterproductive. More bounce, more time off target. That's why I got rid of the .44mag after I gave up on the Colt .45

It's more about what I am comfortable with, and I have had that Colt in my hand all my life, and I can surely drive tacks with the dang thing without hardly lookin at it. And I have drug that ol single action through mud and sticks and dirt and rocks... It always goes bang.

And that's good enough for me... And no, I still can't do that with that 1911. I am about to go back.

[sneakypete]

Don't care about hot loads @sneakypete ... In fact I find em counterproductive. More bounce, more time off target. That's why I got rid of the .44mag after I gave up on the Colt .45

@roamer_1

I'm with ya on that one,although I am a fan of the 44 Special instead of the 45 LC.  MY thinking is that if I can't do it with a properly placed 44 Special,I need to use a rifle. Kinda like "don't expect a boy to do a mans job".

It's more about what I am comfortable with, and I have had that Colt in my hand all my life,

I'm with ya there,too. Being comfortable with a gun is one of the major factors in shooting it accurately.

[Smokin Joe]

Don't care about hot loads @sneakypete ... In fact I find em counterproductive. More bounce, more time off target. That's why I got rid of the .44mag after I gave up on the Colt .45

It's more about what I am comfortable with, and I have had that Colt in my hand all my life, and I can surely drive tacks with the dang thing without hardly lookin at it. And I have drug that ol single action through mud and sticks and dirt and rocks... It always goes bang.

And that's good enough for me... And no, I still can't do that with that 1911. I am about to go back.

A 240 gr JHP on top of 22 grains of IMR 4227 proved to be a nice load for the .44 Remington Magnum. Good in the Super Blackhawk or my Marlin. j/s  Hot loads would jack the Marlin open, and I didn't like that.

[roamer_1]

I'm with ya on that one,although I am a fan of the 44 Special instead of the 45 LC.  MY thinking is that if I can't do it with a properly placed 44 Special,I need to use a rifle. Kinda like "don't expect a boy to do a mans job".
 

@sneakypete
Right... The thing is, if I am pullin that pistol, that means I have already run out of rifle, and that in turn means whatever it is is too damn close. I better be able to get it right...

On a rapid fire sequence, like what that is going to be, with accuracy being key, I figger I can get maybe four out the end of that Taurus .44mag where I can get all six out of that Colt, smooth as buddah.

And I do understand your objection to a single action, but it's what I have always done, and what I am likely to do with a double action too, mostly because I tend to pull the shot working it by the trigger. 

Old dogs and all...

[roamer_1]

A 240 gr JHP on top of 22 grains of IMR 4227 proved to be a nice load for the .44 Remington Magnum. Good in the Super Blackhawk or my Marlin. j/s  Hot loads would jack the Marlin open, and I didn't like that.

Never really worried about that kinda thing. I need more poop out of the rifle than a pistol round can do... My brush gun was always a Win 94 carbine 30/30 till lately. Nowadays, since I know I can't move very well, I upgraded to a Marlin .45/70... Either way, I have always carried rounds for two calibers. 

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
Right... The thing is, if I am pullin that pistol, that means I have already run out of rifle, and that in turn means whatever it is is too damn close. I better be able to get it right...

On a rapid fire sequence, like what that is going to be, with accuracy being key, I figger I can get maybe four out the end of that Taurus .44mag where I can get all six out of that Colt, smooth as buddah.

And I do understand your objection to a single action, but it's what I have always done, and what I am likely to do with a double action too, mostly because I tend to pull the shot working it by the trigger. 

Old dogs and all...

@roamer_1

True confession time. For the last several years my typical carry gun has been a 9 shot 22LR revolver with a 1 inch barrel. I carry it everywhere because it is light and compact,and I never know when I am going to run into a poisonous snake or a rabid coon.

My "go to town" gun for the last ten years or so has been a double action only 5 shot Rossi 44 Special revolver with a 3 inch barrel and the sweetest double action pull I have ever seen in my life. So slick when it was new,I never even bothered to pull the side plate. I have literally shot running snakes in the head with it and not a single one has gotten away so far. Some were up to 15 feet away,and I have never had to shoot more than twice to kill them. Sometimes the first shot just kept them from running anymore.

Revolvers,the original "point and click device".

Having said all that,I don't hunt anymore,and I don't purposely kill or harm anything that isn't trying to kill or harm me. Having said that,if I would to go today to visit some of the neighborhoods I used to live in or visit in the cities,the only handgun I would consider carrying is the all-steel Combat Commander I built in the 80's. I'm not going to tell you or anyone else the modifications I made,or the loads I shoot,but my 200 grain hollowpoints expand to 72 caliber,and military ball ammo won't even cycle my slide enough to cause a stovepipe jam.

[roamer_1]

True confession time. For the last several years my typical carry gun has been a 9 shot 22LR revolver with a 1 inch barrel. I carry it everywhere because it is light and compact,and I never know when I am going to run into a poisonous snake or a rabid coon.

@sneakypete
No snakes here... And around the house/farm I prefer a sawed off 12ga pump for a critter gitter, just to minimize going through buildings, and to minimize the downrange to worry about...

I keep trying to figure in a 22LR pistol... Nice for dispatch in the traps. Not that I am trapping, but survival mode in the sticks, a .22 would be handy... And you can carry a billion rounds... Played around a while with a 4.10 single shot, with a drop-in .22LR insert... That's a nice rig for a range of available rounds, survival-wise...

But I have griz to worry about, wolf and moose (which actually scare me more)... So I kinda settled into a lever action on a mountain sling, and a .45 Colt cowboy in a rocker holster over my left thigh, so I can still squat, or ride, and the cross-draw pulls straight out without having to pull up....

Those two are ever present. In fact, If I am going up for elk or something that I would need big iron for, it is stowed on my back and I am carrying the carbine on the way up and back. Yeah, a 300win or a 7mm mag got plenty of poop, but a bolt don't happen fast, and scopes see nothing but hair... I stick to open sights and a lever action during travel.

My "go to town" gun for the last ten years or so has been a double action only 5 shot Rossi 44 Special revolver with a 3 inch barrel and the sweetest double action pull I have ever seen in my life. So slick when it was new,I never even bothered to pull the side plate. I have literally shot running snakes in the head with it and not a single one has gotten away so far. Some were up to 15 feet away,and I have never had to shoot more than twice to kill them. Sometimes the first shot just kept them from running anymore.

I have an old s&w .357mag that lives in the truck these days... closest I have to a town gun. It's in a clip-on holster... Still have a shoulder rig for a Colt, which is alright, but no Colt to carry in it. But I can carry that 1911 behind my back.

And I have pretty little pair of 9mm Glocks, nickel plated, left and right shoulder rigged, that I won on a deal... But I never use em. Not much use for pea-shooters anyway, and the clip on the dang things pinch the sh*t out of my pinky finger. Glocks suck. I just can't seem to get rid of em... shiny things.

[thackney]

@sneakypete
...for a critter gitter...

Okay, I am stealing that one...