Another one bites the dust

Colt is gone,does anyone care? What does this mean for America?

Now our guns,is this the way it ends?

What say you

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That will be still COLT and Made in USA engraved on the firearm. Just the money will go to different pocket.
The same as Dan Wesson, owned by CZ, but still making its great DW 1911s.

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Just hope the folks that make them here don’t take a beating. Guess it will still be a fine weapons company. Time will tell…

Colt has had management problems for years. They were always jumping into innovation a step late but through legal manipulation managed to stay in the game. The name has value they just need better leadership. Except for the Python and Anaconda I have never been a big colt fan. Maybe a Colt 1911 if push came to shove.

I don’t take it too hard. The British have sold most of their auto industry but we still think of British cars. Cold will always have a history and that is more than some can hope for.

I don’t put a lot of trust in names anymore. Every company will betray your trust for the right price. Look at what the industry is ding to us over ammo and loading. We’ve already been severely betrayed.

I think there is a lot of interesting context and questions here.

CZ makes very good weapons, and IIRC already has a plant here in the US. This will expand their manufacturing ability in what is probably(?) their largest client-base.

Colt originally got out of the civilian market to “focus on govt contracts”. This was probably because they found it hard to compete with budget makers like PSA on the low-end and BCM/DD on the high-end. But they recently came back into the civvie market with mixed reviews.

So how does CZ’s purchase affect a) govt contracts b) pricing in the quality mid-tier bracket c) QA/QC ? With regards to govt contracts, does the foreign ownership affect those contracts?

Additionally, with a huge push by anti-gunners to make manufacturers responsible for people using them illegally (murder, mass shootings, etc) does foreign ownership make Colt “safer” from litigation?

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This is the key point and the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline yesterday. Not exactly sure how (not a lawyer) but I’m sure CZ already had the angle covered.

The part about Gov’t contracts is just like any other Multi National Corp that operates in the US say like BAE Systems that fixes Navy ships in Norfolk.

With any luck Colt will be able to refocus its energies on building quality firearms and let someone else worry about running the admin side of the house.

Cheers,

Craig6

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Walther wasnt gone when Smith&Wesson bought it.
Companies come and go. They stop innovating, or there is inept management, etc. Thankfully, there are plenty of names on American arms market to replace Colt. As far as Colt moving under CZ financial umbrella, I have 0 concerns. I believe Chech politics are a lot friendlier toward the idea of a legally armed citizen, than American ones, regardless of a Constitutional Amendment.

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I think this might be best. Very hard for people in the US to sue foreign companies.

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Colt has been in and out of financial trouble since the Patterson New Jersey days.

Does Colt even have any active military or police contracts right now?

Remember at one time not too long ago Smith & Wesson was owned by a British plumbing supply company!

Colt has been more or less dead for decades now. Some of that pure mismanagement. Some of it the high costs of being a unionized shop is a very anti-gun northeast state. The state gave them financial assistance to stay, staying made them non-competitive. They gave in to political pressure to exit the AR-15 market just as it exploded into a platform with millions of guns sold. They played licensing games with the name. They let others, first Springfield Armory and then a host of others, usurp their grip on the 1911 market. I can remember when Kimber was a new rifle manufacturer, now they are the 1911 leaders. And arch-rival S&W makes 1911s too! Cats and Dogs sleeping together (note Ghostbusters reference). I look at the Colt catalog and, with the exception of the new Python, wonder what they stand for. Blah.

CZ is a great name in firearms too, and if it weren’t for the restrictions when they were in a communist country and American’s then disdain for 9mm (remember that CZ pretty much invented to the double stack 9mm), their influence in the U.S. would be much greater. I keep thinking I should add a CZ75 to my collection, and maybe I will do just that (if I can find one!).

The truth is things couldn’t get much worse for Colt. CZ is likely to be a good steward for the brand, perhaps even returning it to some measure of glory.

I also remember when Sig-Sauer was an imported German/Swiss brand. Now the truth is that Sig is very much an American gun manufacturer. Yeah they are owned by a foreign parent, but at this point the tale wags the dog. So as far as I’m concerned the CZ purchase of Colt is awesome. I was afraid they were just going to disappear, or worse be bought by yet another Private Equity firm looking to milk what little was left out of the name.

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Well said @Harold26 . I’m also happy that Colt goes under CZ’s umbrella. This is one of the most known and reputable companies in firearm’s World.

I’m not sure about their double stack 9 mm invention… my guess is that the patent belonged to Browning Hi-Power. They made 13rd double stack 9mm for French Military (it supposed to be 15 rd, but they ended up with 13 rd working version only).
Anyway… no matter who has invented that magazine… CZ is still a great step ahead to keep Colt mark alive.

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I don’t think this will hurt the Colt brand at all. Aside from the legal intricacies, CZ (which includes Tanfolio and Sarsilmaz under their umbrella) is a very reliable, quality oriented manufacturer. This may representatives way forward to save the Colt legacy.

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Personally, I can’t blame any manufacturer for moving out of the US given Biden’s announcement Sunday.
As is always the case–ideals trump economy and common sense. Biden is less concerned about jobs than his is about sucking up to his base.
Let’s make this legislation equal–not just liability for guns–but cars if you get in an accident. And teachers if you kids fail. And McDonalds if you get fat or diabetes.

Personally I think he’s punishing all of the fossil fuel workers because they tend to be very conservative and We’re Trump supporters.

It means an American consortium of greedy bastards almost drove Colt to extinction, and now it is owned by a true gun-maker who makes guns.

You see the difference? This was $220 million in cold hard cash plus stock in CZ.

This was not leveraged with debt.

You seem to think Colt is Dead and Gone from this world. Not yet. But when that almost happened, it happened with American ownership.

Think on that for a bit.

Also, just for no reason at all, I thought I’d mention the Czechs really hate communism. Another plus in my book.

End of an Era? I hope it’s the End of the Era of backwards slide serrations, horrible customer service, indifference to client’s wants, and a knack to p*ss off your customers… if that’s what we lose after CZ takes over… I’m all for it.

I believe this will be stabilizing for Colt. I have family in the Province of Bohemia of the Czech Republic and know they have a strong work ethic that runs through our veins. It used to be part of the Austrian Empire where my family came.