Posted on 12/07/2014 8:24:06 AM PST by Kaslin
Given that our Commander in Chief is a surprisingly decent firearm salesman, it’s a little odd that one of America’s most prolific gun manufacturers might soon be facing an agonizing financial death. But, that’s exactly where Colt is headed if things don’t change drastically. It takes a very specialized form of failure for a gun company to miss out on the Obama-inspired run on guns, the “assault weapon” craze of the 2000’s, and the proliferation of Concealed Carry in the 1990’s, but that’s exactly what happened. And, worse, this isn’t Colt’s first foray into fiscal failure.
In fact, this tendency of Colt to stumble onto hard times has a name in the industry: It’s called the “Colt curse”. It’s been around since Samuel Colt first bankrupted his hopeful arms company in the 1830’s. God may have made man, and Samuel Colt may be credited with making men equal; but, it has always been an uphill battle. It turns out that Colt was pretty good at making guns – but he was a failure at marketing and selling his contribution to the world of weaponry.
Lucky for Colt (and the generations that would later benefit from his contribution to the industry), the war with Mexico broke out in the 1840’s, and Samuel Colt saw his opportunity. The aspiring gunsmith quickly found an audience with the US Government for his innovative firearm designs. Realizing the full potential of crony-capitalism, the entrepreneur almost went broke entertaining politicians, generals, and frontiersmen. He was, undoubtedly, the Solyndra lobbyist of his day. With the helpful contract from America’s military, Colt quickly etched his name in America as the creator of the “gun that won the West”.
The company, however, was never quite capable of shaking their addiction to government contracts. In fact, it quickly became a centerpiece of their business model.
In the 1970’s firearm manufacturing in the US was adopting the model of America’s automotive giants. Unionization was prolific, and innovation was an afterthought. Yeah… It didn’t work out for Detroit; and it almost ended in disaster for the firearm industry as well. While most American companies scrambled for ways to avoid the Union-led decline into mediocrity, Colt happily hummed along with the help of military contracts, and large government shipping orders.
The iconic manufacturer’s business was booming… Right up until the moment that Unions decided to do what they do best: Go on strike. By 1988, the company had lost a number of high-dollar contracts, and the end of their beginning was clearly at hand.
In the decade to follow, their competitors warmly embraced America’s newfound fascination with the civilian market, concealed carry, and home defense. Colt, on the other hand, decided to take a more pragmatic approach. And, by “pragmatic”, I mean “liberal” approach:
A wealthy industrialist, from the heart of a non-gun-owning Manhattan family, decided he could steer the company to better times. With a man who knew nothing about guns at the helm, Colt embarked on their reimagined path to prosperity by introducing (and supporting) the idea of smart guns and federal gun permits. Yeah… As strange as it might seem, telling your most ardent customers that they should ask a fickle and hostile Federal government for permission to handle your product, isn’t a great business practice.
The new CEO (yeah… the last one was fired pretty quickly) still decided to put civilian ownership on the back-burner as he focused on appealing to the same Pentagon cronies that nearly drove the company into the trash-bin of history. There are only a handful of industries that relish the advent of war… And they all have something in common: They work (in effect) for the Pentagon. With their sudden boom in government contracts, as the Iraq war picked up, it looked like good times might finally be on the horizon.
Good times, in fact, seemed like it couldn’t be avoided. Well, at least in theory. But if Colt had proven anything in its 178 years of existence, it’s that turning a profit is kinda tough sometimes. The company’s decision to whittle their civilian division down to a few obligatory 1911s wasn’t really doing them any favors, given that their competitors were rushing to fill the demand of a gun-hungry republic. While Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Harry Reid rambled on about gun control, Colt casually dismissed the idea of focusing on the civilian market. Heck, it was only within the last few years that Colt finally got around to deciding that a pocket pistol (the .380 Mustang) might be a good idea.
Colt’s civilian offerings are proving to be “too little, too late” for a market that is currently saturated with high-quality alternatives. And so, with a very specialized degree of failure, Colt has managed to paint itself into near bankruptcy. Their corporate bonds are rated as junk, and they’re continuing to pile on millions of dollars worth of debt.
The company might still survive. After all, they represent a history, a quality, and a heritage that is rare in today’s world. Their guns are quality products (even if you do pay a premium for those ponies on the slide) and their reputation is strong. But the company embraced too many values of the left to survive long in a world that has proven to be hostile to their industry.
In the end, there are really only three things that are responsible for killing Colt: cronyism, support for gun control, and labor Unions… You would think a gun manufacturer would know better than to sleep with government. But, I guess nobody shared that lesson with Colt’s management.
I acquired a National Match model with a VERY low SN nearly 20 years ago. I paid $400 for it I think. Its been hand glass bedded in a hand rubbed tiger birch stick. I topped it with the correct 2nd Gen SA Rangefinding scope. Paid almost as much for that as I did the rifle.
It’s beautiful and a wicked accurate shooter. I won’t part with it.
Not sure who Michael Schaus is, but he would do well stick with talk radio hosting, and give up the amateur attempts to explain the gun industry.
He’s managed to get the history of Colt’s completely upside down and backwards. Except for the part when he names it one of the nation’s most prolific gunmakers. Also, one of the earliest that’s still carrying on.
Sam Colt’s first attempt did go under, but the second did not succeed because of “crony capitalism” (which did not exist in the 1840s); it got a start selling revolvers to the War Dept, but most of its products were sold to private individuals. Some numbers: 1100 Walker revolvers made and sold to War Dept 1847-48; 325,000 M1849 pocket revolvers sold to private buyers, 1849-1873. Another illustration ought to convince: the Single Action revolver - staple of western films since the beginning of filmmaking - was introduced in 1873; the US government bought some 35,000, and removed the arm from active service in 1892. Colt’s kept making the arm until 1940, eventually making more than 350,000. Public demand convinced the company to return it to production in the 1950s, but no government agency has bought any.
Colt’s did indeed make and sell many guns to the national government and numerous state and local agencies in peace and in war: all the Gatling Guns, the M1895 Browning Machine Gun, most M1911 pistols, most M1917 (water cooled) machine guns, many M1918 BARs from 1917-WWII, most M1919 (air cooled) machine guns until WWII, every 50 cal machine gun until WWII, every Thompson Submachine Gun before WWII. Plus millions of revolvers large and small (some of which the feds did buy, it’s true), and nearly all semi-auto pistols until after WWII.
If delivering hardware to government agencies in fulfillment of contractual obligations is “crony capitalism,” then any private business, large or small, that contracts with any government to provide goods or services is just as guilty.
Sweet!
The Russians designed the revolver to push the cylinder forward before the sear released the hammer. The barrel and cylinder fitted pretty tight thus a suppressor worked acceptably.
LOl, well aren't you just soooo wonderful and SMART as well!!
I simply passed along my experience with the weapon. The accuracy part was something TOLD to me by the instructor, likely an exaggeration but not a big one from my experience as well as that of others on the range. I was in the USAF, not Special Forces and as a USAF guy not overly involved with weapons since I served the entire time in the UK where the rules fore even CARRYING a weapon were unreal. We went to the range once each year and fired off about 8 rounds from the 45, a few from the 38 we normally carried and a full clip from the 30 cal carbine. That was it.
You, sir know far, FAR more about weaponry than do I being an AF guy. We were not exactly known as being the gun slingers of the military.
You might have fired a ‘clip’ from a Garand, but if you emptied an M1 30 cal Carbine you used a magazine. Oh how quickly we forget without practice ...
IIRC, in the book about Carlos Hathcock the great sniper, he and his buddies would take break from the rifle practice to shoot with the 1911 at 50 and 100 yards.
I practice with the King Cobra at 50 sometimes, can get on paper and on occasion into the silhouette, but I really suck (no enough practice, obviously, but there’s only one range within 50 miles and it’s pretty bad)
Interesting.
I had a guy offer me $2,000 in for it one day at the range. I turned him down flat.
Love that rifle.
I paid $1,800 for mine, brand new from the factory.
The model type you described goes for $2,500.
I would not have taken the deal either.
I didn’t “forget” I more than likely never knew the difference. As I said I was a kid in the USAF and aside from knowing the destructive power of our aircraft, which I never flew (but guarded on occasion, I barely knew what end of the “gun” the f’n bullet came out. Nor did I care.
It was the early 1960’s, America ruled, the skies were blue, the women were easy and the drinks were cheap in the UK. What more would a hormone driven 18 yr old be interested in....?
A buddy of mine and I did the glass bed. I bought a mil-surp tiger birch stock from Fred’s and spent hours and hours striping, sanding, and then hand rubbing tung oil into it. I brought all that gorgeous grain up by hand.
It took months to locate the correct “original” scope for it and the mount is a titanium from Fulton. It’s wicked accurate out to 600 yards which is the longest range I’ve got access to. I’d love to see if I could hit anything at a thousand sometime.
I’ve got some handloaded Sierra Match Kings I’m saving for that day.
Best,
L
Yes I am and good looking too.
You would do well to have a little more experience before accepting exaggerated claims from those who are no more experienced than you and passing them on as your own experience or fact. Your own statement concerning the pitifully insufficient training you received and successive lack of experience is no basis for forming an opinion. This kind of ineptitude is what got us the M9 pistol and will likely get us another similar hand gun.
I graduated High School in ‘63. Had it not been for the Chess Team at college, I would probably have missed the entire decade ... just sayin’.
BTW, the revolver in the lower left of that picture at the start, the one that's black with a brown wooden grip looks like it might be one of those Nagant pistols.
Nope, now that I’ve looked more closely, it’s a Webley; British made.
“Yes and I’m good looking too”
I’m sure, not to mention the most self aggrandizing bloviater and ass wipe on t h e forum.
Do me a favor and keep quiet. If I need advice from someone with a God complex and no sense of humor I’ll be sure to get in touch.
Now little billie, you surely are thin skinned. I apologise if your feelings are bruised. Were you really in the Air Force or are you still 15?
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