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.