Elkins45
Member
You think there's a big market for full-weight 2" guns with spur hammers these days?
COLT Layoffs ?
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You think there's a big market for full-weight 2" guns with spur hammers these days?
CoalTrain49
Member
They have been turning out a quality SAA recently, according to the reviews and comments from owners. I'm seriously thinking of buying one but can't find any in the distributors pipeline. Maybe there just aren't anymore, might have waited too long.
Fine Figure of a Man
Member
Great guns bad management.
No criticism intended, Trumps election has probably reduce the amount of "panic buyers". The market has to be pretty saturated after the last 8 years.
Had HRC been elected, she would have surpassed Obama as the worlds greatest gun seller.
No criticism intended, Trumps election has probably reduce the amount of "panic buyers". The market has to be pretty saturated after the last 8 years.
Had HRC been elected, she would have surpassed Obama as the worlds greatest gun seller.
Up to the point she tried her hand at Kalafornia style gun "reforms".
I do agree that the "gun business" in general is going to go soft now that a D is not in charge....but do not rest. We have the ??good fortune?? of the media and the D's going after Trump and forgetting about everything else....but make no mistake the likes of Blumburge....yea I know I did not spell it correct....he is not worthy of that respect, are still single focused at taking away our rights any way they possibly can. They can not do it using legal, above board ways....so they will try every dirty trick they can.
alsaqr
Member
In 2002 colt split into two parts: Colt Defense and Colt consumer products. Colt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, 2015. The company emerged from chapter 11 in January, 2016. Sciens Capital Management has owned Colt since 2005. Someone else who is close to Sciens owns the Colt manufacturing facility in CT. Due to incompetent management and lack of capital Colt missed out on the Obama gun buying panic.
Anyone who is interested in how Colt got this way should read this article:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/071315/why-colt-went-out-business.asp
Anyone who is interested in how Colt got this way should read this article:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/071315/why-colt-went-out-business.asp
Solomonson
Member
Colt really doesn't have the luxury to back off of anything. They need the revenue to service the massive amount of debt they carry! This can of course have some horribly negative effects on a company.
The primary reason was shrinking demand--the semiautomatic pistol had displaced double action revolvers in law enforcement, and there weren't many civilians lawfully carrying small handguns.
The changes in concealed carry laws have altered that part of the landscape.
forward observer
Member
From the bits and pieces I've heard over at the Colt forum, they are not officially shutting the custom shop down, but simply not taking any new orders until they reduce their one to two year backlog.
Since the SAA production all comes through the custom shop, there is no telling how that will be affected. SAA production has been limited to no more than 200 per month for at least five years or more and most years they probably didn't even meet that kind of output.
Of course there is a market for a quality SAA, but it's not huge when one considers the price. With an MSRP of $1500 for a standard model or $1700 for Nickel plus a limited output, even when you find a new Colt, the sellers simply will not discount them and most time can charge a premium due to the scarcity.
The vast majority of the people buying SAA's are more than satisfied with either a medium quality imported Uberti or a comparable Ruger that be
had in the $500 to $700 range. My 2nd gen Colt SAA sits in the safe while I take my Uberti's to the range all the time. I say Uberti's since what I paid for the Colt (given inflation) is almost as much as cost of three of my Uberti SAA's. The Uberti's come with the added benefit of an a wide choice of calibers and configurations. With a new Colt, one usually has to settle for what they find--if they actually find one for less than 10 to 20% over MSRP.
Here's a current article that addresses the recent lay offs at Colt from the latest issue of the NRA's American Rifleman--granted, it's an opinion piece, but it not as much doom and gloom as internet wags would have one think.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/ar...-report-hey-chicken-little-colt-isnt-falling/
Cheers
Since the SAA production all comes through the custom shop, there is no telling how that will be affected. SAA production has been limited to no more than 200 per month for at least five years or more and most years they probably didn't even meet that kind of output.
Of course there is a market for a quality SAA, but it's not huge when one considers the price. With an MSRP of $1500 for a standard model or $1700 for Nickel plus a limited output, even when you find a new Colt, the sellers simply will not discount them and most time can charge a premium due to the scarcity.
The vast majority of the people buying SAA's are more than satisfied with either a medium quality imported Uberti or a comparable Ruger that be
had in the $500 to $700 range. My 2nd gen Colt SAA sits in the safe while I take my Uberti's to the range all the time. I say Uberti's since what I paid for the Colt (given inflation) is almost as much as cost of three of my Uberti SAA's. The Uberti's come with the added benefit of an a wide choice of calibers and configurations. With a new Colt, one usually has to settle for what they find--if they actually find one for less than 10 to 20% over MSRP.
Here's a current article that addresses the recent lay offs at Colt from the latest issue of the NRA's American Rifleman--granted, it's an opinion piece, but it not as much doom and gloom as internet wags would have one think.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/ar...-report-hey-chicken-little-colt-isnt-falling/
Cheers
What makes you think that would help? Do marginal costs on the 1911 line exceed marginal revenues? Is the working capital balance excessive? Does 1911 production consume resources that could be better employed for SAA production?
forward observer
Member
Technically, that is correct, but there have been many years that the only way one could get one was through the custom shop. With an average of 2400 revolvers produced a year for the world wide supply, and only the .45 cal and .357 mag being considered production items, I'm betting that more go through the custom shop than one would think.
I just looked at all the Colt listings on Gunbroker for either new or new/old stock. Out of 97 revolvers listed, only 43 were in the stock calibers
but of those only 4 were not custom shop items---that's 4 out of 97 total. The rest either consisted on a non standard caliber such as 44-40 or .44 spl,alternate factory grips, special finish, engraving, all of which would require to go through the custom shop. That may only be anecdotal, and it could be that the stock items just don't last on the market for very long, but it is what it is.
Cheers
The Ps were built by one guy, outside the CS.
A good percentage were run through the CS as customs.
When I was talking to Brent there on that issue, he was frustrated at the time that he couldn't get more Ps in to keep up with custom orders, but the upper levels would not allow ALL Ps to be strictly CS products.
Denis
A good percentage were run through the CS as customs.
When I was talking to Brent there on that issue, he was frustrated at the time that he couldn't get more Ps in to keep up with custom orders, but the upper levels would not allow ALL Ps to be strictly CS products.
Denis
forward observer
Member
That may be part of the reason that Colt is suspending new order to the custom shop--to initially get the backlog down, but also to allow more standard models to get into the marketplace. Just a speculation on my part though.
Cheers
salt&battery
Member
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colt just a smaller GM with almost the same union pension and mismanagement problems. seems like they wont qualify for a govt bailout like GM and Harley
mljdeckard
Member
I was highly annoyed about a year ago, when a Colt exec was on "Gun Talk", and he said that they were restructuring, and the first thing they were doing was to knock a couple of hundred off the top of all their 1911s. Which is to say, "We are admitting we have been overcharging for our 1911s for years."
If they die, I won't miss them. I had a Colt 1991. It wasn't magical.
If they die, I won't miss them. I had a Colt 1991. It wasn't magical.
Cowhide Cliff
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My dealers haven't been able to get any through the distributors and when I talked to Colt about getting the model I want they said it is a catalog item and just have a dealer order it. Dealers just laugh, yeah right, it would never show up just like all the others on order.
Apparently it's just dumb luck if a dealer gets one or certain people with an inside get them and then they wind up on gunbroker for way more than msrp.
Solomonson
Member
I remember that show! That guy sounded like a cheap salesman who had no real idea what was going on.
The only colt I have is close to 40 years old.....if they die I will miss them....it is a classic american company that has had the life blood sucked out of it by current management and owners looking to line their own pockets with no thought to history.
Shame I would like to see it as it was in the early 20's....a strong company coming out with new designs that people really just can't wait to have.
A fundamental requirement of a modern day big.corp CEO.
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