CZ / Colt in Ark. News

I can't help but wonder, would a take over of Colt by a foreign company been allowed under Trump?

Rich1939 said:

I can't help but wonder, would a take over of Colt by a foreign company been allowed under Trump?

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What say would he have is the matter? That’s nonsense.

Hopefully all Colt firearms previously made here in the USA will continue to be made here in the USA.

Hopefully CZ makes Colts in a gun friendly state.

Well, that's it, the last one is gone.

Now, all of the military's small arms designs are owned by other nations.

Rifles and carbines - Czech, German (CZ, H&K)
Machine Guns - Belgian (FN)
Pistols - Italian, German (Beretta, SIG)

And in addition, all field artillery, towed and SP designs are owned by a foreign company (British, BAe)

Buying colt products will mirror the Winchester experience. Although the Winchester Model 94's made in Japan are of excellent quality the pre-64 American made rifles find favor with both shooters and collectors. I suspect the same will be with CZ Colts. CZ makes quality firearms but buying the older made in America guns attached an air of history and Americana.

If it came to no Colt or CZ Colt I am all for it.

lysanderxiii said:

Well, that's it, the last one is gone.

Now, all of the military's small arms designs are owned by other nations.

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And made in the US.

We are lucky anyone wanted to buy Colt at all. It's a sinking ship and up to now, they were unable to leave CT due to the union. Hopefully all production will move south and away from enemy territory.

Hokkmike said:

Buying colt products will mirror the Winchester experience. Although the Winchester Model 94's made in Japan are of excellent quality the pre-64 American made rifles find favor with both shooters and collectors. I suspect the same will be with CZ Colts. CZ makes quality firearms but buying the older made in America guns attached an air of history and Americana.

If it came to no Colt or CZ Colt I am all for it.

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Yeah but the operative difference is that Winchesters are now made by an independent contractor in another country. Colt will still be made in the US and hopefully moved south where they can be profitable and operate more freely.

As regards arms manufacturing, the company has to be a US based corporation to do business with the US Government. Now, don't stop reading at this point!

How does foreign ownership work? Quite well, thank you! The local US based corporation has its own board, lists its stock separately, and the foreign owners own the stock. But the US based organization operates independently of the foreign owners.

For example, BAE Systems, Inc. is a major arms manufacturer in the US. It is based in the US and it has access to all sorts of secrets as a subcontractor in the F35 and many other programs. It is a subsidiary of BAE Systems, plc in the UK. But the US company keeps secrets from their corporate overlords, and they have to, by law.

So you have to wonder, when will anti gunners try to ban ALL foreign OWNED companies from selling arms in the U.S. As opposed to IMPORTED foreign arms.

Don't put it past them.

I just don't believe any of the new made foreign controlled arms makers will ever be as cherished and great as the originals. Just delays the demise and allows a foreign company to move in.

Zahn said:

As regards arms manufacturing, the company has to be a US based corporation to do business with the US Government. Now, don't stop reading at this point!

How does foreign ownership work? Quite well, thank you! The local US based corporation has its own board, lists its stock separately, and the foreign owners own the stock. But the US based organization operates independently of the foreign owners.

For example, BAE Systems, Inc. is a major arms manufacturer in the US. It is based in the US and it has access to all sorts of secrets as a subcontractor in the F35 and many other programs. It is a subsidiary of BAE Systems, plc in the UK. But the US company keeps secrets from their corporate overlords, and they have to, by law.

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However, if the foreign companies decide to pick-up the toys they own (the designs) and go home, no one can stop them . . .

Rich1939 said:

I can't help but wonder, would a take over of Colt by a foreign company been allowed under Trump?

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These things don'e happen overnight. I figure it most certainly was initiated under his administration and he being a businessman would likely cheer the salvation of Colt's at CZ's hands.

Todd.

lysanderxiii said:

However, if the foreign companies decide to pick-up the toys they own (the designs) and go home, no one can stop them . . .

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Not true. Not true at all. ITAR regulations specifically forbid that. If BAE UK decides they want to take some of the F35 intellectual property out of the US, they will face the export restrictions just like any other entity. And shutting down BAE US helps them not at all.

If you are talking about Colt's designs, maybe. I believe the AR15 is in the public domain. And how hard would it be to make a clone of a snake gun? They could certainly take the trademarks to the Czech Republic. But the real value of the trademark is the use of it - selling Colt Pythons, Cobras et al. And they will want to sell them in the largest market in the world, the USA.

Commader47 said:

I just don't believe any of the new made foreign controlled arms makers will ever be as cherished and great as the originals.

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Those days are long gone anyway. Many of them are owned by soulless, corporate entities, Colt especially. Only the very small companies are owned by "gun people".

If Colt had not been such a disaster, a company like Ruger might have bought them.

lysanderxiii said:

Well, that's it, the last one is gone.

Now, all of the military's small arms designs are owned by other nations.

Rifles and carbines - Czech, German (CZ, H&K)
Machine Guns - Belgian (FN)
Pistols - Italian, German (Beretta, SIG)

And in addition, all field artillery, towed and SP designs are owned by a foreign company (British, BAe)

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Don't forget the armor on the Abrams is British too

Rich1939 said:

I can't help but wonder, would a take over of Colt by a foreign company been allowed under Trump?

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Colt was belly up, and operating under receivership rules in bankruptcy. It was not a "take over." It was really just a clever, leveraged, buy of a company available, cheap.
One of the gems CZ picked up in the deal was Dimarco, aka Colt Canada, with all the military contracts Dimarco had.

CZ did not do this out of the blue. The had prior experience in the US market having already successfully bought up Dan Wesson. This is not greedy furrin contree buyin up gud 'Muricn indsutry. The Czech have a "gun culture" much like the US. The Czech also retain an appreciation for excellent in industrial skills and industrial, blue collar, workers.

lysanderxiii said:

However, if the foreign companies decide to pick-up the toys they own (the designs) and go home, no one can stop them

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DoD holds arms patents to itself, and/or requires assignment to their care. So, Fairchild passed the AR-15 patents to Colt, colt had to release those to DoD to produce M-16s. This is to allow for competitive bidding on military contracts. Once a thing is in military service it needs to be able to be replicated.

This is not new. Winchester designed the M-1 Carbine , but the patents were freely distributed among twelve different companies for production. Winchester was given some compensation for the patent, probably no where near enough to cover their development costs.

All of that is before ITAR stuff, which is a different kettle of fish.

Looking very much forward to the two working together, this time without two competing ideas, which led to the Colt Z-40. This time, it will be better. MUCH better!

Best thing that could have happened for Colt and US!
They'll be made better than ever, secure a part of history that was goin' bye-bye, and hopefully be able to re-create some of the greatest designs ever with new, modern equipment...
Win-Win!

lysanderxiii said:

However, if the foreign companies decide to pick-up the toys they own (the designs) and go home, no one can stop them . . .

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Except USA is the largest consumer of guns.. Wouldnt make much sense to from selling millions to hundreds.
If I recall correctly civilians own some 75-85% of the worlds guns. The world's militaries and stockpiles account for the remainder.

As a big CZ fan, I'm pretty excited about this one. It is disappointing to see one of the old guard companies go to a foreign owned entity, BUT if it were going to happen I'm glad it was CZ as they are a solid company that makes quality firearms, and the Czech Republic does have a solid gun culture compared to most.

I do wonder if CZ made the move in significant part due to the military contracts. That would seem to be the biggest thing they would gain that they didnt already have. Though with Dan Wesson having phased out their revolvers apparently, Colt could fill that niche in the portfolio.

I'm actually curious to see if they start making ARs for the civilian market again under CZ.

Ask anyone who loves an old hump back Browning..........

Think about the CZ Dan Wesson 1911’s. Pretty nice guns. People should be happy Colt will survive. As @CraigC stated, Colt was a sinking ship. And CZ most certainly, is not. Just look around here and see how people sing their praises.

Something I learned through my correspondence with Craig was that “Colt” single actions haven’t been made by Colt for a very long time. Since 1958, Colt has been an Italian gun.