Colt bought by CZ

[Peter Gun]

As I recollect, CZ used to make a .40 1911. I approve of almost anything CZ does. Better than Fiat purchasing Chrysler!

yes, more as if Honda bought Chrysler

 

[Miami_JBT]

and then discontinued them...

They brought them back, saw they weren't a big seller and weren't worth the space on the production line. A business will not keep a product in production that doesn't sell.

The SAA is a different creature altogether. Colt has tried to kill off the line and every time they do. People want more of 'em. If CZ buys Colt, I doubt they'll shutter the SAA line.

Now, I do know the market is fickle and stupid. For years, Colt fans have bene complaining about the price of the SAA and wanting something like the Ruger Vaquero. So in 1999, Colt released the Cowboy, a SAA built and designed like a Ruger Vaquero. Everyone complained that it wasn't a real Colt and Colt discontinued it in 2003.

Yet the traditional SAA continued to be made.

 

[Miami_JBT]

And this may be why.

Perhaps they only want one big stainless revolver in the stable and the Python won.....

Dan Wesson doesn't have the market share and brand recognition like S&W, Colt, and Ruger. A Dan Wesson gun was expensive, had a different cylinder release that didn't lend itself to being a "defensive" or "duty" gun, and was usually larger and bulky. CZ brought them back to see if the loud voices in the gun market clamoring for them would actually would buy them. They didn't sell, so CZ shuttered the line.

 

[Miami_JBT]

IDK, I suppose I feel like it is more of the traditional America being sold away. Just like Chrysler was sold to the Germans then given to the Italians or the collapse of Remington.

On the other hand, if the CZ merger brings Colt back to its glory days then its a good thing.

Colt has been under the ownership of Donald Zilkha since 1994 and he's run the company into the ground with his anti civilian market ideas. He was the one who killed Colt's CCW guns in the late 90s and instead directed that the company be focused on military and law enforcement sales.

 

[unclenunzie]

How many more brands are we going to lose to multi-nationals?

It's the nature of things. The large and powerful eat the small and weak.

 

[I6turbo]

How many more brands are we going to lose to multi-nationals?

How many are left? It’ll accelerate now.

 

[sparkyfender]

Fingers crossed they bring back the Colt American. And the Double Eagle.

lol I still see an All American show up every now and then at an LGS. The only Double Eagle I ever handled was an officer's size one carried by a friend. It was neat and I tried to buy it off him, but no dice. He said it was reliable IF you used a lot of lube, which I took to mean it wasn't really reliable.

 

[upptick]

CZ taking over Colt is about the best thing that could've happened, considering Colt has been through I think 2 bankruptcies in recent years and has been totally adrift since losing its military contracts. Colt came to be dominated by mostly retired Marine officers who knew something about shooting but apparently very little about how to run an international arms business. CZ will give Colt a new lease on life hopefully.

 

[Elkins45]

How many more brands are we going to lose to multi-nationals?

It seems to me they were already lost. If anything, this may be a rescue.

 

[shoobe01]

Colt has been in and out of bankruptcy my entire life. 1990s me is shocked they still exist.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/071315/why-colt-went-out-business.asp

 

[George P]

CZ = good quality

On the stuff they actually make

 

[str8_4ward]

Be hard for new owner to do worse than repeated bankruptcy during times of record gun sales.

one word explanation: unions

 

[Dunross]

Well, I can't help but see this as a good thing.

 

[Deanimator]

Be hard for new owner to do worse than repeated bankruptcy during times of record gun sales.

Colt has been in need of adult supervision for a LONG time.

 

[reddog81]

Makes sense to me. The companies complement each other pretty well. You've got Colt's revolvers and CZ's semi-auto lineup and then there's Colt's AR's and CZ's bolt actions. There's some overlap in the 1911 market between the 2 but I'd be willing to bet they keep making Colts and Dan Wesson 1911's for a long time. I'd be willing to bet the SAA product line gets ramped up rather than retired.

 

[brutus51]

Considering Dan Wesson just discontinued their 715 revolver I'm wondering if CZ plans to merge the two.
I could see Colt/DW revolvers and DW/Colt 1911's, could be a win win, especially if the Dem's invoke high cap restrictions.

 

[tipoc]

It's not a completed deal yet.

There is a mistaken impression that Colt's military contracts are done for. They are not. Colt and Colt Canada, have a good deal of military contracts here and internationally. Colt, however cannot compete with FN.

CZ is moving to take a slice of the market from FN and this puts them in a position to do so.

The commercial market has been flooded with Ars for close to two decades now. While sections of the U.S. military purchase from Colt the major supplier of AR platforms in recent years has been FN. No one in the U.S., other than Colt, has been concerned with that from the point of a reliable supply chain for the U.S. military.

CZ produces excellent guns both long and short. It will improve Colt's products.

 

[hso]

attempting to purchase

We'll see.

 

[nofendertom]

Will Colt firearms no longer be made in the USA ?

 

[rust collector]

The US manufacturing resources should be a foot in the door for US contracts and make production of firearms that may be otherwise restricted or heavily taxed possible. It may not be business as usual for employees, but Remington employees are learning that union membership does not guarantee prosperity. There should be a sweet spot in there somewhere, but it may take awhile to find it.

CZ makes a good product, but they understand that changes must be made to accommodate changing demands, economics and political climate. It would be great if we could export high quality firearms again.

 

[DairyVet]

and then discontinued them...

And just when I’d saved up enough for a 715 pistol pack. This explains why they haven’t been in stock anywhere...

 

[tipoc]

Colt will remain in the U.S. That's part of the reason for acquiring it. It was one of the reasons for CZ getting Dan Wesson.

The ownership of the Colt facilities in the U.S. means more guns made here. It opens up more potential contract options for CZ.

 

[Mark1964]

Nationalist sentiment aside, this is a good thing, IMO.
CZ is good at making guns, Colt less so than it used to be.
CZ is very good at selling guns, Colt ran a legendary name nearly into the ground.
As the poster above noted, at least some of Colt's manufacturing will remain here, open and providing jobs.
Hey, y'all do understand that both Browning and Winchester are essentially FN, right?

 

[reddog81]

Will Colt firearms no longer be made in the USA ?

I'd bet yes. CZ started making firearms here the last year or so. There are a number of new releases out there from April 2019 that states they selected Little Rock, AR for a manufacturing plant. Moving Colt's production offshore would be a mistake. Moving some of Colt's production down to Arkansas might make sense in the long run.

 

[George P]

Let's hope they move Colt to new facilities out of the NE to one more business friendly and less costly.