I lament the extinction of Colt handguns.

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I like Colt revolvers. I used to love their revolvers... maybe I still do.

DPris said ...I can admire the workmanship & the historical importance while recognizing that the older Colt DAs have simply obsoleted themselves.

Working DA revolvers come from other companies.

I can appreciate Colt's history without worshipping it.
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This is pretty much where I am at with regard to Colt. I really like the D-frame Colt revolvers. A Det Special was the last Colt I have purchased. Fine gun!

I am not a huge Python fan. A 6" Python was my first DA centerfire revolver which I kept and shot occasionally for years. Sold it off to buy Colts that I prefer. I really like the Trooper Mark III in 357 mag and that is my target 357 that I shoot the most at the range or for fun.

The Colt DA revolver design just could not last in this manufacturing enviroment. Too expensive and too much hand fitting involved as I understand it. Colt's woes came to light as the civilian shooting public shifted to the wonder 9's and there was little market for DA revolvers for about 15 years.

Colt's management tended to be reactive rather than proactive starting in the 1960's.

You can still buy Colt DA revolvers. For those that want them, most appreciate them for what they are. As the price of Colts rose starting around 2000, I shifted to buying S&W revolvers as I saw them as more cost effective. But from a collector standpoint, speaking in generalities, nothin beats a Colt revolver!
 
Mr Ayoob is correct.

What Mr. Trzoniec said was "The Python is an expensive revolver to be sure, but it will outlast the shooter."

I apologize for the error.
 
If it weren't for the CCW craze going on nationally, S&W and Ruger would be struggling too with their revolvers today.
 
No doubt the handgun world is now dominated by autos. Look at the forum visitor count. The auto pistol forum has several times the people of the revolver and general pistol forum combined. Check most gun shops. Auto pistols abound while revolvers can be scarce.

I still carry a revolver regularly and I keep two wheel guns ready in my home. And I still appreciate the Colt revolvers.


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My 1982-ish Colt SAA is being shipped today. :D Blue, 5.5", .44 Sp.

The new indoor range is 3 miles away and has really good air conditioning.
 
Colt has priced themselves out of the consumer arms business. HK is headed that way. 25 years ago a Colt Army and a Ruger Blackhawk could both be had for around $200.

Now a Ruger Blackhawk is $450 time the dust settles and a Colt Army is over $1000. There is not a difference in quality to justify the price. Both guns resell very well.
 
Wow, I didn't know Colt was extinct. My friend just picked up a Defender and a Mustang Pocket Lite last month. Plus I've had my eye on a brand new New Agent in 9mm. If I can persuade the wife it will come home with me.

The death of Colt seems to be greatly over stated on nearly every gun board.
 
If you happen to pick up a copy of Colt's 1936 catalog (available as reprints) you will quickly discover how far they have fallen. Within the pages there are an extensive display of product you'd expect from a major manufacturer. Today that it is limited to 2 basic platforms and an obsolete pocket pistol. What they make is good, but they don't make very much of it.
 
An obsolete pocket pistol? You mean the one everybody went crazy for when SIG copied it? The one that SIG sells for roughly the same price and has no problem moving out the door?

Colt has changed over the years. It isn't the most modern or gee-whiz. It provides guns for niche markets. It is alive, kicking, and producing guns that people willingly fork over a lot of money to own. Far from extinct.
 
The demise of Colt is over stated?

You do realize they currently manufacture ZERO (as in none at all) DA revolvers, right?
 
Neither does Springfield Armory. Come to think of it, they don't make any revolvers at all.

Meanwhile, Colts aren't extinct. Extinct means they no longer exist. FedEx now says my nearly new 30-year-old SAA will be here Tuesday. How's that for fast service? Looks like it's spending the weekend in NJ.

Maybe I'll buy one of those fake Colt boxes for it on ebay. :rolleyes:

John
 
Neither does Springfield Armory. Come to think of it, they don't make any revolvers at all
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Nor did Ford or Google

Naming a company that never made revolvers is not germane.

Colt was a leader in double action revolvers for many years. Then was competing for top dog. Now out of the business.

Oh how the mighty have fallen
And died a slow and painful death
 
An obsolete pocket pistol? You mean the one everybody went crazy for when SIG copied it? The one that SIG sells for roughly the same price and has no problem moving out the door?
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Ya' that one. It's based on a Spanish Star design that Colt bought the rights to after the 1968 GCA was passed. Heavy and single-action-only with an exposed hammer. Not the best for pocket carry unless you want to carry with the hammer down.

Everyone else is offering a polymer frame, inclosed striker fired, double-action that retails for less and leaves the maker with a better profit.

Same ol' story. Out of date products, priced at the high end of the market, that they hope people will buy because the pony is stamped on it. They sell all the can make, but the problem is they don't make very much.

No, I don't like this situation either, and I don't wish them any bad luck. But at the same time I'm not blind to reality. :banghead:
 
"Naming a company that never made revolvers is not germane."

It most certainly is germane, it proves a gun company can be successful without making DA revolvers.

Or does the debate have to be precisely according to your somewhat arbitrary rules? Iow, no DAs = Colt is a loser.

John
 
the "snake guns" and the various 1911s were a regular thing in the 1980s. how the gp100 and super red/black hawks and kimber 1911s replaced them all is beyond me.
 
It most certainly is germane, it proves a gun company can be successful without making DA revolvers.
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Absolutely! But to be successful they have to make some sort of guns, and a lot of them...

Colt suffers from relatively low production numbers.
 
it proves a gun company can be successful without making DA revolvers
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John,

Respectfully, you miss the point. Perhaps this analogy will communicate that which I have thus far failed to express.

If Ford quit making cars it would make sense for Mustang guys to lament that Ford was a miserable failure at making pony cars.

Colt, once a great double action revolver maker, now makes none.

That is reason to pule.

It would be silly to whine about the lack of Springfield revolvers.
 
It would be so interesting to do a site visit (or better yet, be a fly on the wall) for a day or two at Colt. I can't imagine what they are thinking and doing. I understand that their heart and soul may be making 'classic' revolvers and 1911's, but that just isn't going to provide the financial fuel to make them a going concern.
It may be that they recognize the situation, have the plans to turn it around but can't get the financing to do so. Or they may just be lamenting, with their 75-year old chairman (though he's an ex-marine so I assume he would take action) the old days and are waiting for the market to recognize their value.
I do recall that in the 80's, Porsche was really struggling. Their cars were too expensive, too costly to manufacture, and there was simply not a big enough market. They did two things: their execs traveled to Japan to learn lower-cost manufacturing techniques, and they decided to build an SUV. Not to end their sports car business but to provide the cash to pursue their passion in racing and sports car building. It worked. But they had to recognize the problem and take extreme steps to solve it.
Notwithstanding a gross financial failure with Porsche trying to outmaneuver VW with a takeover attempt, Porsche cars, and their business has never been better. I'd like to think that Colt, a great american brand, would do something similar.
B
 
JohnBT- G is correct, you are missing the point. I didn't start this thread saying Colt can't be a successful gun company with no wheel guns. I said I lament the fact that they STOPPED making them. SA never made revolvers so we are not missing anything. If Colt never made DA revolvers this thread would not exist. They did... now they don't... hence my disappointment.
 
I'd love to see Colt come out with a few revolvers. They would be akin to the Mark III or Mark V series if it happened. But I am not holding my breath or thinking I better not buy a Det Special because they might come out with a smaller carry revolver.

Colt has a history (since WWII) of introducing revolvers after they are popular by another manufacturer. That has always bugged me. The Python may be the exception, and S&W followed suit with the 586/686. But who makes one now??... S&W. S&W wins.
 
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