Question of Colt's survival

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helitack32f1

helitack32f1

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I have been a fan of the Colt ever since my first Colt Woodsman. I have hated to see the once great Colt constantly teetering on the edge of extinction and I have always wondered, why do they not revive some of their most revered models of the past? Colt seems as though it is attempting to survive solely off the sales of the AR platform and the 1911.

I cannot even think of anything new Colt has introduced since the failed Colt All American 2000 and the Colt Cadet .22. What I do not understand is, why do they not offer a continuation of the Colt Woodsman, the Colt Anaconda and the Colt Python? The claim, at least about the Woodsman is that it would be too expensive to make but i believe they could charge a premium for it, if it was as well made as the originals. I do not understand how it is not possible for Colt to make these in a cost effective manner given how much manufacturing and technology has changed since they quit making them. This could be sold as a premium .22 and people would pay for it.

I believe the same could be said for the Python and Anaconda. Colt already makes the SAA and has an MSRP for around $1,800 for that so why not fire up the production lines for these fine and sought after firearms and charge a premium for them?

The only real negative I see is that maybe production of these guns could detract from the worth of originals. However, people will always put a higher worth on originals.

If Colt could figure out how to do this in a competent manner in which they actually see a profit, maybe they then could hire some of the best engineers in the industry and make an all new gun that can take on the world.

A man can dream can't he?
 
They could only sell them to us old guys and we're dropping like flies.

Younger people generally don't have the same appreciation for a good gun as we do.
 
Even if the tooling being sold off is a valid excuse, I find it hard to believe that they could not acquire new tooling, if it could be shown that the new creations would pay off in the long run.

While those of us that revere such Colt creations may be of the semi-older variety, those Colt gun's reputations precede them. I have no actual experience with the Colt Python, other than finding them attractive as a young impressionable child but I am very well aware of their quality. I did have a brief desire to purchase an Anaconda when they were for sale and figured I would always have time to buy one but sadly that time passed rather quickly. I am confident that if Colt were to remake these guns, the firearm media would herald it as the second coming and no one, young or old, would be unaware of the reputations of these three specific firearms and how significant their return to the market is.
 
I doubt Colt has many tool makers left and farming out tooling creates it's own set of problems. Probably also doesn't have the skill sets left in the polishing and assembly departments it would take to reproduce something like the Python at less than custom shop pricing.
 
The gunsmiths who fitted those fine works are gone. There is not another generation of them standing by , waiting for the call. If the glory models were reproduced in MIM parts they would not sell. On top of all that , the younger gun buyer isn't clamoring for a Colt of old.

Harley Davidson and Colt have basis for comparison- aging market is drying up. Harley is coming out with an electric motorcycle. Some would call that smart marketing ; looks like desperation to me. Should Colt make a polymer revolver?

It was nice while it lasted ...
 
Oh Pleeze! Colt has been teetering on the brink as long as I can remember. They may end up “made in china” but they aren’t going away. Corporations will stand in line to buy the Colt name.

As far as reviving some of the old lines, why? I think they are smart to primarily stick with 1911’s. In the past, every time they looked forward to newer designs they got spanked. While it would be great if they made an affordable SAA or a Python. I think Colt would be smart to take it very slow. And not because they want to keep the value of the originals. Why would they care? Colt’s bread and butter is in the 1911. If they want to thrive in todays market they need to put their efforts into making the best 1911 they can, so they can continue to get a premium price for it. Invest in infrastructure so the can make them better and cheaper. Then maybe look forward to other models.
 
you have a few tens of thousands of collectors in this country, probably half of them only want these because they're rare. I know several people who would jump at a 1000$ antique colt, but have never met anyone in person that would pay that for a new one. You cant make a company survive by selling 10,000 models a year, even with a 20% profit. For the price of a new production DA, you could buy a Ruger, or S/W, have it tuned professionally, and have a much more durable, just as accurate target revolver from a much less flaky company, with some hope of parts support in five years, and have spent $500 less. Those colts would offer nothing but a name, and many don't actually respect the Colt name as it is. Now if they brought back the Ace, I would probably jump on that. I just can't think of anything a Python could do that a GP/686 can't do better, cheaper.
 
Waveski said:
Harley Davidson and Colt have basis for comparison- aging market is drying up.
Click to expand...

Ok, that’s a great comparison. Harley has tried to make bikes to compete with the imports before. They all failed miserably. Who knows how the electric will do? It might just be the thing of the future, or maybe just another failure. Time will tell. The old standbys are still selling pretty well. Harley put a lot of money into making a reliable bike. They get a pretty penny for them.

While the market is aging, I don’t think its drying up at all. I know several bikers that used to ride sport bikes that now ride Baggers. And I now several younger guys that started out with Glocks and later found the beauty of the 1911.

Should Colt make a polymer revolver? I don’t know. They pioneered the light commander. A polymer commander looks like the next logical step. “The Lighter Weight Commander”
 
I think they should focus on 6 shot compact and I frame revolvers

Keep with the snake names

Not sure why they didn’t bring the new Cobra out with an alloy frame. It would be a hot seller

Maybe revive the King Cobra. Midsize. I think it would sell pretty well
 
If Harley makes an electric bike they're going to have to clothespin a baseball card to the spokes to make it sound like something. lol

Browning seems to be doing very well outsourcing the manufacturing of many of their models to Japan. Nobody complains about the quality. Perhaps Colt could do something similar in Japan or Italy. Weren't Colt's second gen black powder pistols made in Italy? Maybe their little single shot .22 short pistols were also made offshore?
 
I don't own a Python but have friends that do, so I've shot them a fair amount. The only other colt DA revolver I've shot was a Detective Special. The double-action pull of a Colt is so much different than a Smith that I could never get used to it.

But the Woodsman Match Target, now that is a different story. I'd love to have one of them. I'd love to have a .44 Special SA, too.
 
Colt and Harley have been imitating themselves since the '50s, banking on selling the mystique rather than superior designs. Yes, great designs managed to creep past the marketing departments and the political correctors but it was the history and the mystery that they were counting on, not the cold reality of the product.

Reminds me of politicians and Hollywood.
 
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I have been a member of this forum for the past 7 years. There are multiple threads here, posted over those seven years, that go something like, "Colt will go under if they don't reintroduce the Python."

First, they've declared bankruptcy before, and it'll happen again. Such is the corporate world. Life goes on.

Second, Colt chose to focus on 1911s, because they can move every one they can make.
 
Speedo66 said:
If Harley makes an electric bike they're going to have to clothespin a baseball card to the spokes to make it sound like something. lol

Browning seems to be doing very well outsourcing the manufacturing of many of their models to Japan. Nobody complains about the quality. Perhaps Colt could do something similar in Japan or Italy. Weren't Colt's second gen black powder pistols made in Italy? Maybe their little single shot .22 short pistols were also made offshore?
Click to expand...

Yes, but only rough forgings that had to be further machined and finished here, which requires tooling. And even though twice as expensive as the Italian replicas they sold very well. Might work. They have to try something.
 
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helitack32f1 said:
I cannot even think of anything new Colt has introduced since the failed Colt All American 2000 and the Colt Cadet .22.
Click to expand...

Colt introduced the new cobra last year. Other than that the catalog has seen few changes in the last couple of years. They've got more variations of the 1911 than you can shake a stick at, the Mustang (which nobody seems to care about), and the elusive SAA. And then you've got the long gun page with a couple AR-15's. I'm pretty sure Ruger comes out with more new models every year than the number of models in the Colt catalog.
 
rskent wrote:
And I now several younger guys that started out with Glocks and later found the beauty of the 1911.
Click to expand...

I've never owned a Glock. I have appreciated the 1911 from the time I was child. But, mine bears the name Ithaca, not Colt. And if I bought another 1911, it would be from someone other than Colt because everything I have seen with a Colt pony on it in the last 30 years has been something I didn't feel was worth the money.

You are correct the Colt name still has value and when the current (mis-)management team finishes with the firm, someone will buy it out of the bankruptcy court. But what survives will no longer be Colt. All of the know-how, heritage and ethos will have long before been squandered; it will be a Colt name on a Turkish, Brazilian or Chinese gun.
 
I don't know but reading through Colt's recent history and some of their management groups it seems like they were more interested in cashing in big and putting money into their own pockets instead of maintaining the company as a 'going concern.'

"The company's product woes are just one part of the equation, however. The reshuffling of business and executive priorities has further complicated Colt's already-precarious financial position.

Most private equity firms attempt to wring their maximum possible profits from their investments. Sciens was no different. Immediately after the transfer, the firm created a separate arm for Colt's defense operations and let its consumer division languish. Even as the company lost money over the next couple of years, the firm awarded generous bonuses and consulting remuneration to its officers. According to one estimate, at least $131 million of the total debt incurred by Colt during its recapitalization in 2004 was used to "make distributions to Sciens in 2007."
 
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Speedo66 said:
If Harley makes an electric bike they're going to have to clothespin a baseball card to the spokes to make it sound like something. lol

Browning seems to be doing very well outsourcing the manufacturing of many of their models to Japan. Nobody complains about the quality. Perhaps Colt could do something similar in Japan or Italy. Weren't Colt's second gen black powder pistols made in Italy? Maybe their little single shot .22 short pistols were also made offshore?
Click to expand...


This was the thought I woke up with this morning. A few of Browning’s high quality guns are manufactured by Miroku of Japan, the same company that made what is by far and away the best most well built and favorite gun I own, an 1895 Winchester in 30-06. I believe Winchester also has Model 94’s being made there now and maybe others, though I suspect this concept cuts down on the main companie’s profit, though it does keep them from having to tool up to build these guns. The owner of my LGS was overheard talking about how Winchester was displaying these model 94’s with a price of over $1,000!

I would have no problem buying a Miroku built Colt Woodsman to compliment my two originals. However, I have never heard of them making a handgun.
 
Waveski said:
The gunsmiths who fitted those fine works are gone. There is not another generation of them standing by , waiting for the call. If the glory models were reproduced in MIM parts they would not sell. On top of all that , the younger gun buyer isn't clamoring for a Colt of old.

Harley Davidson and Colt have basis for comparison- aging market is drying up. Harley is coming out with an electric motorcycle. Some would call that smart marketing ; looks like desperation to me. Should Colt make a polymer revolver?

It was nice while it lasted ...
Click to expand...

Will the electric Harley's still have the volume control you twist on the right handlebar? Don't matter if it's electric,aslong as it's got the name,is shinny, and still blows out earholes,it'll sell.

Back on topic:

As nice as it would be for colt to bring back the guns of old, why would they? Revolvers are expensive to make and Ruger/Smith have it locked down as far as modern revolvers go. Retooling and selling low volumes of expensive revolvers would just cost them money. They are in business to make money, not nostalgia. My $550 dollar gp100 does all I need it too,don't see much of a point in the snakes. For that kind of money if rather have a Dan Wesson or better yet splurge on a Korth.
 
If Colt's goes offshore they're more likely to go to The Philippines or Brazil. Japan and most of Southeast Asia have problems with handguns in general, while China is blocked by U.S. law. Most of the rest of the world is either too expensive, lacks the technological base, or has regulatory problems of some sort.
 
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