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Why Colt Will Fail!

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Lone Star

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Get the new (July/August) "American Handgunner". Turn to page 42, Clint Smith's column. Read his panel on how a Colt rep dissed Mike Venturino at the SHOT show. ("We've never heard of you. Who are you?")

If Colt can't even keep up with a gun writer who has done them enormous good service in his many magazine articles and books, how must the average handgunner stand in their esteem?!

No wonder these people have trouble deciding how their guns should be built and in getting them to market...

Lone Star
 
Colts been in trouble for a while. If they really want to be a leading firearms manufacturer again they really need to look at their product offerings. They are surviving on ARs and 1911s with a few revolvers thrown into the mix. Where is their hicap 9mm/.40 service pistol to compete in that huge marketplace? The AWB sunsets in september! Hicaps are going to come back and you have nothing! Put out a product people will buy already! :cuss:
 
Where is their hicap 9mm/.40 service pistol to compete in that huge marketplace?

Umm? The Colt 2004? Arrrgggghhh!!

Maybe they can design a new round - the 45 CAP (like guess who).

Then they can sell CAP pistols!! yuk, yuk! :rolleyes:
 
My god! Id better just run out and buy a Colt before they go under!

And dissing a gun writer...wheeew, thats serious! My god, no more praise in exchange for advertising LOL..

Wildtheyvebeengoingundersince1970Alaska
 
There's nothing Mike Venturino could have ever said or wrote about the legendary Colt SAA that everyone hasn't already heard anyway. It won't like he broke the ice on any new developments. Why should a manufactor cater to a writer who is making his name off their product?
 
Colt is a survivor, and there are always more gunwriters than any planet could possibly use.
 
Colt proudly announces the new .45 CAP cartridge with it's longer case that reduces the possibility of dangerous over-pressurization and increases versatility to the point where hunting loads are possible. yes all that and it's completely backwards compatable with your old and completely obsolete .45ACP guns.

i'm sure in a head to head contest Dick Metcalf with announce .45CAP the winner over .45GAP
 
I have been reading some firearms history, and Colt has always made bad decisions.

Sam Colt was a good marketing guy, but without much technical know-how. He was smart enough to hire technical people who knew what they were doing.

Colt watched as auto-pistols became popular over in Europe, content with their wheelguns. The damn company had to really be hurting before it would try something new. When John Browning approached Colt with the 1911 design, they were smart enough to accept it, but it had to fall in their lap and they had to lose all manner of business in Europe before they would wake up.

It is totally understandable that S&W is whupping them so soundly.

If I ever buy a Colt product, it will be used, as I don't want my money to get into their hands.

Yes, they are missing the boat. With their brand name, they could introduce any sort of decent gun and make it succeed.
 
Where's Dean Speir ("Formerly Famous Gunwriter") when we need him? I'd really like his take on this one.

Colt really needs to hire a lifelong shooter, Communications/Journalism graduate (that's called a PR degree), warrior mindset who understands gamesmanship, law degree dude who mows his own lawn and works on his own cars to handle their PR and marketing. There's a certain amount of real-world that some of the "educated" lose touch of. But I don't want to move to the evil east coast, and I don't think they allow telecommuting.;)
 
Majic-

You're wrong: Venturino HAS written things about Colt SAA and percussion (and contemporary guns) that I've seen no one else say, and I've read a lot in the field for about 50 years. (I began very early, in elementary school.)

He is actually one of the less greedy/commercial gun scribes. He has done Colt enormous service in promoting Cowboy Action shooting, which has greatly benefitted sales of the SAA. He has contributed much to interest shooters in firearms history and tradition. Without this awareness of the past, many new gunowners never get as much "into" guns as might be hoped, and some honestly feel half embarrassed to own guns.

The gunwriter (not just Venturino) is the link between the manufacturer and the consumer. If they didn't tell us who was making (or about to make) what, we'd miss out on knowing what to pressure lazy/greedy dealers to order. Some writers are little more than shills for the ad departments of their magazines. (Several have actually written promotional material for manufacturers' catalogs!) Some have enormous egos. But others do a very workmanlike job, and are genuine enthusiasts who pass along their knowledge, and even manage to convey their true feelings about products...at least to the degree that their editors will allow.

Keep in mind that some writers, like Skeeter Skelton and Elmer Keith, lobbied gun makers to introduce improvements that we'd never see, otherwise. They tell manufacturers (who are often just dull businessmen) what REAL gun enthusiasts want or need.

Lone Star
 
Is Rock River Arms going to fail? Les Baer? Wilson Combat? JP Precision? STI?

While I'd agree that Colt is going to lose market share over not having a high-capacity design once the AWB sunsets, they won't fail because of it. 1911s and AR-15s are the most copied guns out there. The AR-15 is the top selling .223 in the US, and the 1911 is up there in handguns too. Colt has a very popular design and makes high quality guns.

The question is, could Colt really come up with another high-capacity 9mm/40 that would sell? The market is saturated with them. I'm not sure what they could improve on. Let's see:

Beretta, Ruger, SigArms, GLOCK, Walther, S&W, Springfield Armory, Styer, Browning, FN, Taurus, CZ, HK, Para-Ordnance, IMI and others all make high capacity pistols of the DA/SA or DAO types. I'm not sure if there's enough market out there for a new comer. (Granted, the 1911 market is nearly as saturated, but Colt has been associated with the 1911 since, well, 1911 :) ).

I'm not sure if Colt would be willing to make a gamble again after the dismal failure of the "All-American" series.
 
If Colt was smart, they'd be expanding their handgun line with more affordable models and producing revolvers specifically designed for CCW such as the Detective Special. Can you imagine an alloy framed DS? Or a hammerless version? Woo hoo!!

However, as another posted previously remarked good decisions haven't exactly been their style. :rolleyes:
 
"Can you imagine an alloy frame DS! Or a hammerless version?"

Why imagine when I can fondle one without getting up from the keyboard? Colt indeed has discontinued more good guns than other makers ever succeed in coming up with.

The alloy frame DS is known as the Cobra or Agent. As far as a hammerless version, look up W. Waller and Son, who still make the Colt style shrouds, and for Colt D or S&W J frames at that. Leaves the guns they are mounted on looking like the Bodyguard, and able to be cocked by the stub of the hammer left exposed.

The Police Positive Special ( with enclosed ejector rod ) also had an alloy 4" barreled companion known as the Viper. The alloy framed guns with exposed ejector rods were marked Cobra on their 3" or 4" barrels.
 
This doesn't mean jack squat. The SAA is an expensive niche product for Colt. So they didn't kiss a gun writer's ass? Boo hoo. As a group those slobs have been ignoring Colt for the last, what, 10 years? You get no article nookie in 99% of the gun rags out there if you don't give the advertising whore her money. ;)
 
Lone Star, so you are saying Venturino found new discoveries on a handgun that was over 100 years old? All he did was to check history and repeat what many others before him had long, long discovered.
As for CAS he actually promoted the Italian clones as most shooters wasn't willing to ante up for the original Colts. His long range big bore rifle shooting only solidified the interest spured in them by the movie that featured Tom Selleck shooting the side hammer Sharps and I noticed he don't mention the Remington Rolling Block or any of the other big bore rifles of the day. Lever action rifles have always been popular in certain parts of the country. CAS interest was greatly helped by the influx of all the old western movies viewed on cable tv.
You are trying to give one man way to much credit for info that has been out for everyone to read if they so wished. Now if you haven't read it then maybe you were using the wrong resources. Mike Venturino certainly found them. There is nothing new in his loading black powder cartridges except for the use of the new wads. Fillers have been used for ages in reduced power loads. He certainly haven't developed any new bullet designs. Nor has he promoted nothing but the most popular chamberings from history. He makes no mention of the fine old target rifles of the past that came with their own custom bullet mold and sizing tools. Those are what should be in the long range contests. He has ignored Colt's rifles. The SPG lube he promotes is the invention of Steve Garbe, who like all the other black powder shooters knew that you had to use a soft lube.
So exactly what has he done that benefited Colt? He only uses their handgun as it was the most popular model of the day.
Yes some gunwriters did experiment with new ideas and lobbied the manufactors for new products, but Venturino has done nothing but to recreate history.
 
Where is their hicap 9mm/.40 service pistol to compete in that huge marketplace? The AWB sunsets in september! Hicaps are going to come back and you have nothing! Put out a product people will buy already!
Click to expand...
Oh I can't wait. Now the suburban commandos will be peppering even more rounds at a time. :)

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Hey, look at that, I hit the sillotute in the liver, heart, left lung, right lung, forehead, nose, ear, mouth, cheek, right hip, left hip, stomach, crotch, shoulder and arm. All at 5 YARDS! Wow. You are good.

Seriously...
The "high cap" market is oversaturated and will get worse. Colt is making some of the best 1911's they've ever made. Sure they need marketing, good sales reps and a decent catalog. Their customer service line is great. They stand behind their product. They still make some of the best 1911's out there. Gun guru's know it. But, sure, they need to let the average gun buyer know it.
 
Is Rock River Arms going to fail? Les Baer? Wilson Combat? JP Precision? STI?
Click to expand...

Yes but those are all smaller semi-custom shops. And they do fine because they make a good product and fit in a good, mostly niche, market. Colt is a major manufacturer or it should be given its history. Frankly it wouldn't surprise me if Springfield Armory has higher revenues and market share than Colt. And SA has a service pistol on the market as well that is doing well for them. Colt could/should be up there with S&W or Ruger in terms of sales. But it isn't and won't be. Its not going to die though, since Connecticut owns a large amount of the company.
 
Considering the large concealed carry market, simply by discontinuing the Magnum Carry/Detective Special and the Colt Pocket Nine (similar in size to the Kahr MK9) those guys at Colt shot themselves in the nuts three times in a row...... reintroducing those models would boost their sales quite a bit.
 
Well first of all Mike Venturino is a gentleman of the “old school,†and a respected writer in his field – which is one that should be of interest to Colt’s management. In addition he was undoubtedly wearing credentials that identified who he was and that he was a member of the press. This being the case he deserved to get some respect. In my experience at the SHOT Show, and I’ve only missed one since they started, companies of all kinds welcome those with press credentials because they want all of the coverage they can get – especially the free kind.

The yahoo who was representing Colt fumbled badly. Not only did he miss a chance to promote the company he was working for, he displayed an intolerable ignorance about what writers or others might be important to his employer. That something a Public Relations person or Sales Representative who attend trade shows is supposed to be aware of. To add insult to injury Clint’s report of the incident in “American Handgunner†will not make any points for Colt either.

In short, he blew it. I suspect if Colt is able to learn his identity he'll be looking for a new line of work.
 
I hate to see any gun makers go under so I hope they can come up with some more products that people actually want.
 
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