The Colt of today lives on the reputation of the Colt of old. The people of integrity and quality who built that brand to be the huge successful company it was are long gone. Since then, not only has Colt been bought and sold into and out of bankruptcy, pandered to feel good politics and political agenda's, they have laid off or retired many, if not all, of the skilled craftsmen (and women) who were responsible for the fine firearms produced years ago.
Now, Colt is not significantly different then GM or Ford. They churn out products of varying quality depending on the direction of the wind and attitudes of the union workers and short sighted management at the time (I'm not as anti-union as that sounds but, have seen union politics and company policies both go to extremes too many times to prove marginally valid points).
How do you feel when you discover your new Gold Cup has a plastic main spring housing (after spending a large amount of money on Stainless Gold Cup, one former Colt loyalist was a might peeved)? While Pythons are known to be the premium wheelgun of the United States, current generation pistols vary in quality and where did the blue job you could shave in go? I love the Colt firearms of long ago but, the ones of today are nothing special. The horse stamped into sheet metal or plastic no longer holds that special allure it used to in my eyes. It makes me a little sad everytime this subject comes up
There are many fine AR-15's out there at prices that are more reasonable then Colt's bastardized off spring. I have had good results from Bushmaster (pre-bans) and some of the lesser known brands (Pac West, Essential Arms, ...) and had plenty of money left over for shooting. Armalite and Olympic Arms carry a pretty good reputation as well and won't force you into non-standard parts if you need something years from now.
With 45's, the market has so many good names and brands out there at all price levels, why buy a Colt "lawyer lock" pistol? When I pick up a 45 and tilt it back and forth and hear parts rattle around from sloppy tolerances and poor craftsmanship I shake my head in disbelief. Kimber seems to be in the same general price class and you don't have to wonder about getting a lemon.
With 22lr's? With a market full of wonderfully reliable and accurate pistols, why buy Colt? It certainly is not on price or quality.
With revolvers you have S&W and Ruger both delivering a great product that stands the test of time and is priced appropriately.
Sid
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Tx FFL
[This message has been edited by Sid Post (edited September 27, 1999).]