Colt just filed Bankruptcy

Didn´t Colt just make a deal for $22.5mil.with the USMC for a new M45 pistol?

I know that they were all cracking during testing. This was almost 3 years ago now, and just a couple years before that the Marines bought a bunch of Beretta M9A1's to replace the standard M9, so unless someone can chime in I am not sure if they went through with the deal.

The Colt M45 is ONLY for the use of MARSOC Marine Special Operations.
The standard Marines still use the M9 series.
The deal went through and the Marine Spec-ops are using the new Colt M45.

The early cracking problem was caused by a machining problem on prototypes, which was fixed and no more cracks.
This is why firearms (and most anything else) gets prototyped and tested before being bought and issued, just to turn up problems.
 
The Colt M45 is ONLY for the use of MARSOC Marine Special Operations.
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From what I understand shortly after they bought the Colt's, Glock 19's were approved for MARSOC and many opted for the Glock over the Colt's.
 
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Dfariawheel- "The early cracking problem was caused by a machining problem on prototypes, which was fixed and no more cracks.
This is why firearms (and most anything else) gets prototyped and tested before being bought and issued, just to turn up problems. "

Yep, you beat me to it. Also, the services had cracked slides when the first bunch of M9's came out. Changes were made, problem fixed. "The M45 is sweet" I wish I could afford one.

I think someone else also said what I was thinking on the issue of why Colt is failing. They left the civilian market and went with what seemed like straight mil contracts for a long time. That was a bad idea. With the Tax situation in the state they're in, it can't be helping their situation either.

Hope they get themselves turned around.

Hooyah
 
I have always been under the impression that there have been extraordinary labor (read "union") issues as well.

Want to argue? Listen closely to the lines drawn in the coming days. Union will not make a single reasonable concession, say I.

This is why traditional industry is fleeing New England.
 
My hope is that some one who knows what the heck they are doing will end up running Colt.

The name is too big not to be back.

I would have really liked a Mustang .380
But not for $600 when you can get some thing just a good for $299 or spend just a little more and get something great.

$399 I would have at least one maybe two. Will see....
 
I have always been under the impression that there have been extraordinary labor (read "union") issues as well.
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Unions really aren't a problem. When Unions get out of hand, just move the company to any one of the Southern States that have open shop laws. Or, better yet, to Mexico.
 
Hey; Michigan has right-to-work and a bunch of empty factories too!

Honestly I'm not surprised to see Colt in this predicament. I will admit I've been tempted by Colts... but not new ones with the sole exception of the LE6920; which I never ended up buying.
 
Poor Colt, totally mismanaged into financial ruin. Its not the Unions, it is the guys in the front office that drove the company into bankruptcy. These guys broke the company into two pieces and awarded themselves lots of company money doing so, and then they remade the company back into one piece, awarding themselves more company money. If you notice, they did not put the money into the company for product development or facilities. The owners got rich by draining the Company of money, and keeping the money for themselves.

This article in 2014 Bloomberg shows a portion of the financial mismanagement that ruined Colt:

Why Colt Can't Shoot Straight:

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/article...ers-owners-have-led-it-to-crisis-after-crisis

Sears is another example of the Predator State. The guys at top destroy viable companies with a rich history, increase their wealth, and put hundreds of thousands of middle people out of work.

Why Sears Investors Should hate Eddie Lampert

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...so-investors-should-lovehate-eddie-lampe.aspx
 
The early cracking problem was caused by a machining problem on prototypes, which was fixed and no more cracks.
This is why firearms (and most anything else) gets prototyped and tested before being bought and issued, just to turn up problems.
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I would think a 110 year old design wouldn't need to be prototyped.
 
Regardless of who is at fault for screwing up Colt, I sure would like to see some genuine all-American, gun-loving group of investors (or even workers) buy this company. I'd like to see Colt go the way of Harley.
 
I would like to see the brand kept alive, too, but I think moving down South and/or West (follow Beretta? ) is the only way to find light at the end of the tunnel.
 
Just very happy I have my two new Colt 1911s a 1991 and SXE, don't see losing any money on them. Colts will always be in high demand.:)
 
Andy Blozinsky said:
Colt was over charging, milking the government teat, and not making any attempt at improvements.
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Nowhere in the article to which you linked does it say either that Colts Defense was over-charging or that they didn't make any attempt at improvement. The article says that Colt was underbid -- the lower bidder is not in Connecticut and probably doesn't have workers who belong to the same union as Colt workers. Colt's price was probably reasonable, given their circumstances. The fact that someone can charge less when operating from a lower cost environment doesn't prove that the first company was gouging.

As for improvement -- Colt had (and FN has) a contract to build the M4A1 carbine. Nobody asked them to "improve" it -- the contract calls for them to build M4A1s, and that's what they did. Colt could have, and can, add any or all of the enumerated bells and whistles in the M4A1+ specification -- but they weren't asked to do so.
 
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Read articles other than this one. Colt was asked to improve it and refused to do so.
You have no idea if Belgium has a lower labor cost environment to even make that statement. You should not make unsupported claims that may be wildly inaccurate.
 
"...Colt really needs a change in management if..." And to quit marketing based on the brand name.
"...if Belgium has a lower labor cost..." Not really. Minimum wage is 1501.82($1,669.59 USD) EUR/Month in June of 2015 for over 21's based on a 38 hour work week, with a maximum of 9 hours per day and 45 hours per week. U.S. Federal MW is $7.25 per hour($1,000ish per month) with most States being higher and for a 34.5 hour week.
 
As for improvement -- Colt had (and FN has) a contract to build the M4A1 carbine. Nobody asked them to "improve" it -- the contract calls for them to build M4A1s, and that's what they did. Colt could have, and can, add any or all of the enumerated bells and whistles in the M4A1+ specification -- but they weren't asked to do so.


Read articles other than this one. Colt was asked to improve it and refused to do so.
You have no idea if Belgium has a lower labor cost environment to even make that statement. You should not make unsupported claims that may be wildly inaccurate.
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I seriously doubt the guns would be made in Belgium as opposed to FN's US plant
 
Why cant they make revolvers again? I think that would probably help them out some. I havent kept up with colt other then learning about the revolvers they made and how great they were. Why not bring back a few of those?
 
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