Bill Mitchell
Staff Alumnus
In these days of gun-grabbing lawsuits and legislation,I hesitate to bad-mouth a gun company,but recent experience has me wondering if Colt really deserves the business of the Cowboy Shooting crowd.
A couple of weeks ago,I helped set up and worked at "The Shootout at Mule Camp",the third largest CAS shoot in the world. While Colt is the main sponsor of End of Trail,this year was the first time that they've had anything to do with our shoot. The reason behind it was that they are now part of the new sponsorship program for SASS regional shoots. They provided us with one Colt Cowboy
to give away and set up a small booth. I was able to inspect the Cowboy before it was given away,and I was disappointed,to say the least. The action was quite rough,it had a short trigger,and the grips were made of really cheap plastic and didn't fit the gun.
While I wouldn't expect the finest gun they have as a give-away,this one shouldn't have made it through quality control. A gun that costs twice what a Ruger Vaquero costs should be twice as nice,but this was an inferior firearm.
At Mule Camp,a local gunsmith,Len Ferguson,sets up and fixes guns for free. Most parts are donated by Mike Harvey at Cimmaron Firearms,which are basically identical to Colt parts. Why not use Colt parts?? Because they are outrageously expensive. A bolt is $40. A hammer is $150.
Folks buy the SAA based on the history of Colt and that firearm in the Old West. They are willing to pay $1200 for a SAA. Is this a gun that's really worth $1200? For $1200,Colt should bend over backwards in the customer service dept.,but the majority of stories I hear are negative in that regard.
The head of Colt's ownership group,Donald Zilkha,donated funds to the campaign of Charles Schumer and the the Democratic Senatorial campaign fund. Do we want to support donations to gun grabbers with our purchase decisions?
What I'm driving at here is that Colt has done very little to help cowboy shooters and CAS. They've upped the price on the SAA on what seems like a yearly basis,so that now it's an astronomic $1200. They've released a knockoff of the SAA,nearly identical in construction to a Ruger Vaquero,but lower in quality and costing nearly twice what the Ruger does. When Colt supports a CAS event,it does so to the bare minimum,it seems,while folks like Bill Oglesby donate $9000 worth of guns for the charity auction,every year. Now,I know that there are folks out there that swear by the Colt name and history,but it seems to me that history should only get you so far. At what point do product,service and support outweigh the substantial history?
Bellicose Bill
A couple of weeks ago,I helped set up and worked at "The Shootout at Mule Camp",the third largest CAS shoot in the world. While Colt is the main sponsor of End of Trail,this year was the first time that they've had anything to do with our shoot. The reason behind it was that they are now part of the new sponsorship program for SASS regional shoots. They provided us with one Colt Cowboy
to give away and set up a small booth. I was able to inspect the Cowboy before it was given away,and I was disappointed,to say the least. The action was quite rough,it had a short trigger,and the grips were made of really cheap plastic and didn't fit the gun.
While I wouldn't expect the finest gun they have as a give-away,this one shouldn't have made it through quality control. A gun that costs twice what a Ruger Vaquero costs should be twice as nice,but this was an inferior firearm.
At Mule Camp,a local gunsmith,Len Ferguson,sets up and fixes guns for free. Most parts are donated by Mike Harvey at Cimmaron Firearms,which are basically identical to Colt parts. Why not use Colt parts?? Because they are outrageously expensive. A bolt is $40. A hammer is $150.
Folks buy the SAA based on the history of Colt and that firearm in the Old West. They are willing to pay $1200 for a SAA. Is this a gun that's really worth $1200? For $1200,Colt should bend over backwards in the customer service dept.,but the majority of stories I hear are negative in that regard.
The head of Colt's ownership group,Donald Zilkha,donated funds to the campaign of Charles Schumer and the the Democratic Senatorial campaign fund. Do we want to support donations to gun grabbers with our purchase decisions?
What I'm driving at here is that Colt has done very little to help cowboy shooters and CAS. They've upped the price on the SAA on what seems like a yearly basis,so that now it's an astronomic $1200. They've released a knockoff of the SAA,nearly identical in construction to a Ruger Vaquero,but lower in quality and costing nearly twice what the Ruger does. When Colt supports a CAS event,it does so to the bare minimum,it seems,while folks like Bill Oglesby donate $9000 worth of guns for the charity auction,every year. Now,I know that there are folks out there that swear by the Colt name and history,but it seems to me that history should only get you so far. At what point do product,service and support outweigh the substantial history?
Bellicose Bill