I Don't Think I Buy The "Too Expensive To Make Colt DA Revolvers" Arguement Anymore

J

Joe_Pike

New member
I was reading the newest American Rifleman and they reviewed the Colt New Frontier single actions in .44 Special and .45 Colt. The guns were gorgeous (except for the grips, as was noted in the review). The list price was $1,455 each. The review stated that, while there was a lot of machining of the parts, there was also a lot of hand fitting on each revolver.

Now, I have read over and over on various forums that the reason Colt doesn't make any DA revolvers is because it would be too expensive, a lot of that due to hand fitting parts while making the revolver. I don't know that I really buy that any more. $1,455 for a SA is alot of money for a gun, but I imagine that they will sell quite a few anyway. I realize street price may come in a bit less, but it seems to me that if they can do a high quality SA that sells in this price range, then why can't they do a DA even if it costs a bit more?

In all fairness, I probably wouldn't buy one anyway since I never got bit too bad by the Colt revovler bug. I have owned three Colt revolvers, but have since sold all of them, but I know there are a bunch of folks out there that would jump on one if they started making them again.
 
Even at $1000, there'd be a big price differential between new Colts and offerings from Smith & Wesson or Ruger.

More so, the new Colts would be declared to be inferior in some way by the purists, who would lay waste to countless internet forums and blogs proving their point.
 
DA revolvers, ESPECIALLY the old style action Colt revolvers are considerably more complicated with many more parts than a Single Action.
They required a lot more hand fitting and adjusting then any SAA.
The days when any major gun company can spend the time and effort to build a low selling Ferrari level revolver are over.

I don't know about now that Colt reintroduced the New Frontier, but a few months ago Brent at Colt told us that ONE MAN in the Custom Shop was building ALL of the SAA revolvers.

Colt has been discussing bringing a DA revolver back sometime in the future, and my belief is that when they do, it'll probably be a Magnum Carry small frame type DA revolver.
 
If Colt was making new DA revolvers in the $1400 MSRP range, they'd be competing directly with the S&W Performance Center products, not the regular production catalog. Even then they'd be on the high side.

While the wheelgun market consists of very determined customers, it is just not a huge market. Prices of even a pedestrian regular production revolver ends up running somewhat more than the popular poly framed semiautos, and that's where much of the firearm market goes.

I think it's not so much that there's NO market, but that Colt doesn't see ENOUGH of a market to do it. If they make them for even $2000 and generate a profit on those, is it enough of a profit for them to even bother with it?
 
Joe_Pike said:
why can't they do a DA even if it costs a bit more?
Click to expand...


My guess is that even if they were interested, the machinery & tooling (assuming they still even have it) would need some serious updating to compete in the marketplace. That's some serious capitol investment for a small market. It's likely the same reason we don't see others (Freedom Arms, for instance) making quality DA revos.
 
It changed in the '60s when labor costs went way up .It was difficult to find skilled workers .Even polishing a revolver takes great skill . An M27 S&W cost 30% more than the lesser polished M28 ! Most people now are not willing to spend the years in training.
 
Even at $1000, there'd be a big price differential between new Colts and offerings from Smith & Wesson or Ruger.
Click to expand...

But, the same can be said about the Ruger Vaqueros for $600 and the new $1,455 Colt New Frontiers.

S&W has the "new" model 27 listed at roughly a grand, and I'm sure they sell them. You can buy a used one for less but some people prefer to buy new only. If Colt could build a "New Python" and sell it for $1,750-$2,000 and do it as a custom shop type of thing, people would be lined up even if they had to wait. You can buy a used one for less, but it's that whole "new" thing again.

I read that "Colt actions are complicated and few people know how to work on them/build them anymore". So, teach some people. Surely we haven't lost the capacity to learn. Lots of things that are complicated are taught every day. It's a mechanical device and it can't be impossible to get a handle on it.

I would prefer to hear that Colt just doesn't want to put any effort into DA revolvers ever again and leave it at that.
 
Colt does not make much in the current field maybe because:

1. Unions
2. Military contracts
3. Fat, Dumb, and Lazy.

Or more likely a combination of the above.

I have a few older 'collectible' Colts but unless they totally modernized their machinery with CNC, come out with something innovative revolver/auto concepts, and seriously try to get some of the Glock/S&W/Sig trade through hard bargaining, I doubt they will even think of it. Just to easy to get the military contracts and live of the 'Colt' name. No risk for them.

Deaf
 
Chiappa Rhinos are pretty complicated and they are sub $1000. There have also been a ton of advancements in the manufacturing processes as well, most of which includes automation and superior tolerances. So, yeah, I don't buy this either.
 
If "one man" in the custom shop is building their SA revolvers, I doubt they have much production potential. Only the most diehard Colt fans will buy them.

The DA market is different. Both S&W and Ruger are strong producers with good reputations. I don't see Colt being able to sell sufficient quantities to make any needed investment profitable. Just my opinion. But I hope they come out with a small D-frame revolver for the home defense/concealed carry market.
 
The Chiappa Rhino is an interesting design, but I have no idea how labor-intensive the manufacturing and assembly are...nor do I know where the parts are manufactured or the revolvers are assembled. Yes, it is nominally an Italian company, but in our Global Economy, the pieces could be manufactured in China and assembled in Algeria.

I cannot see how Colt could either match that business model (and alienate it's Made in USA followers) or build the snakes in the US at a prohibitive manufactuiring cost.

If you look at modern S&W revolvers, you will find that many "old-timers" want nothing to do with them. If this aversion is justified or not, it really makes no difference....in the end, there is a large body of S&W owners who will not buy a new S&W.

If Colt started producing "new" snake-series revolvers and priced them starting at ~$1000, many/most old-timers would look down their noses at them, in much the same way that "new" S&Ws are viewed as a lesser product by many long-time S&W guys.

Start with bluing--trying to duplicate the bluing of the older Pythons and S&Ws is...well, perhaps "economically unfeasible" might be a good start. Not that it cannot be done, but it could probably not be done at the necessary price point.

Now, consider the fact (okay, the thesis) that there is a relatively fixed number of revolver buyers/shooters. That is a (relatively) fixed-sized pie. Add one more manufacturer into the mix, and (absent some market-changing variable) each manufacturer gets a smaller slice of said pie.

I think that Colt has done it's market research and figured out that trying to re-infiltrate what is likely a saturated revolver market would be a great way to lose a lot of money.

In contrast, they are specializing in what pays the bills (1911s and ARs).

JMHO.
 
"Too Expensive To Make Colt DA Revolvers" doesn't mean that it is impossible to make one, it means it would not be good from a profit or business side. I am not sure why you do not "buy" the agrument. It is not like Colt is hiding or lying just because they don't want to make it. If the thought it was profitable they would
 
If this brings any bearing into the argument, I have an old 1928 Police Positive with a rebound lever/cylinder latch issue that is far too cost prohibitive for me to address (I know, I've tried). We all know that the old Colt DAs have become wallhangers because of their low demand/high cost-not easy to find parts. What kind of a market would they have just refurbishing old DA revolvers from yesteryear rotting in closets all over the country?
 
I Don't Think I Buy The "Too Expensive To Make Colt DA Revolvers" Arguement Anymore
Click to expand...

Ok. I that case, develop a business plan, get the funding, buy the equipment, and start production.

Until you do, I'll just have to take their word (or, their silence) as evidence that they know more about it than I do.
 
There is a full blown, small but very profitable market of niche, luxury items. Leica cameras seem a perfect comparison. Some years ago it was a struggling company, offering some of the best (and most expensive) lenses and cameras extant to the wrong market: the serious photographers that could get similar quality (but not luxury, or snob appeal) from top-of-the-line Nikon and Canon. Notice that collectors were (and still are) paying insane prices for used Leicas.

Than, it dawned on them: let us cater to our real market, the ones who use the cameras not only as superb picture taking machines, but also as status symbols, as jewelry if you will. And the company took off. Not only they could continue hand building their cameras straight from the 50's, but they made enough money to pay for the R&D so now they can offer fully modern digital cameras made with mechanical-optical rangefinders à la 1950. And they sell like hotcakes at $6.500 without a lens http://www.amazon.com/Leica-M9-Digital-Finder-Black/dp/B002NX13LC- which is absurd when you think about the whole lot of $1000 cameras that perform the same- but without the legend, the tactile pleasure, the snob appeal if we go harsh.

I used Leica as an example because I know it well. Of course I oversimplified the story, but you get my drift. There are many luxury brands that make excellent profits with tiny, hand made productions based on nostalgia, image and legend. Of course, quality is a must.

Colt could do the same. A small but very profitable business for those willing to pay for the legend. They already do that with the SAA, so they must know by now that it works.
 
There is a full blown, small but very profitable market of niche, luxury items. Leica cameras seem a perfect comparison. Some years ago it was a struggling company, offering some of the best (and most expensive) lenses and cameras extant to the wrong market: the serious photographers that could get similar quality (but not luxury, or snob appeal) from top-of-the-line Nikon and Canon. Notice that collectors were (and still are) paying insane prices for used Leicas.

Than, it dawned on them: let us cater to our real market, the ones who use the cameras not only as superb picture taking machines, but also as status symbols, as jewelry if you will. And the company took off. Not only they could continue hand building their cameras straight from the 50's, but they made enough money to pay for the R&D so now they can offer fully modern digital cameras made with mechanical-optical rangefinders à la 1950. And they sell like hotcakes at $6.500 without a lens http://www.amazon.com/Leica-M9-Digit.../dp/B002NX13LC- which is absurd when you think about the whole lot of $1000 cameras that perform the same- but without the legend, the tactile pleasure, the snob appeal if we go harsh.

I used Leica as an example because I know it well. Of course I oversimplified the story, but you get my drift. There are many luxury brands that make excellent profits with tiny, hand made productions based on nostalgia, image and legend. Of course, quality is a must.

Colt could do the same. A small but very profitable business for those willing to pay for the legend. They already do that with the SAA, so they must know by now that it works.
Click to expand...

I think this sums up my point better than I did.

Ok. I that case, develop a business plan, get the funding, buy the equipment, and start production.

Until you do, I'll just have to take their word (or, their silence) as evidence that they know more about it than I do.
Click to expand...

I have no desire to do this and really don't care what Colt does. My point was that there is always a group of people out there saying that it can't be done. They treat Colt DA revolvers as if they were made by magic elves and no mortal could ever understand them or build them.

There's a market for Korth revolvers and they are incredibly expensive.
 
Last edited:
Some of you should put some investors together and pitch it to Colt. Here's $XX,XXX,XXX of capital to get the ball rolling. Have them make a custom shop in their new Florida facility and turn out new Pythons.

Notice how few gunsmiths even work on Colt DA revolvers anymore? Wonder why?
 
Notice how few gunsmiths even work on Colt DA revolvers anymore? Wonder why?
Click to expand...

I do wonder why. I wonder why a lot.

See, I have worked on Colt's DA revolvers. There's nothing mystical, magical or otherwise requiring superhuman abilities inside them. Just care, patience, and a solid grasp on how the thing works. And regarding parts, most, if not all the internal parts are reproducible with the proper tools and knowhow- nothing out of this word. I fail to see the big deal.

Maybe it is because in my other hobby I repair the quite more complex innards of vintage cameras. Maybe I wasn't spoiled by working on S&Ws (never seen the insides of one of them). But I honestly can't see the DA Colts as something out of the reach of a handyman who is willing to work and learn with patience and common sense.
 
I also disagree about the price point. People buy Korth revolvers, so there is a market - if a small one - for mechanically complicated, expensive, DA revolvers.
I thought the issue was that they no longer have the machines to make their DA revolvers, and so they'd basically have to start from scratch.
 
You don't start a business if you think you can't make money at it. Obviously Colt thinks they cannot make money making revolvers for a price-sensitive, shrinking market, so they don't.

A Colt Python cost about $1,000 in 1990, that would make it a $2,000 revolver today. Ruger turns out $800 revolvers, S&W turns out $1,000 revolvers, and Taurus turns out $500 revolvers and gets a lot of the low-budget shoppers dollars. Obviously Colt doesn't want to play that game.

If you think you can do it better, get the funding, get a CNC machining center, hire a bunch of experienced gunsmiths and metal workers, and start turning out Pythons. I agreee that it should be a lot easier to do nowadays with CNC machining, but a lot of the hand work is in the polishing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top