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This article notes that Colt had fallen on "Hard Times". This is an understatement. In the mid eighties, Colt was doing great, making hundreds of thousands of

This article notes that Colt had fallen on "Hard Times". This is an understatement. In the mid eighties, Colt was doing great, making hundreds of thousands of rifle for the US military. Then a five year labor strike brought the end of all military contracts as Colt replacement workers were unable to make properly functioning guns. Colt decided to focus on the civilian market, and brought out a new high tech handgun that was so unreliable that it was eventually recalled. Then Colt's CEO said that he was in favor of a all gun purchasers having to register federally and purchase a federal permit and training. This did not go over well. (*understatement) His replacement, seeing that the military would not buy Colt guns and that civilians would not buy Colt guns, decided to focus on police sales. Unfortunately making a new smart gun required ability in the two things that Colt was not good at - making reliable guns and designing new guns. It was not just the disastrous demo that killed the smart gun - the prototype smart guns were not even able to be fired without permanent destroying the mechanism. Also, there was a delay from between when the gun was grabbed by the officer and when it could be fired. And of course, the fact that it didn't always unlock to fire even in the best possible circumstances. Interestingly enough, police handguns have moved even farther away from the smart pistol idea. Today it's a rare department now days that does not use Glocks or M&Ps, both of which are far simpler than the average police handgun of the nineties.

hga 11y ago
There's a bit more to it than that; whatever the reasons (I forget), Colt lost the M16 contract to FNH in 1988 (but continued to make them for civilians, and in many years/all recent years/decades? at a high level of quality), and but essentially got it back in 1994 when the Army switched to the M4 carbine (the Marines stuck with their long barrel and therefore more effective M16s). Now they've lost M4 manufacturing exclusivity and for a while all contracts, and only recently won one of the new M4 full auto only, no 3 round burst variation contracts, presumably because they're desperate enough to bid really, really low. On top of all the other problems, the company is now run by financial vultures who are bleeding it dry. And, yeah, their flirtation with gun control did not go over well, I would never buy one from them after that, although their relative lack of quality in the category I might have otherwise (M1911s, which they were the original manufacturers of back in 1911) is the biggest reason.

hga 11y ago

There's a bit more to it than that; whatever the reasons (I forget), Colt lost the M16 contract to FNH in 1988 (but continued to make them for civilians, and in many years/all recent years/decades? at a high level of quality), and but essentially got it back in 1994 when the Army switched to the M4 carbine (the Marines stuck with their long barrel and therefore more effective M16s). Now they've lost M4 manufacturing exclusivity and for a while all contracts, and only recently won one of the new M4 full auto only, no 3 round burst variation contracts, presumably because they're desperate enough to bid really, really low. On top of all the other problems, the company is now run by financial vultures who are bleeding it dry. And, yeah, their flirtation with gun control did not go over well, I would never buy one from them after that, although their relative lack of quality in the category I might have otherwise (M1911s, which they were the original manufacturers of back in 1911) is the biggest reason.