5 ms·

I'd say $220 mil is a pretty good price for a company that hasn't introduced an innovative product in 50 years. Colt's main products are the AR-15 (introduced ~

I'd say $220 mil is a pretty good price for a company that hasn't introduced an innovative product in 50 years. Colt's main products are the AR-15 (introduced ~1963), the various 1911 models (introduced in—duh—1911), and the single action army revolvers (introduced in 1873). It must be a hell of a marketing effort to keep flogging 50–150 year old products.

kec 6y ago
Can you name any small arms manufacturer who has introduced a successful, innovative design in the past 50 years? The design space seems pretty well explored at this point.
- philwelch 6y ago
  Glock is a fairly obvious one.
  - zhengyi13 6y ago
    Sig's recent P320 system is another obvious example, where they've completely modularized the fire control group, allowing that to be swapped freely between multiple grips, calibers, and even form factors.
    - AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
      Yeah but that's only made convenient by dumb laws.
      - handedness 6y ago
        Vouched for this as it's a good point for anyone who understands the P320 FCU and the legal framework which inspired its creation. The FCU concept would still have value were the legal framework less Byzantine, but its practical benefits would be significantly diminished.
  - kec 6y ago
    The Glock 17 was introduced 39 years ago, not quite 50 years but still. It's also worth pointing out that while the manufacturing techniques used by Glock were new the actual design is essentially identical to the browning hi-power.
    - philwelch 6y ago
      Materials are an incredibly significant element of design. Some of the most significant innovations of the AR-15 were in terms of materials. The Hi-Power also uses a single-action hammer rather than a striker, so I'm not sure how the striker-fired Glock is "essentially identical" to it.
    - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
      > essentially identical to the browning hi-power. BHP is hammer-fired, Glock safe-action is striker-fired.
    - handedness 6y ago
      For the unfamiliar, the Heckler & Koch VP70 was the first polymer frame, striker-fired pistol, and predated the Glock by 12 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_VP70 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_VP70
- anonfornoreason 6y ago
  Sig p365, ultra compact with 10 round capacity, hadn’t been done before. Any of the suppressor manufacturers. Ultra long range bolt guns from a variety of manufacturers (notably not Remington, colt, etc). Several novel application PDW systems (personal defense weapon). B&T, FN, Sig, HK, and others. Optics have rally stepped up. Always on 8 year battery life 300ft submersible red dot sights from aim point. Crazy precision scopes from vortex, nightforce, a few others. It’s certainly a hobby that you can spend $100k on really easily exploring a variety of styles of defense and sport shooting.
- floxy 6y ago
  Thoughts on Kel Tec?
laverya 6y ago
> Colt's main products are the AR-15 (introduced ~1963) Colt didn't introduce the AR-15, either. That was ArmaLite, who then sold the rights to the design to Colt.

kec 6y ago

Can you name any small arms manufacturer who has introduced a successful, innovative design in the past 50 years? The design space seems pretty well explored at this point.

philwelch 6y ago
Glock is a fairly obvious one.
- zhengyi13 6y ago
  Sig's recent P320 system is another obvious example, where they've completely modularized the fire control group, allowing that to be swapped freely between multiple grips, calibers, and even form factors.
  - AlgorithmicTime 6y ago
    Yeah but that's only made convenient by dumb laws.
    - handedness 6y ago
      Vouched for this as it's a good point for anyone who understands the P320 FCU and the legal framework which inspired its creation. The FCU concept would still have value were the legal framework less Byzantine, but its practical benefits would be significantly diminished.
- kec 6y ago
  The Glock 17 was introduced 39 years ago, not quite 50 years but still. It's also worth pointing out that while the manufacturing techniques used by Glock were new the actual design is essentially identical to the browning hi-power.
  - philwelch 6y ago
    Materials are an incredibly significant element of design. Some of the most significant innovations of the AR-15 were in terms of materials. The Hi-Power also uses a single-action hammer rather than a striker, so I'm not sure how the striker-fired Glock is "essentially identical" to it.
  - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
    > essentially identical to the browning hi-power. BHP is hammer-fired, Glock safe-action is striker-fired.
  - handedness 6y ago
    For the unfamiliar, the Heckler & Koch VP70 was the first polymer frame, striker-fired pistol, and predated the Glock by 12 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_VP70 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_VP70
anonfornoreason 6y ago
Sig p365, ultra compact with 10 round capacity, hadn’t been done before. Any of the suppressor manufacturers. Ultra long range bolt guns from a variety of manufacturers (notably not Remington, colt, etc). Several novel application PDW systems (personal defense weapon). B&T, FN, Sig, HK, and others. Optics have rally stepped up. Always on 8 year battery life 300ft submersible red dot sights from aim point. Crazy precision scopes from vortex, nightforce, a few others. It’s certainly a hobby that you can spend $100k on really easily exploring a variety of styles of defense and sport shooting.
floxy 6y ago
Thoughts on Kel Tec?

laverya 6y ago

> Colt's main products are the AR-15 (introduced ~1963) Colt didn't introduce the AR-15, either. That was ArmaLite, who then sold the rights to the design to Colt.