Gun maker Colt Defense LLC said late Sunday it is filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection, amid business-execution issues and a heavy debt burden.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/colt-defense...nday-1434310925

Not surprised. At all.

I wonder if the value of my CR2012 went up or down?

Doesn't really matter it shoots so well it's not going anywhere. Of course that could be the Cooper half of the gun shining thru.

Which Military contract caused this? Which weapon?

What a poorly run company. The management team should really be ashamed of themselves. In the midst of the greatest boom in firearm sales in American history when the average units sold went from 5 million per year to 10 million per year, they managed to bankrupt one of the greatest brands ever by dangling after government contracts. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

too bad, hate to see anyone in the shooting sports go out of business, except CTD,

Didn't see that one coming, but then again I only have 1 Colt and it was made in 1957.

With all the gun sales in the last six years how could they possibly be hurting?

Samuel is undoubtedly rolling over in his grave.

I don't think they are going out of business, I think they are "reorganizing"

Hate to see it but they are not giving people what they want.

People want a good reliable polymer pistol. What does Colt have to offer?
People want a good bolt action hunting rifle. What does Colt have to offer?
People want a good single action revolver for a decent price. Colt has the SAA but at a premium price.
People want a good 1911. Colt makes that but competition is a killer.
People want a good AR15. Colt makes that too but competition in that market is very stout!
People want a good CCW. This is probably the fastest growing market and Colt should be eyeballing it but they arnt.

Company as big as Colt aint going to survive on 1911's and AR15's alone in such a competitive market.

[quote=JCB]Hate to see it but they are not giving people what they want.

People want a good reliable polymer pistol. What does Colt have to offer?
People want a good bolt action hunting rifle. What does Colt have to offer?
People want a good single action revolver for a decent price. Colt has the SAA but at a premium price.
People want a good 1911. Colt makes that but competition is a killer.
People want a good AR15. Colt makes that too but competition in that market is very stout!
People want a good CCW. This is probably the fastest growing market and Colt should be eyeballing it but they

[\quote]
Well, that explains why I own one Colt and it was inherited.




Good post.

Yep, tradition can only carry you so far.

Absolutely.

Most of the issued M16A2-M4 are/were Colt. At least in the Army.

I'm curious if "Colt Defense LLC" is a separate entity or subsidiary of "Colt" and that division is filing chapter 11?

They lost the bid on US Govt M4s to FN.

Really is sad, but Colt has been out of touch for over a decade. Most of the real Colt factory guys jumped ship in the 90s when the suits took over the company.

My dad named me after Samuel Colt, so they will always be my favorite brand. I have a small collection of Colt firearms.

Agreed

They were, but I think they merged back in last few years.

At one time, there was Colt Defense and Colt Manufacturing.

Colt vs Wesson is on at Midnight on American Genius.

This was their biggest killer imo. FN has built factories specifically for military small arms manufacturing just to aquire the contract.

Obviously someone is still bitter!

The National Geographic channel was a show call American Genius where it tells the stories of smart individuals in competition. Last night by coincidence was the story of Samuel Colt and Dan Wesson. It was interesting.

It looks like the long term rivalry goes to Smith & Wesson. Also, it made me think how S&W was doing poorly for a little while then adapted to the market by the whole M&P line.
That's my theory on Colt. Too much resting on their past successes.

Poor management did them in. As stated above, they went all 'PC' and got almost completely out of the civilian market and tried to make their way on government contracts alone. S&W pulled that stunt back in the late 90's and nearly went bankrupt themselves (remember them signing on to all of the gun safety hoopla back then?). It took the workers buying out the company to bring them back. First thing the 'new' owners did was tear up that 'agreement' to build 'safe' firearms.
Colt has been heading this way for nearly 20 years. It's been juggling bonds and loans for the past 10 or so years and it's finally caught up with them.

I just hope that someone buys the remains and starts building some civilian models that people actually want and can afford.

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