Colt is ending production of AR-15s

[brooklynite]

Source: American Military News

Colt Firearms will be ending its production and sales of its AR-15 rifles due to lack of public demand.

In a decision criticized by some gunowners and attributed to mismanagement, Colt said it simply isn’t selling enough of the rifles in the civilian marketplace to continue devoting the resources into it.

Colt President and CEO, Dennis Veilleux, released a statement on Thursday saying, “The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity. Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.”

Veilleux added that Colt is seeing high demand in its military and law enforcement sales.

Read more: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/09/colt-is-ending-production-of-ar-15s/

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I'm sure the Chinese will start manufacturing knock-offs...

[Guilded Lilly]

1. "Modern Sporting Rifles" ...smh

[Hekate]

37. Yeah, that jumped out at me too. Nothing about having their name tied to mass murders of humans

...in the civilian population. Some "sport."

[Guilded Lilly]

40. Exactly. Completely off the map of respect for humanity.

[pecosbob]

2. And the average revenue gained per year for continued manufacture

would be dwarfed by the massive liability freight train headed right at us as soon as Dems regain control of the levers of government.

[FBaggins]

3. There are already dozens of other manufacturers

I think that's their point.

[AncientGeezer]

6. It is.....from their statement..

"The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity. Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future."
https://www.colt.com/news/2630


Sorry didn't see it quoted in the OP..my bad

[Bidenator]

38. No one buying a $900 Colt when there are $400 alternatives is the real reason....

the market is flooded...

[Sugarcoated]

41. It's a positive sign, though

Tide is turning

[Sherman A1]

43. Yup

It is strictly a bottom line thing, but still a few less of them is helpful.

[nilram]

4. So now there's no need for regulation.

And they can replace it with something similar or something more profitable and/or more destructive.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Wow.

There will surely be a run on them now.

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, that will get sales going ... a tactic? n/t

[DENVERPOPS]

16. Amen

They said Obama was going to end assault rifles, (he said no such thing), and sales skyrocketed.

This is just a sales promotion to get their gun sales, which have died off since Trump was elected, back up and going again.

A gun nut friend of mine says their weapon sales are falling off because other companies offer a far more superior product.......AK-47?

[keithbvadu2]

18. Another marketing version of 'the new Coke"?

Another marketing version of 'the new Coke"?

[RKP5637]

21. Yeah! n/t

[NickB79]

31. Not really. They've been considered crap for some time now

AR's are cheap to make, so dozens of other companies have been making lots of inexpensive ones. At the same time, Colt's quality wasn't matching the top-end match-grade guns from custom shops.

They got stuck in the middle, neither the cheapest or the best.

[BumRushDaShow]

36. IMHO

it seems many who buy them do so "for show" and for fire arms stash bragging rights. So having a "name brand" to post a selfie with on Instagram or Twitter would be da bomb!!11!!!1

[Botany]

8. Its a start but we need so much more such as the .223 round that is made to blow somebody's leg ...

... so they will lead to death.

[Kaleva]

23. Most common hunting rounds will blow somebody's leg off.

Interestingly, the U.S Army may be abandoning the 5.56mm (.223) as it's considered by many to be not powerful enough.

"Army Eyeing 6.5mm for Its Future Battle Rifle

The U.S. Army’s chief of staff recently made a bold promise that future soldiers will be armed with weapons capable of delivering far greater lethality than any existing small arms. "

https://www.military.com/kitup/2017/10/lethality.html

[sarisataka]

28. I heard one hunter relate

How he shot a 300lb hog with a 223 from an AR. He said it vaporized 3/4 of the pig and the resulting destruction made him give up hunting on the spot.

[Botany]

29. A .223 is a high velocity round with less kick and ...

... it is made to tumble on impact in order to cause as much trauma as possible. It should be used by law enforcement and the military the idea that it is sold to the general public is stupid.

Btw I have hunted for years but after Sandy Hook my interest has dropped.

[NickB79]

32. So are dozens of other rounds. The .223 isn't unique

When you go over 3000 feet per second, physics gets crazy.

[sarisataka]

33. A .223 is a high velocity round.

"With less kick"- less kick than what? A comparative statement is meaningless when made about a single item.

"made to tumble on impact"- false, that is the physics of any high velocity FMJ round. The bullet center of gravity is towards the rear so when it hits a soft medium, such as living tissue, the front slows faster than the rear causing spin; much like a car with a rear mounted engine tends to spin easier. There is nothing magical about the bullet or cartridge.
Hunters, as you should know, use soft point or other designs to increase the chance of a bullet travelling straight when it hits a game animal. These types are prohibited for military use by treaty.
Note- this is an extremely simplified explanation of terminal ballistics, there are many other factors involved so it is impossible to predict if any one bullet will tumble when it hits

I use 223 in a bolt action rifle for varmint hunting. I find it quite effective on prairie dogs at 300-500 yards. Would it make a huge difference if I used .222, a popular round in Europe I have heard?

I do hunt game at times but am not a great example of a successful hunter. Often when I have the chance to shoot I decide the day is too nice to interrupt and take a picture instead. Recently my daughter and I spent are usual day in the woods on youth hunting weekend. Also as usual we failed to see a single squirrel but found it to be a rewarding experience.

[jmowreader]

9. The strange thing is, very few shooters would buy one from Colt

Colt, who makes the highest quality guns, hasn't been competitive in the AR-15 market for years.

If you go to the Colt website, you learn that they were selling their AR-15 for $1099.

If you go to Cabela's website, you learn that sub-$550 AR-15s are a dime a dozen, and the manufacturers of those guns are still turning a profit.

No one is going to pay a 100-percent premium to have "Colt" written on the side of their commodity gun.

[IronLionZion]

10. Mass shooters are all about quantity over quality

[jmowreader]

12. Not just mass shooters.

A lot of people who aren't going to commit a mass shooting have these guns, and they're not paying double what one's worth either.

[yaesu]

11. there are so many other manufactures, but its a status thing to own a Colt. nt

[SCVDem]

13. This means

That Colt has finished the design of a high energy, next gen rifle.

Ammo? We don't need no stinkin' ammo!

The ultimate plug and play!

[world wide wally]

14. It's a start

[MicaelS]

15. AR-15 parts are widely available.

Many owners buy the parts and build a custom version for less money. The only part that is legally considered a firearm is the lower receiver, which must be purchased from an FFL dealer. The other parts can be made, distributed and sold by anyone. The patents expired a long time ago.

[safeinOhio]

17. They should have stuck with

single action six shooters.

[spin]

25. In my opinion Ruger makes a better single action revolver than Colt. (n/t)

[safeinOhio]

26. I don't know much about modern weapons, but

have handle many Civil War weapons.

[keithbvadu2]

19. The weapon of choice for shooting school children.

The weapon of choice for shooting school children.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

20. There are so many knock off versions of the AR-15 out there

Some other company will take up the slack.

[samir.g]

22. Chinese weapons are banned from import, but they do make AR15s for

the Canadian market.

[bluedigger]

24. There's just no brand loyalty anymore.

Priced themselves out of their own market.

[apnu]

27. That's great

There's already untold thousands sold and stockpiled by gun nuts. Everybody who wants one has one. Its like Thompsons and shotguns and Browning machine guns after WWI -- vets got to come home with their arms. That's why the 20s and 30s was a wash with gun violence.

[Marengo]

30. Oh Dear Lord, WWI vets didn't come home with Thompson SMGs. The war ended before...

Even the prototypes were ready for testing in Europe. The vast majority of Thompson SMGs in civilian hands were legally purchased on the open market prior to the NFA of 34. Despite its notoriety, there were very few Thompsons in circulation. No, vets did not get to “come home with their arms”. Demobilized soldiers returned their issued personal arms prior to discharge. Those that did were foreign trophies, the vast majority being bolt action rifles and various handguns. Of course some issued arms were effectively stolen, and a few of that number were machine guns and the like, but never many.

[melm00se]

39. That would have been an interesting

situation as the Thompson prototype wasn't until 1919 and didn't enter production until 1921.

[krispos42]

35. The violence in the 20's and 30's was due to Prohibition

The original War on Drugs. Motivation and tools are two different things.

[krispos42]

34. Very bad management, IMO.

They were the original contractor to make the full-auto version, the M-16, for the Pentagon a half-century ago. They had the knowledge, they had the tools, they had the brand name and the logo...

...and they basically sat on their hands the last couple of decades letting other companies make AR-15s for the booming civilian market. So, those other companies now make much better quality AR-15s at reasonable prices due to the intense competition between them. And they've expanded the basic design to other cartridges; I just read that Winchester Ammunition has introduced a new straight-walled cartridge called the .350 Legend that's intended for state that have requirements for strait-walled cartridges in their hunting regs. It's like a 9mm .30-30.

[James48]

42. Too bad.

Like many others, I had a Colt AR-15A2 made in the late 1980’s. Nice to take to the range on a Saturday, and reminiscent of my Army days.

My Army issued M-16A1 was made by General Motors.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

44. They sure did

https://defence-blog.com/army/colt-awarded-42-million-for-m4-m4a1-carbines-for-u-s-allies.html

Colt awarded $42 million for M4, M4A1 carbines for U.S., allies
Famed U.S. gun maker Colt has received a $41,9 million foreign military sales contract for M4 series 5.56 mm carbines, according to a recent U.S. Department of Defense news release.

The U.S. Department of Defense has contracted Colt’s Manufacturing Co. LLC to supply M4 and M4A1 carbines to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Federated States of Micronesia, Hungary, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Palau, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Tunisia.

Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 18, 2024.

I can (A) build and tool a second production line for these orders or (B) retool an existing line that makes a product for which the sales price isn't competitive making the market rather small.

This isn't rocket surgery.