The Paradox and Absurdities of Carbon-Fretting and Rewilding

Herschel Smith · 28 Jan 2024 · 4 Comments

The Bureau of Land Management is planning a truly boneheaded move, angering some conservationists over the affects to herd populations and migration routes.  From Field & Stream. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft plan outlining potential solar energy development in the West. The proposal is an update of the BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan. It adds five new states—Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming—to a list of 11 western states already earmarked…… [read more]

CZ Colt Acquisition Update

BY Herschel Smith
3 years ago

U.S. Army Moving ‘Rapidly’ Toward New Contract For M16A4 Rifles

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 6 months ago

So much for the highly heralded 6.8mm, caseless, not-battle-tested whatever it is thingamajig.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command will soon release its final request for soliciting and award up to two, 5-year firm fixed price – Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for M16A4 5.56mm Rifles.

In a notice posted on the U.S. government’s main contracting website on 27 September, the Army Contracting Command announced that the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award up to two, (but not necessarily two), contracts without holding discussions with offerors for delivery of 215,000 5.56mm Rifles (maximum quantity).

Also states that a license agreement between Colt’s Manufacturing LLC and the U.S. Government requires the items procured to be manufactured in the United States Territory.

Perhaps Colt pulled back from the civilian market because they expect to get awarded a new *.mil contract.

Whatever.  I hope their deal with the devil was worth it. Or not.

This is a strange article anyway.  Why would a license agreement between the FegGov and Colt be pertinent to award of a new contract, especially if Colt wasn’t going to be involved?

So we may learn from this that FedGov is going to Colt yet again for M4s.  Not DD, not Rock River Arms, not BCM, not FN, but Colt.  Quality?  Maybe not so much.

Army Tags:

Colt – Betrayal Of The American Gun Owner

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 6 months ago

Of the things that turn gun owners against gun manufacturers, these three things are highest on the list.

  1. Aligning with gun control
  2. Exclusive focus on military contracts
  3. Reliance on name branding in lieu of true appreciation for the customer (e.g., H&K).  Look up the H&K memes like “Hi, we’re H&K and we hate you.”

It’s difficult to understand what’s so hard about this.

Colt Firearms Confirms It’s Leaving The Civilian Long Gun Market

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 6 months ago

We covered this before, but there was some question as to the authenticity of the statement by Colt.  Listen to them in their own words.

Colt moving away from selling ARs to civilians isn’t a sign that the company wants to stop selling guns to civilians altogether, however. Instead, the company will ramp up sales of pistols and revolvers, including its 1911 models, Cobra, King Cobra, and Single Action Army collectible series.

In a statement to NRA’s Shooting Illustrated, Colt’s senior vice president for commercial business, Paul Spitale, said that the civilian AR production cut was based on consumer feedback and a close analysis of the market’s ebbs and flows.

[ … ]

According to Spitale, rifles aren’t heavily favored by the civilian market, resulting in lower profit margins for Colt while the company continues to go full steam on producing rifles to fulfill outstanding military and law enforcement contracts.

Which, of course, is an absurd declaration, i.e., that “rifles aren’t heavily favored by the civilian market.”  It’s just that the civilian market doesn’t apparently favor Colt rifles.  Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Daniel Defense, BCM, FN, and a whole host of other companies are doing well enough.

So they intend to focus on … wait for it … producing rifles to fulfill outstanding military and law enforcement contracts.  I take this to mean replacement rifles and more particularly, replacement parts.

The revolver market was abdicated to  Smith & Wesson and Ruger, and I doubt that Colt will regain support in this sector.  This portends bad things for Colt’s future, in my estimation.

Colt Halts Production Of Long Guns For The Retail Market

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 6 months ago

Via WiscoDave, TTAG.

“We have just been notified by Colt Firearms that they will be discontinuing production of all Colt long guns to focus on regaining military contracts.

This isn’t surprising.  After my son returned from Iraq and had a chance to work with the RRA rifle I had, he told me that the Colts they were issued were vastly inferior to my own rifle.

Colt has long ago jettisoned QA in favor of bulk government contracts.  That isn’t the first mistake they’ve made, viz. the withdrawal from the revolver market to leave S&W the only manufacturer involved in revolvers, only then to see Ruger enter the market in a big way and then a resurgence of interest in wheel guns.  Too bad they’ve lost all of their revolver mechanics and no longer make the Python (which still sells for $2500 – $5000 if you can find one).

Another aspect of their demise surely involves their commitment to Connecticut where the state hates them, their workers are union shop, and their senior management inept.


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