Colt no longer making handguns?

[rcase1234]

Hello. I have been told by multiple sources that Colt no longer makes handguns. However, I've also heard that they do. I found a website called http://www.coltsmfg.com/ that appears to have new Colt handguns but wherever I go I NEVER see new Colt handguns for sale. Is Colt still making handguns? And if so where can I find one? Thanks

[Madcap_Magician]

Um...

That's Colt's web site. If you are going there to buy guns, you will never find them for sale, because Colt will not sell to individuals except through the Custom Shop. Yes, Colt still makes handguns. You can buy them at gun stores. However, they can be hard to find because Ponies are popular, and because Colt's handgun production is much less than most of the other major gun manufacturers. Gunbroker or Bud's Gun Shop will virtually always have at least a few up for sale.

I find it difficult to believe that you couldn't figure this out, since there are plenty of stores and dealers who will come up in the same google search that finds you Colt's web site.

[Budda]

They still make SAA's and 1911's the no longer make a DA revolver.

http://www.coltsmfg.com/

Worked for me......I see lots of handguns.

[TennJed]

Um...

That's Colt's web site. If you are going there to buy guns, you will never find them for sale, because Colt will not sell to individuals except through the Custom Shop. Yes, Colt still makes handguns. You can buy them at gun stores. However, they can be hard to find because Ponies are popular, and because Colt's handgun production is much less than most of the other major gun manufacturers. Gunbroker or Bud's Gun Shop will virtually always have at least a few up for sale.

I find it difficult to believe that you couldn't figure this out, since there are plenty of stores and dealers who will come up in the same google search that finds you Colt's web site.

Um,

You can find new 1911s from colt pretty easly. Pretty sure they are selling their SA's to individuals right now also. where are you getting your info? Are you saying the online retail stores and local FFLs that sell new colt 1911's are getting them through the custom shop? I assume since I (an individual) can buy a new Colt from a store (just like other shops) that they do not have a problem selling to individuals

[RamItOne]

Pretty sure Madcap_Magician said that colt mfg doesn't sell direct to end users

[PT-92]

Man I wish Colt would do like S&W and still offer custom ordering of the old Classic "Python & Anaconda" line of revolvers. Some of the finest hardware IMO ever produced!

[Kreyzhorse]

Is Colt still making handguns? And if so where can I find one? Thanks

Of course they are still making handguns and they can be found at various gun shops. Stop in a few or make a few calls to see who carries them and has them in stock. If no close shops carry them, there is always gunbroker.com

[Madcap_Magician]

Originally Posted by TennJed

Um,

You can find new 1911s from colt pretty easly. Pretty sure they are selling their SA's to individuals right now also. where are you getting your info? Are you saying the online retail stores and local FFLs that sell new colt 1911's are getting them through the custom shop? I assume since I (an individual) can buy a new Colt from a store (just like other shops) that they do not have a problem selling to individuals

If you can call Colt up and they'll sell you a gun directly, mailed to your home address or even to your FFL dealer of choice, and the gun isn't a Custom Shop order, I would like to hear about it.

I thought I was pretty clear. Colt, like most manufacturers, will, with the exception of custom work, only sell to dealers and distributors. This might also be why there's no option to actually buy guns on their web site.

Of course, I could be wrong, so if you can just call Colt up and order from their catalog, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

[TennJed]

Originally Posted by Madcap_Magician

If you can call Colt up and they'll sell you a gun directly, mailed to your home address or even to your FFL dealer of choice, and the gun isn't a Custom Shop order, I would like to hear about it.

I thought I was pretty clear. Colt, like most manufacturers, will, with the exception of custom work, only sell to dealers and distributors. This might also be why there's no option to actually buy guns on their web site.

Of course, I could be wrong, so if you can just call Colt up and order from their catalog, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

I am sorry I misunderstood you and apologize. When you said they don't sell to individuals I taught you meant they only sold to military and LEO. My bad

[22-rimfire]

Yes, Colt still manufactures handguns. A local dealer had a number of their 1911's in the case for sale. You just have to look for them.

All that said, I understand the feeling about finding a Colt 1911. I am told that Colt has all the orders they can handle and they were selling at a rate that out paced their production capability. For the most part, they sell fairly quickly when they hit the dealer shelf and are often sold before they hit their glass display case.

[RickB]

A friend of mine took a factory tour, two weeks ago. Unless all the mills, lathes, CNCs, etc. were rigged to only look like they were cranking out 1911s and Peacemakers, Colt is very much still making handguns. I was almost surprised to hear that they still have an in-house forge, rather than buying forged blanks off-shore. This friend and I host a weekly video podcast, primarily about competition shooting, but we're doing a two-part episode about his Colt tour, and I'll post a link to it somewhere outside of the competition forum, so Colt fans can more easily find it.
Colt sells only through distributors, so you'll have to find a store that either has Colts in stock, will order from a distributor; or, look for NIB examples on the auction sites.

[DFrame]

Colt is making SAAs, New Frontiers, several variations of the government model, and the new Mustang Pocket lite. They are not making DA revolvers at this time but have hinted that they have one in development. I just returned from the all colt show in denver and looked over MANY new pistols and revolvers colt is making.

[Dfariswheel]

I was almost surprised to hear that they still have an in-house forge, rather than buying forged blanks off-shore

According to Brent Turchi, manager of the Colt Custom Shop and Customer Service shop, Colt buys it's raw forgings from a nearby American forge.
What Colt gets are raw forgings from which they do all machining.
The forging is done using Colt supplied dies and to Colt specifications.

[gunfighter48]

Colts are in the $1000.00 and more price range which prices it out of many peoples price range. So many shops don't carry them or will only order them when someone wants to buy one and puts a deposit down for the order. But Colts is still making handguns. I just bought a Colts LW Commander two weeks ago. But it was the only Colts 1911 they stocked. Apparently there's enough demand for them because they make such nice carry guns. I love mine!

[RickB]

According to Brent Turchi, manager of the Colt Custom Shop and Customer Service shop, Colt buys it's raw forgings from a nearby American forge.
What Colt gets are raw forgings from which they do all machining.
The forging is done using Colt supplied dies and to Colt specifications.

I'll accept that I misunderstood the description of the source of their forgings, as long as we agree that they are not from off-shore.

[DPris]

Not off-shore, the raw forgings come from a local forging house in Hartford.
Your friend was mistaken about an in-house forge.
Denis

[royal barnes]

The gunshop where I work has about fifteen Colt's 1911's in stock in five different models. They are hard to find at our distributors but we just scored on three more to be in the first of next week.

[Yankee Traveler]

Colt sells only through distributors, so you'll have to find a store that either has Colts in stock, will order from a distributor; or, look for NIB examples on the auction sites.

before I bought mine I visited and called a number of gun shops in a 50+ mile radius for almost 6 months before I put in an order at Buds. The answer was always the same, we will get some soon, when the distributor gets them. I finally called Colt and they told which distribotors were shipped which models recently and gave me some contacts. I called a few of the distributors who all said tell them which gun shop and they would deliver one when they got one.

Haa! Buds emailed to say my gun was ready! I think the distributors keep the supply low and demand high.

[James K]

All gun shops are finding it hard to get new handguns, from anyone. The demand, driven in part by the fear of future government repression, is very high. Some makers are running three shifts, trying to fill orders for both handguns and semi-auto sporting rifles (no, I won't call them otherwise; I refuse to use the term employed by our enemies).

Jim

[RickB]

Colt factory tour, first of two parts, episodes 95 and 96: http://www.powerfactorshow.com/

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Yankee Traveler

before I bought mine I visited and called a number of gun shops in a 50+ mile radius for almost 6 months before I put in an order at Buds. The answer was always the same, we will get some soon, when the distributor gets them. I finally called Colt and they told which distribotors were shipped which models recently and gave me some contacts. I called a few of the distributors who all said tell them which gun shop and they would deliver one when they got one.

Unfortunately, distributors play games.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was looking for a particular model of Colt 1911. My friend always buys through a small but well-established gun shop, who has accounts with all the major, national distributors. The FFL kept calling, and the distributors kept telling him they didn't have that model and couldn't predict when they'd get it.

However, my friend has a friend (actually, several friends) who work at Colt. He called one of his friends. His friend asked which distributor the FFL preferred to use. When my friend told him, he looked up that distributor and reported that they currently had five of that very model. So the friend at Colt told my friend to have his FFL call the distributor and inform them that [___] at Colt said they knew there distributor had five of the model they claimed not to have, and if they didn't ship one to my friend's FFL chop-chop, they weren't getting any more Colts for a very long time.

My friend got his pistol.

What happens is that a distributor will get in 'X' number of guns in a specific model. The distributor has maybe six regional reps, so each rep gets 1/6 of the new shipment assigned to him. For some models, that might be ONE pistol per rep, and that's all they're going to see for perhaps three or six months. So they don't just sell it -- that would be unthinkable. No, they hoard it until one of their favored, high-volume FFLs comes begging, and they sell it to him. This makes one FFL look like a hero, while making all the rep's other customers look like jerks.

It stinks, but it happens.

So, if you deal with a small, home-town FFL and he tells you he can't get Colts ... it may be true. The other factor is that Colt produces in batches, and they ship in batches. So they might ship a run of Defenders, then they change over to making Gold Cups for awhile. So if a distributor sells all his Defenders, he won't get more until Colt turns the machinery back to making Defenders. So that part affects all FFLs and all distributors. Sometimes that's the story. Other times, though, the distributor may be playing games with an FFL who isn't a major customer.