Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market

I never saw the need,and I shot enough full auto at the Gov expense of ammo to know I could never afford to feed this tool.

Then again, LOTTO!

 

Colt closing bothers me not,I had rather have a Ruger mini thirty or a Ruger mini 14. I believe they are a better built weapon in all ways. Blue,wood stock, a thirty rd mag and you are set up with a very nice weapon. And you can always hunt with one. I have always had a mini 14 or mini thirty and never had any trouble of any kind.

 

I know wear this gun shop is. Its across the lake from me. 0nly problem is that I don't have 28k burning a hole in my pocket!

 

Mini-30s are notoriously picky regarding both ammo and magazines. I was very disappointed with the three I played with.

 

Hard to sell a $900 - $1000 Colt AR when you can buy an AR rifle for less than $500 these days. Palmetto Armory advertised ARs for less than $400 recently. OTOH, if you ever wanted a semi-auto version of the M4/M16A2 mil-spec rifle, Colt was the only game in town because no other manufacturer could produce the true mil-spec parts that were solely licensed by Colt. Colt only granted a license to one other company, FN, and FN doesn't sell mil-spec rifles to the civilian market. If you own a Colt AR you have just experienced a nice increase in its value. It will go up more.

 

Bill Ruger stabbed gun owners in the back worse than Colt could have, with his "No honest man need more than 10 rounds in any gun." load of crap. Only that was pre internet and even Smith and Wesson took it on the chin when they instituted the lock system that was erroneously attributed to Hillary Clinton and called "Hillary Holes" even today. If you want the most accurate take on what happened to Colt over the last 20 years, go to Small Arms Solutions Youtube channel. Chris has worked for Colt and has covered this topic extensively and just released an additional video on the recent Colt shenanigans.

 

I'm sure Bill Ruger is spinning in his grave every time an AR556 does a mag dump. He's long gone and Ruger is solidly in our corner these days.

 

Mil Spec rifles would have burst capability and NFA length barrels. They haven't been able to sell a Mil Spec rifle to a civilian since Reagan. No AR-15 is Mil Spec, even a Colt.

I thought the only things colt made were the barrel and they also finished out the forged receivers that they source from the outside. My understanding is that all the other parts are vendor sourced as well. At least with a Colt you get AeroShell on the barrel threads, a properly staked castle nut, and the usual love ding they all seem to get during assembly.

FN, btw sources most of their part from.... PSA, who is just down the road. Like Colt, FN makes a hella good chrome lined barrel. I don't know if FN makes the receivers they use or if, like Colt, buy forgings that they finish out.

I think if market demands increase that Colt will resume production. There are just too many on the market to be profitable at Colt's price point. Don't get me wrong on my statements above, I like colt, but I just won't pay a $200 premium to get a roll mark with a horse on it.

 

I did state a semi-auto rifle built to mil-spec. If it had a burst capability and NFA length barrels then it wouldn't be an AR15, but a M4. Many, if not most, gun manufacturers out-source various parts then do the final assembly themselves. I stand by my comment regarding Colts having the only true mil-spec parts, which Colt holds the license for.

 

You can have a rifle built entirely with licensed mil-spec parts in a semi-auto civilian configuration without having to include burst control feature and NFA regulated barrel length, ala Colt AR15.
Here's a list of the companies currently forging AR receivers. If you own an AR, the company's icon (along with a letter 'C' if it is a Colt) somewhere on the upper.

AR-15 Upper Receiver Forge Markings:

A (Splintered) = Anchor Harvey Aluminum

AF = Alcoa Forge

C AF = Colt Alco Forge

C MB = Colt / Mueller Brass

Cardinal (Stylized) = Cardinal Forge

CH = Colt Harvey Aluminum

Circle/Crosshairs w/ “AR” = ArmaLite

CK = Colt / Kaiser Aluminum

CM = Colt / Martin Marietta

D (Stylized) = Diemaco

DK = Diemaco / Kaiser Aluminum

E = Emco

EK = EMCO / Kaiser

E MB = EMCO / Mueller Brass

F Keyhole = FNMI / Cerro Forge

FA = FNMI / Anchor Harvey

FK = FNMI / Kaiser Aluminum

FM = FN/Martin Marietta

FMB = FNMI / Mueller Brass

Keyhole = Cerro Forge

L = Lewis Machine & Tool

LK = LAR / Kaiser Aluminum

LM = LAR / Martin Marietta

M (Under Diamond) = Mueller Industries

PA = Capco / Anchor Harvey

PM = Capco / Martin Marietta

Square = Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises