Colt's Other Comebacks

by
posted on June 16, 2015
coltfactory.jpg
It could take as long as 90 days before a court determines whether Sciens Capital Management can purchase Colt, but rather than engage in speculation in the meantime, here’s a short look at some of the company’s historic amazing recoveries.

Comeback 1
Legend has it Samuel Colt was a seaman aboard the Corvo when he came up with the concept for his first gun. In 1836, at the age of 22, he opened a plant in Paterson, N.J., where he produced rifles and handguns until 1842. Unfortunately, sluggish sales shuttered the doors. For the next three years, Colt dabbled in a variety of other enterprises, including waterproof wire for Samuel Morse’s newfangled telegraph. When his guns performed extremely well in the hands of the Texas Rangers and U.S. Dragoons, Captain Samuel H. Walker contacted him about designing a more-powerful handgun. From that collaboration, Colt’s “Walkers” were born, the U.S. Ordnance Department quickly ordered its first 1,000, and he was back in business.

Comeback 2
By 1861, Colt’s growing enterprise employed 1,000 people. Then, in 1862 while Civil War was raging, Samuel Colt died at the age of 47. Women in business were a rarity at the time, but his wife took the helm and, despite the odds, continued the company’s success.

Comeback 3
In 1864 the factory burned to the ground. The company limped along for three years, barely capable of fulfilling government contracts, but methodically rebuilt itself into a profitable venture that thrived through World Wars, Korea and Vietnam.

Comeback 4
In the 1990s, however, Colt’s mainstay 1911 was replaced as the U.S. military’s issue sidearm by the Beretta-made M9. Add a four-year strike by company workers, and the company underwent bankruptcy proceedings in 1992. The firm got firmly back on its financial feet after it secured an order as the U.S. Military’s primary producer of the M4, though—a contract that lasted nearly 15 year.

Comeback 5?
The jury’s still out on this one, but Colt has a history of overcoming hurdles. The complicated situation that led to a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy may have started about the time FN Manufacturing beat Colt in contract bidding for military carbines in 2013.

In the meantime, the company is open for business and fully operational. Sciens Capital Management has made a proposal to purchase Colt, and a press release issued by the legendary firearms company stated, “As part of the Sciens led bid, Colt will be able to reassure its employees and local community of its commitment to continued operations in West Hartford through a long-term extension on the lease for its manufacturing facilities and campus in West Hartford.”

Latest

Military Armament MAC DS pistol right-side view black gun on pebbles.
Military Armament MAC DS pistol right-side view black gun on pebbles.

Military Armament Corporation Introduces New MAC 9 DS Models

Military Armament Corporation expanded its line of M1911-style, double-stack handguns with its new Double-Stack Duty, D-Comp and Comp designs.

Preview: MTM Case-Gard Ruger 10/22 Extended Mag Can

Made in the U.S.A., the O-ring-sealed Mag Can from MTM Case-Gard stows one of the most important parts of the semi-automatic carbine—the magazine—twelve BX-25-pattern extended magazines, to be exact.

Gun Of The Week: EAA Witness2311 Brat

Built on M1911 principles and imported by European American Armory Corp., the EAA Girsan Witnesss2311 Brat is a unique take on the double-stack, 2011-style pistol.

The Armed Citizen® March 28, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

John C. Garand: His Compensation & Other Accomplishments

Much gratitude has been, and is given, to the man who created the M1 Garand. But folklore suggests John C. Garand did all the work for free. Let us dispel that notion.

John Rigby & Co. Celebrates 250th Anniversary

John Rigby—born in 1758—founded his famed gunmaking firm, John Rigby & Co., in 1775, and year 2025 marks the company's semiquincentennial celebration.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.