Colt's Manufacturing Company: Difference between revisions

'''Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC''' ('''CMC''', formerly '''Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company''') is an American [[firearms manufacturer]], founded in 1855 by [[Samuel Colt]] andthat ishas nowbecome a subsidiary of Czech holding company [[Colt CZ Group]]. It is the successor corporation to Colt's earlier firearms-making efforts, which started in 1836. Colt is known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms, most especially betweenduring the 1850scentury andfrom 1850 through [[World War I]], when it was a dominating force indominated its industry and was a seminal influence on manufacturing technology. Colt's earliest designs played a major role in the popularization of the [[revolver]] and the shift away from earlier [[single-shot]] pistols. Although Samuel Colt did not invent the revolver concept, his designs resulted in the first very successful onesmodel.

The most famous Colt products include the [[Colt Walker]], made in 1847 in the facilities of [[Eli Whitney|Eli Whitney Jr.]], the [[Colt Single Action Army]] or Peacemaker, the [[Colt Python]], and the Colt [[M1911 Colt pistol|M1911]] pistol, which is currently the longest-standing military and law enforcement service handgun in the world and is still used today. Though they did not develop it, for a long time Colt was also primarily responsible for all [[AR-15 style rifle|AR-15]] and [[M16 rifle]] production, as well as many derivatives of those firearms. The most successful and famous of these are numerous M16 carbines, including the [[Colt Commando]] family, and the [[M4 carbine]].

In 2002, [[Colt Defense]] was split off from Colt's Manufacturing Company. Colt's Manufacturing Company served the civilian market, while Colt Defense served the law enforcement, military, and private security markets worldwide. The two companies remained in the same [[West Hartford, Connecticut]] location cross-licensing certain merchandise before reuniting in 2013.<ref name=Reunited2013>{{cite web|url=httphttps://articleswww.courant.com/2013-/07-/23/business/hc-colt-mergesentities-civiliantogether-again-company-reunites-military-manufacturing_1_westcivilian-hartfordgun-ptrmanufacturing-industries-debt2/|title=Colt Entities Together Again: Company Reunites Military, Civilian Gun Manufacturing - Hartford Courant|work=Hartford Courant|access-date=September 12, 2014|date=July 23, 2013|last=GOSSELIN|first=KENNETH R.|archive-date=September 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912070336/http://articles.courant.com/2013-07-23/business/hc-colt-merges-civilian-military-manufacturing_1_west-hartford-ptr-industries-debt|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the loss of its M4 contract in 2013, the reunited Colt was briefly in [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]] [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy]], starting in 2015 and emerging in January 2016. The company was bought by [[Colt CZ Group|Česká zbrojovka Group]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/czg-colt-idUSL1N2KH3HO|title=Czech gunmaker CZG buys Colt in cash and stock deal|work=Reuters|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=February 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.czg.cz/czg-announces-closing-of-the-acquisition-of-Colt-PR/|title=Česká zbrojovka Group SE Announces Closing of the Acquisition of Colt|publisher=Česká zbrojovka Group|date=May 24, 2021|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> In April 2022, Česká zbrojovka Group announced it had changed its name to Colt CZ Group.<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.coltczgroup.com/en/media-press-releases/czg-ceska-zbrojovka-group-has-changed-its-name-to-colt-cz-group-se |title=CZG - Česká zbrojovka Group Has Changed Its Name to Colt CZ Group SE |publisher=Colt CZ Group |date=April 12, 2022 |access-date=April 21, 2022}}</ref>

[[Samuel Colt]] received a British patent on his improved design for a revolver in 1835,<ref name="Roe1916p166">{{Harvnb|Roe|1916}}, p. [https://archive.org/details/englishandameri01roegoog/page/n224 166].</ref> and two U.S. patents in 1836, one on February 25 (later numbered [httphttps://wwwpatents.google.com/patents?id=Jy0qAAAAEBAJpatent/USX9430 U.S. Patent 9430X]) and another on August 29 ({{US Patent|1304}}). That same year, he founded his first corporation for its manufacture, the '''Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, New Jersey, Colt's Patent'''.<ref name="Hounshell1984p47">{{Harvnb|Hounshell|1984|p=47}}.</ref> The first firearm manufactured at the new Paterson plant, however, was the [[Colt First Model Ring Lever rifle]] beginning in 1837. This was followed shortly thereafter in late 1837 by the introduction of the [[Colt Paterson]].<ref name=nra>{{cite web|title=Colt 1839 Revolving Percussion Rifle|publisher=[[National Rifle Association of America]] [[National Firearms Museum]]|url=http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/the-prospering-new-republic/case-31-the-age-of-industry/colt-1839-revolving-percussion-rifle.aspx|access-date=June 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307042840/http://nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/the-prospering-new-republic/case-31-the-age-of-industry/colt-1839-revolving-percussion-rifle.aspx|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=society>{{cite journal|last=Castro|first=John|title=From the Beginning: Patent Arms Manufacturing Co., "Colts Patent"|date=Spring 1979|journal=The American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin|publisher=The American Society of Arms Collectors|volume=40|pages=45–48|url=http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B040_Castro.pdf|access-date=June 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810132308/http://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/B040_Castro.pdf|archive-date=August 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> This corporation suffered quality problems in production. Making firearms with [[interchangeable parts]] was still rather new (it had [[commercialization|reached commercial viability]] only about a decade before), and it was not yet easy to replicate across different factories. Interchangeability was not complete in the Paterson works, and traditional gunsmithing techniques did not fill the gap entirely there. The [[Colt Paterson]] revolver found patchy success and failure; some worked well, while others had problems. The [[United States Marine Corps]] and [[United States Army]] reported quality problems with these earliest Colt revolvers.<ref name="Hounshell1984p47"/><ref name="Roe1916pp166-169">{{Harvnb|Roe|1916}}, pp. [https://archive.org/details/englishandameri01roegoog/page/n224 166–169].</ref> Production had ended at the New Jersey corporation by 1842.<ref name="Hounshell1984p47"/>

Colt's new revolvers found favor with Texan volunteers (the progenitors of later [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] cavalry groups), and they placed an order for 1,000 revolvers that became known as the [[Colt Walker]], ensuring Colt's continuance in manufacturing revolvers.<ref name="Roe1916pp166-169"/> In 1848, Colt was able to start again with a new business of his own, and 1855, he converted it into a corporation under the name of '''Colt's Patent Fire ArmsFirearms Manufacturing Company''' in Hartford, Connecticut.<ref name="Hounshell1984p47"/>

Though the U.S. was not directly involved in the [[Crimean War]] (1854–1856), Colt's weapons were used by both sides. In 1855 Colt unveiled new state-of-the-art armories in the Hartford and London factories stocked with the latest [[machine tool]]s (some of which were of Colt's devising), many built by [[Francis A. Pratt]] and [[Amos Whitney]], who would found the original [[Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems|Pratt & Whitney]] [[Tool and die maker|toolbuildingtool building]] firm a few years later. For example, the [[Milling machine#1840s–1860|Lincoln miller]] debuted to industry at these armories.<ref name="Roe1916pp164-185" />

The [[American Civil War]] was a boon to firearms manufacturers such as Colt's, and the company thrived during the conflict. Sam Colt had carefully developed contacts within the ordnance department, signing the very first government contract for 25,000 rifles. Colt's Factory was described as "an industrial palace topped by a blue dome", powered by a 250-horsepower [[steam engine]].<ref name=kinard154>Kinard (2004) p.154</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], Colt had 1,500 employees who produced 150,000 muskets and pistols a year. In 1861 and 1863, the company sold 107,000 of the [[Colt Army Model 1860]] alone, with production reaching 200,500 by the end of the war in 1865.<ref>{{harvnb|Flayderman|2007|p=94}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Curiosities of the Civil War: Strange Stories, Infamous Characters and Bizarre Events |first=Webb |last=Garrison |publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59555-359-1 |page=452}}</ref>

It was 1868 when Colt's first effort toward a metallic cartridge revolver was by conversion of existing percussion revolvers. The first of these conversions was patented on September 15, 1868, by Colt engineer, F. Alexander Thuer as patent number 82258. The Thuer conversion was made by milling off the rear of the receiver and replacing it with a breechplate containing six internal firing pins. The cartridges were loaded through the mouths of the chambers. Colt made 5000 of these but they were not well accepted. Colt found the mechanism so complex it included a spare percussion cylinder with each revolver.<ref name=kinard124/>

Colt tasked its superintendent of engineering, [[Charles Brinckerhoff Richards|Charles Richards]], to come up with a solution. The Richards conversion was performed on the [[Colt 1860 Army]] revolver. The caliber was [[.44 Colt]] and the loading lever was replaced by an ejector rod. This conversion added a breechplatebreech plate with a firing pin and a rear sight mounted on the breechplate. Cartridges were loaded into the cylinder one at a time via a loading gate. Colt manufactured 9000 of these revolvers between 1873 and 1878. In 1873, Colt performed the same conversion on the M1851 and M1861 revolvers for the US Navy in .38 rimfire.<ref>{{harvnb|Sapp|2007|p=54}}</ref> Another of Colt's engineers, [[William Mason (Colt)|William Mason]], improved this conversion by placing the rear sight on the hammer and, along with Richards, he was granted patents in 1871 to convert percussion revolvers into rear-loading metallic-cartridge revolvers. Those converted revolvers are identified as the "Richards-Mason conversion".<ref name=sapp55>{{harvnb|Sapp|2007|p=55}}</ref> There were approximately 2100 Richards-Mason M1860 Army conversions made from 1877 to 1878 in a serial-number range 5800 to 7900.<ref name=sapp55/>

In November 1865, Franklin had attempted to purchase a license to the Rollin White patent from competitor Smith & Wesson. White and Smith & Wesson would take no less than $1.1 million, but Franklin and Colt's directors decided it was too large an investment on a patent that would expire in 1868.<ref name=walter157/> In the meantime, Colt turned its attention to manufacturing goods other than firearms, such as watches, sewing machines, typewriters and bicycles.<ref>Houze (2006) p.6</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford companion to American military history|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00cham/page/159 159]|first=Merrit Roe|last=Smith|chapter=Samuel Colt|editor=John Whiteclay Chambers |editor2=Fred Anderson|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-507198-6|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00cham/page/159}}</ref> In 1868 Rollin White requested an extension to his patent, but the request was rejected. He then turned to the [[United States Congress|Congress]], but the request was again rejected, this time by the Senate and on the initiative of President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Ulysses Grant]], in January 1870.<ref name=Grant>{{cite book|title =A compilation of the messages and papers of the presidents, prepared under the Joint Committee on Printing of the House and Senate, pursuant to an act of the Fifty-second Congress of the United States (with additions and encyclopedic index by private enterprise)|volume=9 |work=[[A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Prepared Under the Joint Committee on Printing of the House and Senate, Pursuant to an Act of the Fifty-second Congress of the United States]]|first=US|last=Grant|author-link=Ulysses S Grant|editor=[[James Daniel Richardson]] |publisher=Bureau of National Literature|year=1897 |pages=4034–4035}}</ref> This led the patent to expire, allowing competitors to develop their own breech-loading guns and metallic cartridges. Following this, on that same year of 1870, Colt's bought the [[National Arms Company]], a [[Brooklyn, New York]] company known for manufacturing [[derringer|deringer]]s and for circumventing the [[Rollin White]] patent by utilizing a unique cartridge.[[File:Colt Deringer.jpg|thumb|Colt Deringers, at right 1st Model (1870–1890), at left 3rd Model (1875–1912), all .41 rimfire]] Colt continued to produce the [[.41 Short]] deringerderringer after the acquisition, as an effort to help break into the metallic-cartridge gun market, but also introduced its own three Colt DeringerDerringer Models, all of them also chambered in a .41 rimfire unique cartridge. The last model to be in production, the third Colt DeringerDerringer, was not dropped until 1912.<ref>The third Colt Deringer Model was re-released in the 1950s for western movies, under the name of fourth model Colt Deringer</ref> The first metallic cartridge breech-loading weapons sold by Colt's were those DeringersDerringers, in 1870, that were formerly conceived by the National Arms Company, but Colt's also started developing its own rear-loading guns and cartridges.

Colt finally left the "loading gate concept" for a swing-out cylinder on its revolvers with the [[Colt M1889]] Navy revolver, which resembled the Colt M1878 and was based on another design by Mason. The model was produced for three years between 1889 and 1892, and eclipsed by the [[Colt M1892]] chambered in [[.38 Long Colt]]. The M1892 was replaced by the [[Colt New Service|New Service]] Double Action revolver in 1899. In caliber .45 Colt, the New Service was accepted by the U.S. Military as the Model 1909 .45 revolver. The New Service revolver was available in other calibers such as .38 Special and, later in the 20th century, .45 ACP (as the [[M1917 revolver]]) and .357 Magnum.<ref>{{harvnb|Sapp|2007|pp=96–97}}</ref>

Under a contract with the U.S. Army, Colt Arms built the Model 1895 ten-barrel variant of the [[Gatling Gun]], capable of firing 800–900 .30 Army rounds per minute, and used with great effect at the [[Battle of San Juan Hill]].<ref name="Parker1898pp131-138">{{Harvnb|Parker|1898|pp=131–138}}.</ref> The [[M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun]] or "Potato Digger" was built by Colt. The Colt–Browning was one of the first gas-operated machine guns, originally invented by John Browning. It became the first automatic machine gun adopted by the United States and saw limited use by the U.S. Marine Corps at the [[1898 invasion of Guantánamo Bay|invasion of Guantánamo Bay]] and by the [[Rough Riders|1st Volunteer Infantry]] in the Santiago campaign during the [[Spanish–American War]]. In 1901, [[Elizabeth Jarvis Colt]] sold the company to a group of outside investors based in New York and Boston.<ref>{{cite book|title=International Directory of Company Histories|pages=[https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0000unse_p5d2/page/70 70–72]|first=Tina|last=Grant|chapter=Colt's Manufacturing Company Inc.|editor=Thomas Derdak|publisher=St. James Press|year=1996|isbn=978-1-55862-327-9|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/internationaldir0000unse_p5d2/page/70}}</ref>

During [[World War I]], Colt surpassed all previous production achievements. [[John Browning]] worked for Colt for a time, and came up with a design for a [[semiautomatic pistol]], which debuted as the [[Colt M1900]] pistol and eventually evolved into the [[M1911 pistol|M1911]]. Prior to America's entry into the war, orders from Canada and the [[United Kingdom]] swelled the backlog of orders to three years. Colt hired 4,000 more workers, making a total of 10,000 employees—and its stock's price increased by 400%. By 1918, Colt had produced and sold 425,500 of the famous [[John Browning|Browning]]-designed [[M1911 Colt pistol|M1911]]. Because the factory could not keep up with demand for this pistol, the US Military decided to accept [[Colt New Service]] revolvers in caliber .45 ACP, called the [[M1917 revolver]], as a substitute weapon. Competing manufacturer [[Smith & Wesson]] made double-action revolvers in .45 ACP, which were accepted and issued by the U.S. military under the same name. Colt produced 151,700 revolvers during the war as well as 13,000 Maxim-Vickers machine guns and 10,000 Browning machine guns with an additional 100,000 under subcontract to other companies.

The 1960s were boom years for Colt with the escalation of the [[Vietnam War]], [[Robert McNamara]] shutting down the [[Springfield Armory]], and the [[U.S. Army]]'s subsequent adoption of the [[M16 rifle|M16]], for which Colt held the production rights and would sell over 5 million units worldwide. Colt would capitalize on this with a range of [[AR-15]] derivative carbines. They developed AR-15-based Squad Automatic Weapons, and the [[Colt SCAMP]], an early [[Personal defense weapon|PDW]] design. The Colt XM148 grenade launcher was created by Colt's design project engineer, gun designer Karl R. Lewis. The May 1967 "Colt's Ink" newsletter announced that he had won a national competition for his selection and treatment of materials in the design. The newsletter stated in part "In only 47 days, he wrote the specifications, designed the launcher, drew all the original prints, and had a working model built". At the end of the 1970s, there was a program run by the Air Force to replace the M1911A1. The Beretta 92S won, but this was contested by the Army. The Army ran their own trials, leading eventually to the [[Beretta 92F]] being selected as the M9.<ref name=Ayoob>{{cite book|title=The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery|first=Massad|last=Ayoob|author-link=Massad Ayoob |edition=6|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola|year=2007 |pages=218–220|isbn=978-0-89689-525-6}}

In 1985, Colt's workers, members of the [[United Auto Workers]] went on strike for higher wages. This strike would ultimately last for five years, and was one of the longest-running labor strikes in American history.<ref>Lendler (1997) pp. 25–27</ref> With replacement workers running production, the quality of Colt's firearms began to decline. Dissatisfied with Colt's production, in 1988 the U.S. military awarded the contract for future [[M16 rifle|M16]] production to [[Fabrique Nationale]]. The strike finally ended when an agreement was reached on 22 March 1990.<ref>Lendler (1997) pp. 21–22</ref>

Some criticized Colt's range of handgun products in the late 1980s as out of touch with the demands of the market, and their once-vaunted reputation for quality had suffered during the UAW strike. Colt's stable of double-action revolvers and single-action pistols was seen as old-fashioned by a marketplace that was captivated by the new generation of "[[wondernines]]" – high-higher capacity, handguns chambered in [[9×19mm Parabellum]] caliber handguns, as typified by the [[Glock 17]]. Realizing that the future of the company was at stake, labor and management agreed to end the strike in an arrangement that resulted in Colt being sold to a group of private investors, the State of Connecticut, and the UAW itself.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of American Industries: Manufacturing industries|volume=1| first=Kevin |last=Hillstrom |publisher=Gale Research|year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8103-8998-4|page=859}}</ref>

The new Colt first attempted to address some of the demands of the market with the production in 1989 of the ''[[Colt Double Eagle|Double Eagle]]'', a double-action pistol heavily based on the M1911 design, which was seen as an attempt to "modernize" the classic Browning design. Colt followed this up in 1992 with the ''[[Colt 2000|Colt All American 2000]]'', which was unlike any other handgun Colt had produced before—being a polymer-framed, rotating-barrel, 9×19mm handgun with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. It was designed by [[Reed Knight]], with parts manufactured by outside vendors and assembled by Colt; its execution was disastrous. Early models were plagued with inaccuracy and unreliability, and suffered from the poor publicity of a product recall. The product launch failed and production of the All American 2000 ended in 1994.<ref name="cameron">{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_152_25/ai_72293269 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205223322/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_152_25/ai_72293269 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2004 |title=Kimber Ultra Ten II |last=Hopkins |first=Cameron |publisher=American Handgunner |year=2001 |quote="Some have been design breakthroughs,...while others have been utterly uninspiring, like the defunct Colt All-American 2000." |access-date=February 26, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n4_v39/ai_15404105 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113180753/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n4_v39/ai_15404105 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 13, 2007 |title=Colt's renames Cadet pistol - Colt's Manufacturing Company Inc.'s Colt .22 Single Action pistol |publisher=Shooting Industry |year=1994 |quote="The gun was selling at the rate of 10–12,000 units per year, and for a manufacturer of our size, with 900 employees, it was not enough" |access-date=February 25, 2007 }}</ref> This series of events led to the company's [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n5_v37/ai_12306439 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113180758/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_n5_v37/ai_12306439 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 13, 2007 |title=The legend lives on - Colt files for bankruptcy |publisher=Shooting Industry |year=1992 |access-date=February 26, 2007 }}</ref>

The 1990s brought the end of [[Cold War]], which resulted in a large downturn for the entire defense industry. Colt was hit by this downturn, though it would be made worse later in the 1990s by a boycott by the shooting public in America. In 1994, the assets of Colt were purchased by Zilkha & Co, a financial group owned by [[Donald Zilkha]]. It was speculated that Zilkha's financial backing of the company enabled Colt to begin winning back military contracts. In fact, during the time period it won only one contract, the [[M4 carbine]]. However, the U.S. military had been purchasing Colt carbines for the past 30 years (See [[Colt Commando]]).{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} During a 1998 ''[[The Washington Post]]'' interview, [[CEO]] Ron Stewart stated that he would favor a federal permit system with training and testing for gun ownership. This led to a massive grassroots [[boycott|boycotts]] of Colt's products by [[Federal Firearm License|gun stores]] and US gun owners.<ref name=outgunned>{{cite book|title=Outgunned: Up Against the NRA: The First Complete Insider Account of the Battle over Gun Control|first1=Peter H.|last1=Brown|first2=Daniel G.|last2=Abel|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7432-1561-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/outgunnedupagain00brow/page/63 63–65]|url=https://archive.org/details/outgunnedupagain00brow/page/63}}</ref>

Zilkha replaced Stewart with [[Steven Sliwa]] and focused the remainder of Colt's handgun design efforts into "[[smart gun]]s," a concept favored politically, but that had little interest or support among handgun owners or police departments. This research never produced any meaningful results due to the limited technology at the time.<ref name=outgunned /> Colt announced the termination of its production of double-action revolvers in October 1999.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

The boycott of Colt gradually faded out after [[William M. Keys]], a retired U.S. Marine Lt. General, took the helm of the company in 2002. Keys salvaged Colt's reputation and brought Colt from the brink of bankruptcy to an international leader in Defense production.<ref name=outgunned /> In 2010 Gerald R. Dinkel replaced Keys as CEO of Colt Defense LLC, while Keys remained on the Boardboard of Directorsdirectors for Colt Defense.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Colt Defense LLC Announces Gerald R. Dinkel as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company|year =2010|journal= Business Wire|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_20101014/ai_n55559608/|access-date=October 11, 2011}}{{dead link|date=November 2024}}</ref>

Colt has entered in several US contracts with mixed results. For example, Colt had an entry in the [[Advanced Combat Rifle]] (ACR) program of the 1980s, but along with other contestants failed to replace the M16A2. Colt and many other makers entered the US trials for a new pistol in the 1980s, though the Beretta entry would win and become the [[M9 pistol|M9 Pistol]]. The [[Colt OHWS]] handgun was beaten by H&K for what became the [[Heckler & Koch MK23|MK23 SOCOM]], it was lighter than the H&K entry but lost in performance. Colt did not get to compete for the [[XM8 rifle|XM8]] since it was not an open competition. Colt is a likely entrant in any competition for a new US [[service rifle]]. Current M16 rifles have been made primarily by [[FN Herstal|FN USA]] since 1988. However, Colt remained the sole source for M4 carbines for the US military. Under their license agreement with Colt, the US military could not legally award second-source production contracts for the M4 until July 1, 2009.<ref name=rottmann>{{cite book|title=Title The M16 Weapon Series |first=Gordon |last=Rottman |author2=Alan Gilliland |author3=Johnny Shumate |publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84908-690-5 |pages=37–38, 43}}</ref> In 2007 Colt won a contract to produce M4 carbines for the US military worth $71 million. In 2008 this was followed by a $151 million order for 89,000 M4 carbine rifles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journalinquirer.com/business/colt-defense-wins-major-contract/article_b095165f-971d-5d21-83ff-b8eb8d3bcfc6.html|title=Colt Defense wins major contract}}</ref>

After restructuring, a reinvigorated Colt introduced several new versions of its 1911 pistols, including stainless-steel competition and target models.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ammoland.com/2016/11/colt-stainless-steel-competition-1911-pistol/#axzz6CF7RPOHo |title=Colt Announces Stainless Steel Competition 1911 Pistol Models |first=F |last=Riehl |date=November 2, 2016 |website=Ammoland.com |access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref> In 2017, Colt returned to the production of double-action revolvers with the .38 [[Colt Cobra]], followed in 2019 by an improved version of the 1999 .357 ''Magnum Carry'', the [[Colt King Cobra|King Cobra]]. In 2020, Colt reintroduced a modernized [[Colt Python]] in stainless steel,<ref>{{cite web |last=Eger |first=Chris |title=Colt Python Reboot for 2020 Goes The Distance At Shot Show |url=https://www.guns.com/news/2020/01/24/colt-python-reboot-for-2020-goes-the-distance-at-shot-show |website=Guns.com |access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref> followed by the reintroduction of 6- and 8 -inch stainless steel versions of the [[Colt Anaconda]] in 2021- and a 4.25-inch Anaconda in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MBA |first=Robert Allen Scepaniak II |date=2023-01-18 |title=COLT Anaconda 4.25" Barrel Stainless Steel .44 Magnum Revolver! |url=https://www.firearmheadlines.com/colt-anaconda-425-barrel-stainless-steel-44-magnum-revolver/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Firearm Headlines |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=New for 2021: Colt Anaconda |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/new-for-2021-colt-anaconda |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730154452/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/new-for-2021-colt-anaconda |archive-date=July 30, 2021 |access-date= |website=American Rifleman}}</ref>

* Fred A. Roff, Jr. (1958–1962)<ref name =ge1980/>

* Dennis R. Veilleux (2013–present) <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=245035892&privcapId=30194079|title=Dennis R. Veilleux: Executive Profile & Biography |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |date=August 2023 }}</ref>

* [[Colt SF VI]]

* Colt 1878 Hammer Shotgun<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coltparts.com/pt_78shotgun.html|title=Colt 1878 Hammer Shotgun|website=coltparts.com|access-date=September 17, 2014|archive-date=August 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827042541/http://www.coltparts.com/pt_78shotgun.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* {{cite web | url = httphttps://wwwpatents.google.com/patents?id=bNI_AAAAEBAJ&dq=Samuel+Coltpatent/US1304| title = United States Utility Patent 1304, Improvement in fire-arms and in the apparatus used therewith | publisher = United States Patent Office; Google| access-date=SeptemberFebruary 26, 20082023}}