Colt's Manufacturing Company

About

Colt's Manufacturing Company, often referred to as simply Colt, is an American firearm manufacturing company founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt, the culmination of Samuel Colt's earlier firearms manufacturing business ventures. The first forerunner to the modern Colt company was known as the Patent Arms Company, established in 1836 in Paterson, New Jersey, shortly after Samuel Colt was granted patents for his improved revolver mechanism. The Patent Arms Company gained recognition for producing the earliest successful revolver design, the Colt Patterson 1836. While the Colt Patterson was met with praise for its innovative design, the early revolver was marred by quality issues. Samuel Colt started to find true success after production began on the Colt Walker series of revolvers and in 1855, a new corporation, Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company was established in Hartford, Connecticut.

The 1850s and 1860s saw huge success for Colt, with revolvers like the Colt 1851 Navy and Colt 1860 gaining enormous popularity in the United States and Europe, with sales booming with the onset of the American Civil War in 1861. The post-Civil War era saw Colt branching into the new-fangled metallic cartridge market, eventually resulting in the creation of the Colt Single Action Army, arguably one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable revolvers in popular culture. Colt's success is partly owed to its embracing of new manufacturing techniques like interchangeable parts and the assembly line.

The 20th century bought continued success for Colt, with its revolvers being used by military forces the world over and the venerable Colt M1911 being introduced in 1911. World War I and World War II saw a massive surge in business as had occurred during the American Civil War decades earlier. Following the Second World War, Colt was faced with bankruptcy due to years of mismanagement and labor disputes- the company produced nothing at all between 1945 and 1947. The company's next windfall came with the Vietnam War, where they would be contracted to produce the M16 rifle series. While not the original designers of the AR-15/M16, Colt would become the company most heavily associated with the M16 rifle. The 1980s saw Colt attempting to innovate on its aging handgun designs to compete with the increasingly popular "Wonder Nines" like the Glock 17, but efforts like the Colt Double Eagle and Colt 2000 were met with tepid sales (or complete failure, in the case of the Colt 2000). Colt's problems compounded in the 1990s, as the fall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War affected the entire arms industry. In 1998, Colt CEO Ron Stewart voiced favorable opinions for gun control, leading to a massive boycott by American gun owners. This boycott petered out by 2002, when new Colt CEO William M. Keys, a former United States Marine Corps Lt. General, managed to salvage the company's reputation and save it from bankruptcy.

Continued failed bids at contracts throughout the 2000s bought on more financial woes. Following a 2002 restructuring, Colt Defense, LLC was founded to fulfill military, law enforcement and security orders while Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc continued to make weapons for the commercial market. Another blow to the company came in 2013, when Colt lost its contract to manufacture M4 carbines for the US military due to persistent reliability issues. Colt restructured again in 2016. Following this restructure, Colt began introducing new variants of the M1911 pistol and began reintroducing its classic double-action revolvers, including a new run of the iconic Colt Python revolver starting in 2020.

Colt, along with Colt Canada (formerly Diemaco), was acquired by CZ on February 11, 2021, a deal which was officially completed on May 24th.

Information

Founded: 1855

Country: USA

Guns

Pistols

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants
Colt Z40	.40 S&W	10	1997-1998
Colt Double Eagle	.45 ACP 10mm Auto .40 S&W 9x19mm .38 Super	10	1989-1997	Colt Double Eagle Officers
Colt M1971 SSP	9x19mm Parabellum .45 ACP	15 9	1971 (50 prototypes only)
Colt Junior	.22 Short .25 ACP	6	1958-1971
Colt Model 1902	.38 ACP	7, 8	1902–1928	Colt Model 1902 Military Model Colt Model 1902 Sporting Model
Colt Model 1903	.32 ACP .380 ACP	8 7	1903–1945, 2016-present	Colt Model 1908
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer	.38 ACP	7	1903-1927
Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket	.25 ACP	6	1908-1945
Colt Mustang	.380 ACP	6	1986-1997, 2012-present	Colt Government Model 380 Colt Mustang Lite
Colt Pony	.380 ACP	6	1997-1998
Colt Pocket Nine	9x19mm	6	1999
Colt 2nd Model Derringer	.41 Rimfire	Single shot	1870 - 1890
Colt 3rd Model Derringer	.41 Rimfire	Single shot	1875-1912
Colt 4th Model Derringer	.22 Short	Single shot	1959-1973
Colt .22 Target Model	.22 LR	10	????
Colt Woodsman	.22 LR	10	1915-1977	Colt Woodsman Match Target Colt Challenger
Colt SCAMP	.22 SCAMP	27	1971-1992
Colt M1911	.45 ACP 10mm Auto .40 S&W 9x19mm .38 Super	7	1911-present	Colt M1911A1 Colt MK IV Series 70 Colt MK IV Series 80 Colt MK IV Series 80 Combat Elite Colt Gold Cup National Match Colt XSE Colt Commander Colt Officer's ACP Colt Defender

Revolvers

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants
Colt New Line	.22 .30 .32 .38 .41	7 5 5 5 5	1873-1877 1874-1876 1873-1884 1874-1880 1874-1879
Colt 1849 Pocket	.31	5	1849-1873
Colt 1851 Navy	.36	6	1850-1873	Colt 1851 (Cartridge Conversion) Colt 1851 Navy (Richards-Mason Conversion) Colt 1851 "U.S. Marshal"
Colt 1860 Army	.44	6	1860-1873	Colt 1860 (Richards Conversion) Colt 1860 (Richards-Mason Conversion)
Colt 1861 Navy	.36	6	1861-1873
Colt 1862 Navy	.36	5	1862-1873	Colt 1862 Navy Cartridge Conversion
Colt 1862 Police	.36	5	1862-1873	Colt 1862 Pocket Police
Colt 1871-72 Open Top	.44	6	1872-1873
Colt 1873 Single Action Army	.45 Colt .44-40 WCF .32-20 WCF .38-40 WCF .44 Rim Fire 476 Ely .38 Special .357 Magnum	6	1873-1941, ????-present	Biseley Special Colt Frontier Six Shooter Buntline Special
Colt 1877 Lightning	.32 Colt .38 Long Colt .41 Long Colt	6	1877-1909
Colt 1878 Double Action	.45 Colt .44-40 WCF .38-40 WCF .44 Russian .476 Ely .41 Colt .38 Colt .32-20 WCF	6	1878-1907
Colt Anaconda	.44 Special .44 Magnum .45 Colt	6	1990-1999, 2021-Present
Colt Cobra	.22 LR .38 S&W .38 Special	6	1950-1981, 2017-present	Colt Agent Colt Viper Colt Combat Cobra Colt Night Cobra
Colt Detective Special	.32 New Police .38 New Police .38 Special	6	1927-1995	Colt Bankers Special
Colt Diamondback	.22 LR .22 Magnum .38 Special	6	1966-1988
Colt Dragoon	.44	6	1848-1860
Colt King Cobra	.357 Magnum .38 Special	6	1986-1998, 2019-present
Colt M1917	.45 ACP	6	1917-1920
Colt Magnum Carry	.357 Magnum	6	1998-1999
Colt New Army & Navy	.38 Long Colt	6	1892-1908
Colt New Frontier	.44 Special .45 Long Colt	6	1961-1982
Colt New Pocket	.32 Colt	6	1893-1905
Colt New Service	.45 Colt .455 Webley .44-40 .44 Special .38-40 .357 Magnum	6	1898-1946
Colt Official Police	.22 LR .32-20 .38 Special .41 Long Colt	6	1927-1969	Colt Commando
Colt Paterson 1836	.36	5	1836-1842
Colt Pocket Positive	32 Colt New Police	6	1906-1941
Colt Police Positive	.32 Long/Short Colt .32 Colt New Police (.32 S&W Long) .38 Colt New Police (.38 S&W)	6	1907-1978
Colt Python	.357 Magnum	6	1955-2004, 2020-present
Colt SF-VI/DS-II	.38 Special	6	1995-2000
Colt Trooper	.22 LR .22 WMR .38 Special .357 Magnum	6	1953-1985	Colt Trooper Mk III Colt Lawman MK III Colt Trooper MK V
Colt Walker	.44 Ball	6	1847

Shotguns

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants
Colt Model 1878	10 gauge 12 gauge	2	1878 - ?
Colt Coltsman	12 gauge 16 gauge 20 gauge	4+1	1961 - 1965
Colt Defender Mark I	20 gauge 20 gauge / ??mm tear gas grenade (on some models)	8 / 1	1967 - 1971 (prototypes only; never produced)	Multiple prototypes w/various features

Submachine Guns

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Thompson Submachine Gun	.45 ACP	20, 30, 50, 100	1921-Present	M1921 Thompson M1928 Thompson M1 Thompson M1A1 Thompson
Colt 9mm Submachine Gun	9x19mm	30	1982-Present

Machine Guns

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants	Image
Colt 1895 Automatic Machine Gun	6mm Lee Navy 7x57mm Mauser .30-40 Krag .30-06 Springfield .303 British 7.62x54mmR	Belt Fed	1895-1919
Colt Mk 12 cannon	20x110mm USN	Various	1950s-Present

Rifles

Weapon	Caliber(s)	Capacity	Produced	Variants
Colt Lightning Carbine	.44-40	15	1884-1904
Colt Model 1855	.44	5, 6	1855-1864
Colt M16	5.56x45mm NATO	STANAG	1960-Present	XM16E1 Rifle M16A1 Rifle M16A2 Rifle M16A4 Rifle Colt AR-15 Sporter-1 Colt Match Target Colt AR-15 Sporter Carbine Colt Model 715 Colt Canada C8 Carbine Colt XM177/CAR-15/Commando Series & MORE
Colt CM901	5.56x45mm NATO 6.8x43mm SPC 7.62x39mm 7.62x51mm NATO	STANAG	2000s-present	Colt SP901
Colt Sub Compact Weapon	5.56x45mm NATO	STANAG	2005-Present