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Posted: 1/10/2021 12:01:01 PM EDT
I was on another firearm website and someone brought up that they've heard rumblings that CZ may be buying Colt. The person was from Germany and they linked the following article, and said this is a well respected German news source. As with anything take it with a grain of salt until something is officially announced, but this would be extremely interesting if true.
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article224042990/US-Legende-Tschechen-wollen-Waffenhersteller-Colt-kaufen.html Translation: CZ (Ceská Zbrojovka) plans to take over a US legend, the Czech company is seen as an awakening giant in the industry. The deal is also a signal to a German company. Czech arms manufacturer and Heckler & Koch competitor CZ is planning the complete takeover of the world-famous US company Colt - including its Canadian subsidiary. To this end, after research by WELT AM SONNTAG, a declaration of intent was signed. A spokeswoman for CZ (Ceská Zbrojovka) confirmed the idea in principle to the newspaper. "We will inform you about major developments in due course," she said. CZ had hidden the entry plans online at the end of November - and didn't even mention the name Colt in the headline. Apparently there is still no agreement. In the industry, CZ is seen as an awakening giant. In mid-2020, the holding company Ceská Zbrojovka Group SE (CZG) went public on the Prague Stock Exchange. With a good 1,600 employees, CZ has more than twice as many employees as Heckler & Koch and is also slightly larger in terms of turnover. For CZ, the USA is by far the company's largest sales market. In the first nine months of 2020, 70 percent of sales of around 191 million euros were achieved in the USA. Colt is considered an icon of the US arms industry. The more than 160 year old company from Hartford, Connecticut, USA, has its origins in the business of revolvers invented by company founder Samuel Colt. In 2015, Colt had to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy under US bankruptcy law, with business continuing. View Quote |
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[#1]
Interesting if it happens.
They will never drop the Colt name though, it'll be a stand alone company in it's name. |
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[#4]
Own 6 CZ rifles. 3 centerfire and 3 rimfire, so I'm not a hater but I ordered 2 trigger washers (shipping was double the cost of the washers) for my 452 triggers from them over two months ago. After 3 follow up calls and still haven't got them. Sounds like they will have Colt's CS beat.
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[#5]
Quoted: Own 6 CZ rifles. 3 centerfire and 3 rimfire, so I'm not a hater but I ordered 2 trigger washers (shipping was double the cost of the washers) for my 452 triggers from them over two months ago. After 3 follow up calls and still haven't got them. Sounds like they will have Colt's CS beat. View Quote If they're wise, they'll give Brent his job back. But odds are he's already doing something better. |
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[#6]
Interesting.
And not without some precedent. CZ and Colt have tried (and failed) to collaborate on pistol projects in the past. CZ likely learned all about Colts' dysfunction and now sees an opportunity. |
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[#8]
I count this as positive, the quality of CZ and customer service is very good.
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[#9]
Czech arms manufacturer and Heckler & Koch competitor CZ is planning the complete takeover of the world-famous US company Colt View Quote All I can say is CZ has a looooooooooooong way to go to match H&K's arrogance. I own Colt, CZ & H&K products, love them all. But CZ gives the best bang for the buck, IMO. They're also the only major gun mfgr with a female CEO, for those whom did not know. |
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[#10]
Quoted: They're also the only major gun mfgr with a female CEO, for those whom did not know. View Quote Yep, and Alice has done a PHENOMENAL job as CEO. She is awesome. She's not some random suit. She moved up through the ranks of the company, and is a passionate shooter herself. She's a great fit and has done a really good job. |
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[#11]
Quoted: Yep, and Alice has done a PHENOMENAL job as CEO. She is awesome. She's not some random suit. She moved up through the ranks of the company, and is a passionate shooter herself. She's a great fit and has done a really good job. View Quote I would bet CZ has tripled (or better) sales since she took over. |
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[#13]
Quoted: Yep, and Alice has done a PHENOMENAL job as CEO. She is awesome. She's not some random suit. She moved up through the ranks of the company, and is a passionate shooter herself. She's a great fit and has done a really good job. View Quote Well, she needs to get on the stick as far as parts and service for the Bren 2... |
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[#14]
Looks like it's getting more steam now:
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-cz-in-late-stage-talks-to-acquire-colt/ |
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[#15]
Since I love my CZ guns so much, I'm wondering how many upper & middle management types will be shown the door should CZ become owners? I'm speaking of those who have made horrific business and marketing decisions in the past. We all know Colt's history, so I won't delve into that here.
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[#16]
Quoted: Looks like it's getting more steam now: https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/breaking-cz-in-late-stage-talks-to-acquire-colt/ View Quote I’d like to hear what the Small Arms Solutions guy has to say (former Colt employee). First order of business would be to gtfo of Connecticut and move to a gun-friendly state down South. |
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[#18]
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[#19]
Quoted: I’d like to hear what the Small Arms Solutions guy has to say (former Colt employee). First order of business would be to gtfo of Connecticut and move to a gun-friendly state down South. View Quote Chris seems to be a pretty big CZ fan based on how he compliments their guns in his videos. He may see it as a win-win. |
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[#20]
I also see it as a positive, colt exists in name only really.
I do poke Ruger people pretty often, and my feelings to that company are pretty well known, however I do think them getting Marlin is going to be a good thing. Now if we can get ruger to bring out the camp series of carbines that would be fantastic. |
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[#21]
Updated OP. No longer a rumor, it's actually in the process of happening. Official announcement from CZ to their investors:
https://www.czg.cz/docs/CZG_Colt_exlusivity_extention_eng.pdf ETA: the Elmer Fudds on the official Colt forum seem to be throwing a fit that some European company is going to take over their beloved Colt. Lol. |
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[#22]
That's a relief. Hopefully this will allow CZ to avoid any, ahem, possible import bans that could be promulgated by, ahem, people in the future.
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[#23]
Quoted: That's a relief. Hopefully this will allow CZ to avoid any, ahem, possible import bans that could be promulgated by, ahem, people in the future. View Quote They're already building a brand new manufacturing facility in Arkansas. So they're already ahead of the game. But yeah, Colt will probably give them way more manufacturing capability in addition to the new Arkansas plant. |
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[#24]
Quoted: They're already building a brand new manufacturing facility in Arkansas. So they're already ahead of the game. But yeah, Colt will probably give them way more manufacturing capability in addition to the new Arkansas plant. View Quote From what I hear, CZ hasn’t yet broken ground at the $90 million Little Rock plant in the 2 years since it was announced. Perhaps they’ve been keeping their powder dry in order to buy Colt. They’d be smart to move all operations to a gun friendly state and not be at the mercy of nasty, litigious anti gun libtards. |
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[#25]
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[#27]
Chris of Small Arms Solutions put out a Q&A video yesterday addressing the CZ acquisition: basically said it was a great development - an actual innovative and well-established gun company taking over a floundering historic gun company from a bunch of “investors” who were cannibalizing the once storied Colt brand. Said it’s not rocket science - the entire upper management of Colt needs to be sacked and move the whole kit and kaboodle down to Arkansas to restore the Colt name and reputation for innovation.
If some of Colt’s people don’t want to move from CT, they’re not gun people anyway, they can stay in CT and design a better mousetrap - though they might get derailed by PETA...Practically the entire state of Arkansas is made up of hard core gun people, ready, willing and able to move CZ and Colt forward. |
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[#28]
Dan Wesson potentially manufacturing Colt branded 1911's will sure be interesting
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[#29]
Quoted: Chris of Small Arms Solutions put out a Q&A video yesterday addressing the CZ acquisition: basically said it was a great development - an actual innovative and well-established gun company taking over a floundering historic gun company from a bunch of “investors” who were cannibalizing the once storied Colt brand. Said it’s not rocket science - the entire upper management of Colt needs to be sacked and move the whole kit and kaboodle down to Arkansas to restore the Colt name and reputation for innovation. If some of Colt’s people don’t want to move from CT, they’re not gun people anyway, they can stay in CT and design a better mousetrap - though they might get derailed by PETA...Practically the entire state of Arkansas is made up of hard core gun people, ready, willing and able to move CZ and Colt forward. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Chris of Small Arms Solutions put out a Q&A video yesterday addressing the CZ acquisition: basically said it was a great development - an actual innovative and well-established gun company taking over a floundering historic gun company from a bunch of “investors” who were cannibalizing the once storied Colt brand. Said it’s not rocket science - the entire upper management of Colt needs to be sacked and move the whole kit and kaboodle down to Arkansas to restore the Colt name and reputation for innovation. If some of Colt’s people don’t want to move from CT, they’re not gun people anyway, they can stay in CT and design a better mousetrap - though they might get derailed by PETA...Practically the entire state of Arkansas is made up of hard core gun people, ready, willing and able to move CZ and Colt forward. Glad to hear Chris approves. One thing I really like about Chris is he always seems fair and doesn't ever come off as biased. Quoted: Dan Wesson potentially manufacturing Colt branded 1911's will sure be interesting My guess is CZ will charge Colt with making the mid-tier 1911s, and Dan Wesson will continue to make the higher end guns. |
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[#30]
It is so sad that Colt mgmt has just made so many colossal screw ups again and again and again. They and all their investors really went out of their way to run that company into the ground.
This is probably the best option though for getting them turned around. There is so much potential in the name and history and I think CZ would respect that and know how to benefit from it. |
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[#31]
Quoted: Glad to hear Chris approves. One thing I really like about Chris is he always seems fair and doesn't ever come off as biased. My guess is CZ will charge Colt with making the mid-tier 1911s, and Dan Wesson will continue to make the higher end guns. View Quote Chris put out another video yesterday, where he basically reiterated his opinion of the CZ - Colt acquisition, condensed into 15 minutes as opposed to the previous hour-long Q&A video on a wide range of subjects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSMQ7S0NNNU |
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[#32]
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[#33]
NOT excited
CZ seems to rely a lot on the reputation of the previous excellent Czech gun makers, BRNO A lot of what CZ makes is due to them buying out/taking over the BRNO outfit & inheriting the manufacturing rights & tooling As good as BRNO?? Well, I never saw a new in the box rifle from BRNO, which had a right hand action & a left hand bolt - both serial number matched to each other... |
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[#34]
Quoted: NOT excited CZ seems to rely a lot on the reputation of the previous excellent Czech gun makers, BRNO A lot of what CZ makes is due to them buying out/taking over the BRNO outfit & inheriting the manufacturing rights & tooling As good as BRNO?? Well, I never saw a new in the box rifle from BRNO, which had a right hand action & a left hand bolt - both serial number matched to each other... View Quote Would you rate that as better or worse than a current Colt? Their recent production includes revolvers that are out of time from the factory or fail to advance the cylinder. Also revolvers shipping with loose sideplates. That doesn't even address their apparent difficulty in even getting products out of the factory. They've done what, 2 runs of the new Pythons since they came out last year and they all sold almost immediately. |
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[#35]
Quoted: NOT excited CZ seems to rely a lot on the reputation of the previous excellent Czech gun makers, BRNO A lot of what CZ makes is due to them buying out/taking over the BRNO outfit & inheriting the manufacturing rights & tooling As good as BRNO?? Well, I never saw a new in the box rifle from BRNO, which had a right hand action & a left hand bolt - both serial number matched to each other... View Quote Elmer Fudd enters the discussion...with a British accent. |
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[#36]
Quoted: NOT excited CZ seems to rely a lot on the reputation of the previous excellent Czech gun makers, BRNO A lot of what CZ makes is due to them buying out/taking over the BRNO outfit & inheriting the manufacturing rights & tooling As good as BRNO?? Well, I never saw a new in the box rifle from BRNO, which had a right hand action & a left hand bolt - both serial number matched to each other... View Quote I don't really understand your comment. What guns does CZ still build on BRNO tooling? They just discontinued the 550 Safari series which was being made on old tooling and referred to as the Brno 602, but that's it. Everything else is on modern tooling tooling. And the CZ-75, one of the most popular 9mms in the world, is all CZ-UB and has no relation at all to BRNO. The Vz. 58 was also CZ-UB. Also, just to make it clear, for a long time the Czech Ministry forced all exported firearms in the country to bear the "BRNO" stamp on them, even guns that had no association with BRNO. So a lot of CZ guns had "BRNO" stamped on them for a while when they actually had no association with BRNO. Maybe that is where you're getting confused? Most of CZ's designs are their own with the exception of the 550 series of rifles which is based on the BRNO Mauser action, and even those were just discontinued. |
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[#37]
Quoted: I don't really understand your comment. What guns does CZ still build on BRNO tooling? They just discontinued the 550 Safari series which was being made on old tooling and referred to as the Brno 602, but that's it. Everything else is on modern tooling tooling. And the CZ-75, one of the most popular 9mms in the world, is all CZ-UB and has no relation at all to BRNO. The Vz. 58 was also CZ-UB. Also, just to make it clear, for a long time the Czech Ministry forced all exported firearms in the country to bear the "BRNO" stamp on them, even guns that had no association with BRNO. So a lot of CZ guns had "BRNO" stamped on them for a while when they actually had no association with BRNO. Maybe that is where you're getting confused? Most of CZ's designs are their own with the exception of the 550 series of rifles which is based on the BRNO Mauser action, and even those were just discontinued. View Quote The Scorpion Evo is not a CZ design. |
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[#38]
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[#39]
Quoted: I know, it was designed in collaboration with Laugo arms. I was speaking more directly to the claim that CZ was copying all of BRNO's designs. View Quote Ah. Fair enough. For the record, CZ taking over Colt is a good thing. Colt needs to be run by gun people...not financial analysts or Wall street guys. |
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[#40]
Quoted: I know, it was designed in collaboration with Laugo arms. I was speaking more directly to the claim that CZ was copying all of BRNO's designs. View Quote He is mostly full of crap (mostly) with no idea of just how bad things were at BRNO before they were purchased. Cz did rebrand and assumed much of their dying rifle line which is likely the least profitable and smallest volume lines of anything cz produces and have been getting steadily discontinued for years due to lack of sales. Maybe their old rifles were popular by UK gun sales metrics, but by any market that actually matters and keeps the lights on for a business, it's pissing in the wind. |
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[#41]
Quoted: I also see it as a positive, colt exists in name only really. I do poke Ruger people pretty often, and my feelings to that company are pretty well known, however I do think them getting Marlin is going to be a good thing. Now if we can get ruger to bring out the camp series of carbines that would be fantastic. View Quote You are aware of the ruger pc carbine right? |
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[#42]
Quoted: I was on another firearm website and someone brought up that they've heard rumblings that CZ may be buying Colt. The person was from Germany and they linked the following article, and said this is a well respected German news source. As with anything take it with a grain of salt until something is officially announced, but this would be extremely interesting if true. https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article224042990/US-Legende-Tschechen-wollen-Waffenhersteller-Colt-kaufen.html Translation: CZ (Ceská Zbrojovka) plans to take over a US legend, the Czech company is seen as an awakening giant in the industry. The deal is also a signal to a German company. Czech arms manufacturer and Heckler & Koch competitor CZ is planning the complete takeover of the world-famous US company Colt - including its Canadian subsidiary. To this end, after research by WELT AM SONNTAG, a declaration of intent was signed. A spokeswoman for CZ (Ceská Zbrojovka) confirmed the idea in principle to the newspaper. "We will inform you about major developments in due course," she said. CZ had hidden the entry plans online at the end of November - and didn't even mention the name Colt in the headline. Apparently there is still no agreement. In the industry, CZ is seen as an awakening giant. In mid-2020, the holding company Ceská Zbrojovka Group SE (CZG) went public on the Prague Stock Exchange. With a good 1,600 employees, CZ has more than twice as many employees as Heckler & Koch and is also slightly larger in terms of turnover. For CZ, the USA is by far the company's largest sales market. In the first nine months of 2020, 70 percent of sales of around 191 million euros were achieved in the USA. Colt is considered an icon of the US arms industry. The more than 160 year old company from Hartford, Connecticut, USA, has its origins in the business of revolvers invented by company founder Samuel Colt. In 2015, Colt had to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy under US bankruptcy law, with business continuing. View Quote View Quote Sweet! |
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[#43]
Quoted: Yep, and Alice has done a PHENOMENAL job as CEO. She is awesome. She's not some random suit. She moved up through the ranks of the company, and is a passionate shooter herself. She's a great fit and has done a really good job. View Quote ETA: Just realized this wasn't GD, so.... Pics for technical research purposes? |
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[#44]
It's official: https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2021/2/11/cz-group-to-acquire-colt
Today, CZ Group signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the equity in Colt Holding Company, LLC, the parent company of Colt's Manufacturing and Colt Canada for an upfront cash consideration of $220 million. The agreement also noted the issuance of 1,098,620 shares of newly issues CZ Group common stock. View Quote |
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[#45]
Chris and I are now less enthused about Colt’s sale to CZ:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vs5Vd0_2fdE So (for the moment, at least), CZ is keeping Colt’s incompetent / corrupt management intact and staying put in libtard, union dominated, anti-gun CT - big mistake. In other bad news, it’s been announced that CZ’s plans to build a new, modern plant in vehemently pro-gun, right to work Arkansas is on hold for 3-5 years - another big mistake. I know people on hear have been gushing over this female CEO at CZ, but I think she’s been a disaster with this decision on Colt, along with: No parts and bad qc on the Bren 2. Instead of upgrading the outstanding Rami pistol with a rail and Optics, she discontinued. I’m sure she’s committed other egregious fuck ups, but these are the latest. |
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[#46]
Chris and I are now less enthused about Colt’s sale to CZ:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vs5Vd0_2fdE https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2021/02/12/breaking-cz-acquires-colt-holding-company/amp/ So (for the moment, at least), CZ is keeping Colt’s incompetent / corrupt management intact and staying put in libtard, union dominated, anti-gun CT with engineers who haven’t come up with anything worthwhile in decades - big mistake. In other bad news, it’s been announced that CZ’s plans to build a new, modern plant in vehemently pro-gun, right to work Arkansas is on hold for 3-5 years - another big mistake. I know people on here have been gushing over this female CEO at CZ, but I think she’s been a disaster with this decision on Colt and shelving the Little Rock plant, along with: No parts and bad qc on the Bren 2. Instead of upgrading the outstanding Rami pistol with a rail and Optics, she discontinued it. I’m sure she’s committed other egregious fuck ups, but these are the latest. |
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[#47]
CZ probably wants to retain some knowledge of Colt operations, but what do I know as I am not involved. They can just as easily axe everyone if issues continue. Some companies who have stuff made in other countries keep a tighter hold on things. For instance Winchester's SXP shotgun is made in Turkey but is higher quality than most other Turkish made shotguns because Winchester/Olin keep a tight hold on the processes.
The only real disappointment with CZ I've personally had is them discontinuing the 550 series of rifles and moving to the newer push feed 557 series. Nobody talks about the 557 series; where-as the 550 rifles had a beloved following. CZ wanted to save manufacturing costs and moved to the cheaper push feed system rather than upgrading the machinery that did the 550s, and it seems like that was probably a bad decision in hindsight. Now they just discontinued the Magnum series of safari rifles. While not the greatest rifles in the world they pretty much dominated the entry level safari rifle market. Now the only game in town left for a CRF dangerous game gun under $2,000 is Winchester with the M70 Safari Express, which is a better gun anyways, but they don't make as many of those as CZ did with the 550 Magnum. |
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[#48]
Quoted: Chris and I are now less enthused about Colt’s sale to CZ: So (for the moment, at least), CZ is keeping Colt’s incompetent / corrupt management intact and staying put in libtard, union dominated, anti-gun CT with engineers who haven’t come up with anything worthwhile in decades - big mistake. View Quote And had she announced a move for the entire plant, how much QC would the esteemed UAW workers dedicate themselves to? Knowing that they were soon to be out of a job & those union wages for doing a 1/2 days work were going bye-bye? I think we all know the answer to that. |
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[#49]
Quoted: And had she announced a move for the entire plant, how much QC would the esteemed UAW workers dedicate themselves to? Knowing that they were soon to be out of a job & those union wages for doing a 1/2 days work were going bye-bye? I think we all know the answer to that. View Quote As Chris from SAS describes it, there’s not all that much to salvage at the Colt factory; antiquated, run down facilities (need a tetanus shot to enter), incompetent management, high union labor expenses, in an anti gun state that would love to sue Colt out of existence, anyway. I can understand maintaining the status quo in CT for the short term, but the future is state of the art facilities down South, where we’re staunchly pro-gun. If CZ starts pouring a ton of money into the moribund Colt factory instead of proceeding with a new facility in Arkansas, they’re making a huge mistake. Colt’s main asset these days is just its name and they’ve got a long way to go to restore that name in the commercial and military markets. There’s no there, there, in libtard CT, for any firearms related industry anymore. |
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[#50]
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