Posted: 5/31/2004 3:45:09 PM EDT
| Just curious is Colt is planning on producion an AR10 style rifle in .308 ? |
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Colt bought the patents to the AR10 back in the day. The timing was all wrong and the weapon system flopped at the military trials. I think it was very poor timing mostly. If you need to I can pull the passage from the "AR15/M16 Sourcebook 2nd Edition" This may or may not be to what he is referring. This was LONG ago...... |
Seems weird Colt would have bought only the AR10 patents and not the trademark. Please do post the passage. |
I believe it was transferred or purchased back after the military testing failure. I will add it here later today.... |
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Source: Long, Duncan. AR15/M16 Sourcebook: What Every Shooter Needs to Know. Boulder: Paladin Press, 1992 & 2001. Page 23: "When it {Colt} learned that the license to build the AR-15 was up for grabs in 1959, Colt's management jumped at the chance to obtain the rights and, in the process, secured the rights for maufacturing the AR-10 as well. ... While none of those who saw the AR-10 were much interested the AR-15 was loved by nearly every government representative who fired it. When word of the AR-10's failure to attract a potential buyer reached COlt, the company suspended all plans to produce the larger-caliber rifle, even though more than $100,000 had been spent in tooling for it." Page 125: "...Upon learning about Eagle Arms' design work on a gun chambered for the .308 cartridge, Williams {Dr. John} introduced Westrom to former Armalite Production Manager John McGerty. In talking with McGerty, Westrom learned that the Armalite tradewmark had been purchased by John Ugarte, a man whose father had worked for Armalite..." "Seeing a chance to place the Armalite name and logo on the new M-10 rifles, Westrom purchased the rights to the trademark and was again free to market an "Armalite Rifle," complete with the old logo." HTH..... |
Yes, Colt's bought both the AR-10 and the AR-15. Along with it Colt's got this particular AR-10A, the then latest ArmaLite AR-10 design: I have heard tell that Colt's actually produced a couple of these, but have seen no evidence that Colt's ever made a single AR-10A. Imagine if they did, and what one would be worth! If I remember correctly the story goes that Colt's contracted sales rep Robert W Macdonald took an AR-10 and a couple of AR-15's on a World tour. Macdonald sells a few AR-15's in Asia, but no one is interested in the AR-10. Macdonald calls Colt's, and tells them the AR-15 is a hit, and to drop the AR-10. Colt's does that, and as they say the rest is history. Mark Westrom told me something to the effect that since Colt's never used the AR-10 name the newly formed ArmaLite was able to do so. |