#Colt

Anthony Williams, small arms theorist and co-author of the book Assault Rifle with Maxim Popenker, wrote an article in February of 2006 on the development of the Personal Defense Weapon and its ammunition, which he amended in late 2013. He includes in the article two photos which together represent one of the most complete collections of PDW cartridges I know of:

In the second half of June, we reported that the Army had released a new second draft of the request for proposal (RFP) for the new MHS handgun, now called “XM17”, slated to replace the M9 handgun made by Beretta that has been in use since the 1980s. The latest news on the grapevine is that the Army will release the finalized RFP before the end of the month. Defense Media Network has the full story, part of which is replicated below:

Have you ever wanted a major piece of Armalite/Colt history? Then the rifle for you is up for auction at GunBroker: A low serial Colt 601, the first AR-15 variant manufactured at Colt.

Jon was in Copenhagen, Denmark a few weeks ago where he spotted these pistols at the Rosenborg Castle armory. These pistols were crafted by Samuel Colt and given as a gift to Federik VII by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The detail of the engraving, done by a Mr. Young and a Mr Wolf, is incredible.

In a bizarre twist to the Colt bankruptcy story, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians has stepped into give the famous gun manufacturer a helping hand. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Julian, TFB’s French translator, sent us photos of his single action revolvers. The Ruger Vaquero, pictured above, is chambered in .45 Long Colt. The Ruger Vaquero was introduced in 1993 and is a popular Cowboy action gun.

The end we knew would come has finally begun. Colt Defense, LLC is set to file chapter 11 bankruptcy protection tomorrow, according to insider sources, reports marketwatch.com:

Arik, a reader from Israel, emailed me this photo of a XEM16E1 rifle he was issued. He wrote …

Part of my trip to the UK took my to Le Havre, France. Being so close, I had to go to Normandy and see Omaha Beach. I went to the Normandy American Cemetary. The visitor center has a wonderful exhibit with a few firearms inside.

Disclaimer: I don’t really speak financialese, and therefore would urge readers to double-check anything I’ve written on the subject. Don’t be afraid to correct me in the comments, either!

The news stories about Colt’s have been piling up recently. I admit I am not as well-versed in financial-ese as I could be, which has made me hesitant to cover the subject. It’s a good thing, then, that Hognose of WeaponsMan has covered the ongoing saga of financial flailings better than I could have:

One of the more interesting gun announcements this year has been the return of the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. This handgun is being made for Colt by U.S. Armament Corp.

Retro AR-15s seem to appeal on more than just a level of nostalgia. Of course, ’80s action movies, Clancy novels, and other media featuring the early Black Rifles activate a certain nostalgic fondness, but aesthetically these first generation guns have much to recommend them, too. Their smooth triangular handguards, slick receivers, slim uncluttered carry handles and distinctive flash hiders give them the look of an arrow, pointing downrange, as if the rifle itself were in motion.

Arnold sent us a photo of his Colt LE6920 AR-15. He has modded it with a with Smith muzzle brake, BCM KMR rail, PWS Enhanced Buffer Tube, VLTOR IMOD buttstock, and Geiselle S3G trigger.

The 2007 Dust Tests have come and gone. The IC Competition has completed. The M4 has remained the standard infantry rifle, and been upgraded to the heavy-barreled M4A1 standard. More upgrades are on the horizon, as part of the US Army’s effort to improve current infantry small arms. These “M4A1+” upgrades should indicate a certain level of satisfaction with the weapon – if the Army were unsatisfied, after all, surely they would divest themselves of the rifle entirely, rather than trying to improve it further.