So much for the highly heralded 6.8mm, caseless, not-battle-tested whatever it is thingamajig.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command will soon release its final request for soliciting and award up to two, 5-year firm fixed price – Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for M16A4 5.56mm Rifles.

In a notice posted on the U.S. government’s main contracting website on 27 September, the Army Contracting Command announced that the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award up to two, (but not necessarily two), contracts without holding discussions with offerors for delivery of 215,000 5.56mm Rifles (maximum quantity).

Also states that a license agreement between Colt’s Manufacturing LLC and the U.S. Government requires the items procured to be manufactured in the United States Territory.

Perhaps Colt pulled back from the civilian market because they expect to get awarded a new *.mil contract.

Whatever.  I hope their deal with the devil was worth it. Or not.

This is a strange article anyway.  Why would a license agreement between the FegGov and Colt be pertinent to award of a new contract, especially if Colt wasn’t going to be involved?

So we may learn from this that FedGov is going to Colt yet again for M4s.  Not DD, not Rock River Arms, not BCM, not FN, but Colt.  Quality?  Maybe not so much.

Of the things that turn gun owners against gun manufacturers, these three things are highest on the list.

1. Aligning with gun control
2. Exclusive focus on military contracts
3. Reliance on name branding in lieu of true appreciation for the customer (e.g., H&K).  Look up the H&K memes like “Hi, we’re H&K and we hate you.”

It’s difficult to understand what’s so hard about this.

We covered this before, but there was some question as to the authenticity of the statement by Colt.  Listen to them in their own words.

Colt moving away from selling ARs to civilians isn’t a sign that the company wants to stop selling guns to civilians altogether, however. Instead, the company will ramp up sales of pistols and revolvers, including its 1911 models, Cobra, King Cobra, and Single Action Army collectible series.

Which, of course, is an absurd declaration, i.e., that “rifles aren’t heavily favored by the civilian market.”  It’s just that the civilian market doesn’t apparently favor Colt rifles.  Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Daniel Defense, BCM, FN, and a whole host of other companies are doing well enough.

So they intend to focus on … wait for it … producing rifles to fulfill outstanding military and law enforcement contracts.  I take this to mean replacement rifles and more particularly, replacement parts.

The revolver market was abdicated to  Smith & Wesson and Ruger, and I doubt that Colt will regain support in this sector.  This portends bad things for Colt’s future, in my estimation.

Via WiscoDave, TTAG.

“We have just been notified by Colt Firearms that they will be discontinuing production of all Colt long guns to focus on regaining military contracts.

This isn’t surprising.  After my son returned from Iraq and had a chance to work with the RRA rifle I had, he told me that the Colts they were issued were vastly inferior to my own rifle.

Colt has long ago jettisoned QA in favor of bulk government contracts.  That isn’t the first mistake they’ve made, viz. the withdrawal from the revolver market to leave S&W the only manufacturer involved in revolvers, only then to see Ruger enter the market in a big way and then a resurgence of interest in wheel guns.  Too bad they’ve lost all of their revolver mechanics and no longer make the Python (which still sells for $2500 – $5000 if you can find one).

Another aspect of their demise surely involves their commitment to Connecticut where the state hates them, their workers are union shop, and their senior management inept.