Originally Posted by
Army Chief
Not negating your point, but I think it might be short-sighted to go too far down the "disregard" path. Colt isn't any different than FN, HK or KAC in that their primary customer base and primary revenue stream lies with contract sales for the military and LE markets -- not the general public. Should we really be surprised that they have tended to focus their efforts accordingly?
We would do well to remember that Noveske, DD and BCM didn't even exist in the 70s and 80s when Colt was doing a very good job of satisfying commercial demand -- and was the only source for anything approaching service-grade quality. It may be tempting to hold the 90s against them, but lest we forget, the political and legal climate was so toxic in those days that icons llike S&W and Ruger all but completely sold their souls to the devil by way of comparison. Even then, although concessions were clearly made, Colt still found ways of keeping the rifles available.
The market has changed for the better in many ways; even so, before you take too many shots at Colt, try to keep in mind that they are the only company that has offered the private citizen the possibility of owning an AR for more than 40 years. It is perhaps even more impressive that they continue to set the quality benchmark for these rifles today. Sure, I would agree that the folks in Hartford have made many mistakes over the years, but given the big picture, I'm still inclined to be just a bit more charitable.
AC