Colt Bummer!

[Danny Bear Claw]

I ordered my SASS Colt about 13 months ago.  Since the ad said a 9 to 12 month wait for delivery, I started making phone calls yesterday to see what the delay was.  SASS informed me that due to problems with their engravers, Colt now says that it's more like a 2 year delay on SASS Colts!         

This kinda throws the brakes on my putting together a set of CAS guns in caliber 38-40.  I've got about a grand put away for the rifle but have been taking my time picking one out, knowing that I'd be waiting for the SASS Colt to fill out my brace of pistols in 38-40.  Guess there's no hurry in deciding on a rifle now.   

[Frank Dalton]

Sorry to hear about the delay! Hope you get it real soon anyway.

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

I'm guessing that Colt has more than engraver problems (don't shoot, boys, it's just my guess).  I ordered a nickel plated .45 w/ 4 & 3/4" barrel from them a year ago this month (March 26, '07) and I'm still waiting.  Nothing fancy, just nickel plating - it's a catalog item fer cryin' in the dark!  My local dealer can't get any answers out of them and neither can the distributor they are going through.  Frustrating!

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

That newspaper article is 19 years old.  Colt has been bought and sold twice since that was published.

[W. Cyrus Tolman]

My bad - I read the date at the top, not the one that headlined the artical - For the sake of clarity, I have removed the link.

Thanks for reading better than me.

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Cyrus,
Maybe you should have left that post up there for comparison purposes.  Here is a more recent article, January of this year, from the financial section of Newsweek that I came across. 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/83747/output/print

Sad state of affairs, to say the least.

[Danny Bear Claw]

Interesting read, but...  I wouldn't place too much stock in any "gun story" printed in an anti-gun rag such as newsweek.  I mean, a gun industry exec who believes in licensing and registration???      Sounds like a guy trying to cut his own throat.  Colt losing buisness because they're selling revolvers in the semi-auto market.  I wonder if newsweek ever heard of a little item called the Model 1911.  Although almost 100 years old the 1911 remains the single most popular semi-auto in the world.  And the revolver market is no where near being declared dead.  At my local gun shop I was told that revolver sales  almost equal sales of semi-autos.  They told me this when I made my recent purchase of the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan.

I'm confused!   

[RRio]

Interesting read, but...  I wouldn't place too much stock in any "gun story" printed in an anti-gun rag such as newsweek.  I mean, a gun industry exec who believes in licensing and registration???      Sounds like a guy trying to cut his own throat.  Colt losing buisness because they're selling revolvers in the semi-auto market.  I wonder if newsweek ever heard of a little item called the Model 1911.  Although almost 100 years old the 1911 remains the single most popular semi-auto in the world.  And the revolver market is no where near being declared dead.  At my local gun shop I was told that revolver sales  almost equal sales of semi-autos.  They told me this when I made my recent purchase of the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan.

I'm confused!   

I can believe it. Remember the Bangor group that used to own S&W? The "safety" paragraph on Rugers? All to appease the anti-gun crowd. To no avail.

Donald Zilkha could have OWNED the CAS market, if had only recognized that fact. But he chose to sell the name rather than a product.

I have been told, and I'll admit that I do not have first hand knowledge, that Colt does not use the state-of-art machines like CNC Turning/Machining centers or CNC Wire EDM for the SAA line. Nowadays, if a machine shop depends on production, it has to have CNC to compete. Conventional machines absolutely cannot compete with CNC machines in a production environment.

Actually, I'm surprised Colt has lasted this long.

[Leo Tanner]

It is very sad to see the original go down. 
     I just thank God for Ruger, Cimmeron and Uberti.


Leo

[Laredo Crockett]

I ordered two nickled Colts in February '07 with an estimated delivery date of Oct. '07. End of Oct. I had heard nothing so called to ask status. Guy was not in so I left a message. Two weeks and no return call so I called and left another message, but didn't receive a return call. This went on through the end of November at which time I calledraised hell and was referred to some guy who checked and sid that they didn't have such an order. I then called my Dealer who faxed them a copy of the check he had sent with the order. They checked and verified that they had received the money. Apparently they had never initiated a production order. They didn't seem concerned by thier screwup nor could they give an estimate s to when I might receive my guns. I suspect that they are in deep trouble and I won't ever get my guns or see my money again. I wanted to buy another pair, bbut am afraid to risk it now.

[Danny Bear Claw]

Seems like this "Colt Bummer" just keeps getting bigger and bigger!  I sure hope I didn't just throw away $2415.      

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Well, I certainly wish I has something positive to report!  Just more vague answers...
As an update on my year old order, my dealer checked with the distributor last month and Colt told the distributor that they would have the orders filled within a month after the Shot Show.  A month has come and gone with no orders filled and the distributor checked with Colt again last week.  Colt told them the orders will be filled "soon."

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Well, I finally gave up!  13 & 1/2 months and still no nickel plated Colt SAA so I told my local dealer, who placed the order through Acusport Distributors, to cancel the order.  Found a pair of BP frame Colts and I will make up the matched set with them.  Before cancelling the order for the nickel plated SAA, Acusport did check with Colt one last time and they (Colt) still cannot give any kind of delivery date for it.     

[Danny Bear Claw]

Update:  After numerous calls to Colt I finally got hold of someone who knew what was going on there.  I was told my Colt was with the engravers and would be there for 4 to 6 weeks.  It will then be sent for the nickle plating which will take 2 to 4 weeks, after which it will go somewhere to have the buffalo horn grips fitted, another 2 to 4 weeks.  So I'm looking at a shipping date around the end of September or the middle of October.   

[Dr. Bob]

Well, at least they know that you and your Colt exist!

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Don't they do anything "in house" anymore?

[Danny Bear Claw]

Apparently the only thing they still do "in house" is make excuses.   
Guess I'll just forget about buying that second SASS Colt.   

[Danny Bear Claw]

So, I get a call a couple of weeks back from SASS Mercantile with a good news / bad news thing.  My SASS Colt has arrived but they only inscribed "Danny Bear" on the back strap!  Do I want them to send it on to my FFL or send it back to Colt to be corrected?  I said, "Look,  with tax and transfer fees I've got close to $2500 tied up in this deal.  I want it right.  I paid an extra $95 for my alias because it was longer than 10 letters.  (Danny Bear Claw).  Send it back to Colt!  I called Colt about 10 days later to ask when I might expect to see my gun.  I was told "maybe" some time in December. 

Also the model P I ordered from Cimmeron will not be in until after the new year.
I think in the future I'll just buy what ever happens to be in the display cases at the time.

If Obama gets in the white house I guess I'll be lucky if I can buy either gun or any at all for that matter. 

[GunClick Rick]

[Danny Bear Claw]

Update...
The Cimmeron Model P has finally got here.  I was so excited to see the local gun shop name on the caller ID and started wondering if it was the Cimmeron or the SASS Colt.  Turns out it was the Cimmeron.  Five and half inch barrel, 38-40, blue / color cased.  Beautiful gun!.  Black powder type frame.  Bullseye type ejector rod knob.  Nice brown wood grips...  not red.
I haven't had an opportunity to shoot it yet but I'll let you all know how it shoots when I do.

As for the SASS Colt...  the last word I got was some time in January.  We'll see.