Things that Never Happened

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

USFA had the irritating habit of announcing projects/products that never materialized.  Right off, I can think of three...
1: Probably one of the biggest disappointments, at least among those here on the forum, was the never to be seen Remington 1875.
2: The reproduction of the Colt .22 Woodsman - lots of talk, no guns.
3: Here is one I doubt many of you remember.  Several years ago USFA showed up at the Shot Show with a prototype frame & cylinder for what they called a Forehand & Wadsworth revolver.  It was an odd duck!  Didn't really look like and F&W pistol that I have ever seen - more like a combination of several different manufacturer's designs (F&W, S&W, Merwin & Hulbert) all rolled into one.

Can any of you think of any others?    

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Come on!  Am I the only one here who remembers back to the "good old days," when USFA was going to conquer the world?  It would seem so!
If you can't remember things that didn't happen, then how about some of the mistakes that were made?  I can think of one that I have often credited to the eventual demise of USFA. 

[Professor Marvel]

besides the missing Woodsman, did these ever make it out into the wild?
.455 ELEY Old Armory Original
"USFA Patriot"  .30 carbine

yhs
prof marvel

[Major 2]

One that comes to mind, the Rainbow collection

as to the demise the butt ugly USFA M4-410 had to play a part

[Pangaea]

I actually have one of those "butt ugly" 410 pistols.  I wonder how many of them were made.

[Jake C]

It's okay guys, they've made up for all this with that .22 Zip Pistol  what a work of art.

[Major 2]

here's a thought .....

Perhaps  Doug Donnelly emulated Sam Colt in still another way...
following Colt's previous footsteps of poor management...

indeed, though Colt died ... Doug has about done the same with the ZIP

[Pangaea]

However poorly Mr. Donnelly ran his business, I for one, am grateful he had the balls to attempt to do something that had a very good chance of failure.  I own many of these fine firearms that would not exist if he had not done what he did.  IMHO, which is not worth much.

[Major 2]

I can't and won't fault the man his passion

Anymore than SamL Colt and his poor judgement concerning bored through cylinders.
as you may know Rollin White was a Colt employee , Sam Colt turned him down , & so S&W got the prize .

USFA was Doug Donnely's "pet"  He  owned complete control over the company.
In his passion , he produced a fine SAA,  and he tried to cross a few "  Bridge's to Far."
I spoke with him at the 2007 Shot Show, He was  excited about the new Remington 1858/63 & the cartridge 1875 model.
Just a few months later it was dead as door nail.  Both Beretta & Remington were on his sH*t list.

It is my understanding he lost 20,000,000,  most on failed projects like the Remington , losses on the Lightening & the never never  Woodsmen.

I think Doug lived for realization of his passion , and it was his Achilles heel...Zip on the the other hand is the YUGO of guns,
you have to wonder "Dude what were you thinking " ?

[GaryG]

Actually several 455 Elyes were made on the OAO frame.  Two Rem 1858s were made and went to went to either Rem or Cerberus.  One 1875 went to an employee of a large distributor.  A few 30 Carbine Patriots were made also.  The only example of the rainbow guns went to a dealer in CT. The Woodsman never made it to the prototype stage.

[Pangaea]

It is my understanding he lost 20,000,000,  most on failed projects like the Remington , losses on the Lightening & the never never  Woodsmen.

Sad for Mr. Donnelly, but just makes them even more dear to my heart, knowing that it is unlikely such a venture will ever happen again.

[Jake C]

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Mr. Donnelly made the attempt, as we ended up with some very fine SAA replicas. And as the '75 Remington is my favorite handgun, I wish to God he had succeeded in that venture. I'm just sad the company went from excellent single actions to the Zip, which is, in my opinion, a joke.

[Major 2]

GG
I got to handle one of the 58's  in Orlando Shot "07" ...if had though I could gotten away with it  ...well not likely 
somewhere I have photo of Doug and myself in the interview,  and me clutching the little beauty. That day he was all smiles....

I saw a couple raw forging  for 76 too  ...

[yahoody]

How is it that the better gun gets called a "clone".

I have my own opinions on Mr. Donnelly.  But bottom line?  His vision and his dollars.
We as a shooting community are better for both.

Roosevelt covered it already.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 

I have to wonder now if USFA might have stayed in business if guns had sold at wholesale, say a Rodeo @ $1000 and the Prewar @ $2500?  More likely that not staying focused on what you were doing right the problem, than failed "projects".

$20M seems a little high to me but may be it is not impossible to loose that much in the 20 year time span of USFA.

[Harley Starr]

I remember those days. It was a bitter pill to swallow. But just the thought of it was...it felt like something worth waiting for. And it still does. USFA is gone but the dream is eternal.

[Jake C]

I remember those days. It was a bitter to swallow. But just the thought of it was...it felt like something worth waiting for. And it still does. USFA is gone but the dream is eternal.

Hear hear!

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Well stated, Harley.