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CZ buys Colt

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One more reason to not buy a Colt. IMHO, they have been riding their namesake for a long time now. I don't know their situation, but know the one CZ I owned broke down the middle of the breech face at around 300 rounds. To the best of my knowledge it has never been repaired. CZ wouldn't even talk to me, and the shop I bought from heard about it through a mutual friend. They stepped up and credited the price for a Glock.

One place made a customer for life, the other lost one that day. Recon how many know that Browning (pistols) is owned by FNH, and has been since the 1890's?
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I own 4 CZs, two pistols and two rifles. All four have been boringly reliable. My two Dan Wesson pistols have also been completely reliable. To be fair, I also have three Colts (Two 1911s and one AR15) and they too have been boringly reliable. Among my extended friends circle however the CZs have a much better reputation than Colts.

And yeah, I have always been amazed at how many people don’t know that Browning is owned by FNH, or that John Moses Browning, the designer of so many iconic American guns spent the last part of his life working with Fabrique National, which is why they named the company after him.
 
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Thank you for the opinions. Since it’s an air gun forum I would rather focus on CZ and its connection to Airgun barrels and parts. do you think with the acquisition of Colt there will be more CZ Airgun involvement in the US? 


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I doubt that the CZ acquisition of Colt will have any effect, or has anything to do with, airguns. CZ was already very active in the US, and Colt was not at all into airguns, so this acquisition is not likely to change anything regarding airguns and CZ.
 
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Thank you for the opinions. Since it’s an air gun forum I would rather focus on CZ and its connection to Airgun barrels and parts. do you think with the acquisition of Colt there will be more CZ Airgun involvement in the US? 


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I doubt it. I think the acquisition will capitalize on the Colt brand, for which the trademark value probably represents a good bit of the purchase price. I expect it will be similar to its acquisition of Dan Wesson. I haven't kept up with Wesson closely, but I assume its 1911 style pistols are still highly regarded. Like Remington and others, Colt mismanaged itself into the hands of private equity firms, who have no interest in learning and participating in the gun industry. Their lifeblood is flipping short-term investments and moving on. CZ appears to be led by a team of talented professionals, and I expect that Colt will benefit greatly in the long run. 
 
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I don't want to step on any toes because I'm new here; but since I didn't see it mentioned, over the years, Colt's closest competitor in the handgun market has been Smith & Wesson. Colt benefitted greatly from Browning and more recently Stoner designs, but their problem, in large part, was not refining production and quality control. Colt was the last to standardize the front takedown pin diameter on the AR and most guns had a very sloppy fit between the upper and lower receivers - that didn't affect performance, but it was a sign of poor tolerances. When I was a kid there were few challengers to Colt's overwhelming dominance in 1911 the market - look at how that's changed. It was a known fact that a new Colt 1911 pistol (before the 80 series) would generally require tuning for reliability - and that was with hardball. Colt never cut costs and has continued to produce forged slides and frames, but MIM parts and other cost cutting measures cost them dearly. One thing stayed the same, the premium price; and to be fair, IMHO S&W was generally a much better buy. If I had to to consider a revolver for the outdoors and self defense, I'd take a long look at Ruger for it's ease of maintenance; and if I wanted the finest it might be the S&W R8. Still, the mystique and brand loyalty will continue and I can't argue with that; I hope CZ reforms Colt for it's fans and loyal customers to it's former glory, and they keep it based in the USA - that would be a great story!
 
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I don't want to step on any toes because I'm new here; but since I didn't see it mentioned, over the years, Colt's closest competitor in the handgun market has been Smith & Wesson. Colt benefitted greatly from Browning and more recently Stoner designs, but their problem, in large part, was not refining production and quality control. Colt was the last to standardize the front takedown pin diameter on the AR and most guns had a very sloppy fit between the upper and lower receivers - that didn't affect performance, but it was a sign of poor tolerances. When I was a kid there were few challengers to Colt's overwhelming dominance in 1911 the market - look at how that's changed. It was a known fact that a new Colt 1911 pistol (before the 80 series) would generally require tuning for reliability - and that was with hardball. Colt never cut costs and has continued to produce forged slides and frames, but MIM parts and other cost cutting measures cost them dearly. One thing stayed the same, the premium price; and to be fair, IMHO S&W was generally a much better buy. If I had to to consider a revolver for the outdoors and self defense, I'd take a long look at Ruger for it's ease of maintenance; and if I wanted the finest it might be the S&W R8. Still, the mystique and brand loyalty will continue and I can't argue with that; I hope CZ reforms Colt for it's fans and loyal customers to it's former glory, and they keep it based in the USA - that would be a great story!
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👍🏼
 
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I own three CZ rifles and I love every one of them. In close to 10 years, not a single failure. My CZ 527 .223 Rem Kevlar Varmint has shot 3/4" 5-shot groups at 200 yards with my handloads using 75 grain Hornady BTHP bullets. CZ isn't exactly completely foreign anymore, because of their new factory in Little Rock, Arkansas. I suspect they want some big government contracts because of their Bren, which is a newer and better design than the M4/M-16/AR15 platform. Firearms are not CZ's main business, as they are big in bearings, gears, and aircraft gear reduction drive units. Government sales of firearms also probably surpass what they sell into the civilian market. CZ is on more solid financial ground than just about any other firearms manufacturer you can name. CZ updated their factory in the Czech Republic a few years back with new tooling, and the Little Rock plant will have all new tooling. I expect CZ quality to remain quite high for some time. I have owned a CZ 75 pistol since the early 90's, and have never had a bit of trouble with it. A much better pistol than the Colt .45 ACP I shot in the Navy in my personal opinion. Maybe that's because it just ergonomically suits me. A much better pistol than the S&W 915 I previously owned. I have no plans to sell any of my CZ firearms. Only my Browning BPS shotgun is at the same quality level as my CZ stuff. Most everything else has been sold off, except for my FN FAL, which I like better than the M-14 I shot in the Navy ( I was a Repel Boarders Detail guy). Now there is a rifle that just won't quit.
 
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seems to me "COLT" will acquire many shares of CZ and we don't know what all else. It ain't over till it's over.
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The new issue of stock which Colt will receive will give those shareholders about a 3% ownership interest in CZ. The Czech folks aren't about to give up any control. And based on Colt's management history, that is a wise decision. 
 
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If CZ has anything to do with airguns in the future, it will probably be in supplying barrels. CZ hammer forged barrels are possibly the best you can get for the price. I doubt that Lothar Walther and others can compete with them on price of barrels. There are already enough airgun brands on the market, and CZ would be better served by concentrating on supplying barrels to premium brand airguns than jumping into building complete airguns. If anybody builds a better hammer forged barrel than CZ for the price, I don't know about it. Those firearms with fabulous hammer forged barrels that CZ sells at prices lower than many other companies can put out a button rifled barrel firearm is the biggest reason that I look at CZ first when considering a new rifle. Hammer forging compacts and aligns the grain, similar to a Japanese Samurai sword, that makes them tougher and far more resistant to wear than button rifling or cut rifling. Thus, accuracy is maintained for longer than the other two barrel making methods. The downside is that a hammer mill is VERY expensive and must be kept in constant operation to be economical, and small companies cannot afford a hammer mill and keep prices competitive like a large and well funded company like CZ.

From my personal experience, the CZ barrels just get more accurate and more resistant to fouling the more you shoot them. I can shoot my CZ 527 Kevlar Varmint .223 Rem over 200 rounds with no loss of accuracy and very little copper fouling. That is a big plus at a prairie dog town where hundreds of rounds are shot in an afternoon. No need to worry about cleaning the rifle until after I get home. CZ also "seasons" their barrels where heat does not cause impact shifts as much as in most other brands. A big plus at PD towns as my barrel often runs quite hot.

Phil
 
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