Colt To Stop Production of the AR-15

The gun manufacturing company Colt has decided to stop producing the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and although one might think it has something to do with all the public outcry about guns and gun safety these days it's actually for a whole different reason that has nothing to do with public opinion, they have stopped production simply because lack of demand, it is purely a business decision and nothing else.and although there isn't a whole lot to report about with this story I thought it a good opportunity to look at the history of Colt and the AR-15 as well.

Colt was founded by Samuel Colt in 1855 and was known for popularizing the revolver although he didn't invent the revolver his designs did revolutionize it. The most famous Colt products include the Colt Walker, The Peacemaker,The Python and The M1911 pistol.

Although Colt didn't invent the AR-15 or the M16 they have produced more than any other gun company, In 2002 Colt split into two companies , the original Colt Manufacturing and then Colt Defense which only supplied the military,law enforcement and private security sectors across the world.

Both companies are Located in West Hartford, Connecticut ,In 2015 the once again reunited Colt companies filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy bouncing back in early 2016

The Colt AR-15 is a semi-automatic version of the US military's M16 Rifle that is marketed to civilians and law enforcement individuals, Colt obtained the trademark for it from Armalite in 1959 and Colt started production and sales in 1964.

From 1994-2004 the sale of new AR-15s was banned by what's known as The Federal Assault Weapons Ban but Colt continued to sell Ar-15s that were compliant with the new law during that time frame.

In April 1996 in Australia The Colt AR-15 was one of the guns used by a mass shooter named Martin Bryant in what became known as the Port Arthur Massacre, there were 35 deaths and 23 injured and it resulted in Australia making major changes to their gun laws