The Truth About Guns reported that the move came to light after one of Colt’s numerous retailers, RSR Group, announced to their customers that the company had made it known that they would cease building and selling rifles to the civilian market in order to pay more attention to regaining lost ground on vital military contracts.
Colt’s current lineup of rifles is all based entirely on the AR platform.
Colt made waves in the long gun market in the 1960s after buying the design and trademarks associated with ArmaLite’s select-fire AR-15 and AR-10 rifles, the former of which was adopted by the US military as the M16 assault rifle.
By the mid-1960s, Colt began selling a semi-automatic version, dubbed the Colt AR-15, to the civilian market, and the rifle began steadily ascending in popularity among a variety of consumers, from recreational shooters, hunters, and law enforceme nt.