The city of Hartford in Connecticut is Mecca if you are a Colt fan (as in Colt firearms), and I sure am a Colt fan. I grew up seeing Colt .45 sixguns in western movies when I was a kid and I got my first Colt (a .45 ACP 1911 Government Model) when I finished college (and I’ve never not owned at least one Colt since then). I have no tattoos, but if I were going to get one it would be the Colt logo.
I made a friend in the Colt company when reviving the MacManus award. I had to be in Hartford recently for a symposium and I told my Colt buddy I’d buy him a beer. He suggested a tour of the Colt factory. That was an opportunity I could not let pass.
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The original Colt plant (the one built by Sam Colt) is a National Historic Site. Time did not permit visiting it, but I could see the blue dome above the old plant from my hotel window.
The modern Colt factory is a few miles from downtown Hartford. It’s what you see in the big photo up top, and it’s where I had the plant tour described in this blog. The bad news is that photography is prohibited inside the plant (as a manufacturer of military rifles for the US and other countries, Colt can’t have photos of their production processes finding their way to the bad guys). The good news is that I entered the inner sanctum. I saw how the M4s, the M16s , the 1911s, the Single Action Armys, the Pythons, and all the other cool stuff are made. As a manufacturing guy and gun guy with a defense industry background, it was one of the best days of my life.
More good news is that I could take pictures inside the famed Colt Custom Shop. The Custom Shop is a small group of world class artists who assemble what are arguably the most desirable guns in the world. Think engraved, gold inlaid, extremely expensive works of the gunmaker’s art. Guns that are delivered to US presidents, wealthy collectors, and…well, you get the idea. There’s a two-year waiting list for a Custom Shop Colt firearm, and when delivered, the ticket can exceed the cost of a new car. On the secondary market, some have been known to exceed the cost of a new home.
This was my second visit to Hartford. When I wrote The Gatling Gun nearly 30 years ago, I contacted Colt to ask if I could visit their archives (the original Gatling guns were built by Colt). Colt referred me to the Connecticut State Library and Museum. I went there and I was met by a Connecticut State Trooper who asked me a few questions, took my fingerprints, and ran a background check. Satisfied I wasn’t a terrorist or a KGB agent, he issued a laminated permit designating me an official Connecticut state historian. That gave me access to the archives in a secure area of the Museum. Poking around in there made for a fun day, and I used materials from those archives when I wrote The Gatling Gun.
My visit to the Colt archives three decades ago was impressive. I handled hand-written documents signed by Dr. Gatling and Samuel Colt. It was a great day and a lifelong memory. My recent visit to Colt factory and the Custom Shop (as described in this blog) made for an even better day. A Colt tattoo….maybe that’s not a bad idea.
Never miss an ExNotes blog:
I have several guns, but I am not much of real gun guy, if you know what I mean. I am enjoying your guided touring and the historical aspect of your adventures with guns, and I am developing a deeper appreciation of them and their history. The custom work on the Colts you have in the pictures are fabulous and they are indeed real pieces of art, I had no idea of that level of art on these guns.
I do think I will look at the book you wrote on the Gatling gun. I guess if a State Trooper says you are okay, then I can read it.
Approved by a Connecticut State Trooper…I never thought of myself in that context. I may add that to my signature block.
Excellent article and beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing. I used to live in upstate NY (not too far from Remington Arms in Ilion before Gov. Cuomo ran them out of the state, along with Kimber). I traveled to Massachusetts a lot for business and would stop at the S&W factory sometimes and look at the cool stuff in their Visitor Center/Museum. I have been by the Colt facilities in Hartford but never inside.
The region was the center of the universe for arms manufacturing in early America and remained so until fairly recently. It was a key part of the Industrial Revolution. Eli Remington ushered in parts interchangeability.
Thanks for commenting, Luke.
I believe the Springfield Amory is closed.
Joe, is it true that the “founding fathers” mad an allowance for private ownership of Gatling guns when they drew up the Constitution?
No. The Gatling gun was invented in the early 1860s; the Constitution was drafted in the 1700s.
Oh, a state representative from Colorado said so. I shoulda known better.