Colt 2000 made an appearence at LGS.

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george minze

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New old stock Colt 2000 semi appeared at one of our local gun shops. I haven't seen one in years....I don't know but I had been told that model will go down as a complete failure. However the fit and finish were outstanding.....I have heard the rumors about them, but I really never heard from anyone that actually had one..This is only the third one I personally have seen...Any first hand information would be helpful, no! I'm not buying it but I sure would like to have some info on their reliability and performance, just because I flat don't know the answers. Was this weapon a complete mistake of engineering?? Inquiring mind wants to know....
 
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Well, they were recalled. Kinda neat in theory, but not at all in practice. I don't know of any person who bought one and actually kept it. IMHO, another result of the management issues at Colt's in that era . . .
 
They were built from 1991 to 1994 and there's a nice article about them in the Standard Catalog of Colt. Two of the most notable sentences were;

"...actually represented a major change of direction for Colt, which abandoned John Browning's well-tested dropping barrel and adopting instead a design by C. Reed Knight and Eugene Stoner that used a rotating barrel to lock the breech."
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"But for its apparent virtues, it proved to be one of the most embarrassing failures in the company's history."
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Well, everyone makes mistakes every once in a while...
 
I still remember reading a review in The American Rifleman. Even they struggled to find anything good to say about it. From what I recall, it had a terrible trigger, unreliable, inaccurate, and the test sample broke and fell apart.

If you are familiar with American Rifleman reviews, you know they NEVER give negative reviews.
 
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A friend bought one when they first came out.

It had BAR NONE, the WORST trigger pull of ANY name brand semi-auto pistol I have EVER handled. It just kept stacking until you thought the trigger itself might break in half, then fired.

It was the Chauchat of modern handguns.
 
Never saw one except in pictures. I would have to say they were somewhat odd looking. (Oh hell the truth is, they made Glocks look downright sexy)
 
Just pull the trigger on that beast, and all the mystery and dreams of ownership will end. I'm a big Colt fan, but trigger is just plain terrible...
 
I've seen them around and handled a few but never shot one or known anyone who has. I never much liked them. I will bet they become a collectable one though...
 
They have a strange grip, not unpleasant but defiantly different. Dry firing the trigger it is bad, bad, However the one I saw was well finished .....Needless to say Colt should stick to single action semi auto's.
 
There is a Mexican PJF (Policia Judicial Federal) that often comes into my store with his buddies for an Ice Cream. They are all dressed in civvies, but wear Army boots -- like the kind you imagine when you yelled at someone in school that their mother wears Army boots -- and tend to deliberately try to show everyone left-right-and-center around them that they ARE armed even though they are supposedly trying to be conspicous about it.

A sort of "See me? I have this gun. You don't have one. You can't have one (well, not EXACTLY true). But I have one. I'm normally carrying it hidden but I am letting YOU see it because I have this need...." sort of thing.

Anyway, all the buddies carry Glock 17's except one who has a Beretta 92. However "team leader" has a Colt 2000, generally tucked in his belt Mexican-style with no holster and the T-shirt tucked under it instead of over it. Yes, you read that right.

Everytime I see them, I think of the multitude of SWAT and Police Officers storming the building at the end of "The Blues Brothers" chanting "hut, hut, hut, hut..." or whatever and sort of smile. For some reason, I just can't get worked up enough by them to be impressed. But at least they buy Ice Cream.
 
I bought one and it turned out to be one of the first production run with alloy frame and wood grips instead of plastic. The trigger pull made it no target weapon, but it was at least as accurate as a revolver fired DA. I wished it had been in 45. When empty, I could beat the trigger reset, but not when firing live ammo. I realized it wasn't the defensive weapon I was looking for and we parted company. Wish I'd kept it.
 
Here a while back a local pawn shop had a Colt 2000 and a Colt Cadet in the display case at the same time. What's the odds?
 
I have one and have no intent of getting rid of it. If nothing else, it's always an interesting conversation piece. The fit and finish are excellent and what others described as a "strange" or "interesting" grip feel, I describe as spot on! Colt straightened out and reduced the circumference of a "hi-cap" wonder nine. It's remarkably smaller around than the Beretta 92s, Glock 17s etc of the era. Mine is very accurate and has never had a reliability issue.

The rotating bolt type lock up was unique for sure - think of a pistol version of an attempt at an AR15 type bolt.

That being said, the trigger is atrocious! It has a longer pull than you'd think possible. After a full magazine dump, my finger starts cramping up from the effort needed to pull the trigger that many times for that distance. It's a smooth pull, just long and heavy.

If I remember correct, this was Colt's attempt at swinging over the cops who were still shooting wheel guns to join the semi auto side. The trigger pull was even advertised as "similar to your duty revolver".

It was a failed attempt at a duty weapon, but it's still a neat piece and a part, although brief, of firearms history. I'm glad I have mine.
 
inspcalahan said:
I have one and have no intent of getting rid of it. If nothing else, it's always an interesting conversation piece. The fit and finish are excellent and what others described as a "strange" or "interesting" grip feel, I describe as spot on! Colt straightened out and reduced the circumference of a "hi-cap" wonder nine. It's remarkably smaller around than the Beretta 92s, Glock 17s etc of the era. Mine is very accurate and has never had a reliability issue.

The rotating bolt type lock up was unique for sure - think of a pistol version of an attempt at an AR15 type bolt.

That being said, the trigger is atrocious! It has a longer pull than you'd think possible. After a full magazine dump, my finger starts cramping up from the effort needed to pull the trigger that many times for that distance. It's a smooth pull, just long and heavy.

If I remember correct, this was Colt's attempt at swinging over the cops who were still shooting wheel guns to join the semi auto side. The trigger pull was even advertised as "similar to your duty revolver".

It was a failed attempt at a duty weapon, but it's still a neat piece and a part, although brief, of firearms history. I'm glad I have mine.
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The day will come when someone says you got a Colt 2000 wow how and wear did you get it >> A piece of firearms history....I'm to old for that to happen to me...Now they would say look at that weird pistol that old fart had...
 
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