Manufacturer catalog

Colt

Colt is a historic U.S. firearms maker whose modern catalog presence centers on rifles, carbines, pistols, and revolvers, and whose company history runs from Samuel Colt's patent era to the current West Hartford operation.

5 weapons

Colt began with Samuel Colt's patent-era revolver work and the 1855 Hartford armory that the company says became the world's largest private armament factory. The modern company still trades on that history while marketing Colt-branded pistols, revolvers, rifles, and military and law-enforcement products from West Hartford.

Within this catalog, the Colt builder facet gathers the catalog entries for the M16 rifle, M4/M4A1 carbine, AR-15-pattern rifle, M203 40 mm grenade launcher, and Browning Automatic Rifle so the manufacturer page can serve as a concise company reference instead of repeating the same background on each weapon page.

small armsmilitary and law-enforcement firearmsriflescarbinespistolsrevolvers

Notable Systems

AR-15-pattern rifle, 5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform, Infantry Weapons

M16 rifle

5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform

A legacy Colt rifle family represented in the catalog and tied to the company's long-running military small-arms line.

Sources: Colt home, Colt timeline
AR-15-pattern rifle, 5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform, Infantry Weapons

M4/M4A1 carbine

5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform

Colt's established carbine platform remains one of the builder's defining modern service-rifle lines in the catalog.

Sources: Colt home, Colt timeline
AR-15-pattern rifle, 5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform, Infantry Weapons

AR-15-pattern rifle

5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform

The Colt name is closely associated with the AR-family lineage that shaped later civilian and law-enforcement rifle patterns.

Sources: Colt home, Colt timeline
M203 40 mm grenade launcher, Under-barrel grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons

M203 40 mm grenade launcher

Under-barrel grenade launcher

The catalog includes Colt-linked under-barrel grenade-launcher hardware alongside the company's rifle and carbine family.

Sources: Colt home, Colt archive services
Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons

Browning Automatic Rifle

Automatic rifle / light machine gun

This older Colt-produced automatic-rifle family reflects the company's broader military small-arms history.

Sources: Colt timeline, Colt archive services

Manufacturer History

  1. Samuel Colt's early patent era begins

    Colt's official history traces the brand back to Samuel Colt's early patent work, which established the company's long-running firearms identity.

    Sources: Colt timeline

  2. Hartford armory incorporated

    Colt says Samuel Colt incorporated the business in 1855 and built the new Hartford armory overlooking the Connecticut River.

    Sources: Colt timeline

  3. Colt Armory burns and is rebuilt

    The company timeline records the 1864 fire that destroyed the Colt Armory and the subsequent rebuild that restored production.

    Sources: Colt timeline

  4. CZG closes acquisition of Colt

    Colt announced that CZG completed its acquisition of 100% of Colt, bringing Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC into the CZG group structure.

    Sources: Colt acquisition closes by CZG

  5. Colt CZ Group SE name adopted

    CZG announced that its company name changed to Colt CZ Group SE in April 2022 to highlight the Colt and CZ brands after the acquisition.

    Sources: Colt CZ Group name change

Predecessors
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company
Website links
Official websiteThe Colt StoryArchive ServicesContactColt acquisition closes by CZG

Colt's public materials span multiple legal names and a post-2021 parent-company change, so this profile normalizes the builder facet to Colt and keeps ownership and legacy naming in the profile rather than on the weapon pages.

Manufacturer Sources

  • Colt homePublisher: Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC | Note: Supports Colt's current public builder name, its firearms product mix, and its modern rifle, pistol, revolver, and military and law-enforcement positioning. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt timelinePublisher: Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC | Note: Supports Colt's patent-era origin story, the 1855 Hartford armory incorporation, the 1864 fire, and the company's long historical firearms lineage. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt supplier resourcesPublisher: Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC | Note: Supports Colt's West Hartford, Connecticut location and supplier-facing company identity. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt archive servicesPublisher: Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC | Note: Supports Colt's archive and authenticity services as part of its historical company role. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt acquisition closes by CZGPublisher: Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC | Note: Supports Colt's 2021 acquisition by CZG and the current ownership context for Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt CZ Group name changePublisher: Colt CZ Group SE | Note: Supports the April 2022 company-name change to Colt CZ Group SE and the broader ownership context after the Colt acquisition. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • Colt Armory (1857), Wikimedia CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the public-domain image choice and its relevance to Colt's early Hartford armory history. | Accessed: 2026-06-21

Produced weapons

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

5/5
M16 rifle, Assault rifle, Infantry Weapons1955 Vietnam War, 2017 Battle of Marawi +5 moreM16 rifleAssault rifleBuilt in: United StatesThe M16 is a U.S.-origin 5.56x45mm assault-rifle family that evolved from 1955 Vietnam War service into the M16A1, M16A2 and M16A4 lineage. Current Army and FN references describe the M16A4 as a gas-operated, shoulder-fired, 20-inch-barrel rifle with rail and optics compatibility, while conflict-specific sources document continued use from Marawi and Afghanistan to Israeli wartime response teams, Iraqi partner-force training and Colombian FARC dissident seizures.
M4/M4A1 carbine, Carbine, Infantry Weapons2023 Israel-Hamas War, 2017 Battle of Marawi +5 moreM4/M4A1 carbineCarbineBuilt in: United StatesThe M4/M4A1 carbine is a U.S.-origin 5.56mm service-rifle family built around a shorter M16 lineage, a collapsible stock, and modular accessory mounting. Conflict-specific evidence documents M4-family use by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, coalition and Iraqi partner forces during anti-ISIS operations, Philippine Marines at Marawi, Israeli wartime replenishment, and Ukrainian special-operations transition from Soviet-pattern rifles during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
M203 40 mm grenade launcher, Under-barrel grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons2003 Iraq War, 2001 War in Afghanistan +4 moreM203 40 mm grenade launcherUnder-barrel grenade launcherBuilt in: United StatesThe M203 is a U.S.-origin 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher developed as an M16-family accessory and later adapted to M4 carbines and rail-mounted configurations. Documented conflict evidence spans U.S. and NATO use in Iraq and Afghanistan, Philippine government use at Marawi, U.S. 40 mm support for Ukraine, IDF firing in Gaza, and a Colombian Army seizure from a FARC dissident structure in Caqueta.