Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

357 страница из 495

1986 arrived, Colt’s 150th anniversary. However, the sesquicentennial was not a good period for the company. In 1986, a bitter strike against Colt began and dragged on for four years. The company economized during its time of limited production. Although it was not officially dropped until 1988, no mention of the collet-type “accurizer” bushing apparently was made after 1986.

Although 1986 meant hard times for Colt, other things happened.

The futility of gun-control laws was becoming obvious. In 1986, the Firearms Owners Protection Act was passed. One of the provisions was to allow importation of surplus firearms again, thus reversing one of GCA ‘68’s many restrictions.

In 1986, the Falcon Portsider was introduced, a left-handed pistol made to enter the niche abandoned when Randall went out of business. Falcon made only a small number of pistols, and was gone by 1990.

About 1988, Para-Ordnance, a Canadian company making “non-gun” dye-marking guns, introduced a sideline of large-capacity frames and magazines for the 1911. Standard 1911 parts could be fitted to the frames to create the first large-capacity 1911-type 45s. Soon, in 1990, the company began making complete pistols. Para-Ordnance, today simply called Para, grew to become a major supplier of 1911 pistols.