Colt All-American 2000 (Disassembly and Shooting)

[@VMEMotor5]

I worked at an indoor range in the mid 90s. One day a customer came in, very excited. He had one of these, slightly used. He said he had just traded someone his Browning Hi Power that his grandfather had left him straight across for one of these. He was all excited about having the gun of the next century. I asked if their was anything wrong with the HP. He said no, just antiquated. I assigned him a lane and off he went. When he was done he looked very broken hearted.

[@TimperialBroadcastingAgency]

Hell, I'm broken-hearted for him.

[@FoxtrotFleet]

For hocking off an heirloom like that, he deserved it. Hope he learned something from the experience.

[@TheWhoamaters]

Never ever trade off a gun without trying what you're trading for

[@shelleyking8450]

He was robbed blind on that trade, but nobody to blame but himself.

[@Zardozintheireyes]

He can blame the firearms trade publications as well, since they took bribes to give the gun flattering and misleading reviews, and in the mid-90s you couldn't just go online and learn the truth from actual users.

[@ou812also5]

Here is some crucial information regarding the Colt All American 2000. Offered in alloy and polymer frames, Colt soon switched to all polymer guns. The alloy frame versions were the first made, but they were not to be made again after the first run. The bulk of the problems this pistol had originated from the alloy-frame models. Colt wanted all polymer and the original design called for all polymer. Something to add, there were 2 polymer versions. The last version offered a Stoner/Knight spec extractor AND the barrel bushings were actually more tightly mounted to the slide and tighter around the barrel. Now, to address some misinformation. First off all, the polymer models were meant to run dry. Yes, that's right. No lubricant. The steel parts were hardened for no-lube function. Oil will actually make the trigger feel worse; hard to believe it could get worse, but oil will do it! The polymer was extremely fibrous. Oil also hurts the reliability. I will add that dry lubrication is recommended, except in extreme cold, where you shouldn't even use that. I do use Remington Rem DriLube on the moving parts and it has worked wonderfully. IF you lubricate it, use dry lubricant. Use aerosol moly or Teflon where the carrier evaporates. It you do this the trigger will still be 10-12 pounds, but it is not rough, it doesn't have that "chattering" feel and it actually feels like it is on roller bearings. It is smooth. The smoothness lasts too! I have taken my pistol out where all rollers and moving parts were lubricated with Remington DriLube and done 500-600 rounds to a crack; reliably. Colt failed to clearly explain proper lubrication practices to it's customers. Originally, the trigger was 6# in the Stoner/Knight design. Colt did not increase it to 12# because of lawyers, it was a decision based on defensive ability. Your typical striker-fired pistol is already partially cocked before you pull the trigger so you are not having to deal with the entire double action cycle. The issue with this approach is if you have a misfire, you cannot pull the trigger again. Remember, guns like a Glock and other DAO pistols have to cycle before the striker is partially cocked. What this means is once the trigger is pulled, you can't cycle the striker again (pull the trigger) unless the slide cycles. Colt felt a fully defensive DAO pistol should allow the striker to function every time you pull the trigger regardless of what happens. For example, if you have a misfire, the round will often fire if the primer is struck again. The All American 2000 offered this ability. You can pull the trigger as many times as you want without the slide cycling. This is an advantage that SA/DA pistols offer (like the Beretta 92 for example) you can pull that trigger as many times as you need to! All things come at a price however and the result was a long 12# trigger pull on the Colt!! It should be noted that the Stoner/Knight design had a trigger pull nearly as long. The trigger is very much like a Trooper MKIII/MKV or old-style King Cobra revolver fired in double action. At one time we got a box of bum ammunition (Remington) and out of 50 rounds, 7 didn't fire. 4 of the 7 fired afted pulling the trigger a second time. Of the remaining 3, pulling a third time ignited 1 of them. We took the remaining 2 and tried them in a Beretta 92FS. They still wouldn't fire. As you can see, the true DAO pull on the Colt isn't ALL bad. In this case it displayed it's design advantages. Colt did not explain their intentions regarding the change in trigger design. It could have literally been marketed as a design advantage, which in some ways it is. Regarding reliability, the gun needed a break in period of several hundred rounds. It is said any pistol should be broke in prior to you betting your life on it. It was more true than ever for the All American 2000. Colt needed to clearly explain a proper break in procedure, but they did not. There were also some magazine problems which hurt feeding. The issue is that some magazines left the factory assembled incorrectly. If the spring is installed backwards the pistol is going to jam. This is easy to fix, but obviously it shouldn't have been a problem to start with. Who were building these mags??? Some magazines were re-assembled incorrectly by their owners as well. Here is perhaps the most bizarre part: The accuracy of this pistol was poor, but much better in the last version, but once broke in, they actually weren't bad at all. The unorthodox design led to extensive break in being required to assure reliability and accuracy. Until they completely broke in, lockup varied from shot to shot. Consequently, accuracy varies from shot to shot. I build custom 1911's and they settle in and become more accurate after a few hundred rounds. However with the All American 2000 break in made an unbelievably profound difference!! They required an unreasonable amount of break in. Also, after extensive break-in the trigger smooths out some and lands at about 10#. Still too damn heavy, but it met Colt's design goal of repeated trigger-pulls if needed. Colt needed to point out that reliability AND accuracy are impacted by break-in. I know a couple of shooters (plus myself) who have gone through all of the break in and our All American 2000's are reliable and reasonably accurate. I'm not saying I agree with all of their design decisions, but I hope this clears up some misinformation and misconceptions about this unique pistol. It was not ALL bad like some would have you believe. If Colt had consistent magazine assembly, advertised the defensive "advantage" of their trigger and repeated-pulls being possible, fit the bushing properly and used the Stoner/Knight extractor from the beginning, this pistol would have likely made it. After the alloy ones had issues, then the first polymers had issues, they finally got it worked out with version 3. By this time however, people didn't want to touch one. We get together sometimes just to shoot our 2000's. We have a chuckle about how we're all shooting one of the biggest firearm embarrassments of the 20th Century. We all run them lube-free/or with Rem DriLube and we shoot the living hell out of them. We simply do not have malfunctions. Mine is so reliable I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to use it as a self-defense weapon and that goes for my friend's pistols as well. This gun is better than you may think, but it's still not a Glock. Regarding life span, we don't know. I have shot mine literally thousands of rounds (over 5K) and it's just fine. The polymer rails wore a little in the beginning (which they are only there for "light" guidance), but they got to a certain point and stopped wearing very early on. There are steel rails in the cam block and in the rear there is a steel rail and the ejector which acts to eject and guide the slide and a dual-purpose roller bearing that cover the bases well. You could grind the polymer rails completely off and the slide would be virtually unfazed. Barrel bushing wear? That barrel and bushing are so crazy-hard it's going to take a long time to cause problems. It hasn't yet. I will say this pistol is excellent for learning trigger control. When you get to where you can manage this, you can manage about anything! At any rate, it is a very unique pistol that is somewhat rare and every Colt collector should have one......... just because! NOTE: I should mention that all 3 of our pistols are last generation (aka: 3rd gen) models. These were the best and the closest to the Stoner/Knight design pretty much only differing in the DAO vs cycle assisted DAO of the original design. In my opinion, Colt dropped the ball by altering other elements and specs of the original design in versions 1 and 2. Colt also dropped the ball by not offering enough information about it's advantages. Colt dropped the ball again by sending out bad magazines, not explaining proper maintenance procedures and lastly....... of all things a safety recall. The version 3 pistol as it exists would have made it had Colt managed things correctly. Just my opinion. By the way, some people say this is a very ugly pistol. Examine a silhouette of the 2000 and compare it to a silhouette of the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless. Pretty damn close.

[@davidbowman2716]

Ufff a really long comment but interesting nonetheless. Thank you.

[@Sasaroly]

"Colt" and "gigantic disaster" seem to be together in more sentences than peanut butter and jelly

[@dongilleo9743]

Yes, I'm one of the fools who bought a Colt 2000 when they first came out, along with a specific law enforcement duty holster for it at the same time, and some six or so magazines. I can't remember if I had read something about it ahead of time, or if I just saw it in the store. Colt was hoping this gun would help them compete with Glock for law enforcement sales, at a time when many departments were transitioning from revolvers to auto pistols. The long trigger pull was deliberate to mimick the long pull of a revolver pistol, for officers accustomed to shooting revolvers. It was also a safety design to prevent officers from accidentally discharging their handgun; forcing them to make a long, hard deliberate pull on the trigger to fire it. Not too long after I bought mine, I received the recall notice. When I received it back, it had a new trigger assembly. Supposedly there was a safety issue with the gun, which begs the question "why hadn't they discovered the problem in testing, and fixed it before mass production?". The official reason given for the recall was the possibility of it going off if dropped. It seems like I also remember reading somewhere else that the original trigger assembly was a little too similar to Glock's, and they had to change it to avoid getting sued. So I've kept the pistol for years now, without ever firing it. I don't really know why except that I think that as such a bad gun, maybe someday it will become a collector's item; kind of like owning a mint condition Edsel car.😀

[@gunnermurphy6632]

This is 2 years old but I'd say it's more like a Mint condition mg midget

[@vxy357]

If you have the blue version, then it is a collector's gun.

[@johnwizeman3894]

That exert from Guns and Ammo is hilarious. "It's a game changer!"

[@austinrobinson101]

it probably would have been if they hadn't fucked it up

[@billymc2681]

Obviously Metcalf hadn't handled one previous to making this statement. Or had he and was just pushing Colt at that time?

[@TCFan30]

Guns and Ammo is just one big pile of commercialised print junk. When big companies like Colt promise a big cheque, they'll publish anything.

[@zestamaster]

I wouldn't put it past colt to make a really polished one for testing either though tbh.

[@gabemando7823]

Game changing by being one of the very first meme guns

[@Name-ps9fx]

The trigger sliding back reminds me of the toy disc-shooters of my childhood.

[@ou812also5]

YES! Exactly what I was thinking. It's been 45 years ago, but mine was gold colored and looked an awful lot like a particular H&K pistol.

[@wsc31]

A well thought out, functional, reliable design turned into a paperweight. Allowing attorneys and accountants to make engineering decisions is a sure way to destroy a product, any product. I own a number of Colts, revolver and semi auto, but none were made after the 70s and I have no desire for anything Colt has produced since then.

[@RyeOnHam]

"A well thought out, functional, reliable design." Are you seriously talking about the model 2000? That sentence in no way describes this pistol. The DESIGN was bad and they added to that bad design by poor manufacturing and marketing choices. I was around when it came out and it was NEVER a good gun in design, function, or reliability.

[@wsc31]

RyeOnHam The original design, if properly developed and built to the standards of Stoner and Knight, was a good and workable one. The bastardized offspring which Colt produced was so corrupted by decisions Colt made that it was a loser with a capital L. Back in the day we briefly considered this pistol when transitioning from revolvers to autos but it was clearly below minimum standards of reliability, accuracy and longevity.

[@RyeOnHam]

I can say that we sent half the crate back to Colt after getting several returns from the first dozen we sold. I don't care WHAT the design is. If you can't manufacture it, then it's a poor design. You can't really say much positive about it in hindsight either. The poor accuracy was a design issue. The poor trigger pull was a design problem. Those were not things Colt changed, they were Reed Knight and Gene Stoner love-children that were not well thought out.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

RyeOnHam Actually, those were things that Colt changed.

[@RyeOnHam]

Forgotten Weapons I have to respectfully disagree. I won't say how I know, but I know and can demonstrate. Please read the patent number 5024139 you can find here: docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US5024139.pdf Within that patent, you can clearly see that both the sight pinned to the bushing and the crappy DAO trigger are intact in the patent.

[@mrtlsimon]

I remember reading about this pistol in the gun magazines when it was first released. They couldn't stop writing about how great it was. The first striker fired pistol ( that I recall) they had a love affair with was the Smith&Wesson Sigma, S&W got sued for patent infringement by Glock and had to change the design afterward it was no longer the same firearm. Then the Colt AA 2000 came out and was still born due to the problems you stated. I stopped trusting industry gun magazines that depended on advertising money from the companies whose products they reviewed after those two pistol and started reading Shotgun News. At that time SN didn't have advertisers that sent them guns to review so the reviews were unbiased. Gun magazines still suck at giving unbiased firearms reviews the Remington R51 is proof of that. KZbin and online reviews from regular people are more dependable than gun magazines in reviewing new firearms.

[@slowpokebr549]

Excellent points Simon. I remember reading about this abomination too. It got all kinds of glowing reviews. Remington R51's sure looked good the first couple of times I read about them as well. Nice thing about living long enough for KZbin to come out, I get to see honest reviews now.

[@waltlars3687]

Well Said Sir !!

[@waltlars3687]

A swing and a Miss next one they hit it outa the park

[@redram5150]

For the most part, just about every gun on the market is pretty good, generally speaking. Guns like the R51 and AA2000 are few and far between. Now, plenty of people have fired enough different models to know what it is they prefer for themselves and what features are preferred when shopping and comparing. But for the average gun owner or enthusiast, the main concerns are... aside of cost... comfort in hand, weight, and if it looks the part. Magazines and GunTube always seem to shill for manufacturers because most guns are pretty decent. People won’t care what their opinions are if they say every gun is “comfortable, easy to handle, and reliable”. That’s over 90% of the market. However, you’re right when they make grandiose claims regarding clearly terrible products. The AA2000 was designed by committee using a multiple choice list. To them, if they have the most features checked, it’s better than others with fewer. You wanna know what else was designed that way? The Pontiac Aztek

[@dongilleo9743]

Gun magazine writers desperate for material often hype new guns coming on market. The same people in the industry hyped the Bren Ten gun, and then when it flopped they all acted like they had done nothing wrong, as if they'd never mentioned it.

[@SkorpyoTFC]

A trigger so crunchy, snack food companies are still asking for the recipe.

[@leroyjenkins4811]

That was savage! But I can’t say that comment wasn’t deserved. The gun was garbage.

[@dyveira]

I found it hilarious that the trigger pull was so loud it was picked up by Ian's lapel mic.

[@reinaldogarcia70]

Crunchy 😁😃hilarious

[@jackstecker5796]

I had a Beretta 92D as an issue pistol for about 10 years. DAO trigger pull about 12 lbs, a mile long, long reset, and the gun was heavy as a boat anchor. Sights milled into the slide, so no adjustments (gotta remember holdovers with your sidearm), no tritium inserts, no rails for mounting stuff, and if someone got a visit from the good idea fairy, and decided to clean your weapon for "reasons ", they might over tighten the grip panel screws, and the magazine wouldn't come out without a screwdriver or feed rounds. Yeah, that's great if my rifle goes down. *BANG* click. I hated that gun with a passion. Strangely enough, attractive females got 92FS, with adjustable night sights, slicked up actions, rubber Hogue grips, and extra "training" time. Funny how that works. Everybody knows what's going on, but nobody will say it.

[@shooterfan1974]

Dick Metcalf was fired last year for making a lot of his readers mad after saying he was OK with more gun control. So, I'm not surprised he missed the mark on this in 1991

[@jeremyshaw1]

Even today, they never learn. Springfield Armory Inc is on full damage control right now (e.g, fancy videos and press releases with nothing but lies).

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Well, I don't think that people with multiple mental illness diagnoses should be allowed to own guns without a few doctors saying it's okay. I think that's asking for trouble. Regulation will come, you can either help it make sense and be as less restrictive as possible....or you remove yourself from the dialogue completely and get pissy when the DNC passes some super-restrictive measures.

[@polygondwanaland8390]

Fuzzy Dunlop That's already the law though. Look it up some time.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Then what was it that the legislature shot down a few months back? Because I distinctly recall them throwing just such a like measure into the garbage disposal.

[@getbent876]

Fuzzy Dunlop Rights shouldn't have to have compromises

[@davidgoodnow269]

I went from an H&K VP70 to a Colt All American Model 2000 - First Edition. These were a high-quality duralloy-frame, not polymer, with the six-pound trigger spring; the metal frame had superb checkering and beautiful wood grips, excellent ergonomics and balance. The trigger action was long and light, much like a Ruger LCP or more like those supermarket toy guns that fire spinning plastic discs, if you remember those. The long straight pull made accurate shooting easy. (One inch at twenty-five yards with Federal model 9MP, which was commercially marketed surplus from the early M882 9x19mm NATO ball production, with the 125.6 grain Speer Flat Nose Ball bullet, the most accurate factory-made ammunition in the world at the time). Rapid fire, compared with a single-action trigger, not so much, and my dad said it felt like a toy. Many other potential buyers also felt that way, which cost Colt a large number of buyers (I know, from listening to other visitors at gun shows who also tried it, and walked away. I was able to get mine ridiculously cheap just because the dealer was so discouraged!) The regular production pistols had, as you mention, a polymer frame, that was basically a casting of the metal frame-with-grips: same dimensions and checkering, but the plastic frame's light weight completely ruined balance and handling (Much worse than VP70!), and together with the lack of hand-fitting and quality-control which Colt lavished on the Limited Edition pistols resulted in unreliability. Remember, this was supposed to be a direct competitor to the first generation Glock 17 pistols (green guns, remember them?), which had won the Austrian service pistol competition famously with 50,000 rounds fired without a jam; those early Glocks had NO checkering, and were famously slippery on the range and in service--but the fix for that was to cut a section from a bicycle inner tube and roll it on to the grip as a "Glock sock," which resulted in a sort of Pachmeyer grip, keeping the great grip angle and balance with very few downsides. One thing seldom mentioned, because the polymer frames cannot handle repeated stress, is that the action itself (and the alloy frames) had a design pressure rating of 70,000 psi, which Colt saw as an entree to emerging military markets at the time for 9mm +P+(+) armor-piercing ammunition (the SEALS having had two fatalities on the range from M9 service pistols coming apart during the firing of such ammunition). Just a couple of additional insights into how a beautiful handgun turned into a bankrupting boondoggle.

[@ShiceSquad]

I remember when ads for this were all over the gun mags.... what I don't remember is ever seeing anything about it again after that... until this vid came up!

[@automatkas]

That slow motion camera is really helping for the explanation of how the pistol works. Thanks for making this video.

[@londonjolly9174]

Hmm, a firearm purported to be awesome, had some really good original design elements, backed by good designers, meant to replace other weapons of its class, only to be sold to a bigger and stupider company, to have them change the shit out of it, suffer from accuracy problems, fail almost entirely commercially, and probably was also over expensive? Looking at you Magpul/Remington/Bushmaster ACR/Masada

[@douglasfulmer5483]

+London Jolly Best comment on this video, lol.

[@SlavicCelery]

@@DriveCarToBar To be fair, tons of people have dicked around with the AR-18/180 base design and had successful rifles as a result. AUG/G36/etc. I will balance that point with the dumpster fire abomination that was SA80. Talk about rawdogging your own soldiers with that non-sense. They should have learned from the US mistakes with the M16.

[@wallaroo1295]

I love catching *"Forgotten Weapons Classics"* with the old theme song.

[@thatguybrody4819]

Same

[@TheNinjaDC]

I mean, **** I could hear that trigger creak, and this camera is atleast 6 Ft away.

[@brotherbisquick]

I've had literal nightmares where I need to shoot something and the trigger pull was like that.

[@beardoggin8963]

Steven Loving glad I’m not the only one mate.

[@blazerdude89]

@@beardoggin8963 same

[@jaxmeoff3974]

Kinda like punching in slow motion lol

[@tokenbastard4586]

There are literally dozens of us! Dozens!

[@parzavaal5335]

mine was a dream but I think I had the same experience

[@morelenmir]

The rotating locking mechanism suggests it may have been Stoner's contribution? I really enjoy these early episodes. Iain's enthusiasm totally carries any minor defects in production. Sharp, well researched and well demonstrated. Great videos.

[@jettrooper3rd930]

I would love it if you did a audio-podcast man! I listen to podcasts on my way to college every day but there's a real lack of quality firearm-related podcasts!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

It would be fun, but I just don't have the time to do one. I am a co-host on the Gun Nation podcast every other show, though.

[@daveburatenski]

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” I was recently given one for free. It wasn’t what I was looking for and I initially turned it down but.... I am accustomed to Sig P226’s so this was definitely a step down, however my Sigs are a long way from where I am currently. I haven’t been able to test fire the Colt but have dry fired it a LOT in an effort to get used to the trigger. Years ago I was a firearms instructor at a Federal law enforcement college. We used and trained our recruits on S&W M10’s. Most of the 100 or so training guns had very heavy DA triggers to ensure ignition of the bulk ammunition we were using for training. I know what a heavy trigger pull is like. This Colt is by far the worst that I have personally experienced. Long and not smooth or progressive. The breaking point for the sear is always a mystery. The trigger moves straight back like a 1911. I saw one KZbin video where their particular gun had a two piece trigger face that pivoted slightly in the middle, a bit like a Glock safety. Mine isn’t like that. When starting to apply pressure to the trigger, the entire slide lifts away from the frame a tiny bit. By the serial number this one was made in 1992. I find that the gun is comfortable in my hand with decent grip texture and grip angle. I remember seeing the ads for the gun in shooting magazines in the early 90’s. Does anyone know what the original advertised price was?

[@geckcgt7216]

And then there was the Double Eagle.... after which Colt gave up on making a modern non-1911 pistol

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Don't forget the Colt Offensive Handgun Weapon System entry! If also failed terribly.

[@cullenmayes3370]

+Forgotten Weapons ...unfortunately, because it answered every prayer I ever spoke

[@DB.KOOPER]

+Cullen Mayes Really... The Colt Offensive Weapon Entry "answered every prayer..." ??? Wow... I can honestly say I don't see anything redeeming about that pistol design. Limited capacity, poor choice of calibers. Wonky trigger, "everything and the kitchen sink" features/controls including a frustratingly stupid manual safety on a DA/SA hammer-fired gun... The CZ97 gives you all the good functions of that pistol in a much better built and designed package and an RIA Tac-Ultra FS in 10mm would give you a 1911 battery-of-arms and a caliber that can honestly be relied on as a primary weapon with good results out to even 100yds (IMO the .45acp even in +p doesn't get you to the kind of range or energy you want for a "primary weapon", which is what the design wanted, even if it does make for fairly quiet supressor use. It's just too big a trade-off in actual "fighting" ballistics and barrier penetration.)

[@mojavedesert-ul3jo]

I had a chance to handle the first version of the AA2k at a gun store when it first came out. At that time it had an aluminum frame and a very nice looking wood grip panels. That pistol felt great in my hands. Too bad Colt couldn't manufacture it correctly.

[@trsgringo]

This thing makes the Double Eagle look like a masterpiece of small arms design and manufacturing.

[@honkhonkler7732]

I saw one of these in a small local gun store recently. I thought something was off when I saw it was a Colt and it was only $350.

[@ComradeCody]

i bet Eugene Stoner was pissed that they fucked up his design... just like any other inventor screwed over by a company

[@RyeOnHam]

Gene Stoner designed it just like they built it. Read the patent: docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US5024139.pdf

[@ComradeCody]

true but in the video Ian said that Colt made changes to the design, making it piece of junk

[@RyeOnHam]

Comrade Stalinator That is that is what has been repeated and accepted because people revere Knight and Stoner, not because there is any basis in fact. Since Colt went into bankruptcy, rumors were flying freely and nobody at Colt was defending themselves. For his part, Reed Knight would never have admitted (nor was it really his responsibility) that the design was bad. Stoner was Teflon. There you have it. No matter how many times you write it down, it does not make something true.

[@RyeOnHam]

You're under a false assumption that I am not calm. Cheers.

[@mosinnagant7800]

RyeOnHam 1. The barrel bushing is smaller in the patent and is not insanely long like in Colt's version. 2. As said in the video, the trigger pull was meant to be set at 6 pounds, not 12 pounds. 3. It also appears that the trigger pull is shorter in the patent. 4. The original design also called for a shorter barrel and frame, and a single stacked magazine. 5. The original prototype had an aluminum frame, not polymer. The slide rails on the origional would last much longer than the ones on Colt's version. The prototype of this firearm proved to be well made and worked like it should. When Colt's version of it was presented at the 1991 shooting, hunting, and outdoor trade show, both Knight and Stoner were present. Neither seemed to be too happy about the changed made to their design. It's simple, Colt made an idiotic decision to change a lot of the design of an already good gun. The increased barrel length and grip length messed with the gun's balance which was originally quite good. The long heavy trigger pull had a negative effect on accuracy, and the cheap flimsy polymer rails that the slide traveled on were prone to excess wear, which could have easily had an effect on the gun's reliability and accuracy. -Signed, an engineer.

[@fdmackey3666]

I recall the many magazine articles covering this POS....A friend of mine ran out and purchased one as soon as they became available....With predictable results. After several returns to Colt and no improvement in functionality he retired the 2000 to his gun vault and has it to this day. It serves two purposes, or so he has said, 1) Never buy a new model of any firearm based purely on magazine articles and 2) see #1. Several serious collectors have tried to buy the 2000 from him but without success thus far. If memory serves, Larry never managed to get more than ten rounds to fire/cycle through his 2000 so it's in near "like new" condition and resides in a place of "honor" beside the Bren 10 he ran out and purchased....You guessed it.....Because of glowing reports in magazines of the era....I think the 2000 broke him of buying first generation guns, or anything else for that matter, but he hangs onto the four or five "duds" he has in his collection as reminders that magazine articles and the opinions of their writers are like certain neither region body parts.....Everybody has one.

[@eisenkrieg553]

FD Mackey Sure it burned his ass then, but if he's had it this long he ought to keep it in the family. Eventually that turd will be a very expensive collectors piece.

[@beelz5932]

Hey, now. The bren ten is a good pistol.

[@johnpalmer5131]

Oh yes, I remember the days of the guns magazines.. nothing but paid shills for the gun industries! Thank god we now have sources like Forgotten Weapons which provide honest information.

[@Paelorian]

The forgotten weapon I really want to see is the original Stoner-Knight pistol that the Colt 2000 derived from. The pistol Eugene Stoner and Reed Knight sold, not the monstrosity Colt turned it into.

[@adrienperie6119]

I love this channel. This is the only channel that could only be improved by having beautiful women dancing in the background as you talk, and free guns being delivered to your door every time you watch a video, along with one of the dancing women. P.S. : I like first model FG42's . P.S.S. : Italian women if possible.

[@keithlarsen7557]

I'll settle for Russian guns and Russian women actually.

[@weirdscience8341]

i like fg42s aswell there literally one of my favorite guns lee enfeilds are a second and probly the ebrm14 is my favorite moder gun i dont care for pistols and as for women il take a red haird irish woman 😁

[@natevanness]

The agency I worked for in the 1990's came within a whisker of adopting this handgun when we moved away from revolvers. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and we adopted the Beretta 92G, and later a Glock product. I had the opportunity to shoot a demo gun in 1991 or 92, the presenter is right- the trigger was the weirdest one I ever shot, and felt like squeezing the handle on a rivet gun.

[@Margalus]

I must have been very very lucky. I've owned mine for about 25 years now and it's been a great gun. The trigger weight and length like a squirt gun is strange and hard to get used to. But my trigger has been perfectly smooth, nothing like that jerky motion in the video. It is very accurate and has had thousands of rounds of ammo fired thru it over the years, still looks new. I do take care of my guns though, so they are cleaned as soon as I get home from the range. Winchester target and hp ammo have been 100% reliable. Remington target ammo on the other hand has cause a few jams, so I stick with Winchester.

[@Nephi895]

Do you think it is a good idea, poorly executed, or a fundamentally flawed design? If you could redesign it, what features would you keep? I might be holding out too much hope for it, but I think rotating barrels are cool.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I think it certainly has potential. It would be interesting to see the roller-bearing trigger done properly, to see if it could really deliver a better trigger press than the traditional type of design.

[@SamuraiPie8111]

jesus, that trigger that guiderod! this gun is a mess

[@davidnoot4995]

I had one when I was new into guns. The only other gun I had was a Colt Combat Commander(which I loved). I took the American 2000 shooting once and sold it to a friend for $100 the next day. I couldn’t in good conscience ask him more for it. I don’t know how Colt, or anyone, could have made a worse trigger and I couldn’t understand how they could brag about how the trigger was “smooth” and “revolver like.” Nice selling point. It was extremely heavy, creepy and rough from start to finish. My finger was worn out after just a few shots. This gun really made my mad. What a piece of crap.

[@Viraqua]

Yeesh. And people complain about the S&W Sigma trigger pull. This makes it look like an Olympic sport pistol.

[@Hawk1966]

Pulling that trigger IS an Olympic sport!

[@vthegoose]

People say the SIG P250 has a horrible trigger, and I will admit it is quite long, but at least it can be used by someone who can’t lift 200 pounds with their finger

[@danieltubbs5422]

What is depressing is that there was a time when we decided that proper training could be replaced by a gun that was nearly impossible to negligently discharge due to a horribly heavy and long trigger pull. Nowadays, you can easily ND any of the DAO pistols. Luckily, we remembered that perfect practice and proper training is always the solution. This gun really seems like a solution looking for a problem. I have seen ND's on the range as an instructor and not surprisingly, it was ALWAYS from operator error and never from the firearm, go figure. There will always be idiots that should never drive, let alone handle a firearm. There will also be someone who would find away to blow a toe off with the Colt 2000.

[@DrFalken100]

I had one of these back in the day. My first pistol, truth be told. Needless to say, I didn’t keep it for very long. I traded it for a Italian Beretta 92FS, LNiB. Best trade ever imho.

[@videodrone101]

I had one of these lemons. Sent it in for the recall, got it back, and still had all kinds of problems, including ejection and feed jamming. Finally traded it in on a H & K .45 !

[@augustusfloyd4890]

Any idea what happened to the prototypes with 6.5 trigger pull? Would be nice to demonstrate how the pistol should have operated with a smooth trigger pull

[@judsongaiden9878]

1:03 "Czechs all the boxes" in the sense that it vaguely resembles a CZ 75 from a distance (except that it's striker-fired).

[@BakerMikeRomeo]

Great video! Enjoyed the very detailed demonstration of the function of the locking block and rotating barrel and so on.

[@tylerrex41]

I've had a Colt All American 2000 for about ten years and have had no problems with it,the trigger does take getting used to.When I got my CPL the 2000 was the handgun I used to qualify for the License,we had to fire 100 rds. at the range to get our certification. We were having a good time and it turned out to be 200 rds. I wound up firing ,again no problems. I was surprised that I liked the gun,it is fun to shoot.

[@wdfghjkl]

I must've missed something while watching the entire video but what was the problem that caused the safety recall? Sorry if my grammar is bad.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I don't know the exact engineer details, but it was found that a hard enough blow to the back of the slide could cause them to discharge when the chamber was loaded. Colt recalled about 26,000 of them and fixed that issue free of charge.

[@jlpjlp1953]

Forgotten Weapons Good Lord. They made more than 26,000 of these things?

[@therideneverends1697]

jlpjlp1953 XD

[@MrBrown-br7sh]

So I sent my R51 back to Remington in late August or early September of last year. They finally gave me an ETA for my replacement pistol. It should ship in the last week of June or the first week of July. How much faith do I have in Remington? I went out of my way to rewatch this video on the Colt 2000 and am wondering if I'll see a video on the R51 by Forgotten Weapons a couple years from now.

[@AtholAnderson]

I'd love to see a video on the Nambu Type 14 pistol.

[@charleslennon1]

I have been looking for a KZbin review of this pistol for years. I can remember when it debuted, and the hoopla surrounding it. I also remember for every article of kudos there were three or four paragraphs within the same article(s) that mentioned the trigger pull being FUBAR. I also remember that some enterprising armorers simply ground down the roller bar assembly and it 'fixed' the problem. They also polished the barrel to improve accuracy and warned not to use +P+ loads because the slide would stove pipe an empty casing instead of ejecting it completely. This is weird considering everyone and their ugly sister-in-law were shooting +P+ 9mm ammo on a regular back then to keep up with the .40 S&W which ironically buried another late 1980s and early 1990s "good idea" the .41 AE. It's okay you can say it "Shit, your old". The "tool shack mods" and the gracious attempts of paperback reviewers tried to keep this pistol alive. Unfortunately, it was stillborn on delivery ...

[@elektro3000]

The thing I really don't understand about this pistol is...for all of the compromises, what does it do better than any other pistol? Compared to just about anything else in that market segment, it seems like they made it more complicated, less reliable, less accurate, more difficult to use, and probably more expensive to manufacture. I don't see the selling point. It looks like the one useful innovation would have been the straight-line trigger pull on roller bearings, but even with the original 6 pound spring, I don't see how a straight vs hinged trigger makes any difference when the travel is so incredibly long. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate how much the straight trigger pull is better on my Kimber than the hinged Match trigger on my USP45 Elite, but that's only because they're so short. I think this striker fired Colt really does qualify as a true Double Action Only in the exact same sense as a DAO pistol with a hammer.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

It doesn't do anything better, and that's why it was such a commercial failure.

[@DudeNumberOnePlus]

Doesnt do anything better, and most it does worse.

[@Galahad_Du_Lac]

Do you know where I could find the original blueprints for the prototype?

[@Kumimono]

I am wondering, if you could "mod" the triggerpull weight?

[@arkenlyl]

Maybe, but what's the point?

[@DannyArcher32]

That's an easy thing. Just take the gun and exchange it with a Glock...

[@lamorrafierro2573]

I am having trouble putting the locking block back in place what am I doing wrong?

[@kikokltzhke8266]

May I know what is the name of that pistol designed by Stoner and Reed?

[@polaritypictures]

Should do a review on the Beretta Cougar. which uses the same locking mech. compare what changed and what's better.

[@gjg5789]

Is there anyway to fix that trigger? I love collecting oddball guns and would consider getting one for kicks, but it at least needs to be somewhat enjoyable to shoot.

[@joe57788]

You did not mention a safety on the weapon, could the loooong trigger pull be a safety device?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yes, that was the intention. It doesn't have a manual safety.

[@DFX2KX]

Forgotten Weapons That's kinda horrifying. Even my New Model Army has a safety mechanism of sorts that isn't the trigger.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

DFX2KX I don't see it as being a problem. The need for a half-cock safety in revolvers was to prevent the gun from firing if you slipped and released the hammer while cocking the piece, which isn't an applicable issue for DA automatics.

[@DFX2KX]

Forgotten Weapons good point. I've never fired anything with a 12 pound pull, so it might be harder to accidentally do then I'm imagining.

[@benaguilar1787]

DFX2KX It is no different than all the double action revolvers out there with heavy trigger pulls and no safety.

[@romanlegiontv]

During the opening video I see what looks like a 1903 Springfield rifle with a ballistic gel absorbing recoil. What video is that from?

[@geodkyt]

I know this is an old video, but the discussion of the trigger pull made me LOL. "...12 lbs trigger pull..."

[@infin1ty850]

What is the rifle at the end of the intro? I can't seem to find that video.

[@lovecraftcat]

I believe that's an incorrectly reassembled Ross Mk3

[@Murphy82nd]

Is the "break" extremely far back on the trigger travel, to the point where you the trigger fully contacts the frame behind the trigger? Watching the trigger it's almost deceptive visually in that from a bit further away (or without my glasses ;)) it almost seems as if you go the full length of travel and there is a delay before the striker is released.

[@Jesses001]

Hey, I had one of these. An acquaintance had it in his shop and it was not selling, so I got it just above dealer cost. I dry fired it, trigger felt like an extra strong staple gun, so I sold it for like $10 profit. To all companies especially firearm companies. Do NOT let your lawyers in the room when you are going over designs with your engineers. Lawyers are not engineers and that has never worked out for the best.

[@BIGBOSS9545]

*slowly squeezes the trigger* click click click. Did the gun pop its back or something?

[@SgtStinger]

How smooth is that trigger pull? It sounds real uneven in the end there...

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Not very. Think H&K VP-70, or a staple gun.

[@SgtStinger]

Staple gun would be my closest reference there, but it sure sounds bad...

[@RedRocketsGlare]

Would LOVE to see the Stoner/KNIGHT prototype ! Maybe there is still value in the roller guide trigger system today ?

[@unclematt3]

Many years ago I used to hit a lot of gun shows in Virginia and I often saw a guy trying to sell one of these. It was being sold new, and on the very end of the barrel, right on the crown, there was a gouged out / ground out section of the crown. It looked like it was cut or machined, 2mm wide and 2mm deep. How it made it past quality control I have no freaking idea. I looked at the gun and asked the guy about the incredibly obvious defect, and he sighed and said that he'd called Colt and they promised that if the buyer sent the gun back they'd fix it. I saw that pistol on the gun show tables for a loooooong time.

[@JOPAGalvin]

Did the Guns & Ammo get one w/the 12lbs trigger? Wonder if Colt didn't send one tuned. If Colt had fixed the trigger/ignored the attorneys and modified the front sight/ bushing, not a bad design. Beretta uses the short recoil/rotating barrel in its excellent, especially for the price, Px4 Storm series of pistols.

[@johnhans2929]

My brother had one of these. I got to shoot a box of ammunition through it, and I had no problems with it at all. My impression of the gun was pretty favorable, but I had really only shot revolvers at the time.

[@o2wow]

Reminds me of the Remington R51... so far.

[@BuggaBoy69]

Wow I’ve been sub’d for quite some time now and I’ve always been impressed by Ian’s dedication to pronunciation yet it still caught me off guard that he pronounced my last name, Metcalf, correctly! You’d be surprised what I hear on an almost daily basis even though I live in an English speaking country. It’s Met-Calf not Metkalf or mkalf lol

[@Stellar001100]

When you said they originally wanted 6 pounds of trigger pull, I said 'nah'. When you said its actually 12 pounds of trigger pull, I said 'WHAT!?'

[@anter176]

Would it be possible revert the trigger pull to 6 pounds or at least lower than 12?

[@PoLoMoTo2]

Excuse my ignorance but you mentioned the slide lock being good because you wouldn't miss it under stress, but why would you need to lock the slide in a situation in which you would be stressed?

[@TheHunterWulf]

When you fire the last round in the magazine the slide locks open. On most guns when you put a new loaded magazine into the gun the slide does not automatically go forward, so you push the slide stop to release the slide forward chambering a new round. If you have to change mags in a stressful situation, like a shooting match or firefight, you want to be able to quickly and reliably find and hit the slide stop without looking.

[@wastool]

Don't they have shooters working at these companies? If you're the CEO of a firearm manufacturer and your company is getting ready to launch a new product, wouldn't you do some shooting with it and realize the trigger is horrendous?

[@TroopperFoFo]

So if the went back with the 6 pound trigger and fixed the safety issues it would of been a pretty good?

[@therideneverends1697]

eeeh passable albeit high matanence thay would have to fix the way the front end is designed. rapidly degradeing accuracy does not help to much and requires the regular replacement of parts

[@trishooty4513]

+Andre Krumins Not to mention the slide is mostly riding on the polymer frame.. Steel on plastic is a disaster waiting to happen..

[@eddiemadethisasmr]

Could you put a 6 pound spring into the gun and still have it work?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Not sure. It might work, but it might not drive the striker hard enough to reliable ignite primers. I'm not sure exactly how Colt engineered that change.

[@suhairumansukaimi8498]

Outstanding n intuitive input on the handgun

[@intsccents]

So yep I have one of these pistols I once had to send it to colt to reassemble it for me after tearing it down to be cleaned even the range I was at could not get it back together...though this vlog seems to make it look simple... I would have been better off with a revolver but some how this gun appealed to me at the time an American gun that functioned like a zig thought I would keep an American classic alive but now really don't use it and almost forgot about it I have to say one thing its a nicely weighted gun maybe one day it will be a collectors item and a lesson on what you do not do to a good designed weapon and alter the original concept to please others...

[@FandCCD]

You’re in Arizona in this video. Where are you based?

[@ben41281]

At a recent gun show, I saw 3 at different tables. Kind should have bought one, as it is kind of an interesting part of Colt's history.

[@manfredrichthofen2494]

The rotating barrel locking system in this Colt All American is reminiscent,if not a direct copy of the 1944 9mm Walther Volks Pistole..a last ditch effort by the German Army to equipt its soldiers with mass produced pistol.

[@jets1230]

They made a few aluminum frame models in the beginning that where descent. I had the poly frame and it worked just rough trigger on them

[@mikewilburn5884]

Outstanding. Colt reinventing the wheel. I want one.

[@DudeNumberOnePlus]

Any idea how much it is now? (i quess only collectors are interested)

[@darthhodges]

You can HEAR the grit in that trigger pull in your video. This is especially sad because I would love to see a nice, straight pull trigger, striker fired gun that doesn't fail and this concept for a straight pull trigger looks like it could be made into something awesome. It's too bad that Hudson (a more recent straight pull trigger, striker fired gun) went bankrupt as I never got to try one and I certainly won't be able to afford one if I ever see a working one for sale.

[@TheXtro101]

I remember this pistol reviewed in an issue of Guns&Ammo magazine and afew other firearm magazines between 1991-'92.

[@williamsullivan9401]

I examined one that a friend had inherited. Squeeze the trigger, and it wouldn't fire when the trigger hit the rear stop. You had to pull it through rather quickly and firmly to make it fire. I told him it was worth about $200, and I may have over valued it.

[@d0j0w0]

What did the Colt safety recall correct and how? In 10 words or less.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+d0j0w0 Offhand, I don't know. Google probably does. (seven words!)

[@TheMichigankommando]

Firing if the gun was dropped or hit hard enough.

[@d0j0w0]

Thanks, I'll try not to drop one.

[@kenibnanak5554]

"A blow to the rear of the slide whle a round is in the chamber can cause the pistol to discharge." All-American double action pistols with serial numbers: Letter A prefix or suffix RA01001 - RA01052 RK00001 - RK03000 RM01001 - RM01005 PF01005 - PF24248That's a bunch of em.

[@d0j0w0]

Thanks

[@Grodd70]

I remember when this gun came out, it was touted as being very "high tech" with rotating barrel, ball bearing trigger and a grip that was supposed to be designed for perfect ergonomics. Then you looked at it and looks like it was beat with an ugly stick. The trigger I remember picking up on at a gun show had the longest travel ever "are we there yet". This thing went over like "new Coke".

[@leroyjenkins4811]

I heard CZ just purchased Colt. Maybe CZ can actually help Colt to design something other than a 1911 for once. Colt has been relying on 1911’s and military contracts for far too long and they haven’t been innovative in years. Nobody wants a 1911 for military use and the AR-15/M-16/M-4 went into public domain years ago so practically anybody can make them without having to pay royalties to Colt. This merger is a good thing. Maybe Colt will start paying attention to the civilian concealed carry market for once, a market that’s way larger than just about all the military contracts combined. That would mean a lot of business in the Czech Republic and the US.

[@CaptainRon956]

All it takes is one slightly out of spec part and you have a 1 gen Remington R51 on your hands. Overly engineered. A Kel Tec P-32 in comparison is ridiculously simple, but it works.

[@mnharris10]

Its too bad. I've always liked the feel and slimness of the pistol. You'd think Colt would figure out a way to re engineer the gun and make it work. Colt still has brand recognition and the polymer pistol market is booming. A great American company working really hard to go the way of the dodo.

[@alisterbadal2881]

My colt 2000 wont rest i only gets to fire 1 round, does any one knows about it that can help me. Please.

[@thepinms]

I am wondering was this gun purely a civilian design or was it designed with military applications in mind?

[@gunner678]

Can it be adjusted?

[@jeremyphelps3806]

I would love to see you perspective on the smith & wesson sw99

[@unspokentruths6416]

I really hate how so many new pistols are polymer framed and striker fired with polygonal rifling, just about every new pistol is a Glock knock off in some way or another. Then just about every other design that involves a metal frame and is hammer fired is a Browning locked breech, 1911 knock off in some way or another. I wish more companies would invest in developing a hammer fired, metal frame (aluminum or titanium, titanium would be cool to see) designs with a locking/delaying mechanism that is different and offers some benefits over the Browning locking mechanism, just about every pistol uses it weather it be a 1911 or a Glock varient/knock off.

[@karlslicher8520]

My crossbow has a 12lb draw weight at the crank and only a slightly slower follow up shot.

[@chrisloUSA]

It's really sad how Colt decided to totally avoid double stacked, striker fired pistols after their failures. How a company like Colt can screw up such a design is disturbing considering how Smith and Wesson then Ruger went on to make highly successful striker fired pistols.

[@jeremiahcherry5283]

I had the opportunity to play with one of these today from a collector. The trigger is truly terrible in terms of the length.. my god.. it just takes forever for it to break. But still a neat rare find (locally)

[@tbjtbj4786]

It was the one colt I remember being non- approved for duty use by our SD.

[@BigSwede7403]

I remember reading about this in... i think it was Guns and Ammo... back in the early 90´s. Rave reviews and all. Then an add campaign for a few months, then it got quiet.

[@DanielMartinez-lz3ot]

when are you gonna do a show on the Ruger p-85/89?

[@Mildcat743]

So basically its a lower quality striker fired Steyr Hahn?