And so ends the saga.
Everyone remember C.O. Arms? The new 1911 fabricator right here in the Patron State of Shooting Stuff that, at least according to them, made the awesomest 1911s the world had ever seen?
Yeah, their webpage domain registration has expired (at the beginning of this month… apparently you can “backorder” it through GoDaddy for about $21), their Millington-local phone number is disconnected, no one is picking up on their Seattle-area-code number, and their Facebook page has not been updated since June of last year (not that it was much to begin with).
Whoops.
On the one hand, I am sad to see any business fail these days, especially one dedicated to producing one of the more-attractive (in my opinion) handguns ever to roll off an assembly line, and doubly especially given that the company in question was based in Tennessee. I would have loved for them to succeed, but…
On the other hand, success hinges on good products and ethical business practices, and, from what I have experienced and read, C.O. Arms failed on both counts. Far be it for me to put all of my eggs in the baskets of Internet Experts, but the reviews of their 1911s were less than positive across the board (Full-auto for the last four rounds? Really?), and you already know my concerns about their advertising methods.
In the end, it would appear as though no number of purchased press releases or “reviews” would save C.O. Arms from sub-standard products and a lousy first impression… but you would think that went without saying, would you not?
(This post courtesy of commenter Stan.)
I recall reading somewhere online recently that one of these fairly new 1911 manufactures was owned by a felon and somehow by owning a gun company he was able to get around the problems of felons possessing firearms. Is C.O. Arms the same company?
Nope, that would be Detonics and Victory Arms, though it seems as though that situation is… complicated.
I would like to know what happened to CO Arms. I spent a lot of time talking with Tom C about a variety of topics. We were discussing, among other things, the possibility of me working for them as a sales rep. I was very impressed with Tom’s love for the 1911 platform and passion for making a quality product. I never doubted the integrity of Tom or his product. Tom was very hands on with his product and he was hard to nail down for a chat but we usually found time late at night when he pulled himself out of the processing center. He was driven to make a 100% quality product and he knew his product from the ground, up. He didn’t leave a college with an opinion of how to make it, he made them from hands on experience from years of making them. I have a single digit serial number from his previous company, DGS Custom Gunsmithing. I purchased the frame only. I built my own 1911 with it. It is only a frame but that’s how I first got in contact with Tom.
Tom and I differed on his sales and marketing decisions. That happens in a professional environment. I have the utmost respect for Tom, Dee and his staff but they did fall off the face of the earth since the Gun Digest review last June. I am worried for the man, not the company. I hope it is not health related. He has not answered my emails to him though they did not come back as undeliverable. It was his personal email address so that is still active. I wish Tom and his family the best of luck. I hope he resurfaces and continues his dream. There is no doubt in my mind that when he finds the right formula for success that he will succeed. Until then I hope he’s fine.
Thanks for the update, Larry… I, too, hope nothing untoward happened to Tom.
I ordered a 1911 Scorpion from Tom back in Aug 2010 for about 900.00. When I received the box of parts from him. Nothing fit! The firing pin was too large to even fit in the hole. There was no rear site in the box. I called and spoke with Dee and she said she would send it to me. I never received it! I later spoke with Tom about the laundry list of things that were WRONG with the BOX of PARTS as Tom called it. I told him I wanted my money back because this gun and what he sold me ie., himself and a faulty gun. He said I don’t have the money. He never did repair the gun or refund my money. To date I have not heard anything from him or Dee. The information below is what I’ve located on him or whats left of his company and contact information. The e-mail is apparently still good and i did receive an automated reply saying Tom would personally reply withing 24 hours. I still haven’t heard from the THIEF!! I cant tell you how many e-mails and text messages Ive sent to him.
I wish I had never done any business with a THIEF and a DISHONEST person like Tom Cantrell and Dee Newman. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
DGC CUSTOM GUNSMITHING ,INC /C.O. ARMS
http://www.dgccustomgunsmithing.com/Home_Page.php
Tom@dgccustomgunsmithing.com
Thanks for commenting on this, Colt45… Is there any chance I could get you to send me some pictures of what you did receive? linoge (at) wallsofthecity (dot) net. And have you considered the possibilities of small claims courts, given that you were sold something that does not match how it was advertised? Conversely, if you used a credit card to purchase it, that company should be willing to assist you in getting your money back.
It sucks that C.O. Arms screwed up this badly to begin with, but selling customers disfunctional guns is pretty much beyond the pale.