Hunters HD Gold Behind the Lens

Hunters HD Gold Behind the Lens 297 – Episode 297 Hunters HD Gold, Behind the Lens LIVE with Mark Redl with Colt Firearms
August 12, 2026
00:0000:00

Hunters HD Gold Behind the Lens 297 – Episode 297 Hunters HD Gold, Behind the Lens LIVE with Mark Redl with Colt Firearms

Now playing Hunters HD Gold Behind the Lens 297 – Episode 297 Hunters HD Gold, Behind the Lens LIVE with Mark Redl with Colt Firearms
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Brian sits down with Mark Redl for a look at his journey from running a family auto salvage business to becoming one of the longest-tenured figures on the Colt shooting team. Mark got his first handgun in 1981 and discovered competition shooting as a way to keep his defensive skills sharp. Nineteen years ago, a conversation at SHOT Show led to him shooting for Colt, and eleven years ago Paul Patale brought him on full-time as product manager. Over the years he served as law enforcement manager, worked closely with engineers on the return of the snake guns (Cobra, Python, King Cobra, and Anaconda), and became the primary firearms tester at Colt’s facility, once putting 1,000 rounds through an Anaconda in a single day. Mark walked through how the new snake guns kept the retro exterior while modernizing the internals with a V-spring action, better metallurgy, and a machine-fitted hand that produces consistent trigger pulls. He also discussed Colt’s transition after the CZ UB acquisition, which brought financial stability, new machinery, and modernization while leaving Colt’s leadership, heritage, and Hartford location intact. Other topics included his years running the shooting team (from Maggie Reese through Wyatt Gibson and the Williams sisters), Colt’s relationships with law enforcement agencies like NYPD ESU and LAPD SWAT, the manufacturing of the M4 (he recently held serial number 1,000,000), Academy graduation 1911s, single action army production tied to SASS, and the challenges of finding shooters willing to run single-stack 1911s. Mark also shared thoughts on the state of competition shooting, the aging demographic in USPSA, and the need for organizations like NSSF to develop a “first competition” program alongside their first shot initiative. He closed by confirming interesting things coming across all three product lines at the next SHOT Show and offered to send the Colt Python giveaway directly to the winner’s FFL.

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