Thompson Center Warranty

eugene nagel said:

Don't blame Smith & Wesson, Their smart in not continuing with T.C. side locks,nice looking guns but not quality. Companies out there were making replacement parts such as barrels, trigger sets, & lock assemblies. What company would want to take over a a life time warranty a definite looser.

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I Humbly dissagree. The T/C Sidelocks were a quality product. Fact is, they were one of the top rated production muzzleloaders in the days before "inlines" were invented.

Yes, companies out there were making replacement parts such as barrels (Green River, for one used to make drop in barrels that allowed shooters to not only change caliber but barrel length and twist as well. You could also use the drop-in barrels to switch from percussion to flint or flint to percussion if you had the approprite lock.)

The factory T/C sidelock used a coil main spring.
Most (if not all) replacement locks use(d) a standard flat main spring.
The L&R lock, for example, was considered an upgrade on looks and because it had a flat mainspring rather than that (then) "newfangled" coil mainspring.
Many back in the day bought a "replacement" lock to switch between percussion and flint ignition.

Yes, there were companies that made upgraded replacement triggers for the T/C sidelock rifles. Just as there are companies today that make upgraded trigger assemblies for the most popular bolt action rifles.

Upgraded sights be they open or peep were also made for the T/C Hawken and Renegade, among others.
So what? Lyman still makes a tang mount peep sight for vintage and current Winchester and Marlin lever actions, and several popular vintage and current bolt action rifles.

Just because aftermarket parts are available for a firearm doesn't mean there is anything "wrong" with the quality of the arm or the design.
Heck, just look at all the aftermarket parts available for the AR series rifles and the Colt 1911 pistol. Not because the design or quality is faulty, but to personalize it.

I have a bone stock .54 caliber T/C "Hawken" rifle. (percussion) from the the 1980's possibly earlier.
I sent the serial number to T/C to find out when it was built. Unfortunately, those records were lost when the plant burned down in the early/mid 1990's

While my rifle is "accutate enough" with PRB for hunting, I would love to find a drop-in 28 to 33 inch barrel with a slow 1:60 to 1:70 twist for round ball.
I intend to upgrade to a Lyman #17 Globe front sight, and either a Vernier tang sight with a 3 to 6 inch leaf, or a Lyman #57 tang sight.
So what? My eyesight ain't what it used to be. A peep sight is easier for me to use.
I refuse to put a scope on. If for no other reason than it looks out of place, and scopes are prohibited during the muzzleloader only hunting seasons here in Idaho. (So are "inline muzzleloaders" (which I don't care for or want anyway) and 209 primers.)

Who knows? I might even add a few brass tacks and make a couple brass inlays for it.

Nothing to do with the warranty, but I too have a T/C rifle built from a kit, so there was no warranty from the beginning. I added the T/C Vernier peep sight and globe front sight. These look fitting for the rifle and I do have a better sight picture even though the Lyman receiver peep sight is a better sight.

Pete G said:

Lifetime warranty from a dead company.........

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It was a lifetime warranty....THEIR lifetime.

Let's remember that T/C factory suffered a huge fire -- almost like a geological boundary where the fossils above differ from the those below, many T/C models trace their end to that event. I have both a .58 Firehawk and .58 Scout carbine - both pre-fire firearms. Both had problems when I purchased them from individuals, and T/C repaired both of them no cost - those in the last couple of years.

I understand SW dropping the lifetime warranty, they had no hand in these guns production, I found the later ones I bought were junk. The last one I bought had the lock inlet filled with hot melt glue to make the lock fit.

I had a friend take over a failing bow making business, the original owner had taken money for orders and walked away stiffing the customers.

The new owner was an honest man and made up all these backorders on his dime, claims came out of the woodwork moe than he expected. This put him in in the red and he never recovered.

Grenadier1758 said:

Nothing to do with the warranty, but I too have a T/C rifle built from a kit, so there was no warranty from the beginning. I added the T/C Vernier peep sight and globe front sight. These look fitting for the rifle and I do have a better sight picture even though the Lyman receiver peep sight is a better sight.
View attachment 17413

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Having no control over the barrel finishing processes were why kits weren’t covered. Later ones when they started having the parts already blued from the factory were covered.

eugene nagel said:

Don't blame Smith & Wesson, Their smart in not continuing with T.C. side locks,nice looking guns but not quality. Companies out there were making replacement parts such as barrels, trigger sets, & lock assemblies. What company would want to take over a a life time warranty a definite looser.

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S + W lacks any integrity, and has no honor. They caved in to the Clinton gun grabbers in the 1990s.

I've owned a number of TC hawkens and renegades and have had zero problems. Reliable, and accurate if you worked up a load.

Further, when TC was running the show, their customer service and warranty were second to none. New parts free if needed and warranty transferable.

That said I do have GM barrels. Some for faster twist to shoot conicals, and others slow twist for RBs. The 1-66 TC barrels have deep rifling and are excellent for RBs, but hard to acquire/find.

For those bashing Smith and Wesson get your story straight about Smith and Wesson. The owners of Smith and Wesson during the Clinton years are NO LONGER are the owners now. Because of the decisions made by the people that ran Smith and Wesson during the Clinton years, the Owners and Stock Holders at that time lost A LOT of money because of the lack of gun sales, when gun owners turned against them, because of the agreement that was made with the Federal Government. Saf-T-Hammer Corporation purchased Smith and Wesson in "2001". So what was Smith and Wesson during Clinton, IS NOT the Smith and Wesson of now. The new owners have tried to bury what the old owners did, by being Pro Gun Owner and not pawns for the Federal Government. If you don't believe me it is easily looked up. Just Google "When was the last time Smith and Wesson was sold." The Smith and Wesson Firearms Company has been bought and sold more than once. It was the old owners fault that they caved in to the government at that time you should be blaming, not the present owners. so if you are going to bash get your story straight. DANNY

Danny Ross said:

For those bashing Smith and Wesson get your story straight about Smith and Wesson. The owners of Smith and Wesson during the Clinton years are NO LONGER are the owners now. Because of the decisions made by the people that ran Smith and Wesson during the Clinton years, the Owners and Stock Holders at that time lost A LOT of money because of the lack of gun sales, when gun owners turned against them, because of the agreement that was made with the Federal Government. Saf-T-Hammer Corporation purchased Smith and Wesson in "2001". So what was Smith and Wesson during Clinton, IS NOT the Smith and Wesson of now. The new owners have tried to bury what the old owners did, by being Pro Gun Owner and not pawns for the Federal Government. If you don't believe me it is easily looked up. Just Google "When was the last time Smith and Wesson was sold." The Smith and Wesson Firearms Company has been bought and sold more than once. It was the old owners fault that they caved in to the government at that time you should be blaming, not the present owners. so if you are going to bash get your story straight. DANNY

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So are they the same SOBs/skunks/rats , without morals, scruples, and honor, that left TC owners high and dry without a warranty?

I can still get my Craftsman tools warranteed!

I won't buy another thing from those POSs. Good they are not gun grabbers anymore, but a turd is a turd and they STILL STINK like feces!!!

Hey Guys,

It's the way of the day, build it cheap and keep changing it so the public has to replace it.
We see it in Automobiles and everything else, even Computers. You don't have to like it, it's just the way it is.

AntiqueSledMan.

Wow...

Mad Professor said:

So are they the same SOBs/skunks/rats , without morals, scruples, and honor, that left TC owners high and dry without a warranty?

I can still get my Craftsman tools warranteed!

I won't buy another thing from those POSs. Good they are not gun grabbers anymore, but a turd is a turd and they STILL STINK like feces!!!

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I believe the “guaranteed for life” that Craftsman tools used to offer is no longer honored.

Dwight Rutherford said:

I believe the “guaranteed for life” that Craftsman tools used to offer is no longer honored.

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Local Lowe’s says they will honor Craftsman guarantee.

Mad Professor said:

So are they the same SOBs/skunks/rats , without morals, scruples, and honor, that left TC owners high and dry without a warranty?

I can still get my Craftsman tools warranteed!

won't buy another thing from those POSs. Good they are not gun grabbers anymore, but a turd is a turd and they STILL STINK like feces!!!

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Why do you seem to think when an owner sells a company the buyer HAS TO honor the previous owners warrenty? If parts are not being made and haven't been made for years for TC Sidelock rifles, how is the company that now owns Thompson Center now, supposed to warranty that item??? If memory serves me right, the fire at Thompson Center took out most of the area where Sidelocks were made. "Thompson Center" did nothing to try and rebuild those machines after the fire that made the parts for their Sidelock Rifles. Thompson Center at that time had the Contender out and had just brought out the Encore and other Inline rifles so that is where they put their efforts because that was where the demand was. Why would Smith and Wesson rebuild machines just to make warranty parts for Sidelocks, when the original parent company they purchased had no intentions to do so? Thompson Center KNEW they couldn't recoup their money if they did rebuild those machines, because the trend was changing in what the Muzzleloader buyer wanted. Soooo the only warranty parts available were the ones that existed before the fire and when those were gone, that was it. I got the very last Left Hand breech plug Fox Ridge Outfitters had, to put together a barrel for me after the fire. I had put off buying a 54cal 1:66 twist left hand barrel, when I heard about the fire months after it happen, I when into panic mode. When I first called they said they didn't have any and my heart sunk. Then I got a phone call from them a day or two later and they asked if I still wanted a barrel put together because they found ONE. You are bad mouthing a company who had nothing to do with the original decision not to rebuild the machines that made the parts. A business does not for fork out that much cash to rebuild something they know they can't make money on (old owners or new), especially just for replacement/warranty parts and it was not what the buying community was now wanting. You wouldn't do it as a business owner, because you'd lose everything you put into it, because you couldn't recoup the cost of rebuilding all the machines that made all of those parts. So in reality "Thompson Center's Lifetime Warranty" didn't really mean anything to Thompson Center after the fire, because they couldn't do anything to honor it. DANNY

Danny, well said!

A slight correction. I worked for T/C in the repair dept. In the late 1980's. I lived in the area when the fire happened. The only major damage was to the wood shop, as far as I know the foundry was untouched.
T/C went downhill big time when they were sold to Greg Ritz. He was more interested in doing hunting shows and trips than building fine hunting arms.
Ken French was the driving force to make a quality product when I worked there. When S&W bought out Ritz, we all new the end was in sight. I still hunt with a T/C rifle, and expect it to last a long time.

I beg to differ with you on that last statement,,Ive taken more game with a Hawken .50 cal than the law probably allows,,Ill still shoot the pants off most any rifle with it,

Correction,,not the last statement, just the ones before

i bought eight t/c hawken kits at auction. the auctioneer started rushing the bids after the owner of the guns left , because of illness . I got eight kits for $550. t/c was the industry standard for muzzleloading rifles. most of the ones I have picked up , have tight metal to wood fits and the accuracy , seems to come normal . their customer support at one time was second to no one. pity times change.

Dwight Rutherford said:

I believe the “guaranteed for life” that Craftsman tools used to offer is no longer honored.

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Not since Sears was taken over by Kmart, and Craftsman tools were sold at Kmart.

(Kmart is closing all their remaining stores now, too.)