Thompson Center Warranty

[Barrie Dale]

Most of my shooters use the T/C brand rifles in our club. They all shoot well and are easy to maintain as well.

 

[SamTex1949]

LOWES covers and provides CRAFTMAN now.
"
Lowe's® Is Your Home For Craftsman
The CRAFTSMAN warranty is a dedication to a lifetime of quality and service for ...
Lifetime Warranty · New Home Of Craftsman"

 

[MSW]

way back in the long- ago, I contacted T/C to see if I could get a spare frizzen from them, rather than going to an "aftermarket" product .. concern over the fit, etc. T/C frizzens seems to not last too well. and I was running a Lyman, which fit and worked OK, but the color was a bit different (as if I worried that someone would approach me on the range one day and insult the color of my frizzen … well, anyway) ...

the nice lady asked if it was an old or a new style lock, and I admitted that it was an old one, and she told me to just send it in and they'd replace the whole thing. that was on a Monday. On Tuesday, I put the old one in the mail, and on Friday, there was a brand new lock, a spare frizzen and some extra flint leathers, too. The postage was, if I remember correctly, about six or seven bucks.

Dang! I miss the old days!

 

[30coupe]

Years ago, I bought a TC Contender frame from a guy at a gun show for $25. He said the frame was stretched. I bought a .221 fireball barrel for it that I reamed to .223 and it worked just fine, but when I tried to fit a .44 mag barrel, it would not latch. I called TC and they gave me an address to send the frame and barrel. Two days later I got a call from them that the frame was very old and could not be made to work with the newer barrel, so they were sending me a new frame at no charge! That was customer service! As far as I know, no other gun company did that. On the other hand, TC is no longer in business per se either.

I don't blame S&W for not honoring the warranty on out of production guns they didn't even build, nor can one fault them for buying TC. It's okay to miss the old days, but it's not realistic to think change won't happen. I miss my brown hair and beard too, but neither is coming back...dammit!

 

[Griz44Mag]

It's okay to miss the old days, but it's not realistic to think change won't happen. I miss my brown hair and beard too, but neither is coming back...dammit!

You know you are getting old when..................
The good old days (which they weren't really) seem better than the days ahead.

 

[LeonardC]

I miss the good old days! I have three T/C firearms. They all fit a certain nitch that I needed to fill. One of the reasons for buying T/C was the lifetime warranty.
The Contender was sent in to be upgraded to the easy-open...don't remember if they charged for that.
TCR87 I wish I'd sent in for the magnum upgrade. I bought the frame and my new Wife bought me a custom .270 barrel for it. Still have the barrel and the Wife! I bought a rifle sighted shotgun barrel from the custom shop long after they'd stopped making barrels; most important still they had a handguard for it. They were very nice people to deal with!
I'd bought a LH .54 Renegade long ago. Thank goodness I had the foresight and $ to buy most of the things I need to shoot it at the same time. I just drug it out and started shooting it so I can qualify for putting in for a special moose tag.
I do miss knowing that I could get them repaired if something should break. Wish I'd bought more parts and accessories when T/C was around.

T/C Arms claims a legacy back to 1970 on their current web page.

Alaska is short on a lot of stores but Wasilla still has a Sears so my Craftsman tools are still covered.

 

[good ole boy]

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

100% Wrong.T/C made sidelocks for many years after the fire.They came out with the Firestorm many years after the fire and their Custom Shop was also makin Custom Hawkins and Rennies in alot of different barrel lengths and cals.The Rennie was bein built on special Custom orders many years after it was dropped from production when only the Hawkin and Firestorm were the only two that were offered over the counter.Itwas not to many years ago that the Hawkin was dropped and not offered.Can,t remember if it was before the sale to S&W or after.

 

[Buzzard II]

Track of the Wolf (TOTW) has replacement locks (L&R Locks) that are better (faster) than T/C. You will have to do a small amount of inletting to clear the main spring (leaf instead of coil) but they send directions and it's easy. Replacement triggers are also available from them and they are better than stock too. Good luck.
Bob

 

[waarp8nt]

I was in Menards the other day and they carry Craftsman tools. The Craftsman tools they carried were made in China. Ratchets, sockets and many other items I picked up. Not sure I would want to trade my American made tools for China made tools.

 

[SDSmlf]

Interesting and 'insightful' observations from those bashing S&W for not honoring old TC warrantee after they purchased what assets were left of TC from the previous owners.

Reminds me of a dispute over hunting property that I was somewhat involved with a while back. A large track of land came on the market and a group I know wanted to purchase it. A few, including myself, committed to leasing (paying for) hunting rights for a few years if the group went through with the purchase, which they did. Turns out a previous owner, who had passed away nearly 10 years prior (his heirs where the ones who sold the property) had 'promised' some neighboring property owners they would always be able to hunt the property as long as they would help keep trails clear. These folks were relentless in their perceived right to hunt the property with the new owners. There were structures/cabins on the property with no trespassing signs and the neighbor's name on them. Law enforcement was called numerous times. Personally, never felt safe on the property and bailed on the lease commitment, although I let the new owners keep the money I had paid them. Neighbors continue to hunt property as 'traditional family hunting property'. Law enforcement stated game camera photos were not sufficient to make arrest and it was up to landowners to police there property.

My question. Previous owner made a promise. Previous owner sells property/assets. Does this commit all future owners to commitment? Are all future owners 'SOBs/skunks/rats' if they refuse to commit?

 

[shdwlkr]

LOWES covers and provides CRAFTMAN now.
"
Lowe's® Is Your Home For Craftsman
The CRAFTSMAN warranty is a dedication to a lifetime of quality and service for ...
Lifetime Warranty · New Home Of Craftsman"

Ace hardware also sells craftsman products, sears sold the name craftsman to try and stay afloat

 

[ugly old guy]

You know you are getting old when..................
The good old days (which they weren't really) seem better than the days ahead.

You also are getting "old" when you realize you were there "in the good old days" that young "people" reminisce about.

I remember when $2 was enough for a loaf of Wonder Bread (generic/store brand bread had not been invented yet) a gallon of milk, a standard size Hershey Bar, a 12 ounce bottle of soda, AND the nickle deposit in the bottle.

I remember paying 19.9 cents a gallon for regular leaded gasoline ... and a little less during the "gas wars" the service stations had back then.
(My Great Grandfather remembered paying 3.9 cents a gallon for the same thing.)

I remember when you got gas for your car you were not permitted to put it in your car yourself, and the service station attendent (known as a "gas pump jockey") washed your windshield and checked your oil -- at no extra cost when you got gas.
I rememember when that $1.29 Nestle Crunch bar or Hershey Bar cost 5 cents.

I remember when it cost less than $10 to fill your 25 or 30 gallon gas tank when you were "running on fumes".

I remember walking to and from school 5 miles each way through 6 foot deep snow ... UPHILL BOTH WAYS ...

Ahh for the "good old days" ...

 

[FishDFly]

Whining about T/C Life Time Warranty is like crying about a Studebaker Warranty.

Put the "Big Boys Depends on", get over it.

Think about it.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Funny what had fallen from popularity is now back in demand.
SM

 

[sawyer04]

Their smart in not continuing with T.C. side locks,nice looking guns but not quality

Thompson Center has been disappointing to me as far as the locks go. I purchased a 50 cal. last fall. The flintlock is junk. Just replaced it with the old reliable leaf spring lock. It is of vintage: so the barrel is of original manufacture. The old gun is accurate and reliable after the lock change. That lifetime warranty thing, NAW.
Blue Loctite is great stuff if the threads aren't stripped or stripping out. Sometimes they have to be rethreaded.
I have never had a problem with the cap lock Thompson's, not to say there isn't any, but the flint lock was just not the quality.

 

[Barrie Dale]

I also remember those low prices back in the 50's and 60's for those food stuffs. We still find the Thompson Center rifles to be of good quality and recommend them to all of our new members. Price wise used they are hard to beat.

 

[Critter Getter]

I purchased a TC Cherokee kit years ago. Finished it nicely, shot a couple of deer with it and sold it to a friend of mine to help get him into muzzleloaders. While I owned it I had problem with hammer blow back with just 60 grains of powder and a maxi ball or maxi hunter. I sent the gun back to TC and after having it a week they sent it back saying they couldn’t get it to blowback and there wasn’t a problem. It continued to do it just about most every shot with the maxi bullets. I lost a lot of respect for their warranty service department at that time. Still can’t figure out why they didn’t fix such an obvious problem. With that said I own several TC sidekicks and enjoy them all!! Greg

 

[Mad Professor]

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

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

Lots of places are still selling Craftsman tools, and they still honor warranty.

But the replacements are Chi-Com

 

[bore_butter]

if you ever have to remove that little screw after it has had loctite applied, set a hot soldering iron on the screw head and once the screw has been heated it will make extraction much easier.

 

[rusticbob]

First, how did this subject change to Craftsmans tool warrantee?
Second I worked for T/C in there repair dept in the late 1980's, repairing muzzleloaders. I never saw a muzzleloader come in for repair that was not fixed, or replaced. We were told that if there was any question about safety, to just replace the part. A blown back hammer only has a few causes. The main cause is a worn out or burnt out nipple, which would allow too much gas to blow back. A weak hammer spring could also cause that, but I never saw that happen on any T/C muzzleloader that I worked on. That coil spring is foolproof, and I never ever replaced one except for rust and corrosion.
I have seen barrels that were not cleaned properly and had a rough spot just ahead of the powder charge. Unless you swab between shots, crud can build up and cause an overpressure situation. I would take a wild guess that this was "critter getters" problem.
When I worked there, all the repairmen were hunters or shooters and we tried very hard to satisfy every customer, even the "experts".