It Looks Like Thompson/Center Arms is Getting a Reboot
The Thompson/Center Contender and Encore were legendary in their day…then S&W bought the company in 2006
Billed as “America’s Master Gunmaker,” the iconic firearms brand that dates to 1965 is once again independent and has big plans for the future.
Outdoor industry figure Gregg Ritz announced last Monday that he had acquired Thompson/Center Arms and plans to “reinvigorate the brand and its legacy in the firearms market.” Ritz was previously the CEO of the company before 2007.
Thompson/Center was founded 59 years ago in Rochester, New Hampshire, and over the decades has concentrated on single-shot pistols, rifles, carbines, and shotguns as well as muzzleloaders and the short-lived R-55 series semi-auto rimfire rifle.
Since it was acquired by Smith & Wesson in 2006 and gradually moved production to Springfield, Massachusetts, T/C expanded its catalog to produce bolt-action rifles such as the Compass, Dimension, Icon, and Venture lines, but seemingly cut back on production.
In 2007, ATF figures list T/C in its heyday as producing 9,375 pistols and 47,564 rifles. By 2011, with T/C’s guns after that being folded into S&W’s figures, the ATF detailed that production had declined to just 330 pistols and 31,708 rifles.
In 2019, Thompson/Center reentered semi-auto rimfire rifle production with the new T/C R22 series rifles.
However, after S&W split from its parent company, American Outdoor Brands Corporation, five years ago and began to blaze a new trail for itself that cumulated in shifting its headquarters from Massachusetts to more gun-friendly Tennessee, T/C kind of fell by the wayside to the extent that Smith announced the subsidiary was for sale in 2021.
Now, with Ritz in the driver’s seat and operations shifted to Wabash, Indiana, the company’s website and social media feed showed new activity this week for the first time in months.
