I was told by a Vender at the gun show today that if you sent you smokepole back for warranty work T/C will not return your muzzle loader back to you but instead send a check for $150.
I have not checked further into this but did want to put it out there for you guys with T/C Muzzle loaders to check into.
je suis charlie
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they would make money on that one. ill buy thompson hawkens for 150 dollars.
I've heard that about contenders.
About a month ago I sent a TC Renegade in for a broken fly. They wanted the complete rifle. They paid shipping both ways. I got it back about a week ago with the fly repaired and a very nice trigger job.
Also a friend sent his late 70’s Contender in about 6 months ago and it was also repaired to his satisfaction.
We are both very happy with the service and there was never a mention of them keeping the firearm and sending a check. Unless both parties agree that would not be legal.
Might not be legal, but there is always the small print we "agree to" and never read when we (I) send stuff back for repair. I hear if you make the mistake of mailing a Ruger BH in 357 Maximum in for factory repair, you will likely never see it again, for example. I have heard T/C service is lacking since S&W took over. Don't know. I try to keep my Contender running on my own.Originally Posted by M-Tecs
their are so many thompson rifles taken apart and sold piece by piece on the internet that it makes it easy to fix one yourself. ive got a couple of extra locks and several tangs and renagade butt plates that im good for quite a while. i think m-tecs may be right, they cant just keep a gun and send a non negotiated check. on the other hand stranger things are happening to day.
To me a lifetime warranty means a lifetime. I am a part time gunsmith and a can repair almost any issue but if I have a lifetime warranty and the manufacture with do it for free I will take that route.
Once again S&W paid shipping both ways. I don’t know what more I could asked of them. Before I send anything in I always asked who pays shipping, what happens to any non-OEM or modified parts on the firearm and what happens if they can’t or won’t repair the firearm.
A couple of years ago I had an issue with a Taurus. They would repair it but shipping was on me to them. It was cheaper for me to purchase the part than to pay shipping so I repaired it myself. It was also the last Taursus I will ever purchase.
The S&W service was 100% free, fast and very well done. Ruger is very upfront about returning firearms 100% OEM. No fine print with them about that.
I only have the one experience with S&W but the service was outstanding.
for their traditional styled muzzleloaders a lot depends on if they have any parts left in heir dwindlin' inventory as they're not makin' any more of them. which mostly means if a "hawken" part won't fit yer pretty much outta luck. I've heard the tales of them sendin' meager checks for guns they no longer have parts for but no personal experience. there is a cougar on gunbroker that got sent back with a cracked stock. it was replaced with a hawken stock with brass trim & he didn't get his stainless parts back. he's now callin' it a "one of a kind custom gun".
Here is my personal experience from June, 2013:
After hearing so much jibber-jabber about S&W's support ( or lack thereof..) for Thompson Center products I called them to ask about it when I needed a part for a 1970's vintage flintlock. The very nice lady I spoke to told me that they definitely were supporting the lifetime warranty and provided me with everything I needed to send the broken lock in. The really good news is that since that original lock was produced, the design has been updated a couple of times to improve it. Rather than replacing the broken part on my old lock, they sent me a brand new one, of the newest design. They paid the freight both ways, took a little over a week from the time I sent mine to them, until I had the replacement in my hand.
A MOST satisfactory experience.
A friend sent his two locks in recently as they had parts wear that made them unsafe. Both were returned promptly and fully repaired.
Most people would sooner die than think, in fact, they do so. -B. Russell
What seems to be the trouble with the Hawken?
If you are pretty sure it is covered under the warranty, best thing to do is call or write TC (866-730-1614; tca_customerservice@tcarms.com). I've spoken with their customer service folks many times, very friendly and helpful. I never heard the $150 check story before, sounds like a bunch of hooey to me.
A couple years ago, the problem with Hawken warranty work was that TC stopped making parts when their manufacturing facility was being moved and for quite a while there just weren't any parts available. I don't know if that is still the case. As mentioned above, there are parts available all over the internet.
oh, and, you probably know this already, but, beware gun show know-it-alls. I'm thinking about printing up a bunch of business cards that read "BULLS_ _ _!" just so I can give them to self-appointed experts at gun shows.
I posted this on another thread here, so forgive me if that isn't appropriate...just thought I'd see if anyone else was having the same problems with Thompson Warranty service? My 1980-vintage Hawken started shooting 10" groups before this hunting season (probably less than 200 rounds down the pipe in its lifetime and always kept meticulously clean). T/C said "send in the whole rifle". 2 weeks later I received it back with a broken rear sight (in a bag), gun was disassembled and with new scratches - and their response was " there are no parts available...we can't help you". The main guy I spoke to after multiple calls sure was apologetic - and friendly - but said I was just out of luck. Couldn't they have just stated that before ruining my rifle? I offered to buy a BRAND new one or something similar (since mine with the lifetime warrantly is USELESS now) if they could give me a discount, but he said they had no kind of policy to allow that. EVERY time I've sent an item in with a lifetime warranty, they at least try to sell you a new one or something similar...
WORST customer service I've experience, and it makes me thankful for companies like Ruger who honor their warranties. So I bought the sight repair kit for $30, put it back together...so now I at least have a functioning rifle that shoots worse than a smooth bore musket thanks to T/C's service experts. I'll keep casting my own bullets, but I'll be ridding myself of my Encore and Contender collection at auction.
I had a broken hammer spring on my contender and sent it in for repair. Took two weeks but no problem. Service was good. The only problem was that the pistol arrived 2 days before I was notified that it was shipping!
I need to send my white mountain carbine in for a cracked stock wrist. Now I'm second thinking that one.
Life is so much better with dogs!
I'd call them first. Seems I heard somewhere they are fixing what they have parts for but when parts are gone, that's it.
Aim small, miss small!
I too have sent T/C parts back to take advantage of their "Life-time" guarantee. What I learned is that everything is guaranteed except parts and labor. You might get lucky and need parts they actually have on hand, otherwise you are on your own. Rem-lin is in the process of claiming Chapter 11 bankruptcy so don't expect much. I too left the "Great State of New York" in the process of bankruptcy. No shame there. it is one of the most business unfriendly States in the U.S.
TC is owned by S&W not Remington. On my warranty they paid shipping both way and zero charge for parts and labor.
A couple of years ago I broke a hammer spur off of one of my Encores. Called up TC at S&W and told them what happened and that I needed a new hammer. They said I would have to send my Encore in. I told them I could install it myself if they would just send me one.They said no way would they do that.I gave them my shipping info and told them OK. They sent it out and I had the new hammer in 2 days no charge.
Anytime I hear stories about customer service like this it reminds me of this. Longish story about a Dan Wesson.
A local cop brought a Wesson .357 in to the gunsmith to be looked at cause it just would not shoot straight. Looked at it and nothing seemed wrong. Dropped a round in the cylinder and it was REALLY loose. Chamber reamer also very loose. Asked the owner and he said he had only fired a few hundred rounds through it (he had brought a box of his reloads with him). Asked what the load was and he said Bullseye. When asked what weight of powder he said, "Don't know, just filled up the case."
Gunsmith gave him the gun and told him to destroy all his existing ammo. Advised him to send it in to the factory. He also dug up an old Lyman reloading manual and told the guy to read it before he reloaded again. Cop said some rather ugly things to the gunsmith.
Dan Wesson got the gun and politely informed him that they would not return it. They offered $100 for the trouble (this was in the early 90's). The cop was ticked cause the gun cost him $400. Gunsmith told him he was lucky that he didn't kill himself and that Wesson gave him anything for the gun since all it was good for was scrap. Cop was still cussing when he left. He later bad mouthed Wesson and their customer service, saying things like they don't stand behind their product, they are thieves, don't send your gun in or they'll keep it and send you $100 instead.
It did tell me that Wesson's are pretty stout guns.
It's a crying shame that our "Classic" American gunmakers are going the way of the Dodo Bird. S&W, Remington, Winchester, Thompson Center and more. I also had a broken hammer spring on my Contender. Sent it in to S&W, they fixed it quick no questions asked. Any more, I don't think I will send it back. Like others, I am capable of fixing 99% of anything wrong with this fine pistol. I just hope that nothing major breaks and they don't have the parts for it. I'd hate to use my "Tender" for a boat anchor.
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