T/C Arms Is Back,
Ready To Innovate

Seventeen years on from being the last independent owner of Thompson/Center Arms, Gregg Ritz finds himself back in a familiar setting — returning to the iconic firearms brand as its new owner.

April 30, Ritz announced he and a team of investors had acquired T/C Arms from Smith & Wesson. T/C Arms will once again have a presence in Rochester, N.H., relocating key components and machinery from Smith & Wesson’s Springfield, Mass., facility. In addition, T/C Arms will be operating out of a facility in Wabash, Ind.

Ritz’s leadership team is already revitalizing the T/C Arms brand. Later this fall, the T/C Encore is returning to the market, and more introductions are planned in short order.

Ritz sat down with SI to share how T/C Arms is “back” and what dealers can expect from the reborn company.

Focus On Innovation

Ritz is determined to reestablish T/C Arms as an innovation leader in the industry.

“We want to revitalize handgun and muzzleloader hunting,” he said. “Years ago, we were the driver in the market.”

Interchangeability is a hallmark of T/C Arms, and Ritz sees this as key to encourage handgun and muzzleloader hunting.

“If someone wants to take a handgun and target shoot, then turkey hunt and later take it out to pursue larger game at greater ranges, they can have the ability to do so with interchangeable barrels,” he said. “We’re going to preserve the interchangeable platforms, so users can take an older frame and pair it with a newer barrel, and vice versa.”

The Encore will relaunch T/C Arms this fall, bringing some unique features never before seen on T/C barrels, according to Ritz. The new Encores, sporting stainless steel barrels with 5R rifling, will be available in a variety of calibers (including straight wall cartridges). They’ll also be threaded for brakes and suppressors — a first for T/C.

Following the Encore, the Contender will return in early 2025. In spring 2025, T/C Arms handguns will arrive in showcases. Ritz shared Encore and Contender handguns will be available. Thanks to the potency of modern .410 loads, Ritz is advocating for turkey hunters to take T/C Arms handguns into the field.

“A goal for us from a new product standpoint: developing .410 turkey barrels. We want hunters going turkey hunting with a handgun,” he said. “The loads today — with the TSS rounds — are so good in .410. We know this because we’ve seen it, our team was out in the field this spring with some of the original .45/.410 Contenders taking turkeys with a pistol.”

Ritz previewed other upcoming product launches. By late spring/early summer 2025, the Icon bolt-action rifle will return to the market — which will be available in a number of different configurations. In fall 2025, the Triumph muzzleloader (a non-FFL item) will make its return, and the Firestick will be available in the Encore platform, as well.

And, it’s just the start. Ritz shared T/C Arms is evaluating new barrel materials, other straight-wall cartridges, refined triggers and more — which will continue to drive the market forward.

Industry Response, Support

The early support T/C Arms received from around the firearms industry blew Ritz and his team away. Several relationships with vendors spanning his first stint as owner have been rekindled — which has played a helping hand in facilitating T/C Arms’ swift return to the market.

“We’re working with a lot of old T/C suppliers. Whether it was injection molders, metal finishers or those who produced fasteners for us, these companies came back, asking us what we need and how they can help,” Ritz said. “It’s been amazing — our team has expanded from just a few people to an army of partners working with us once again.”

One partnership in particular stands out to Ritz. Due to their proximity in New Hampshire, T/C Arms and Green Mountain Barrels are working together once again — the companies previously worked hand in hand during Ritz’s first tenure with the company. (Ritz shared Green Mountain Barrels Owner Rick Sanborn told him after the acquisition “our barrel shop is your barrel shop — let’s make some barrels together.”)

“This is just one example of how the community has rallied behind relaunching the brand,” Ritz said. “We’re going back to our roots, using the same people who made T/C Arms great — not just those internally, but the external suppliers, vendors and partners who care about the brand and making the quality of part they used to make in the past.”

Ritz noted new dealers, wholesalers and international vendors contact T/C Arms daily to connect and see how they can partner with the brand.

“When we’re talking to these companies, it helps us understand demand in the marketplace,” he said. “We want to build product people are going to buy, not build products we push through the distribution channel.”

Opportunities

Back as a family-owned company, T/C Arms doesn’t have to appease shareholders like it did as a public entity. As a result, certain “passion projects” — such as .410 turkey barrels, mentioned earlier — may not result in instant profits, but could carve a niche in the market.

“For the .410 barrels, we’re not going to sell 10,000 of them, but you don’t know if something is going to grow unless you experiment — which is what we’re going to do,” Ritz said.

He continued, “The whole company is built around a DNA of modularity and interchangeability. It gives us the flexibility to experiment with barrel lengths, configurations and cartridges to find out which ones are popular in which areas. We’re going to be like a Baskin-Robbins for guns.”

One of the new owners of T/C Arms is uniquely positioned to understand what dealers (and customers) are looking for in a firearms company — as he’s a dealer himself. Glenn Butcher, owner of Bass and Bucks in Wabash, Ind., is in the process of adding a walk-in warranty repair center for T/C Arms customers at his facility.

“Customers are going to get personalized, walk-in service from a gun company,” Ritz said. “That’s pretty special.”

Headwinds

Here in early September, it has been just over four months since Ritz and his team acquired T/C Arms from Smith & Wesson. The logistics alone involved in this acquisition are mind-boggling.

“There are literally millions — millions — of parts and pieces being relocated, not to mention we’re moving all the CAD drawings,” Ritz said. “There are over 200,000 files that are being transferred — and we have to ensure everything transfers over correctly.”

As you know, a firearm has many parts to it. But what does this mean for actually producing it? Ritz shared there’s a model in the Compass lineup that features 31,000 lines of data alone.

“We’re trying to absorb all of this data at once, while making a finished product on the other side,” he said. “We’re taking a disciplined approach, which is why we’re introducing the Encore and rifle barrels first, then the pistol barrels and so on.”

But Ritz doesn’t see the logistics as the biggest challenge facing T/C Arms — his value of company culture comes first. Ritz shared his team is focused on hiring passionate enthusiasts — those who share the latest game camera finds, discuss group size and more — who embody the T/C Arms brand.

“Those conversations spur an interaction with the brand the customer can feel,” he said.

What This Means For You

While everything above sounds well and good, what does all this mean for you, the dealer? What Ritz shared will likely be music to weary storefront dealers’ ears.

“Dealers are the lifeblood of our community. Therefore, we’re going to have some form of protected pricing. We don’t want people who are not dedicated to the space with storefronts to undermine the profitability of the line,” he said. “We’re working on programs that have levels of protections and incentives so the retailer can actually sell the product and make a reasonable, fair living.”

Once T/C Arms’ website is relaunched, Ritz shared dealers can sign up through a retailer portal to stay updated on company news.

Ritz recognizes the power of the salesperson behind the counter.

“He has influence — an opinion — and we value that. Salespeople love the sport/lifestyle and we’re going to find ways to educate and incentivize those guys behind the counter. They’re the ‘Super Users,’ who can carry our message and support the product and the customer in the whole process.”

There’s no question: T/C Arms is certainly back, and ready to once again make an impact in the market.

For more info: tcarms.com.