THOMPSON CENTER ICON RETURNING (Anyone have any knowledge on them?)

[KYwhitetail606]

I saw were the new owner from Thompson center was gonna prioritize the relaunch of the TC ICON rather than the cheaper compass and Venture. I’m pretty young, so I never got to get my hands on the ICON the few years they were offered but my buddy was saying they were ahead of their time (3 position safety, 60 degree bolt throw, 5r barrel, first cerakoted rifle on the market). Does anyone have any input or knowledge on the TC ICON? I may grab one in 7mm-08 or 6.5 creed as a deer rifle for youth and female family members to use if they have 20” cerakoted/stainless threaded barrels and are sub 6.5 lbs. he also stated there would be multiple variations including supressor ready models, western hunter models and sub 6lb models of the ICON coming to the market by next summer.

I’m definitely intrigued because he guaranteed a life time warranty on his products and it’s privately American owned (not owned by a group of investors like every other major firearm company) so why not give them our business if the quality is there. Had a very very very bad experience with beretta CS when my tikka headspacing was off. Its been at a smith for 2-3 months and deer season is in 28 days so there’s that. Browning/Winchester CS is okay, and Ruger rocks. Hoping to see another company like Ruger.

 

[TheTone]

Zero chance I’ll buy something from TC as long as Greg ritz is involved with the company

 

[TN2shot07]

He’s been on a couple of podcasts. They are prioritizing the encore barrels first, then receivers/complete encores and contenders, the bolt actions are gonna be next year I think.

I hope they can revive the company, I would definitely look at an encore platform assuming they can keep the price and quality on par. I never owned one but I’ve swapped barrels that consistently held zero, it was a slick system.

 

[KYwhitetail606]

Zero chance I’ll buy something from TC as long as Greg ritz is involved with the company

Not tracking on him. What’s up w that guy?

 

[KYwhitetail606]

He’s been on a couple of podcasts. They are prioritizing the encore barrels first, then receivers/complete encores and contenders, the bolt actions are gonna be next year I think.

I hope they can revive the company, I would definitely look at an encore platform assuming they can keep the price and quality on par. I never owned one but I’ve swapped barrels that consistently held zero, it was a slick system.

Seems like a good option for me to get into muzzleloader hunting? This is only my second year hunting.

 

[TN2shot07]

Seems like a good option for me to get into muzzleloader hunting? This is only my second year hunting.

Definitely would be but if you want to get in cheaper go get a CVA wolf for a couple hundred and play with it to see if you like muzzleloading before you invest in an encore. The used ones are still bringing around $1k

 

[TheTone]

Not tracking on him. What’s up w that guy?

Lots of poaching history. Seems to have always used money to make the cases go away and disappear

 

[Byrdman]

I don’t know anything about the icon but I own a venture in .243 win and really like it. For the price it is super accurate and has never had any issues. I wouldn’t hesitate to get another tc if I know I can trust the new owner to build the same quality rifles.

 

[Kyguy]

Soooo..... a lifetime warranty ONLY means something when the company is in business. How long are they going to be in business? Supposedly, S&W stopped production of T/C because it wasn't profitable enough. It'll be interesting to see if going from a large company that has millions to invest in production but couldn't make it profitable to a small company with just a fraction of the capital can be profitable.

As for privately owned..... well that's a broad definition. As I understand it, T/C was bought buy Ritz and a group of investors. Individual investors? Investment group? Venture capitalist group? I haven't seen anything that defines who actually owns the company, but I understand that Ritz and possibly the owners of Haus of Arms are some of the parties involved.

The Icon was a nice rifle, it was solidly built. I honestly can't see how they could get it to sub 6lbs even with a carbon fiber stock and a pencil barrel, but they may surprise me. I had a couple of Dimension rifles in .223, they shot EVERYTHING that was 55gr or less into less than an inch, most times considerably less. I don't think I ever saw a T/C bolt action that wasn't MOA with multiple factory loads. The biggest downfall of that line was the triggers. They were meh at best. Hopefully they put good triggers in them.

 

[KYwhitetail606]

Soooo..... a lifetime warranty ONLY means something when the company is in business. How long are they going to be in business? Supposedly, S&W stopped production of T/C because it wasn't profitable enough. It'll be interesting to see if going from a large company that has millions to invest in production but couldn't make it profitable to a small company with just a fraction of the capital can be profitable.

As for privately owned..... well that's a broad definition. As I understand it, T/C was bought buy Ritz and a group of investors. Individual investors? Investment group? Venture capitalist group? I haven't seen anything that defines who actually owns the company, but I understand that Ritz and possibly the owners of Haus of Arms are some of the parties involved.

The Icon was a nice rifle, it was solidly built. I honestly can't see how they could get it to sub 6lbs even with a carbon fiber stock and a pencil barrel, but they may surprise me. I had a couple of Dimension rifles in .223, they shot EVERYTHING that was 55gr or less into less than an inch, most times considerably less. I don't think I ever saw a T/C bolt action that wasn't MOA with multiple factory loads. The biggest downfall of that line was the triggers. They were meh at best. Hopefully they put good triggers in them.

He said they were trimming the action down to cut weight, and he also said the trigger issue was being worked out because he realized they weren’t the best. He stated 2-3 lb crisp trigger with no creep were the standard.

I feel like all your worries he covered in the hornady podcast. As about the investment group. I think it was a bunch of his friends just backing him ( pre sure hornady is backing him as well) but he is the rightful owner.

 

[daddywagz]

The Icon in Weathershield has been my main rifle for years. I love it. I'll shop for other guns from time to time, but I can't really find a reason to switch. I've had it since 2011. Shoots straight, and I love the action on it.

 

[eLightfoot]

I really hope TC will team up with hornady to build an appropriate action to shoot the ARC line of cartridges. A mini Icon or something to that affect. Not a full size action with different mags. Way too much competition to just come out with more bolt action rifles that do the same thing as others. Also machine it perfect enough to use prefit barrels.