The worst thing about TC was Greg Ritz. Can't stand that dude
I met Gregg Ritz once at Bass Pro Shops Fall Hunting Expo. I was surprised to see him at a local expo asking why he came down from New Hampshire to attend. Gregg told me he was raised in west Baltimore and was using the weekend to see family.
After seeing Gregg Ritz on many hunting shows I was surprised how short he was.....like 5"4" maybe.
Gregg Ritz during certainly was controversial during his time at T/C. Even the management at Hornady often said T/C was difficult to work with....Ritz new found fame went to his head.
I will give Gregg Ritz credit for this...he understood the gun industry and gun dealers. The two most successful gun launches "EVER" in the gun industry were the T/C Encore along with the T/C Omega rifle. Gregg knew gun dealers wanted to have guns presold and all the gun dealer had to do was hand the gun to the customer. Hence why so much marketing dollars were spent on the T/C Encore and Omega rifles. Of course during this time
muzzle loading rifles and hunting were all the rage so Greg was at the right place at the right time. Greg did put T/C on the map as a manufacturer. How Gregg accomplished this "personally" is the controversy that will for ever follow him.
Market timing was not in Smith an Wesson favor. Black powder guns had peaked when S&W acquired T/C with sales of BP rifles down 40% with-in 2 years which was disastrous.
