Thompson Center "Special Edition" muzzleloader-- value?

[ErikTheRed]

Hi all, first post here on THR!

I don't know much about the rifle other than what the owner has told me-- which ain't much. Its a Thompson Center "Encore" muzzleloader, Special Edition (he says it was only made for 6 months) and has a green woodgrain stock. He says its current value is somewhere around $1800, but I can't find anything on the net anywhere even close to that price for any T/C rifle. Anyone know what it is, how rare (or not rare) it is, and what a fair value would be? Thanks!

 

[JohnKSa]

If it's worth $1800 to him then I predict he's going to keep it awhile...

 

[ErikTheRed]

I have something for sale that he wants, and he offered this as trade. I may still take it on trade but I just need a clear picture as to its real value, not his value.

 

[arcticap]

The first thing that I would do is to contact Thompson Center Customer Service. There is a phone number and a contact link on their customer service page:

http://www.tcarms.com/customerService/

I would ask them to help you identify the exact model. You may even need to obtain the model or serial number so that they can track down more info. about it for you. Ask them for some background info. like when it was made, how many were made, if it was a commemorative or what was significant about it? Also if you can get them to give you the orignal list price you might be able to better determine the original selling price or the price that your friend paid for it. I don't think that there's anything wrong with asking your friend about seeing the original receipt, or trying to search the data bases of gun auction sites like Gunbroker and AuctionArms to see if you can find any completed auctions for the same model and what they have sold for. It might be busy work but I'm not sure how else you can determine its current value better than to compare the prices that other people are actually paying for it on the open market.
Has it ever been fired?
Commemoratives can lose collector's status if they've been used so I would think that even a special edition TC would lose value if it was fired.
There is also a Thompson Center Custom Shop named Fox Ridge Outfitters who may know something about the model if they had anything to do with building it, or just because they're a TC subsidiary.
Also, since Smith & Wesson is now TC's parent company, you can also try climbing the ladder to see if you can get any useful information from them.
And there may be a current "Reference Book of BP Gun Values" much like Blue Book, but I'm not even sure which reference book to recommend for you to check.
There's an old saying, "If in doubt, don't whip it out!" I think that's referring to whipping out cold cash!
That TC gun may be very valuable but I doubt that the stock is green because it's made from money!
Good luck and let us know what you end up learning about it.
I wonder if your friend will let you take some pictures of it which you could then post here for us to see?

 

[Chawbaccer]

If you are looking for a shooter you don't want to pay a premium price for a collector gun. If it is in excellent condition it wouldn't be worth more than 500 as a shooter. If he wants more just look elsewhere. 700 will get you a new one with all the frills.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I agree with Chawbaccer, used ones are very cheap on gunbroker, 300-400 cheap. Lot of them on their to. Top of the line new is around 700+.

 

[mykeal]

There are no listings for 'Special Edition' Thompson Center rifles in the reference materials generally used for valuing black powder guns. I know the guns exist, however, as I have a 25th Anniversary Special Edition Hawken from Thompson Center; it has a premium quality walnut stock and highly polished, dark blued barrel, lock and metal fittings. It's a very attractive gun. It's unfired. I bought it at an auction for $150 a little over a year ago.









The market for 'special edition' guns is very limited, consisting of a few special collectors, and values depend entirely on how much a given collector wants the gun. To shooters, they have no value beyond the regular marketplace. Unless you know some of these specialty collectors it's very risky to buy a 'special edition' at a premium price as it's resale value is very volatile.

 

[ErikTheRed]

So I think its safe to assume that the rifle is not worth anywhere near the $1800 he claims, but probably closer to $500--- and thats if its never been fired. Sound about right?

 

[arcticap]

There has been at least one new Encore Pro Hunter .50 model that was listed on GunBroker for $798.
There were also some other Encore Pro Hunters with TC Custom Shop centerfire barrels listed that had a price tag slightly under $1000. Evidently the price depended on the caliber/gauge of the barrel.
Then there's this Pro Hunter .50 that sold for $1,035, was signed by RealTree Gang, included a certificate of authenticity and was listed as a Gunbroker Charity Auction:

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=123570104

 

[JohnKSa]

This is just me, but given the huge disparity in what he's asking vs. what it's worth, I'd tell him that you're not interested in taking it in trade.

The alternative is trying to convince him that he's off by more than a factor of 2 or 3 on his price which is: 1) Not likely to be an extremely successful endeavor and: 2) Not likely to create nice happy feelings conducive to completing the deal. It's probably a lot easier and less stressful to bypass the whole issue by telling him you don't really have a need for a fancy muzzleloader than it would be to pop his bubble.

 

[ErikTheRed]

John, you're exactly right, and thats exactly what I said. However, this afternoon, he said he'd accept my trade offer value of $500. He admitted he had paid too much for the rifle and would take whatever he could get. I think $500 is probably a fair price considering the gun is basically new (been fired 5 times) and, so far as he describes, in perfect condition.

Thanks guys for the help and advice! I very much appreciate it!

 

[JohnKSa]

Sounds like ya done good!

 

[NobleSniper]

As long as your happy and he is happy its all good