In early August, Thompson/Center Arms announced it had acquired Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Company. The firm will continue to operate as an independent entity to serve the firearm industry with precision-made barrels and will celebrate 50 years of being family-owned and operated and made in the USA.
Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Company was established by Branch Meanly in 1976. Knight Rifles purchased it in 1995. Afterward, production was focused nearly exclusively on muzzeloading barrels.
Pradco, then a division of Ebsco Industries, acquired Knight Rifles and its Green Mountain subsidiary a few years later. The company’s product line increased and orders from major gun makers for OEM barrels soon followed.
In 2013, Rick Sandborn, who had worked as a production supervisor at Green Mountain for a decade, purchased the company and its assets. The firm operates out of a 32,000 square-foot factory in Conway, N.H. The site produces roughly 15,000 barrels a month and—despite the firm’s early focus on muzzleloading barrels—roughly 90 percent of those currently made are OEM orders from major gunmakers. Today, they ride on factory-fresh rifles and pistols from a variety of well-known manufacturers, in both rimfire and centerfire chamberings, as well as muzzleloaders.
“Bringing Green Mountain into the T/C family is a pivotal step toward reclaiming our legacy and controlling more of our craftsmanship in-house,” said Gregg Ritz, president & CEO of Thompson/Center Arms. “We are extremely proud to join forces with the talented team at Green Mountain, empowering their capabilities and implementing new machining innovation, all made right here in New Hampshire. We look forward to continuing to serve existing and new Green Mountain customers in the firearm community as we raise the bar for quality and service.”
Thompson/Center has a long history of working closely with the company. Green Mountain Rifle Barrels were on many Encores and Contenders, as well as more modern firearms produced by Thompson/Center.
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