Friday, July 12, 2013

UPDATED Part II, Sept. 6, 2013: TenPoint Crossbows buys Horton's assets; won't service the latter's equipment


It seems that many people are reading this updated version but have yet to visit my blog site for further details that appear in a subsequent follow-up story. I urge all readers of this blog posting to do so in order to better evaluate the subsequent additional information.

The follow-up story is called "UPDATED: TenPoint helps Horton crossbow owners as liquidation firms looks to sell off repair parts." This follow-up blog story was posted August 22 and includes material furnished by officials with TenPoint as well as the Akron, Ohio-based liquidation firm.

Thank you both your interest in this story and your comments. - Jeffrey L. Frischkorn.

A full circle of sorts has come about for Rick Bednar as the former Horton Crossbow executive who left that first to start up TenPoint Crossbow Technologies has returned to own both Akron-area companies.

Yet while untold number of Horton crossbows are in the hands of devoted archery deer hunters the devices will not be serviced by TenPoint.

That point was made clear by Bednar who noted as well that Horton's entire cache of employees were dismissed in Apri when Horton – for whatever reasons – could not sustain itself in a market that continues to experience growth.

“...TenPoint will not continue making or servicing any of Horton's current or past bow models,” Bednar is quoted as saying in a bevvy of crossbow/archery-related electronic chat rooms and news accounts.

The sale of Kent, Ohio-based Horton Crossbows to Bednar was effective July 1.

Bednar was one of Horton's original financial backers in 1985, rising to become the firm's Chief Operating Officer.

He left Horton in 1991 and helped create Hunter's Manufacturing in 1994, the firm eventually morphing into today's TenPoint Crossbow Technologies, headquartered in Mogadore, Ohio.

TenPoint builds a line of premium quality crossbows with prices to match.

Yet the firm recognized early on that it needed a quiver of more moderately priced crossbows. As a result, TenPoint developed its Wicked Ridge line of more price-point crossbows without also unduly sacrificing quality.

During the time Bednar's TenPoint was establishing itself as one of the industry's most innovative and progressive companies, Horton struggled to survive.

Bednar is quoted as saying that Horton's lean times could be blamed at least in many respects to a lost vision of customer service as well as out-sourcing crossbow component manufacturing to overseas companies.

And Horton went through no fewer than three incarnations, emerging lastly from bankruptcy when well-known hunting personality Gregg Ritz, his Wild Communications business along with the private equity firm TVG Partners assumed ownership of Horton in June, 2009.

Other archery industry officials wondered how the Adam of modern-day crossbow making could ever fall so flat, so fast when state after state approved the use of crossbows during their respective archery deer-hunting seasons.

This liberalization has seen – continues to see - huge and dynamic growth in the crossbow industry as sales soared with the ever-increasing chances to use such archery tackle.

All of this is now history.

Bednar says his acquisition of Horton's physical assets such as crossbow-making tooling and equipment will sometime in the near future construct a new line of crossbows bearing the Horton name.

Unfortunately for owners of current Horton crossbows (myself very much included) that means when something mechanical goes “bong” finding a replacement part or having the unit serviced/repaired will probably become all but impossible.

Then too any attempt at recouping a good trade-in for another crossbow of current manufacture by TenPoint, Wicked Ridge or any other crossbow manufacturer will likely result in a chuckle and a smirk from an archery shop dealer.

At least owners of a Horton crossbow can look to an after-market manufacturer of crossbow strings and cables, though someone in need of a replacement limb is likely out of luck.

October Mountain Products - www.OctoberMountainProducts.com - offers a wide range of replacement crossbow strings and cables not only for Horton Crossbow-brand products but for several other popular crossbow manufacturers as well. Among them being TenPoint, Wicked Ridge, Parker, Excalibur, and Barnett.
 
October Mountain Products' address is 1660 Steel Way Drive, Mt. Joy, Pa. 17552-9515, phone number is 800-366-4269.

Still, the bottom line ia: “The king is dead; long live the king.”
 
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

140 comments:

  1. I think they should have notified the people who have these crossbows instead of being stuck with something that you may never be able to get fixed and have a lot of money in it or tenpoint should be able to trade give so much on a Horton and let the consumer pay the difference.

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    1. I have always used a Horton crossbow as I still do today if something happens to it u can bet that I will never buy a ten point I go to deerassic classic and shoot them trying to win one but u can bet your bottom dollar that I will never do it again I am very disappointed in the way ten point has done business and I hope their sales bottom out please bring different brands to every show I go to ten point u suck

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    2. Don't hate Ten Point, they are not the one's that built those units. Most people bought the Horton because of price, when price is your driving factor you often sacrifice quality. I know several people that purchased Horton and have had nightmarish stories, but they don't fault Ten Point. Why should Ten Point support a faulty engineering? What do you think Ten Point should do with product that they had no profit sharing in or design input? If your Horton comes apart, there was probably a good reason it came apart = poor design. Come on people common sense!!!

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    3. I have owned 2 Horton crossbows the first a Legend and the current the Vision 175. Both have been great bows and i have not had any issues with either. If Ten Point bought Horton out and they are not supplying parts or service to the old Horton line then I agree with Anonymous posted Oct 15th I will not buy a Ten Point. Barnett now jumps to the front of the pack in my mind when or if the Vision gives out.

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    4. I just put a new string on my Horton Vision 175 bow. Had it now for 5 years. Just love it! With the right arrows and broadhead you can hit a quarter at 60 yards! Much better than my buddies Ten Point. Actually not even close. I really don't know what all the fuss is about ten point.Not only that...it's much more quite. It's a shame they went out of business.

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  2. if tenpoint don't respect Horton owners to repair Horton crossbows why should we even think about buying a tenpoint crossbow.this makes me not even want to look at a tenpoint crossbow because they won't work on there on crossbows

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    1. Tenpoint would also go out of business if they tried fixing Horton junk! Their job is to make it better not fix somebody elses mistakes.

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    2. I agree Parker is the only new option. I will not buy a tenpoint due to this kind of a buy out.

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    3. well parker is not the answer their junk im a archery tech for over 20 years i have replaced more parker limbs then horton good move for ten point i would not fix them either junk

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  3. I think ten point should look into what horton had as far as items that were sent to them to work on. I myself sent my limb assembly from my nitro hunter to horton back i April.No word on where it's at or if it's fixed or nothing.I'd like to just get my assembly back.Ten point sucks as far as i'm concerned.

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  4. The Tenpoint organization should send back all the work and crossbows back to the Horton customers. As a dealer for Horton since 1971, I always had perfect service from the Horton organization. If they want to protect the Name of the brand, the Tenpoint organization should remember that the reputation of the brand insures the future sale of the brand. A former Dealer

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  5. No wonder you CAN'T visit Horton's official website now.
    TenPoint is so popular these days.

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  6. i think this stinks .. i have a ten point and a horten .. now my Horten is a throw away cross bow... ill be buying Parker or Excalibur . not a ten point because of this.. any thing but ten point. just wrong

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    1. why should ten point do repair / warranty knowing horten was going under with using poor parts it would be foolish they would lose a lot of money if horten cared about their customers they would have had a claus in the buy out to help their cust for a period of time

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    2. F--- Ten Point My Horton was in repair shop since December 2012 for repair kept getting run around now I know why because the deal was in the works . They buy the assets we make a line of Horton bows but not honor the life time. Warranty of current owners Only a fool would support that cpmpany

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    3. I feel a company like Ten Point has the means to purchase from the same vendor that Horton used. They could have the parts so Horton owners could buy , them. We would fix our own bow or have a bow shop fix it but that is not what Ten Point wants, they want the millions of Horton owners to trash there crossbow if it breaks and buy a Ten Point. I live in Ohio, retiring from the AF this year and just switched to Excalibur Matrix 380. Best decision I ever made check you out at a shop near you. Cuold have went with Ten Point. never will. Jeff

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    4. I own a parker hornet extreme and an excalibur matrix 355 , they are both fantastic crossbows , far better than any ten point i have shot , the parker is whisper quiet and arrow splitting accurate with good speed, excalibur a little louder but very accurate

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  7. I have a Horton Super Mag, 25 yrs old, still kills deer. Now, when it need parts / repair I am up s--ts creek. When that happens, it is Barnett or Excalibur for me. Ten Point has no love for me hence I have no love for them!!

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    1. I am in same boat need cams for my supermag but don,t know where to get them if had no problem to get put in

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    2. They (Ten point) screws us we all should and I will screw them boycott the sob's

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    3. They sell JUNK TEN POINT I had one and shot it less then 10 times and it blew up. I never had a Horton blow up. They just couldnt stand the heat. I wont buy a Tenpoint JUNK

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    4. you had a Horton for 25 years...you've got your use out of it! Quit whining!

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  8. I am a archery service tech for over 20 years i have worked on all bows when i call ten point for parts i get what i want no questions ask no other dealer will do that parker excaliber barrnet ten point should buy them out my ten point rep if he is in area if he has any parts i nedd he lets them i don't even need to order ten point the only way to go.

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    1. o your a damn lie. i can get parts for any crossbow. i am a dealer in kentucky. if you talk like you type they probaly couldnt understand wtf you was saying.

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    2. I would like to know how to contact you then! I need parts and cant find them anywhere? moleski1@verizon.net

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    3. please give me info then, I need parts asap!! moleski1@verizon.net

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    4. Also need info on how to contact you about my Horton 175 SuperMax. Contact me please. kycabin@gmail.com

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    5. I need limbs for my Horton Dakota SL. Can you contact me please. pappap48@gmail.com

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  9. Wow, Ten Point buys some used machinery and a trade marked brand name and all of the sudden they take the blame for Horton's decision to close shop and leave their customers high and dry. It seems anger has blinded some people from realizing that Ten Point did not buy Horton's customer base or service department, both of which had no physical value. From what I see, Ten point made a good business decision, plain and simple. I do feel bad for Horton owners, although there may be a silver lining. The article eludes that Ten Point plans to use the Horton tooling and equipment to re-launch the Horton Brand. It sounds like recent Horton models will be back on the market. Hmm, I wonder if that means replacement parts might become available for those models as well? Let's face it, Horton had a huge brand presence. It would be foolish for Ten Point to let the brand and aftermarket die. I don't own a Ten Point and I don't know anyone that works there. Heck, I'm from Michigan so I was even bred to detest buckeyes. However, it appears Ten Point not only is on the high road in this situation, but has a long term plan to stay in business and service the customers who buy from them. Now I have to reconsider the Excalibur purchase I was going to make tonight and look at the Ten Point again. Good luck to all the Horton owners of older models. Someone is bound to carry the older parts.

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    1. You aren't the one that spent about $1000 to purchase a Horton a year ago that now needs repair and can't get it taken care of. I don't have another $1000 to buy another crossbow so I am unable to hunt this season. Since Ten Point doesn't care about previous Horton owners, I guess when I do get some extra $$ I wont be buying a Ten Point. With their attitude of "Why should we care what your problem is", why should I support them? If they want to keep customers, they need to help them not ignore their problems.

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    2. nobody gives a crap about the warranty you dunderhead they just want to beable to buy replacement parts to fix the Horton they have not make ten points fix them for free

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    3. I bought my horton in sept of 2012, then they go out of buisness in july of 2013. bullsh^t, they knew this was coming they could of put something out there for a warning to people buying a horton crossbow. With buying one so close to closeout, if there was an IMPORTANT message stating this closing, I might of changed my mind and bought a tenpoint. But now no f-ing way will I ever buy one from that company!!!!!!!!!!1

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  10. I have a Horton cross bow which is 2 years old and now a throw away item. I will NEVER but a Tenpoint product and will advise eve ryone Iknow to do the same, regardless of how good their products are. This guy shafted thousands and thousands of hunters, and we should retrurn the favor to Tenpoint. I hope Cabelas and other major sources do the same. Tenpoint ownership does not understand hunters and how they feel about getting shafted.

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  11. I have a horton explorer hd 150 good crossbow till cables snapped also have a wicked ridge hl like it alot better than horton but i probly will sell wicked ridge because of weight and horton because of not being able to get parts i enjoyed both yes i do agree with ten point buying horton so tom the public make your own decision dont take the words of anyone be your own person

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  12. Bought a Horton Vision 175 2 years ago! Very disappointed that Ten Point won't service them or supply parts. I think this will turn out to be a bad business decision! Ten Point will turn out to be the Jane Fonda of crossbows!!

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  13. I have a Horton and have never had any trouble with it but if I ever buy another one tenpoint will not even be one that I would be thinking of

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  14. Rick Bednar took out his personal vendetta‎ he had with Horton on all the hunters that purchased Horton crossbows and then will ask them to buy from him. What a joke once burned...

    Here's his quote from Cleveland.com "I wish my dad (noted archer Bill Bednar) were still here to witness this," Bednar said in the release. "We used to talk about the possibility of some day getting the brand back.

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  15. And if you had a bow in at Horton for repairs during the sale or just prior you now have to contact Tenpoint and pay to have your bow shipped back to you, not knowing what state it may be in. Some of the bows being returned have been repaired in the last days of Horton, but there are still some that where not.

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  16. Number of Horton crossbows are in the hands of devoted archery. They offers a wide range of replacement crossbow strings and cables not only for Horton. Yet the firm recognized early on that it needed a quiver of more moderately priced crossbows. Thanks

    http://www.littlejons.com/

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    1. I can see now why watching tv's " The Brotherhood" that they are now supporting Barnett crossbows. I guess Horton gave them the shaft too, just like they did to Horton owners. But what is worst is that Ten Point is going to make a line of Horton crossbows that they want you to buy, but they don't even want to give you a trade-in discount on your old Horton. Let alone service what you already have. Good Luck with that. Hello Barnett.

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  17. And I recently purchased a horton bow without any realization they were going out or are out of business and there was never any mention of it. guess they are just unloading whatever they can now. well at least it is new!

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  18. I see now why "The Brotherhood" is backing Barnett crossbows they probaly got the shaft too. For a company to say that they are going to service any older horton crossbows after taking over the company brand or even offer past horton owners some type of discount is totally crazy. Basically what their saying is eat shit and buy my new brand of horton. good luck with that. Hello Barnett !

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  19. Bought a Havoc after hunting season was over last year. It shoulders beautifully and I did not even think of buying a crossbow before I tried this one. Now Rick Bednar tells me to shove it. Great business attitude.

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  20. Bednar you are a piece of crap just like the ten point crossbow! Just to think i was about to purchase a ten point crossbow and then i read this bullshit that your doing to past Horton crossbows owners!!!! You should be ashamed of yourself! If you don't care about we Horton crossbow owners then why should we buy your ten point crossbow products?????? I thank you for your heads up on your decision to screw us over! I'll make sure i get the word out to all my fellow archery hunters and many others!

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  21. That's lowest thing I have ever heard of a company doing . It will bite them in ass for sure . I have a Horton hunter supreme that needs a cam and I have a new ten point , true ten point shoots flatter and is better cross bow but since I cannot get a cam I have sold both and bought a Barnett good bye good riddens ten point I hope you go broke or better yet get bought out and shut down like you did to Horton

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  22. This makes me sick. I bought a Horton Fury early this year. I love the bow, but now not having any warranty on a new / expensive bow... Forget about resale, ever! Uugghhh....

    I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach.. What a classless move by Horton for not taking care of its customers. Disgusting!

    And how classless is Bednar for "getting back at Horton." What a poor choice of words. I will never own a bow from or in relation to Ten Point. Overpriced crap..

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  23. I just found out about this today when I went to BPS for some lighted nocks. I own a Horton Legend XL175 n love it thank god I sent mine in years ago to have the recall done on it. I've never had any problems with mine and hope I don't now. I'm going to hunt her till she dies but I do know a place that will re string it if needed. Good news is that Horton bows were built tough. So when and if the day comes to upgrade this avid bow hunter will not own a Ten Point that's for sure!

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  24. I cant believe ten point cant see the great business play in front of them word of mouth best advertisement cover our ass well cover yours well tell every one we run into in field restaurant ect ten point fixed our bow and took care of a load of hunters and you have our trust and thanks well pay for parts limbs ect you've got hortons machines ect I have five Horton bows ill need service new bows in futer and hunters pay what it takes to be intheir sport great time to major connect with customers

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  25. Just bought a new Fury for 350 bucks. WIN!!!!!

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  26. If you will not try to do some customer relations with existing product owners why buy the brand? Just to say up yours? Well with that mentality I guess Barnett just got a new customer. No wonder Horton bows are being dumped cheap. I guess I should buy an extra for donor parts.

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  27. If ten point isn't willing to service the Horton Crossbows, I have to wonder just how dependable they are with there own products. I thinks it's a mater of what it is to do the right thing. When a company is willing to do the right thing, even though they don't have to, it says a lot about the company. It also says a lot about the company if the turn thier back on the previous Horton Customer.

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  28. bought a havoc last season and shot 2 deer with it .love the bow .I think Rick Bednar is an idiot for saying he will not service any Horton bows out there.what will make anyone out there buy a ten point who is stuck with a bow if you break a limb and cannot replace it.Seems like there are a lot of Horton owners and if they purchase another crossbow it will not be a ten point.Bad decision on your part Bednar!

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  29. BOUGHT A HORTON EXPLORER 175 BRAND NEW FROM DICKS SPORTING GOODS FOR 199.00 DOLLARS IN 2011. NO WONDER THE CROSSBOW WAS SO INEXPENSIVE. HAD TO SEND IT TO HORTON TO HAVE THE ELEVATION DIAL REPLACED. REPAIR WAS DONE UNDER WARRANTY,AND GOT THE CROSSBOW BACK IN ABOUT A WEEK. BUT THIS WAS BACK IN 2011. 500.00 BOW FOR 199.00, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

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  30. Bought a Horton Fury in June off Ebay without the knowledge I now have. Find that now I am shooting it that the rubber bumpers the string hits on the end are flying out when hit by the string. $800.00 down the tubes as there is no one I can talk to about this. First crossbow purchase has been made to be a bad expierence. Ebay store I purchased from told me that epoxy should hold it in "for awhile". Going to South Dakota in November for my first hunting trip with this on my mind.....WTF

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  31. Natchez shooters supply is selling these at a huge discount glad I did my research before I made any purchases

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  32. Anyone that buys anything from ten point is nutz, to do what they have done to Horton owners is dispicable and all over a personal fued and the desire to run horton to a hole in the ground, well mission accomplished ten point and guess what, youve got just as bad a rap now as the shrub that clowned that phrase. Harvested a lot of deer with my horton and was proud to shoot it, no danger that me or anyone I know will ever purchase a ten point, if he'll do it to Horton owners he will do it anyone.

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  33. Ten Point,
    I will remember the phone message when I called Horton to order a new cable saver. I am certain that on my next crossbow purchase it will not be from your manufacturing process. I don't care if I have to buy a crossbow from China. You purchased everything except the Horton LLC archery, (I'm not a businessman so that may have been your way out of honoring any warranty) I never put a lot of thought into my crossbow purchases, I just always stayed with Horton because it always worked for me. But now with Ten Point & Wicked Ridge I will not have it my home, blind or tree stand.

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  34. That is really outstanding info which will be impressed to all like me. Besides this, hunting is my hobby and try to hunt every season. Thanks and keep updating :)

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  35. As far as I'm concerned i love my horton and thatll never change. Ill never buy a ten point. They suck muly buddy has one and hates it. Customer service and service shop sucks to. Hortons way better than ten point. I wouldn't even care if tenpoint lost everything.

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  36. From now on since I loved my horton bows ill start buying mathews crossbows sinve they have a great rap and best in the world. Ten point will go out of business omce matjews comes out with more bows. I can't wait ro see ten point go down the drain. Haha. Mathews ten point rival now they can never catch up to. Go hoeton and mathews

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  37. Personally, I wrote an email to Richard just now on his website just to confirm what was quoted was true. I certainly don't want to take a newspaper article as 'truth'. Based on the response I get or lack thereof, I will then make my decision on whether he lived up to his 'ethical' statement in TenPoint's mission statement. Will let everyone know. If I am not pleased with the answer, I (and hopefully everyone on here) will be actively spreading the word in online blogs, websites, chat rooms, and online forums. If they needed to do what they needed to do, then we need to do what we need to do.

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  38. said in article he and his dad had always wanted to get the horton brand back , well he got it back only to shaft us the current owners in the process.i was looking at 10 pt to replace my old horton but wont even consider them now. smart move bednar

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  39. I fill after sell service is always a problem for any product.Crossbows are not out of it.It is good to spend few bucks on spare parts than to replace a whole some of it.Par Arbalètes Barnett

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  40. I've owned Ten Point, Pro Elite and Defender cls, sold them and bought Horton, Vision and Fury. Never regretted the change, and never had a problem with the Hortons. Too bad that Horton failed for whatever reason, but I'll continue to shoot the Fury and Vision until lack of parts forces a change. When that time comes my new bow will NOT be a Ten Point regardless of the models they have. I don't expect Ten Point to honor the warranty of Horton, but I would expect them to provide parts for a period of years from the date various models were produced. Too bad, but this is the business world of today.

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    1. Agree I would never expect 10 point to pay for my warranty or parts that another company has made! But at least provide the parts (that we pay $$$ for, nothing for free) that way 10 point makes money and we the customer can get our crossbows fixed! It's really not that hard! Just for what 10 point is doing I would never consider them as a brand I would buy! Not a good business move on their part!!

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  41. grace

    I have been a hunter that respected Horton, my crossbow has killed many good looking bucks, but now I guess I retire, cant find any Horton arrows, got 4 more to use then im done. Thanks Horton and Ten Point. anybody need a automatic cocker for their bow, bet everyone would like one. yu don't have enough money to buy mine. THANKS

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  42. I have owned a Horton EXP since 1990. IT IS A GREAT BOW!!!!!! I also have an older Hunter model I bought a couple years back. It's a good bow too. I have averaged 1 to 2 deer a year with the EXP. I shot 2 on opening day last year with it. One from a tree stand at about 27 yards and one off-handed at 22 yards that was a PERFECT heart shot. I have carried that bow in all kinds of weather and conditions. It has never failed me. All I've had to replace is a string twice. Just keep it well waxed up. That bow weighs exactly the same as my muzzleloader. I LOVE THAT BOW!!!!! I will NEVER buy a 10 point bow. This Bednar guy is a fool for alienating Horton owners for his personal vendetta. Almost everyone that I know that carries a crossbow uses a Horton and I will be doing my best to spread the word about this fool Bednar. He says he wishes "his Father was here to see this". I think his Dad would smack him up side his head for screwing over so many good archers. I believe that Horton management got away from the basic good bow and tried to get fancy with those strange backwards limb bows. Too complicated for too little extra performance. I will be searching hard to find replacement strings and cables for it and if I do , I'll stock up. But I will NEVER purchase a 10 point product.

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  43. No business from here !!!! Good luck running a company sportsmen won't buy your products from .

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  44. I have a Horton Hunter HD 175. $800.00 bow! busted a limb, had it sent it in to Horton back in January 2013. Hadn't heard any thing back since until Ten point contacted me said my name and address was on the bow and if I sent them $25.00 for shipping they would send it back to me, still broken. I asked them if they had any limbs that I could get for it they said all of that was in a different warehouse and all of that stuff was going to be liquidated and sold off. They wouldn't say when, how or where! They have parts to fix my bow but they wont take the time to get them out and send them to me, I even offered to pay full price but he said that he couldn't do that because they were going to be (liquidated and sold off by auction)?????? F*#K TEN POINT AND THE HORSE THEY RODE IN ON. Bednor can suck my %#$! and I hope he and his new baby ten point, CHOKES on it.

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  45. I've owned all types of crossbows and killed my fair share of game with them. But never again will I buy or purchase a 10 point product ever if this is how they do their business. I will only shoot Excalibur Crossbows!!!!!!

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  46. If you buy a company for it's name you normally don't try to run the name into the ground. It has been reported that "Bednar blamed Horton's demise on past owners straying from Horton's original principles by using imported engineering and offshore parts. Product recalls plagued Horton in recent years. A new lineup of Horton crossbows is expected to debut in 2014." Who does Bednar think is going to buy a new Horton in 2014 after he has soured all current Horton owners, who must have already been suffering from the recent recalls? Most of us won't purchase a new Horton, Ten Point or Wicked Ridge!!! Heck, we won't even let our friends buy one either. My take on all of this is that we will never hear the Horton name and crossbow used together again, except by those who own one now. Thanks Rick for making my future spare parts bow so cheap.

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  47. Natches shooter supply has all there Horton products on clearance great chance to get a new crossbow or buy one for parts! They are seriously cheap

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  48. Tenpoint buys the manufacturing and the rights to the Horton name will liquidate the parts and reintroduce a new line. Who will but the crap when the run the current customers away with a bad service. It's not their obligation I get that but at the end of the day you never go wrong doing the right thing! If I find myself needing parts and unable to get service I will make sure not to but anything Tenpoint or its subsidiaries offres

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  49. So Rick Bednar wishes his father was here to see this? I dont know how his father was but I do know if it was me, and i screwed over a very large customer base, my father would come back from the dead and beat my rear all over the place.

    I know in todays business world its dog eat dog. So be it. Bednar did this because he wanted to screw someone over at horton. Well he may have done that and thats fine. Why screw over all hortons good customers? You may have converted all of us over to ten point or wicked ridge. Now you soured all of us. Rot in Hell Bednar. I will never buy a ten point or wicked ridge product. As a matter of fact i talked two people out of a ten point at the store after i told them Bednars story.

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  50. I have a summit hd 150. Used it for 1 season. Didn't even get to shoot a deer with it and now the limbs are cracked. I'm up sh*t creek without a paddle. Guess its back to the old aluminum pse that's been around for 20yrs. Sure gets cold in the late season when you're holding onto an aluminum stock but at least I can shoot it. The summit might have been a cheap bow but I loved shooting it.

    I can understand wanting to stick it to a former employer but you shouldn't do it at the cost of alienating possible clientele. The brand is nothing without people buying your brand.

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  51. I bought a Horton Fury from Natchez not realizing Horton was out of business. It came without a owners manual and assembly instructions. I put it together without any problems. I would like to have a Manual, so I contacted Ten Point to see if they had one. TP customer service responded immediately to explain that Unfortunately they only acquired assets after Horton went bankrupt, from the bank. So they don't have any manuals. If anyone knows where I can find a manual in PDF format I would certainly appreciate it!

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  52. I am very pleased in seeing that I am not alone when I say Ten Point will never see one penny of mine and further more I hope that Mr.Bednar gets exactly the same treatment some day he has shown Horton and Horton owners. I am the owner of two Horton crossbows and love them both. It is sad that a company such as Ten Point wouldn't try to take a business like Horton with its many followers and build on it, to make Ten Points line that much better and bigger. Mr. Bednar needs to remember how and who made him what he is today. The Ghost 410 is looking like a nice bow for next purchase.

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    1. I have to give Bednar "props". He is apparently a smart business man to NOT make repair parts for the current bows out there. He'd be stupid to use the same tooling Horton had - their stuff BROKE! He'd have to have lots of tooling tweaked just to get people up & running. And that wouldn't be a quick fix...so again he'd be getting bad-mouthed for not having all of the inferior parts re-done quickly. Nuff said.

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    2. Disagree, he can still provide the parts to fix the bows!! His name would still be clear, he didn't make the Horton's that way. He would just be helping people fix their Hortons and when they got tired of fixing them they could buy a Ten Point!! Just sayin'

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  53. Yup Darton will be getting my business piss on ten point

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  54. I will quit hunting before I buy anything that has to do with Ten Point. The owner of this company is at best a worm. Sorry worms, he is lower then you are. Hunters stand together and buy from someone else.

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  55. I gave my Horton SuperMax 175 to my Son after upgrading to a Ten point Stealth XLT , he cocked the Horton the first time yesterday and one of the limbs came apart ,been callin around to shops for them to fix it no luck ,they said check the internet now im here , can anyone help? Someone could make alot of money if they have the technoligy to turn out these replacement parts.We R in Pa. (Bucks County)if anyone can help give me a shout. I really feel bad about giving him a lemon ,he was so excited at the time.

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  56. I think it is crapy that Horton went down and that tenpoint wont help the Horton owners with there crossbows I think tenpoint should offer repairs and replacement parts for Horton at least for a cost to the Horton owners I my self have a supermag its the best crossbow ive ever used but with what ive read and bednars statements I or my friends will never own or have anything to do with tenpoint products he is an ass

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  57. I am looking at getting my first crossbow & was looking at 10 pt, after reading this I will look at Barnett. did anybody have any problems with them Please let me know Thanks

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  58. My son saved his money for a couple years and had enough to buy what he always wanted ( team realtree ultra lite). If ten point cared about hunters they would fire up those machines they bought and allow horton owners to at least purchase parts as they need them. Of course ten point reps give their dealers what ever they need no questions asked. When you drop $1,000-$2,000 for a crossbow they should come pick it up from your house when it needs to be fixed. Not everybody can afford almost $1,000- $2,000 for a crossbow. My son was so proud when he walked in to the archery shop and paid $600 for his own bow. It seems like you need to earn 6 figures a year now a days to be a hunter. What about those hard working people that built everything you see that only make $30,000- $50,000 a year. We are not asking ten point to honor the warranty just make the parts so we can afford to keep hunting!!!!!!!

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    1. Amen Amen and Amen, that's all Im SCREAMING

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    2. tenpoint wont even make parts to fix their bows. SEND IT IN PAY SHIPPING BOTH WAYS, then on top of that they send it back unassembled with the string guard, messes the bow up then deny they messed up. $500 to fix a tenpoint x2.... it will be sold tenpoint customer service sucks

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  59. Wake up ten point before you lose your market share completely I am just one voice of many in the cinti area at the urban hunt qualifiers the talk was of your despicable actions of buying a company an obsoleting their bows what you thought you were doing sure backfired......... if your dad was the man you tout, he is probably ashamed right now

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  60. I was considering buying a 10 point but after reading this crap there's no way in hell I'd buy one ,,, bad mistake bad bad mistake hunters stick together

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  61. Amazon still sells Honton for $600. I was about to buy it, but this stops me to do so..
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/buy/shared/handlers/dispatch.html?&hasWorkingJavascript=1

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  62. I own both a tenpoint and a Horton. the Horton being my first choice for hunting due to it being much lighter to carry im buying replacement parts for my Horton as I can find them. I have no plans of buying another tenpoint ever!

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  63. I purchased a tenpoint crossbow and shot it less then 10 times it blew up. I have 2 Horton crossbows been shooting them for years and never blew up. They couldnt beat them so they bought them out to faze them out.

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  64. John from St Charles mo.October 17, 2013 at 2:46 PM

    I have a Horton TRT and a Legend SL and I love them both. I hunt with the TRT and use the Legend for backup.I sure hope they find a way to make everyone happy or it is going to cost 10 Point a lot of future customers.

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  65. I have an old Horton super mag I love it was my first cross bow about 7 years ago the cams and string went bad and I had it serviced at a local sports shop where it was upgraded with new cams and string and is still working aesom I have never missed or lost a deer with the horton, during the time the horton was being repaired I purchased a titan ten point, that was in 2006, I cant say I have anycomplaints as to the accuracy or speed of the titan ten point it is a very good bow as well, how ever it is much heavier and bulkier then my old trusty horton, so i still use the horton most of the time, its a shame that older hortons will not be able to be repaire they made a great bow that help up for many years but they all need work after so long it sure seems that ten point would want to keep a reputation of being decent fair company and not leave all the old horton users hanging with no source of repair should they need them, if they bought out horton that must mean they knew Horton was a good quality bow why not continue to service them as part of the buy out as well as continueing to build and maintain the ten point and future horton bows, that sounds more reasonable to me.

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  66. I have a parker cross bow and had to have the limbs replaced took it back to my dealer 3 days later had my bow back with new limbs cams cabels and string with 0 cost to me look in to parker there customer service is top notch piss on ten point

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  67. I need a Horton scope rail for my Horton Dakota XL...It still shoots super well. I've had it for over 15 years and don't plan on selling it. Shoot her till she dies. Rick Bednar - Smart biz move to make the purchase but WHAT A DUMB THING TO SAY AND DO IN THE FOLLOWUP. I was considering a Ten Point but I don't want anything to do with this company. When they fold, the Ten Point Crossbow owners will feel the same shaft as the Horton owners. I don't want to have my equipment fixed for free but I would like to be able to purchase parts at a reasonable price. Now the parts will be to expensive.

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  68. None of you would last 5 minutes in the business world. Anyone paying attention to Horton would have known they were in trouble with 3 different buyers in recent years. Now you blame Tenpoint????? They make an excellent product--no I don't own one---and you're going to screw them by not buying their product--but instead some junk from China??? Again just shows you how smart your are---NOT!

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    1. Horton customers obviously were unaware the Horton was outsourcing to china or wherever they outsourced to. That is not the issue here. We want to buy products from TenPoint; however, we also want to know that tenpoint will service our Horton crossbows. Tenpoint does make a great product but that is not all there is to it. A business has to show that they will be the "bigger man" in the situation and help to come up with solutions to potential future customers issues with the Horton bows that were purchased years ago. Obviously for a fee. But some solution other than, your screwed buy a tenpoint or wicked ridge.

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    2. How exactly is Tenpoint supposed to service your Horton. They did not get the parts to do so. They cannot have the parts made without the tooling to make the parts. The did not design or manufacture those bows so there is no way for them to make parts without spending 100's of thousands to have tooling made. Tell me how that is a smart business decision?

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  69. I bought a Horton in 2012 just before our archery season because I'm disabled and cant walk far so I had a blind put on my utv to hunt from, the reason I bought Horton is because my friend let me use his in 2011. I liked the way it shot and felt so I bought a Bonecollector brotherhood by Horton, shoots great and even took a 10 point with it(first deer with one)ten point buys out Horton now my bow is worth nothing. I can't even get a decent price for it since my health is getting worse and wanted to sell it. I hope ten point feels good enough to sleep at night saying they won't work on or repair the bows that are out there. I know 3 or 4 people that were looking at ten point xbows now they're rethinking and looking at different makes, and I don't blame them. Maybe I can teach my grandson to shoot it and pass on to him and he can use it when they change the regulations for archery season here. I'm sure they make strings and cables somewherefor it when it needs them.

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  70. Well Rick, I guess you are going to get quite the lesson in business. If you were really that smart you would support us Horton owners since you own the manufacturing equipment and not burn your future Ten Point purchasers. Good Luck Sunny.

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  71. I own a company and do no you dont go around acting like ten point is. Shows you should not buy a ten point thats for sure. My wife and I have been shooting horton for 20 years and have 12 wall hangeres from there bows.To bad this happen and when we do have to buy new bows it wont be ten point!!!!!!! This news will spreed fast!

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    1. Absolutely with out a doubt. I will tell anyone I know about this. I posted on January 26th 2014. I think it is b.s. Lousy way to handle potential future customers. Tenpoint should at least service Horton crossbows at a cost to the consumer. They will get loyal long term customers that talk to other hunters.

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  72. Have a 2 year old bow i can't use cause of this. Looks like i'll be staying away from Tenpoint from now on in case they decide to screw everyone again.

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  73. Good news to hear about. I'm purchasing a Barrnett. I have a Parker xbow as well. Parker has great service so far. I'm with everyone else do not purchase a 10pt.

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  74. I was one of the first Horton dealers in Ohio. Horton was for my money, the best xbox at that time. I feel that rather than take his hard on out on the Horton customers now that he has won the battle, he should think about the folks that supported Horton and in turn he as well. We helped pay his salary . Rick should rethink his stance and do the right thing. Just good PR. I have currently three Horton's and all are great bows. But in time I will need cables, string maybe a limb. I sure as hell will not purchase a Tenpoint if this is the way they find this a fitting way to treat customers.

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    1. I posted on January 26th 2014. I totally agree with you. I will not even test fire a wicked ridge or ten point crossbow unless they would offer service on hortons. Obviously for fee not for free but something.

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  75. I had a Horton crossbow, but do not know how to buy accessories.

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  76. can any one tell me where I can get parts for Dakota sl crossbow horton

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  77. Think about this, when and/or if ten point becomes king of crossbows and everyone you know has one, 1 of the founders of ten point will buy them out and not make replacement parts for them either and call it 12 point. to be honest it is good business it just sucks for the us who have Hortons its like computers the greatest thing today is out dated tomorrow, Horton and ten point made this happen so they DID NOT have to fix crossbows that were 5 years old and force you to buy new. what they don't understand is that people with principles DO NOT get scammed twice but the same company...JUST SAYING

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    1. Do you have any clue what you are talking about? Horton made a bad business decision and sent their manufacturing to China. Horton then went bankrupt because they could not keep their bows from falling apart and could not keep their business afloat. TenPoint had nothing to do with those decisions then or now. They were able to purchase a Name only and try to revive what was once a great company! TenPoint makes their products in the USA!!!! and has GREAT customer service with real live people to talk to. Grow up and get over yourself!! TenPoint did not do this to you. Greg Ritz and the former Horton owners did!!

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  78. I bought a Horton team real tree crossbow from basspro Canada, took 2 shots and it cracked in half.......anyone have the same problem? Now that there out of business what am I suppose to do? Any suggestion?

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  79. Wow..just lost a bid on a Tenpoint SS on Ebay. Thank you, whom ever it was that beat me. Now folks..suggestions? I am well over six foot and quite physically strong so weight is no issue nor is cocking weight. Anyone else American made?

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  80. Was going to buy a Horton used cheap. Now I understand why. I will not buy the Horton or from Ten Point for this reason. Bad business Ten Point, willing to leave customers hanging. I'll buy an Excalibur.

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  81. don't know much about ten point or horton crossbows but i've replaced limb on parker two times in three years. last time while on vacation out of state. lifetime warranty is not worth missed days hunting waiting on parts. parker wants to blame me i've shot proper bolts and they were indexed properly. my request from parker is to send me and extra head piece to take with me so i'll have one when it breaks again (not if) they don't want to admit a limb problem but i have friends this is happened to also. anyway i'll be in the market for a new crossbow and it want be a parker maybe my local shop will take it on trade.

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  82. I just went through 2 hortons. The ultra lite first shot cracked in half. I live in Michigan and it was cold and apparently you cant shoot this bow below 30. It broke at the at the trigger handle. Stay away from the discounted Hortons. I heard they will take them back till Jan 1 but after that you are screwed.

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  83. Buy a Matthews and turn your bow vertical and call it bow hunting

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  84. I have had my horton hunter for over 15 years great bow also have a vision 175 even better bow screw ten point and there over priced bows .these companies are all about taking your money

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  85. Hell of a way to treat Horton customers. Is this the way ten point is going to treat their customers in the future. Go buy a Parker with a lifetime warranty.

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    1. Lifetime warranty doesn't seem to matter these days. The way that Bednar bought this company way wrong in so many ways. He doesn't care about anyone but himself.This deal is going to bite him in the butt. You don't screw with hunters, they never forget. I honestly don't believe he made his Dad proud with the deal he made. I will never buy ten point

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    2. Did you even bother yourself with finding the truth before posting your ignorance? Do you have any idea how he "bought this company"? Horton was once a great company with great product and great values. (that's the truth-look it up) then they decided that China was best suited to make their product. Took quality and jobs right out of the company!! They went Bankrupt!!! Mr. Bednar was able to salvage the only thing worth anything at that point and that was the Name. That was the only thing he bought! He did nothing to the hunters!! Oh and I would venture to guess that some of those employees who lost their jobs now have a job-with a reputable company!! So tell everybody how he was wrong to buy what he could and provide jobs to those who would be without!!!

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  86. Lifetime warranty doesn't seem to matter these days. Unfortunately companies don't care about the consumer. Sounds like ten point had their own agenda. Did not care about anyone but himself. It' going to bite him in the butt. Don't screw with hunters, they never forget. I am sure Bednar didn't make his Dad proud with the way he made this deal.

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  87. I live in ohio in between the facility that they had before (still have) and the new one they just built or bought down the street they are both on the same street Old waterloo Rd. I have a Horton Legend xl this bow has been an excellent bow for many years. Back in 2009 took it to Horton when they were still near Tallmadge circle and they took a look at it and noticed it had broken limbs they replaced the limbs at no cost. This bow is dead on accurate out to 30-35 yards. 3" grouping at 40-50 yards. This is not a quiet bow; relatively light though. As much money as TenPoint charges for their bows they should come up with some solution for the many hunters that have Hortons. I wont buy a wicked ridge or tenpoint bow unless I know that they would help me with a solution if my bow ever had any problems. I live a half a mile from the new facility that ten point has. It is not ten points fault that Horton went out of business but it is shady and greedy to not help Horton owners, considering they purchased all of hortons assets. What did they do with the assets I would like to buy a set of new limbs for my bow in case they ever go bad. New strings can always be replaced. Obviously they should not honor any of hortons warranties but at least help with a solution that Horton owners can pay for. I bought mine used probably explains the broken limbs and don't have barely any money in it but I love the bow and would like to have a place to take my bow if it needs service. I can only imagine how ten point would handle me bringing in a Horton legend xl to service. I do agree that hortons outsourcing to foreign operations and lack of customer service helped lead to their downfall but Tenpoint bought them out and if they want loyal future customers they might want to consider some loyalty to hortons past customers. I also think it would be wise to keep the Horton name on a line of tenpoints crossbows because there are many hunters that know the Horton name and are extremely resistant to change. Who the hell wants to buy a crossbow that costs over $1,000 are you freakin kidding me. Most hunters are working class people that appreciate a quality product at a good value. Horton was one of the first names in the business and getting rid of that name in the crossbow business is a mistake on Tenpoints part.

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  88. Wasn't the man who owns ten point and who bought out horton one of hortons executives when a lot of their bad business went down? When ten point gets in a bind i'll be willing to bet what money i've got left after i bought my horton crossbow just before they folded that he will do ten point customers the same way when ten point gets in a bind. The horton customers who got shafted were HIS customers when he worked for horton and he had no problem dumping us and as far as i'm concerned he is part of the reason that i'm stuck with what i consider to be a high dollar problem. I can only speak for myself butt i will go back to shooting a stick bow and wooden arrows before i will spend my HARD EARNED money on a ten point product.

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  89. Bednar forgets where he came from. He will soon be sorry with millons of Horton crossbow hunters who will never even think about a ten point crossbow! Junk or not anything but ten point now! Sooo long ten point over priced shit!

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  90. Bought a Horton in October, 2012, as my first crossbow, and yes, it was based primarily on price, with Ten Points and the like going for well over $1000! Not all of us have the resources to lay out that kind of cash on a crossbow. Regardless of the price, you should be buying a useable, safe product. Sighted it in, but after the first shot from a stand, I lowered it with a rope by the stirrup, only to get to the ground and find the stock broken in two! Sent it back to Horton, and they screwed around for 4 months replacing the stock, they were having 'molding issues', according to the techie. When I got it back, I took it to a friends home to try it out. First bolt drove into the ground at 190 yds! Checked the crossbow and found the plastic molded stock had split, again, this time along the attachment screw holes on both sides. I was irate, to say the least. Horton took it back again, and I waited another 4 months to get it back, only because I hounded them twice a week, every week, until I got it. Ten Point now buys them and won't make good on repairs to the crap products of the company they bought? If it fails again, I'm left holding the bag! They bought the assets but none of the liability. That's BS. And to add salt to the wound they now intend to bring Horton back with a new line of crossbows? If my Horton goes again, or should I say 'when' it goes again, I will look into any other mfr. before I would ever consider a Ten Point, or their "new" Horton line. This is why American industry sucks. The big whigs buy overseas made parts, and sell junk to the American public. When someone buys them out, they take only the good, but don't take responsibility for the bad. If Ten Point didn't want to make good on the Horton junk, they should have just let the brand die a miserable death. They deserve to suffer the same fate.

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  91. Wife has vision 175 for five years no issue spent over $900 for it ten point had junk out there Horton name speaks for its self. We will never buy ten point Parker or Excalibur first.

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  92. Bedner was part of Horton. He has since then bought them out and started 10 point. If he was not ready to back up the product and take care of loyal customers he chose to buy , he should have just started 10 point. Is this going to be a recurring cycle where he sells a bunch of bows and then when they need repairs he just starts a new company. We now know what lifetime warranty means to him. I have the Hunter Elite which set e back over 600.00. Does anyone really believe I'll deal with someone who's ready to screw hundreds of thousands of loyal customers for Graft , then I suggest you go get yourself that ten point. If your not investing hundreds of dollars on one and your just spouting off without putting your money where your mouth is then your opinion is mute. After you purchase one let me know I've got a bridge for sale'!!!!

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  93. Who would want to buy Horton after Government recalls for using substandard parts? Horton obviously sacrificed quality with Chinese parts and customer service when going out of business. If Tenpoint had not bought the name, who else would have? They would have still gone out of business, with no one to fix them! The new Excaliber 405 just had a government recall, goes off without pulling the trigger. The Barnett Ghost 400 and 410 have string problems. Run a query to find Jim, who almost had his eye put out with the new 410. In a quest for speed and sales, safety and quality are being sacrificed. Horton put itself under, and it be like throwing good money after bad, to replace the cheap Chinese parts of inferior quality. The new quality replacement parts would be cost prohibitive, based on the prices of the Tenpoints in comparison. Then you have good quality parts mixed with Chinese junk? During hurricane Katrina the Chinese sold us millions in drywall. All of those houses had to be rebuilt again, due to health standards being higher in this country. China just added insult to misery and Horton bought into it to save money and sacrifice quality. I bought the Tenpoint who had no part of bankrupting Horton, that makes a quality product. Perhaps that was the reason Bednr left Horton in the first instance. If he had not bought Horton chances are you would not be able to have your bows fixed anyway. So perhaps Bedner would have been better off to just let Horton go belly up and rot. Then you would not be able to blame him, for your own problems. Perhaps his new line can be called the scapegoat, that is what this appears to be asking him to do?

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  94. need information on a horton TR 175 explore crossbow. found in my fathers garage. how do I find a manual on it?

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  95. There are many aspects to using a TenPoint Crossbows buys Horton's effectively – a lot of information is found on this page which addresses the most essential questions. Excellence!

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  96. wAH wAH wAH THAT IS ALL I HEAR.... yOU CANT FIX JUNK, AND WHY BUY NON AMERICAN MADE STUFF ?
    sO ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS LEAVES AND STARTS A BETTER COMPANY, AND Horton CAN NOT COMPETE... SO WHY SERVICE THE OLD ?
    there IS A LOT OF OTHER COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT DO JUST WHAT WAS DONE HERE.....

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  99. i really impressed here through this article, thanks

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