I can't visualize Freedom group giving up H&R. They should know they cannot FORCE customers into a more expensive but no necessarily better rifle, such as the TC..they each have their niche.
My main concern with Cerberus is that they may let the "bean counters" do what was done (temporarily) to Harley-Davidson about 3 decades ago !
I don't think that if the H&R brand were to disappear, former buyers would automatically go to low priced bolt guns. For me, it is not price but the single-shot idea that keeps me with H&R.
I don't know how things are going where you guys live, but according to my own preferences and apparently many of this area, according to my local gun shop...a change is going on in bolts and rimfires.
Many of the brands now owned by Cerberus are backing down, while Savage rifles (bolt & rimfire) are gaining. The difference is not price, but accuracy..whether real or perceived. A real swing going on around here !
Surely, Freedom Group must see the danger. If they were to drop the H&R line...it could be an open invitation for Savage to reintroduce it's excellent model 219 line.
I purchased a model 219L (22 Hornet) in 1965 and have just a few months ago, passed it to my grandson...he loves it and says it is one of his best shooters.
See some Savage 219s here;
http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/savage/29668-savage-model-219-a.html
