Very few of you will remember when you didn't have to buy these through a dealer. You just mailed a check to Auto-Ordinance and they'd send you one in the mail, direct to your house or anywhere else in the U.S. you specified. All perfectly legal until 1934.

Anyway here is a tidbit fewer still are likely aware of these days...Thompsons weren't made just in .45 ACP.

In 1934, their 2nd most popular chambering was in .38 ACP (same case we now use for the .38 Super). And you could get Thompsons , on order, for other cartridges as well.

Now there's something I'd like to have today...a Thompson in either .38 Super or maybe the .10 m/m!

The Thompson was made in 10mm, but I believe it was only available for sale to the FBI to go along with their 10mm handguns.

Nice memories indeed!

One original chambering was for the 45 Remington-Thompson Long. Was to be used in the XX shotshell magazine.

Propelled a 250 FMJ bullet at abt 1450 fps.

Quite the beasty!

.45 or no, a transferrable Colt 1921 TSMG - with a coupla extra original drums - would float my boat.

But it would sink my budget.......maybe my marriage, too.

Sam

Most people don't know that they actually made a semi-automatic model. They didn't sell very well I understand so they made very few of them. My Dad was in the Marines in Nicaragua in 1930 and the Thompson was his issue weapon. He said he used it many times. I remember going to the movies once many years later and this was when they still had newsreels. The newsreel was about the election of the new President in Nicaragua whose name was Sandino. Dad says after the movie - I chased him all around the country trying to kill him and here is elected President. When I found they made Semi's once I bought a Thompson Pistol and then bought a stock with hardware and drilled and tapped the receiver for 2 screws. Attached the stock and -voila a semi Thompson . First I got the SBR stamp and it's all legal. In the ad I saw for the semi it had no muzzle brake so it worked out perfectly using the Thompson pistol vented short barrel and all. Actually shoots pretty well too. I can see where you could load a big drum and shoot for a long time with a semi-auto.

The original very rare 1927 semi auto Thompson gun has actually been ruled an NFA weapon as it is easily converted to full auto with replacement of some internal parts in the fire control group.

The new semi auto Thompsons are closed bolt and the internals are not very nice.

Well assuming you live in a reasonably Free Zone, Thompsons are still available in Full Auto and Semi Auto. OK the FA guns are expensive because of the limited number in the registry. Semis are cool but the long barrel is kinda silly looking.

There are a couple of options, the Thompson pistol is another route to turning CASH into noise. Its the "right" size; but without a shoulder stock its hardly more than a noise maker. OTOH factory Short Barreled (semi auto) Thompsons ARE available. Frankly theres NOTHING wrong with semi auto for real combat, especially a SMG ranges, plus the '28 Thompsons had a ROF that wasnt all that fast anyway.

The Thompsons are cool; but out dated and out classed by many modern Pistol Caliber Carbines. The Thompson was one of the LAST Old World Sub Guns, and if handed one in a Go To War situation I wouldnt feel under gunned BUT I can sure think of a bunch of better SMGs

Heres my book on the subject (shameless plug)
http://www.onesourcetactical.c...rs.aspx#.U9NDS3ZundU

There's a lot, it is said, somewhere at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean as the first consignment purchased by us British in WWII was in a ship sunk by enemy action whilst making its voyage to the UK.

My dad carried a Thompson in the Philippines in WWII.

have a good friend who owns quite a few subguns. i've shot most all of them and the old thompsons are the best of the lot heavy but controlable
a neighboring county sheriff had a rare one,, unfired,with several accessories that they solda couple months ago for something like 37,500

Friend of mine is a Class III dealer. He's had a Thompson-M1 model in his safe for almost a year. Somebody ordered it from another dealer, had it shipped to my friend's shop and hasn't come in to pick it up.

The transferee may still be waiting for the paperwork to clear. "Almost a year" is the new normal for F4s. Sam

Thirty years ago a good friend had a full-auto Thompson with the 12" barrel and factory brake. No idea as to its vintage. It was fun to shoot but it was heavy! Especially with the fifty round round mag. I made a "better" .45 ACP carbine with my Marlin M45 in synthetic stock and 10 round mag. Certainly not the romance of the Thompson but more practical. Killed a Texas hog with a handload with a Hornady 200 SP and AA7 at 1250 fps.



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Here's a much younger me, showing off my personally owned M1A1 Thompson on the beach in Danang, Republic of Vietnam. Date: summer of 1965. The poor old gun had a mismatched upper and lower and had a bad habit of pulling the heads off cases, but, being equipped with a fixed firing pin, unlike its more sophisticated ancestors, it ignored the stuck case segments and continued to fire. It also had no buttstock, which was not an issue.



I acquired it in a three way trade involving a Mauser HsC automatic pistol, an M3 Grease Gun and it, plus a bit of cash. It ended up costing me less than $100.

It was a very comforting item to have nestled down between the seats of my Mighty Mite while making my unaccompanied daily rounds.

xausa, great picture. I love those sateens.

Jim