OK not the full auto ones. A shop has an Auto Ordinance mfg. Are they any good? I don’t have a need but have a desire. I always liked this photo.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

They are heavy, expensive. and not a lot of fun to conceal! Just like their full auto brothers!

Ivan

I know enough to know that "Ol' Winston" would never manage to get that magazine in. Not with a closed bolt.

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Expect the unexpected

1921 & 1928 full auto Thompsons, were made by Colt. WWII M1A1 were made by lots of companies, but I have only seen Savage's.

Auto Ordnance like most underfunded gun companies comes and goes, gets bought and sold and has good and bad guns.

Ivan

We had a Volunteer Arms clone of the Thompson a number of years ago. It was never all that accurate, lousy trigger, and you can spend a week's pay on .45 ammo playing with it.
But there is just something about holding that thing, memories of watching "The Rat Patrol" on TV, and every WWII movie, that you just can't deny.

I don't remember the name but in the 60s I had a Thompson clone that used grease gun mags. I would tape 2 mags together and shoot 60 times in a hurry. At the same time I also had a .30 M1 Carbine. They were both fun and I'm glad I got too play with them but I never saw a practical use for them.
One never knows what their likes and dislikes are until they try so unless there is a good chance that trying something new will get you in jail or killed you should go for it.
I decided I had rather have a shotgun and buckshot. Past buckshot range I want more accuracy and more power. Larry

My friend's dad bought one of those back in the day. I wasn't impressed. Too heavy for a short range round out of a long gun.

A for-real Tommy gun is something I've always lusted for but will never have. Kind of like Bernadette Peters.

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The clones I’ve had were fairly crude open bolt guns that only looked like a Thompson. Heavy and no accuracy, never bought one but took a few on trade. Now the Thompson line is well built, it is heavy and the one I shot had nice sights and you could plug quart oil cans at 50yrds like a 22. At same time owner had a original Colt 1927 that wasn’t as accurate. I had a M1a1 when I was overseas. It was no better than M3 for accuracy but hard to tell what it had been through over the years.

I bought mine several years ago, I beleive right after the Kahr Firearms Group bought Auto Ordinance. Expensive? Heavy? Fun to shoot? Cool? YES!!! to all of the above. I have never had a problem and it is fun to take to the range. I usually take 500 rounds, reloads, 230 gr RN FMJ. I have four 30 rd, two 20 rd and a fifty rd drum. The drum is the coolest and works perfectly once you figure out how to load it and how many times to turn the drum key for the spring to work correctly in pushing the ammo around the drum to feed properly. Accuracy is subjective to the shooter and what you expect from this type of firearm and what it was designed for. You can find extra mags cheap if you are patient and look around. Mine came with a 30 rnd stick and the 50 rnd drum. I am NOT disappointed with mine.My opinion is if you find one at a price you are comfortable paying, buy it and have fun.

If it's an original Auto Ordinance built, then it's a good one. I had both the AO and a Kahr. The Kahr's are second rate guns with numerous problems of quality control.
Mine went thru extractors like crazy. I got rid of the Kahr built after two trips back to the factory and it was till not right.

I have a couple Auto Ordinance M1 carbines.
About 2 years ago, I had one that developed a chamber issue, it was nine years old and I contacted Auto Ordinance which is owned by Kahr.

All I can say is that Kahr/AO was outstanding in both communications and the resulting repair. The entire experience was phenomenal from the CS Mgr down to the tech (gunsmiths) guys. I was impressed.

The smiths talk to you directly,and are very knowledgeable, the rifle was back to me within two weeks,working great and no charge for anything.

Try that with most manufacturers today, in the past several years, Ruger is the only other I had complete problem free issues resolved expediently at no cost.

Couple own the AO tommy guns in different variations and I don't recall them mentioning any problems

The full auto Thompson is a real blast to shoot. The neighboring Police Department owned a WWII Thompson and the Department Firearms trainer would bring it along when he did the annual Quals. Since the range was in my town near my house and I was a Police Officer in my town I was allowed to join in in both the Quals. and the fun. Of course I had to supply my own ammo. I always kept at least one box of Non Cor. 45 ACP Ammo on hand so when the Quals. started, There I was with my duty Revolver, its ammo and gun belt and a box of 45ACP. We were allowed 1 30 round stick Mag full. I would give the Instructor my extra 20 rounds after I shot my 30 rounds as a thank you.

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Gun Safety is no accident.

Had a dewat M1A1 back in the day. Heavy but quite cool.

The Winston picture... foggy memory seems to be telling me that the very earliest Thompsons, with the Blish lock, the "cocking bolt" on top wasn't directly connected to the actual bolt. So maybe the bolt was open? Or just a PR pic... "We have nothing to fear but... but this dam thing!"

My info is dated by about 12 years. Back then, I know a few folks had problems with their AO semi-auto versions. I know of one which was sent back more than once and never worked right. A buddy of mine has a real Thompson. It is fun to shoot and feeds any kind of ammo through it, even 200 gr. semi-wadcutter reloads. In my experience, Kahr Arms has excellent customer service.

Had a couple of the Auto Ordanance / Kahr Arms semi-auto non-SBR's come thru our shop for transfers. First impression was that the guns are extremely heavy, particularly nose heavy, not well balanced like a Garand. Second, both guns had to go back repeatedly due to blown extractor issues and one of the guns was gone for months while they waited for parts. Third, the guns are expensive. I am a Kahr fan but there have been well documented issues with the Auto Ordanance semi-auto Thompsons with delays and problems getting guns repaired. The redesign of the Thompson action to semi-auto only to make it BATFE acceptable resulted in an action lacking the established reliability of the full auto version.

I don't know much about them, but my LGS had one a few years ago. The handgun version, short barrel, no stock. If I held it at the waist I could imagine myself as Chip Saunders. I think they wanted about $900 for it. I was SO tempted, but I just knew that I could have never kept it in ammo. So, I let the sensible side of me take control and passed on it.

But MAN...it was COOL!

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John 3:16 .

When I worked for Athens, GA PD we had one, an old one, that never was shot and stayed in the Chief's closet. It was then decided to sell it, through the proper channels, of course, through auction. I no longer worked there when this happened, so all my info is hearsay, but interest in this gun was intense. A number of buyers flew in from all over and the gun sold for a big amount.

I toted one briefly in VN, very briefly. Heavy! The military ones were simplified in manufacture and to cut costs. Forgotten Weapons did an episode, said when WW2 broke out and the Govt bought them, they paid $200 each! That's a lot. About $3500 today.

The Tommy gun thing not so much, but Bernadette Peter's does do it for me.

I've always been fascinated with the mystique of the Thompsons. While I've fired a number of the full-auto guns, they are a tad expensive for me to own, and I dislike all the hoops one has to jump through to own one.

However, here are some of the semiautos made by Auto Ordnance that I enjoy shooting.









Here's a real-deal full auto belonging to a friend of mine:



I've put together a photo album of Thompsons here on the forum which you can view.

smith-wessonforum.com/members/paladin85020-albums-thompsons-.html

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

They're fun to shoot, but I wouldn't own one.

This Auto Ord semi belongs to a friend.

Never had a problem with it. I prefer the stick mags over the drum.

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The original Thompson’s were a work of art. I remember a gun magazine my Dad brought home, I think in late 50s. It had article and pictures of Thompson’s pre 34, fancy wood and engraved, full length forearms and all sorts of special order stuff. I can’t think of a foreign SMG that came close as far as machine work. Basically M1a1 and M3, Sten, etc are nothing but
Cartridge powered pogo sticks with on and off switch. The semi repro are only good for range toys, a semi auto SMG has no practical use.

If you have a Thompson you need one of these

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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135

my brother has one, the top bolt gangster version... I have shot it exactly once... I think 2 - 20 round mags.... meh... too heavy and complicated for what it does... my late friend had a M1A1... really fun to shoot... I put hundreds of rounds down range with it...
as a possible alternate to the big semi auto tommy gun, there is a full auto BB gun available... it is on my Christmas list... semi doesn't cut it.

Limiting my comments to the Semi's; they are heavy, the ergonomics are terrible, and the Quality Control on the Auto-Ordinance production is hit or miss. I have had one for 30 odd years and rarely shoot it. I have thought about SBRing it to make it a little more handy.

I had an Auto Ordinance M1A1 and it ran like a champ. It came with one thirty round magazine and my friend, who owns a pawn shop, gave me twenty round and another thirty round mag. I bought five additional twenty round mags and modified them to fit the gun.

I found an original Mills, five cell, magazine pouch and was all set. The accuracy with my hand loads was impressive. Head shots on the B1 target at 25 yards were the order of the day.

I owned it for about three years and then the call of the Mod. 57 lured me away and the Auto Ordinance was sold to fund that purchase.

My dad had one of those except it said "expert".

Got one about 10yrs. ago from AO the lite model alum. frame, still weighs a ton. Put around 1500 rounds through it without any issues at all.put a red dot scope on it (drilled and taped the top strap)just to see how accurate it is. It would put 10 rounds in a 4” group at 50yds. With the stock sight it shot low left and hard to keep all rounds on the target. Still a lot of fun to shoot.

I just had the chance to shoot a recent production Thompson a couple of weeks ago. Ran great, reasonably accurate, and generally fun. I have often considered buying the “pistol” version because it looks more like the GI Thompson minus the stock. One of these days I probably will, if I run across a used one at a decent price.

Last fall I got to shoot a couple of authentic Thompson’s, a M1928 and a M1A1. That was FUN. I really like the Thompson. After shooting them I began doing the math to figure out how to buy one, but I’d have to sell too much other stuff to find the money. If I did find the money, as impractical as it is, I’d buy a Thompson.

Lyrics of a Irish rebel song:
“The Tans they flew like lightning to the rattle of a Thompson gun”

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Wheel guns are real guns.

I bought my Auto-Ordnance 1927A-1 years ago, and I also have a Volunteer Arms Commando, which is half the weight of the Tommy gun.

Every year our club has an informal pistol match and at the end we do a stake break with anything in a pistol caliber. Of course I bring the tommy guns and whatever .45 rounds I can find and we all have a literal blast--1 gallon jugs filled with water are my favorite targets.

Never had any problems with either gun but the Commando is very cheaply made and parts aren't available so if it breaks, oh well.

I know that I would like a real Thompson submachine gun. I know that I will most likely never have one. I do not understand the attraction to semi-auto versions of what was designed to be fully automatic weapon - I specifically exclude the AR15 from this category. They do not seem to be as designed for accuracy. I got to hold a real 1930's Thompson on on a tour of the Cincinnati FBI arsenal - it was very heavy. Most of the semi-auto "Thompsons" that I have seen for sale are pistols with a mocked up Thompson stock, grip and barrel attached.

I’ve never seen that badge, what branch of service does it come from? They were not issuing Thompson’s, M3s, M2s or BARs or 1919s when I went through training. They did give us familiarization of 1919s because they still had a few in the field.
In RVn they were all floating around from US giving them to them starting back in 50s.

My uncle worked at Savage assembling Thompsons. He said the gun was designed to be field stripped. He said most of those guns were not gonna get field stripped by a GI because the assemblers would often pound the parts together on a wooden bench due to tight tolerances.

In Vietnam, our Company First Sergeant carried a Thompson with a drum and about 6 stick magazines. One morning about 0400 we received incoming mortar and 12.7 machine-gun fire and anticipated a ground attack shortly. All of us "snuffies" were already in our fighting hole which consisted of a 5' trench with a sandbagged top. We were ready for a fight!!

Very shortly, the "first shirt" joined us in the trench and about that time a red flare was fired indicating we had "gooks in the wire". He then stood up and fired off an entire drum of 45ACP tracers at an unknown enemy. It was a very impressive fire power display. Our platoon sgt was standing next to him and told him" uh, Top the fire is coming from the other direction"!

Fast forward to 0800 and no one's injured and the Top will soon be medivaced to Japan and soon retired. The man had been on Guadalcanal and Korea, he was too old for this ****!! He served in one war too many. Semper Fi Top, wherever you may be.You were a hell of a Marine!!