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Anyone Have Experience with the New Tommy Guns made by Auto Ordnance Thompson 1927A1

TheHobbyist

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I have always thought these were kind of neat.

Anyone own one or shot one?

Thoughts?

:cool:
 
When you say new, I take that to mean newer than the original tommy guns of the 1920's.
I shot one a few years back, and was amazed at how accurate it was.
Recoil was a non issue as well.
 
I've fired one that a friend owns.Very cool.The rear sight attachment left something to be desired and he had an issue with the magazine,if I recall correctly.
 
HEAVY 'N PRICEY

Hobbiest:

I traded into one of these (1927-A1 Deluxe) many years ago. Everything brand new, incl. the violin case it came in. Stick mags worked fine, but the 50-rnd drum mag was hard to mount & wouldn't feed at all. Came to the conclusion quickly there wasn't much practical use for a very heavy (14-16#s, IIRC) semi in 45ACP.

I think its' most effective use would be in displaying it as a BBQ gun, where everyone may heft the baby & "make pretend".

BTW, years later I fired a friends full auto 1928(?) & all I could think of was the reloading bench time in producing those cartridges. Again, little practical use & he spent a BUNDLE for that MG!

Good Luck, Hank M.
 
Vic Morrow carried one in the Combat TV Show, which still occasionally runs on cable. His weapon's barrel is a few inches shorter than the ones for public ownership...and of course it's full auto.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgoiDbhff9Q&list=PLEACE89A3EC6F104D[/ame]
 
Had one back in '97. Heavy. Balance was awful. And the bolt was so heavy that the gun shifted every shot.

Kept it for about six months, and never got to like it. Used it as a trade-in on a 1928AC. Much better balance, the bolt was not heavy. Better gun all around.

If you do get one, have the magazine catch modified. As they come from the factory, you have to enlarge the latch hole on the mag. Modify the catch so it takes un-modified mags.

Ain't no reason to ruin good magazines - they ain't making them any more.
 
Had one back in '97. Heavy. Balance was awful. And the bolt was so heavy that the gun shifted every shot.

Kept it for about six months, and never got to like it. Used it as a trade-in on a 1928AC. Much better balance, the bolt was not heavy. Better gun all around.

If you do get one, have the magazine catch modified. As they come from the factory, you have to enlarge the latch hole on the mag. Modify the catch so it takes un-modified mags.

Ain't no reason to ruin good magazines - they ain't making them any more.

The Model 27s which are semi-auto and the Model 28s which are full auto only resemble each other on the exterior. The interior mechanisms are quite different as they had to be for BATF approval. It's practically impossible to modify a 27 to fire full auto and that was the intent.
The BIG difference is the price with a run of the mill 27 going for around $1,000 and a 28 running $20,000 on up. Unless there's a radical change in regulations no full auto guns will ever be manufactured for sale to the public again. This has created a fixed quantity of transferable sub guns in a market where they are very desirable hence the prices.
Jim
 
I know that. I bought the 27, for a little over 700, hoping it would successfully scratch my "I need a Tommygun" itch. It was TOTALLY unsat. Using it for a trade-in on a 5K West Hurley was much better.

It's not a Colt. It's not even a Savage. But that 27 just wasn't making it.

Kinda like getting a Vega when you want a Corvette. "It's a Chevy, so it's almost as good."
 
If you got a transferable West Hurley Thompson for $5,000 you got quite a deal as these routinely fetch over $15,000. I'd be interested in hearing how reliably it shoots after you take it to the range.
Jim
 
I found one recently at my nearby Cabelas and got the hots for it, but like I usually do before a purchase, when I got home and read the reviews online, it changed my mind.
 
Auto Ordinance is now owned by Kahr Arms. I had a semi auto 1927 Thompson from them and literally had to replace the extractor every 100 rounds or so. The barrel was over clocked upon arrival. I must say that the service department bent over back wards to fix the problems but it continued to break extractors. If I was to buy one, it would be an early one not made by Kahr.
 
Gentlemen,

Thank you for the replies, I will have to think this over. I wasn't expecting reviews like this, but appreciate your honesty and integrity.

My interest is solely as a collectible, history and television. It would be nice to shoot periodically, but it sounds like the quality leaves a bit to be desired. However, as some pointed out, this is a $ 1K gun versus the originals that go for $20K plus, so what can i expect I guess. Even if I could afford it, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a novelty. THAT and the wife would have some paperwork for me to review...ouch!
 
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A friend has one..left it with me to try out. Cocking knob sliced my hand open, razor sharp ejection port(makes clearing some jams bloody also) rounds in drum or stick mag unreliable feed, heavy.

I couldn't wait to give it back to him.

P.S. I have no interest in seeing it ever again.
 
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Italiansport, if you reread my first post, you'll see I said I bought the 27 in 97, and traded it in on the West Hurley six months later. January of 1998. Paperwork came back in November. Eleven month wait.
 
have one now for about 6 yrs. and it shoots great. mags aren't hard to modify and not hard to find, (they made millions of them) the only problem is it is very accurate but the rear sight leaves allot to desire. but than it is not a target rifle. it is also very heavy and does not shoulder well, but it is very fun to shoot..
 
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