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Tommy Guns Are A Hoot

nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
edited July 2002 in General Discussion
Just finished night qualification.

Anyone who wants to bring ammo and will let me know ahead of time can shoot a Thompson. We don't keep .45 ammo here, so the shooter must provide. It is a hoot. Especially at night.

We have two, WWII production guns. One is a 1928A1 and the other is a M1A1. I like the 28. Hard to hit anything with, but fun to shoot. The M1A1 has a bulged barrel and sometimes the sear sticks.
I scrounged up about 150 rounds of .45 ACP ammo, and three of us sure had fun with it.

These are some of those guns that were given to local agencies by the Feds a long time ago. Because of that, there are strings. The guns stay here FOREVER, or else they are destroyed. A shame.



SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
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Comments

  • IconoclastIconoclast Member Posts: 10,515 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    nunn, you got the 'hoot' right! I had a chance to use a LEO weapon once under similar conditions. The officer told me, and a few tries convinced me he was entirely correct, that shooting more than a short burst was best accomplished was laying the thing on its side. Man, did the muzzle love to climb. Ya gotta love all those Hollywood scenes where the shooter blasts through a fifty round drum in one pull and the muzzle stays level - yeah, right! And the sucker is *heavy*! My request to the Make A Wish Foundation involves several boxes of Philadelphia PD riot loads, 50 rd drum, about three truckloads of glass bottles filled with water and two good video cameras to relive the moment.
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  • competentonecompetentone Member Posts: 4,696 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "...bulged barrel and sometimes the sear sticks"???

    And you're inviting the "public" to come shoot it--with their own ammo no less (can they bring reloads?) ???

    One little KB, and out come the lawyers...
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  • AlerionAlerion Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    nunn,

    One of my friends is a Class III dealer and a collector as well. (Almost all of his sales are to police agencies.) The last time I saw him we took out a Thompson and an Uzi to play with. I can see why you'd want anyone that shot the gun to bring their own ammo. If you did keep .45 ammo there you wouldn't keep it long! Beleive me, we spent a lot more time loading mags than we did emptying them. We went through about 250 rounds of .45 and 200 9mm before we were done. Of course it took about three days to get the smaile off my face!

    Tom

    So, just how does rendering me defenseless protect you from violent criminals?
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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well I think me and the over 700 rds of WW2 vintage 45 ball ammo I have need to go on vacation. I haven't been to Texas in years. You never know, maybe I'll come down and visit. I've been wondering about a quick way to burn it all up so I could get the brass. The stuffs all corrosive primed though.

    Woods
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  • bama55bama55 Member Posts: 6,389 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Thompson is my favorite FA weapon to shoot. Big grins!!!!!

    Don't send flowers when I die. Send money now, I can buy more ammo.
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  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
    edited November -1
    We don't shoot the A1. Pay attention.

    And the offer is not open to the public, but to officers of this agency.

    SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
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  • sandman2234sandman2234 Member Posts: 894 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Due to rules forbidding class III weapons at the local gun range, I get plenty of chances to shoot full auto weapons down at the Farm. Invitation only, by myself or the owner or my shooting partner, but we three have had some great guests with awesome weapons.
    One of the pawnshop owners has several thompsons, and we have a blast with them. The thing I like most about the Thompson is the recoil. Different from most everything else we shoot. But the best thing is the owner brings a dozen or so 100 round drums already loaded for the days shoot.
    Anybody ever shot a semi automatic revolver? Had one brought to the farm. Kinda neat.

    Have Gun, will travel
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  • TxsTxs Member Posts: 17,809 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thompsons are unique, even in the world of Class III weapons. Hand most any grown man a Thompson and he becomes like an amazed little boy. That includes me.

    These weapons are almost entirely machined, all the way down to the sling swivel mounts, and cost the gov't about $200.00 a copy-even back in the '20's-'30's. They're 10 plus lbs. of steel and wood (that's empty-30 rd mags add ~1.75lbs) that give you the feeling you're operating a bullet launching machine rather than just firing a gun. The various 1921,'27 and '28 s even had felt pads inside the receiver that you were supposed to keep soaked in oil to keep the bolt running smoothly. A brass oil can was located in the stock.

    The Thompsons (except for the M1&M1A1) had Lyman sights, adjustable to 600yds. I know this sounds pretty optimistic, but you can give area targets a hard time with it at these ranges. You can fire 2 rd. bursts and have time to raise your head for a clear view before the rounds impact.

    The recoil of a 45ACP in such a heavy weapon is more of a slow push than the hammering climb of most modern subguns. If you shoot it properly and keep it down to 2-4 rd. bursts they can be amazingly accurate. Just pull it in tight and tap out these bursts at the same rate you'd fire rapid semiauto rounds and you'll lay down some serious firepower in a hurry out to about 150 yds.

    I agree, they're definitely a hoot. Firing one of these is like driving a '55 T-Bird. There may be more modern ones that do a better job, but none do it with more style!

    Txs-LE Subgun Instructor

    Edited by - Txs on 07/12/2002 16:02:21
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  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
    edited November -1
    What was wrong that you couldn't get on for so long?

    SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
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  • TxsTxs Member Posts: 17,809 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    nunn-
    I don't know. When I'd type my message and hit the button to post, everything would look normal. I'd even get the pop-up saying my message had been received and thanks for posting. Problem was, none of them would ever appear on the board.

    I was waiting on the next full moon so I could bury a sack of chicken bones and my memory cards under an Oak tree, but today I tried wrapping my 'puter in tin foil. Suddenly, my posts started appearing again. Go figure!
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