Legality of Semi-Auto Tommy Gun?

[Sampachi]

Hey! I sent you over from Gunboards yesterday. Good to see you got the info you wanted

[audihenry]

Here's my son shooting our semi-auto Thompson 1927A-1.

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It has a 'fixed' 10 round drum. Basically it has the equivalent of a bullet button that requires a tool (I use the end of an allen wrench) to depress a pin that allows the mag release lever to move. It's as legal as any BB.

Here's a close up of the mag release lever. The 'button' is the round spot in the middle of the textured part of the lever.

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I need to point out... when I got the gun all it had was a set screw holding the mag lever in place... making the gun CA legal... BUT completely unusabe. The problem with the 'set screw' solution is that you have to REMOVE the screw to drop the magazine/drum, and you have to drop the magazine/drum in order to load it. Unfortunately, while the screw is out, you have an illegal AW on your hands.

Unlike many guns (with a fixed mag) it is not possible to load the Tommy via the ejection port (at least not with a drum).

The bullet button that is currently on the weapon I made by using a buffer-detent and detent-spring from an AR. I pulled the grip off the gun, drilled out the hole so that the detent would fit, inserted the detent and spring, then put it back together. I also drilled out and slightly resized the hole (where the set screw had been) in the mag release lever. This is now the hole the detent sticks up into.

It works great.

The biggest problem actually has nothing to do with CA law, but with the fact that the Tommy is a pain in the asp when it comes to detaching and loading the drum. You have to use their 'third hand' tool or reach up behind the drum with a long thin tool, with the bolt locked open, in order push a lever that allows you to slide the drum out. This is a pain because the bolt does not lock back on the last shot when you are using a drum, so you have to lock the bolt back manually, and the Tommy (at least mine) is really, REALLY stiff. (but it's getting better as it breaks in)

So the Thompson is a big, heavy gun that is a complete pain to load, especially when it's just 10 rounds... BUT what a fun gun!

Thanks for your thorough reply! So, if I understand correctly, do you load the bullets with the magazine attached or do you use the tool to remove it, load it, and then attach it? Or is doing the latter completely illegal?

[audihenry]

Hey! I sent you over from Gunboards yesterday. Good to see you got the info you wanted

Thanks buddy, I appreciate it!

[saki302]

I think they make a new model with an alloy receiver.

A gripless M1 with 30rd stick mags would be the ideal choice- assuming you bought spare bags before the 94 ban..

Sure, it's heavy, but the thompson is a f-n tank. I don't see how anyone could wear one out in a lifetime of use- the springs, maybe.
My buddy's dad loved his in WW2, though that was of the 'real' variety! He gave many a German soldier extra ventilation holes

(on a side note, I handled both the SBR and 16"bbl thompsons at the SHOT show. The 16" version balanced better IMO- I don't know if they add weight to the stock or not on both, but the SBR felt back-heavy. I played with the drum version and stock version, IMO the drums are too clumsy and difficult to use, whcih is probably why our boys didn't get them in ww2)

-Dave

[scubamark13]

My drum is a pain in the butt to load. You need the 3rd hand to lock the bolt back then you need to take the clip off then pull the cover off and load the bullets. And you do the reverse to put it back. It takes a while.

A .22lr version may be the way to go if someone is looking for something fun to shoot.

[audihenry]

But is it fun to shoot???

[scubamark13]

Of course it is anything is fun to shoot.

[Utha Schleigle]

I owned one and my dad owned the other. Any way heavy / finicky on ammo / 50 round jammed and some spun bullet around / only stick mags worked for me. Very sturdy - lots of safety features. Lots of metal to clean.

Yes it was fun at the range - many people still remember the UNTOUCHABLES with Robert Stack.

[gosparx]

Thanks for your thorough reply! So, if I understand correctly, do you load the bullets with the magazine attached or do you use the tool to remove it, load it, and then attach it? Or is doing the latter completely illegal?

With thy way the drum works on the Tommy and the size/location of the ejection port you have to remove the magazine/drum to load the gun.

If the only mag lock you have on the gun is the set screw, then while you are loading your gun, you have an illegal AW.

From what I've seen, at least up at Angeles Shooting Ranges, they don't seem to care. Just make sure that you put the screw back in before you leave the range, and hope there isn't some noisy DOJ wannabe shooting next to you.

The way I have my gun set up (with the spring and detent) the gun is CA legal ALL the time, whether or not the magazine/drum is attached to the gun.

All you need to do the conversion is a hand drill, the right sized bit and the buffer-detent and a buffer spring. The mods can also be done using the safety plunger and spring from the side of a 1911 pistol, but the AR buffer detent works much better and is easier to install.



Any more questions, just ask.

[chief_of_smoke]

Go to Las Vegas and shoot a real tommy gun at the Gun Store at 2900 E. Tropacana, $45 for 50 rounds. I did it last weekend.