I Got My Tommygun Now What?

[Mot45acp]

Traded my franken tacticool AR for a LNIB Tommygun (straight across)
Not a scratch ding nada. Case, 2 stick, and drum mag.
Musta done somethin right in a previous life.

OK now the fun starts. Disassembly.
I see the takedown pin on the rear of receiver. I can get the "upper and lower" to start to slide apart....a lil bit. It seems the recoil spring wants to push it back into place.

Also if there are any other "tricks" it would be appreciated.

ps I can fit more than 50 in my drum will it hurt anything?

Help my fingertips cannot take much more of this.

Thanks
Mot

 

[Chuck R.]

1st off, DO NOT PULL THE BOLT TO THE REAR WITH THE SAFETY ON!

I kind of learned this lesson the hard way. I inherited an older Thompson from my uncle whom had never fired it, but had apparently pulled the bolt to the rear with the safety on a few times. The gun is now out at "Tommy Gunner's" waiting on about $400 worth of repairs.

Do a search on Tommy Gun, and you should find the Auto Ordinance site. From there you can download a PDF owner's manual.

Chuck

 

[dfariswheel]

Here's the manual:
http://www.tommygun.com/ao_manual.html

Follow the directions carefully, disassembly is rather complicated.
The striker MUST be in the fired position. Make sure the chamber is empty, then pull the trigger before beginning disassembly.

 

[Diamondback6]

Another group that can help is the forum at www.machinegunbooks.com . You'll have to register first, and some of the old-school Colt full-auto owners can be a little Fudd-esque in their attitudes toward non-Colts in general and "mere" semiautos in particular, but there are a lot of us over there who are more reasonable, also.

Tell 'em "nedry" sent ya.

 

[Tbu61]

Here is an option to Cleaning that pesky Tommy...

Trade with me for my Bushmaster AR and I will handle the cleaning chores! The AR-15 is MUCH easier to take care of and I will throw in a Speed loader for the magazines..... Gotta give those poor fingers a break!

tbu

 

[RCR29]

DO NOT ROTATE THE SELECTOR LEVER TO FIRE WHILE THE GUN IS APART! Don't ask me how I found that one out.

 

[Sistema1927]

Now what?

Buy lots of ammo, and invite a bunch of your enemies to meet at a garage on February 14th.

(Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. )

 

[B.D. Turner]

Lucky you. I always wanted a Thompson. I bought a Commando clone one time that used grease gun mags it worked pretty good but was never the real thing.

 

[Mot45acp]

Wow!! Whoda thunk that it could be damaged so easily? It says it will damage the firing pin if I rack it with saftey on.

How did this become $400 worth of damage? I really dont want to damge this as it is my new "pride of the fleet" What does rotating the selector while apart do?

I did a 30 rd function test. HEAVY!! Zero malfs. Zero recoil. About as loud as a 22 pistol. Only problem is it doesnt shoulder well to me due to angle of stock + weight. I thought the 1000 yard sights were funny. Dang drums are pricey too.

Looking for option to mount this on wall. It has to be mounted with the drum. And not permanant.

 

[Chuck R.]

Mot45acp,

New sear, new FP, new bolt, and an upgrade. The cost isn't the bad part really since the gun was "free". The bad part is the wait. I sent it in July, and it should be here around April/May if the Smith's estimate is right.

They really are fun guns despite the 16" barrel and the weight. As you pointed out, zero recoil. Once I get mine back and it's up and running I plan on shooting it in a couple of our combat league matches.

Chuck

 

[RCR29]

The only thing I hate about the thompsons are their heavy triggers. I feel like popeye after shooting a few mags. Rotating the selector lever to fire locked the gun up. I rotated it while the gun was not fully apart, and it would not go back together nor come fully apart. I would steer clear of the new drums anyways, since it is hit or miss if they are going to run from the factory.

 

[Diamondback6]

Yeah, I think it's called an E-Z Pull kit. Check Tommygunner.com for it.

 

[RCR29]

Thanks, Diamondback. I really hate shooting that gun because of how stiff the trigger is. It has became a safe queen.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Now what? Get the violin case.

 

[Sunray]

"...a LNIB Tommygun..." What make and model? There are Choppers and semi-auto Chopper-like Thompsons. 'LNIB' suggests a semi.

 

[aaronrkelly]

When I get about 10K I dont know what to do with Im getting:


Tommy Gun
1936 Ford 4 door (with rear suicide doors)
Zoot Suit


.......and Im going out on the town.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a question about the S/A Thompsons. Why is it that the gun has a 16-inch threaded barrel threaded for a compensator that adds 2 inches, making for an 18-inch barrel, instead of a more natural looking 14-inch barrel with permanently welded 2-inch compensator? Does it have something to do with an overall length requirement of 26-inches with the buttstock detatched?

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

thought the 1000 yard sights were funny. Dang drums are pricey too.

I'd pay to see someone make a 1000 yard shot with a thompson.


At one point I thought about getting one, but I just couldn't get used to the way that the rifle shoulders.

That said, I'd love to get a FA one with 100,000 rounds of ammo and just have a hell of a time at the range with friends.

 

[dfariswheel]

Prince Yamato:
The 16" inch barrel is because some Thompson's originally didn't have the threaded barrel. Current M1 military style guns also have a smooth muzzle with the front sight pressed on.

In order to prevent having to make two different barrels for very similar guns, they simply use the 16" inch for all.
Also, if the compensator was welded on, this would make re-barreling a gun difficult since the front sight wouldn't line up without a lot of extra work.

As is, the Thompson barrel is head spaced at the factory like most SMG designs, and the Cutts compensator is simply screwed on and fixed with the sight properly aligned.
Much simpler all around then trying to save 2" inches.

 

[AH-1]

I have had mine now for years and love it.it is a bit to take down but over time it will be easier.
one thing these really like cast bullets if you reload.I have shot mine out to the 150 yard line and printed some good groups.the AR guys freaked but bring the rear sight up a few clicks I was eating up a silhouette target .
pete

 

[Mot45acp]

I get a new toy and they put me working 7 day 16's I really need to get some trigger time in. Hvent had time to fool with it. I get home, shower, bed, get up and do it all over again.

 

[Zach S]

BTDT. Hated it. I lasted about two weeks, quit, and sat on my tail for about a month living off of that one two week paycheck. Good luck, I hope those hours dont last long.

I own two west hurley 1927s. More fun than a barrel of monkeys. They've ate everything I've put in the magazine. Hi-Shoks, Hydra-Shoks, golden sabers, gold dots, you name it.

Come to think of it, they dont like blazer. Blazer brass is fine, they just dont like aluminum.

I think the recoil is weird. There is almost no recoil, but lots of muzzlerise for me. I think its the high bore axis.

One more note, if you shoot ARs a lot, and shoot with your nose touching the charging handle, get yourself in the habit of leaving a little room between the tommygun and your nose... Especially if you have a nose like mine (I look like a 25 year old version of Andy from DOTD).