Man finds Thompson Submachine gun in Grandma's basement

[Akita1]

It doesn't look like a war relic….unless it didn't see much combat, was packed away (by a person with museum skills) in a no-humidity environment, etc. Plus, thought the versions carried in WW2 had different barrels and fore ends, right? That one looks like either a recondition or a remake of a street version, given the condition and parts, IMHO. Still cool of course!

 

[berettaprofessor]

Unfortunately this sort of thing is very likely to happen more and more often as all the old WWII vets die off now and the guns they brought home with them re-surface out of old homes.

Actually, folks, this is going to happen less and less often....because most of them are already gone. An 18 year old who enlisted in 1945 is now 86 years old.....

 

[Sam1911]

Unfortunately this sort of thing is very likely to happen more and more often as all the old WWII vets die off now and the guns they brought home with them re-surface out of old homes.

We have a sticky on this very subject: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=570018

 

[Steve CT]

Several months ago a Sturmgewehr 44 showed up in a gun buyback here in CT. The police officers running the buyback recognized it for what it was and have held it for the elderly lady who turned it in, in anticipation of it eventually going to a museum. It was a WW II souvenir brought home by her husband, who had passed on a while ago. Evidently an attic queen all these years, never registered.

 

[medalguy]

I think it's a non-gun. Look at the left side of the receiver rear section. See the difference in color in the pic? Probably a cast zinc receiver and the area where the manufacturer's ID would go was machined off in the die. Also the wood looks branbd new, definitely hasn't been in a basement for 40 years. BTW I still own two registered Thompsons so I do know what they should look like, and I've owned quite a few in the past.

 

[wetpowder]

I would have just kept my mouth shut.

 

[Silverado6x6]

I knew a buddy in Alaska who still had an M2 left over from WW2 from his father, fully operational. But man oh man you would never get a peep otherwise about if he shot it or where it was.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

A real 1921 or 1928 SMG with a vertical grip would have wood that looks more contoured than that pictured. I think it is a reproduction, non-firing replica. Need to see down the barrel.

 

[Dave P]

"I knew a buddy in Alaska who still had an M2 left over from WW2 from his father, fully operational. But man oh man you would never get a peep otherwise about if he shot it or where it was."


From a reliable source, I heard that civilians were given M2's to help protect the shorelines in case of attack. In FLA, that was Lafayette County, at least. And some were never returned to the GOV.

If that is true, then I would bet that happened in Alaska also.

 

[mr.scott]

When will people lean to shut their pie holes? If it's been there for 40 years, just put it in your safe and don't post it on the internet.
I blame the Facebook generation in their apparent inability to not post everything online.

 

[TheOld Man]

The wood doesn't look right. The metal looks like some kind of potmetal. I bet if you jam a stick down the barrel it will only go about halfway. It would be a cool wall hanger.

 

[gopguy]

Another vote for dummy gun. It does not look right...

Here is a real 1928 and a real 1921, images are not mine image found on web.

1928


1921

 

[Fishslayer]

That's the part that makes me think its fake. Enough said, I think.

You'd be surprised how many people know zilch about gun laws. Somebody I know used to drive merrily back & forth to & from the range with his/her handguns in an unlocked container. A "no-no" in California.

My guess would be that "possibly" the owner simply had no clue what he had nor the massive strokes the mere sight of such a powerful military style high capacity assault weapon could induce in liberal citizens...

 

[msb45]

Quote:
I guess I am ignorant when it comes to machine guns, since I was not aware there was a registry of them. Heck how hard would it be for the government to know where they are and confiscate them if there is such a registration process
It isn't just machine guns, and it isn't recent.

The "National Firearms Act" was passed in 1934 and required that all machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, silencers, and a variety of other miscellaneous firearms be entered into a registry held by the federal government.

(Originally it was intended that all handguns would also require registration, but that was struck from the bill before it was passed. Only in the context of that does the restriction on SBRs and SBSs make even a scrap of sense.)

In the last almost 80 years, the federal government has not moved to confiscate those registered firearms. But hey, maybe they will tomorrow!
__________________
-- Sam

Why confiscate them? At this point they're out of the reach of most people. Mechanically they've got to be failing at some rate. Effectively they've been confiscated for most of us. Progressives work the long game, so long in fact that most people don't notice the slow death. Sort of like the frog in a pot, slowly getting warmer.

 

[joeschmoe]

When will people lean to shut their pie holes? If it's been there for 40 years, just put it in your safe and don't post it on the internet.
I blame the Facebook generation in their apparent inability to not post everything online.

Not me. I don't see any advantage to keeping it, and a constant worry if it's ever discovered. Instant trip to club fed. If it's contraband, I don't want it near me.
You can't shoot it, can't sell it, can't keep it, can't show it off... (at best bury in the deep woods, probably never to be seen again).
Even in the most extreme case, post apocalyptic/invasion by Red Dawn forces, it offers almost no practical advantage over a semi-auto.

A real legit, legally transferable, original collectors grade Tommy Gun? Now that has real value and worth big bucks.

 

[The-Reaver]

And he mentioned it on the net? JA

I can see he's not to bright.

 

[Mike Sr.]

An idiot for telling the world.

 

[blackrussian]

It is a replica, as posted on reddit. The OP even mentions that it has been "plugged".

 

[jmorris]

Granted I know some about what it takes to get "permission" to own one(i.e. tax stamp), but did not realize law abiding gun owners readily accepted such an infringement on our 2A rights.

If you are a law abiding machinegun owner you already paid for the tax stamp.

Maybe the same thing as having car insurance, you can have it or not and either way still drive. One way is legal the other is not.

The difference is what the penaltys are.

 

[Tommygunn]

Looking at the photo tells me its either a West Hurley made gun or a non-firing Collectors Amoury model.The wood is not WW2 for a 1921/28 style model,the wood would be rounded on the pistol and fore grip.
The finish doesn't look right and looks more like a zinc(Zamak) Collectors Armoury wall hanger.

I agree with it being a Collector's armoury zinc wall hanger. Aside from the wood look at the rear of the receiver. I se what looks like a rectangular impression. There should be make & model # markings there.
I thing Rodinal220 called it exactly right.

 

[Ron James]

deleted, double/double

 

[tsmgguy]

Gun looks like one of the zinc fakes. Note the slab sided appearance of the fore and pistol grips.

 

[Big Al Mass]

That is a replica made by the Model Gun Company (or MGC) of Japan, probably in the '70s or '80s. It is a very realistic replica that is easily mistaken for the real thing by those that don't know guns. Check out the following: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output...65,d.dmQ&fp=48852c8d9c493afc&biw=1280&bih=832

 

[mo_dingo]

Glad everyone recognizes this as a fake. Sad, but true!

 

[hentown]

Not me. I don't see any advantage to keeping it, and a constant worry if it's ever discovered. Instant trip to club fed. If it's contraband, I don't want it near me.
You can't shoot it, can't sell it, can't keep it, can't show it off... (at best bury in the deep woods, probably never to be seen again).
Even in the most extreme case, post apocalyptic/invasion by Red Dawn forces, it offers almost no practical advantage over a semi-auto.

Whaddaya mean, "you can't shoot it?" Why not? I have access, as do millions of Americans, to thousands of acres of land, on which there are no BATFE agents hiding in the bushes, waiting to catch me firing a non-registered weapon.

I've fired several f.a. weapons at our local WMA range (yeah, that's against the rules, too), and in other locations near where I live, and nobody's ever asked me for any kind of paperwork. (The firearms WERE legal, but nobody asked me.)

I've known a few folks who owned illegal f.a. weapons. I guess some of their family members still own them. There are no felonies, unless one is charged with a felony.