Semi converted to full auto on Discovery Channel?

[52grain]

So if the good ol sheriff isn't going to actually use this for swat, training or demonstration (serious demonstrations for something constructive, not some typical "hey ya'll watch me burn up 100 rounds of tax payer bought 45 ACP real fast" stuff)...he should be made to follow proper guidelines like the rest of us common folk. If he can't get the necessary permits...well no full auto thompson for him!

I'm just saying that this full auto thompson seems like the sheriff abusing his position at first glance. If he's using personal money to do it and making it legal under departmental guise, he should be fired and treated like the rest of us if we convert something to full auto illegally. If he's just doing so he and his buddies can go out and shoot it full auto using tax payer bought rounds for no real reason, he should be kicked in the butt and then fired. If he is buying the ammo himself and shooting it, then he clearly knows it isn't for departmental (government) use and it's illegal.

I'm sorry, but it is a thompson...not an ar 15, mp5 or something of the like that would actually be useful. To me it just seems like the local sherriff building a toy for himself or his buddies and justifying it through his political position. Maybe I'm off base and it actually serves a purpose to behoove the taxpayers in order to justify it's purchase, expensive diet and existence. Maybe it isn't just an exercise in elitism.

Didn't see the episode in question, but based on the description provided here, I would tend to agree. Also, if this was something that the department had a legitimate need for, they wouldn't be ordering one, they would be ordering multiple and the sheriff wouldn't be taking such an interest. Can't figure out what a police officer would need that rate of fire for. The only thing that I can think of is putting down prison riots, but a good shotgun seems more practical.

 

[Monkeyleg]

I think there may also be a degree of subjectivity involved as well. Timing out a four second interval may seem longer or shorter than a digital timer may gauge due to emotional states...

If you're asking about my Thompson, Tommygunner, it was an Auto Ordnance 1986 model, one of the last full-auto's off the line.

I don't think I'm wrong about the length of time required to empty the drum, if for no other reason than a episode I had with a newbie. This guy had never fired a gun before, and I made the ridiculous mistake of handing him the Thompson with a full drum and in full auto mode.

He started firing and, when I saw splinters of wood coming from the ceiling of the range, I kept yelling at him to take his finger off the trigger. I don't think all of that could have taken place in four seconds.

 

[Tommygunn]

I don't think I'm wrong about the length of time required to empty the drum, if for no other reason than a episode I had with a newbie. This guy had never fired a gun before, and I made the ridiculous mistake of handing him the Thompson with a full drum and in full auto mode.

He started firing and, when I saw splinters of wood coming from the ceiling of the range, I kept yelling at him to take his finger off the trigger

Ouch!
Frankly I have no idea how fast a 1986 Auto Ordnance 1986 Thompson fired.

If you know the rate of fire and magazine capacity simple math will give you the answer ... but you are in a far better position to know what your individual gun did than I.

 

[GarandOwner]

It amazes me that any competent gunsmith wouldn't know, or even check for that matter, that the recoil spring of the repro is significantly stiffer than the original full auto (part of their problem for it going full auto uncontrollably) Keep these novices away from my guns! Even if they did treat firearms with respect and follow proper safety precautions, their demeaning manner towards anyone who ISNT buying 10+ guns from them makes me turn off their lame show. Hopefully this show won't give ammo to the anti's

 

[Tommygunn]

Garandowner, I'm sure there are plenty of gunsmiths who have never had any experience with original FA Thompsons and would have little idea what their recoil springs are like, given how rare these guns are now.
In the case of converting a semi to a FA then I think you have a point. A gunsmith certainly ought to be able to diagnose a problem with a malfunctioning weapon.

 

[nalioth]

Before a lot of you get your panties in a wad, remember that it's a televsion show, with a director (in tv and movies, the director tells everyone where to stand, how to act, etc).

I do not for one minute believe that this is how Will and Co. act when not in the camera's eye.

 

[DammitBoy]

Perception is reflected from the camera's eye. I will not buy from Redjacket because of this show.

 

[AlexanderA]

The early "civilian" (1921) Thompsons fired at a rate of about 1,000RPM. Some were a little below that and very few were higher. The civie Thompsons had a "Blish Device". a bronze "H" shaped device that kept the actuator locked to the bolt, but had two "ears" that slide inside slots that were cut into the interior of the receiver. This was intended to slow down the rate of fire through something refered to as a "differential of friction." This device was complicated, as well as controversial, as many people thought it was useless, or didn't perform as advertised, or even made the weapon unreliable.

I've read in several places that "the British in the desert found that the Thompsons worked better without the Blish locks, so they took them out and pitched them at the Jerries." This is just silly. As you point out, the Blish lock (bronze H piece) is necessary to connect the actuator (cocking handle) to the bolt. The gun won't work without it, unless its completely redesigned, as was done with the M1 Thompson.