I have held and shot the new AO version. It is heavy, heavy, heavy and for me, it wasn't much fun to shoot. Give me a .45 ACP 1911 any day of the week; much more fun to shoot.
As far as reliable or worth the money, I didn't put all that many rounds through it. The $1,600 price is pretty competitive with other dealers.

 

The Kahr folks bought Auto Ordnance a little over 20 years ago. They moved production to Worcester, Mass. They have a better reputation than the old West Hurley offerings.

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The 16" barreled versions are about as impractical as a firearm can be. Ungodly heavy, long, extremely long length of pull, awkward to manipulate and cumbersome. The SBR versions are much better, and of course more historically accurate, but they're still pretty heavy and mostly just range toys. Having said that, I've always wanted a genuine Thompson SMG since I was a kid, but unfortunately they're illegal in WA. And of course now even the magazines are about to become illegal as well.

My best suggestion would be to check out MAC's review of a semi-auto SBR he bought a couple of years back. It looks very well-made inside and out, but he did have some functioning problems with it.

 

The AO Tommy gun is very heavy and unwieldy the alum version saves 2 3 lbs maybe without the stick mag full. I have handled one in all steel and it is a boat anchor but fun to shoot. I thought about one at first but after shooting one in SA only I thought not. I know nothing of their 1911 reputation, pretty guns and I have handled one of them as well. All case colored frame and slide.

 

I've shot a Colt-made 1921 Thompson (the real thing), and yes, it's heavy, heavy, heavy. It was fun, especially with the 50 rd. drum, but I can easily see why US troops often ditched them for lighter weapons. The short range couldn't have been real endearing, either.They DID look cool, and are fun, but I'd hate to pack one (and the needed ammo for it) very far.

 

I am better off with a pair of my 1911s and a bunch of mags. LOL although the aluminum framed gun in SBR would be a joy to own and play with. I want to build an AR pistol in 45, but need another lower to build it on.I see lots of 9mm pistol builds but no 45acp AR pistol builds....does anybody have one on here???

 

I am better off with a pair of my 1911s and a bunch of mags. …
…

I agree! I had a friend with an AO back in the 70’s, very anticlimactic.

 

Thats it right there, I just need another holster for my shoulder rig and I will be 3 gun Doug LOL

 

Thompsons are fun! This was right before I retired. I was lucky enough to be able to practice with these for the last 20 years, several thousand rounds a year.

 

I’ve shot early Thompson’s made by Colt that belong to a collector. Surprisingly accurate if they haven’t been cowboyed. The a1 are hoses and I can’t think of anything more worthless than a semi auto version of a SMG. I had a M1a1 awhile when overseas. I traded it for a cut down M2 carbine. Which was a hose too but much lighter and easier in confined spaces. M3s were a heavy piece of junk and I wouldn’t want one for primary weapon. CAR-15 was much better weapon but weren’t widely issued yet.

 

... More interestingly, there was a NIB Tommy gun 45 ACP that looked extremely nice fit and finish-wise. It was tagged at ~ $1600.

Before the pandemic I was considering a Tommy Gun but since then my priorities have changed. Interesting thread and thank you for starting it. I really appreciate the replies.

 

The mag opening and ejection port are very close and that area is very weak compared to the rest of the receiver.

 

When I was in Vietnam, a SGT told me a humorous story. Apparently a trooper in one of his units scrounged a Thompson, and wanted to carry it on an Operation. So eventually the SGT relented, but insisted the solder carry the same basic load as the others with their M16's. The trooper lugged it on one op, and said never again. NV

 

My uncle carried one in Korea. He said that he made the mistake of stripping the rounds from the magazines on the way back to camp due to the weight he was carrying.
They were attacked and he only had two loaded magazines. What a mistake and a lesson. Don't throw away your ammo in a war zone.

 

Certainly not practical but can be a lot of fun. I have a “lightweight“ one that I’ve done a lot of work on to make it a reliable & easy cocking range toy.

 

Lightweight??? I figure the one I fired weighed 18 pounds or so with a fully loaded 50 round drum.
The other thing to note is that it will operate with GI Ball but commercial ball ammunition may often not be powerful enough to function the gun. It also needs three hands to change an empty 50 round drum. The full auto versions don't need that because they fire from an open bolt. Velocity is also significantly higher than from a pistol: about 75 FPS faster IIRC. The drum is also a B*tch to load. Have an instruction sheet handy while doing it and don't wind it up until ready to use it.
Which model of Thompson were they selling?

- Ivan.

 

I dont shoot my TommyGun that much, they are heavy pigs. Mostly I let my friends play.

I cant even imagine how much this would have sucked to drag across Europe in WWII.

I was not going to get a TommyGun, but then Griffon Suppressors announced an adaptor for the Bushwhacker46 and the TommyGun. So I had to get one of each... Now if I could just find a Cutts Comp to put on this thing to run it suppressed.

First up is my good friend and her first 20 round mag. Her laughter is awesome.

Next up is a friend of mine. His first time shooting a full auto.

One of the best parts of having full auto toys is being able to share them, and then seeing the smiles.

 

Ok, so, now for the rest of the story........... (Read at your own peril, as I am an unabashed Thompson enthusiast, a throwback to more elegant times, and woefully out of place in the sad, sad world of 2022)

Is the Thompson heavy? Well, let's see................ Yes! Yes it is, in fact. Specially when compared to plastic and aluminum disposable stuff, yes, it is very heavy. But, why is that? Well, it's from a time when things were made to last, and built with pride. (Reckon the fact we have near 100-year old Tommy guns still being used today with their original parts, save springs, is a testament to that.) The internet philosophers will counter with: "Well, if Gen. Thompson had had access to aluminum, and plastic, and 'modern' gun manufacturing techniques, he would've used them!" Perhaps, but all I can say to that is: 'Thank God he didn't!"

I can't help but find it humorous that living at time when we, as a people, are bigger, stronger, fatter, than at any other time in our history, we complain about 'extra' ounces in firearms, of all things! I confess, I do laugh when friends who clock in at over 250# and stand above 6' commence to debate how to reduce a 5# black-rifle by 2 or 3 more ounces by switching out this or that component. The stark reality is that none of us are parachuting into the Hindu Kush nor storming a beach any time soon. Those are the scenarios where firearm weight and combat load are actual considerations. The 'outdoorsmen' will argue: 'Now, see here, you try going up hills and down dales, and over saddles, and cresting ridges with a heavy gun in your hand!' Frankly, the Thompson isn't the gun for that anyway!

So why the Thompson? Because it's fun. You don't need any other reason. The vast majority of modern firearms are boring, to put it mildly. ARs, in particular, hold little in terms of 'wow' factor. How do I know? Simple - lay an AR/M-4 beside a Thompson, an MP-40, a BAR, hell, A Reising even, and ask a newbie what they would like to shoot first. Odds are good I know what they'll pick last. It comes down to sheer pleasure. Most of the guns we own, if truth be told, are there for the enjoyment factor. Sure, we talk a whole lot about defense, and survival, and Mad Max scenarios, and yadda, yadda, but the fact is we just like to shoot guns. Weight doesn't even factor into the equation when one is going from house, to car, to range, to car, and back to house....... and that's what the huge majority of our guns do. So 10# empty? Who cares!!

I shoot mine in Steel Challenge. Why? Because it's fun, and it's a connection to those by-gone times. (Hell, some my mags are over 70 years old - and still going strong. Damn they knew how to build stuff back then!) Anyway, I've never noticed the weight when the 'beep' goes off. But folks do notice the ringing steel!!!!

As an aside, I remember reading stories years ago from guys who used them in Europe and in the Pacific describing how glad they were to have one when they needed it. Likewise, there were accounts from Germans who had to face them and weren't all too happy about that. I think firearm weight is more of a fixation than it need be for we the 'recreational class'.

 

Likewise, there were accounts from Germans who had to face them and weren't all too happy about that.

They may not have liked facing a Thompson, but we definitely didn't like facing their MG-42, or their 88's for that matter. The Germans didn't seem nearly as impressed with the Thompson as they were with the Russian PPSh. Now THAT was a bullet hose! The Germans used every one they could capture on the Russian front. Of our weapons they seemed to admire the M1 Carbine most, and even assigned their own designation of Selbstladekarabiner 455(a) to captured ones that they repurposed.

 

I think the new Tommy gun is a fun firearm to consider. Not much wrong with a 45 ACP "carbine" to put some rounds down range with, though the H&K USC 45 is a few $100 less than the AO. I did some additional research and I really like the all black AO Commando model. Looks like I'll be visiting the LGS again this week to check on availability of other models. To be continued ...

 

Well, I’ve fired a full auto and was on the fence a long while before I jumped and bought a used AO 1927a1 WH semi gun from 1991. Figured a used gun would have the bugs worked out. It worked ok, was accurate and liked my ammo but was stiff to cycle. I bought the reduced power springs and made a buffer which fixed that. I got a numrich 10.5 inch barrel, sent in my sbr paperwork and waited. Found a real Thompson stock slide from the Netherlands and modified a enfield buttplate to fit the original Tommy stock. When I had everything I sent the gun to a Thompson smith i found in the machinegunboards forum. I also replaced the square cocking knob with a correct round one, had my smith swap barrels, swap the cutts, and mill it for a easy takedown stock. Turned out nice. I built the ukulele case for it and a few friends too. I’ve since built a horizontal forearm for it and added a sling. A neat toy.

 

That's pretty sweet.

 

I got one for no other reason than I wanted it. I've been very happy with it as a range toy. As time goes by, I would like to SBR it. Loading the drum got old real fast lol.

 

 

I also bought one of the AEG Thompsons when my Son was interested in Airsoft. I bought him a SCAR-H at the same time. Neither one of us has ever fired our 6 mm Airsoft guns. My Son like to cycle the action of his SCAR when he is playing online games. The sound does have a pretty good resemblance to an actual gun.
We started when I bought a transparent 1911 Airsoft gun way back. I tested it by shooting it at a paper shopping bag in my living room.... MISTAKE!!! The pellet went through both sides off the bag and a cardboard backer and was ricocheting about the room! It is a LOT more powerful than one might expect.

- Ivan.

 

The only way that I could see my way to a semi auto Thompson would have to be as an SBR. Point of fact is that unlike the 9X19 round the .45 acp round performs pretty poorly out of a carbine length barrel. I can appreciate that you guys like them. But SBR or full auto would be the only way that I would go with one. Just sayin.

 

Hello USMM guy,
Not quite sure what you mean by "performs poorly". If I am remembering correctly (It has been a bunch of years since I ran a chronograph on a Thompson carbine), the longer barrel was doing about 70 FPS faster than a 5 inch pistol and that isn't too bad for a tiny little powder charge. Not sure what GI Ball is loaded with. I also can't remember how fast my reloads were going through the same gun but I make a habit of not loading anything hotter than GI Ball in .45 ACP. There is certainly room to do so as far as pressure goes and the Thompson can certainly take it. Accuracy isn't really any better than a good 1911 but the gun is a lot easier to shoot accurately. Bore quality on this gun was somewhat mediocre in appearance even though it was very close to new and may even have been unfired. The reason I believe it was either unfired or minimally fired is because there was no noticeable wear on any of the internal parts and a lot of them still had very sharp edges from machining.

I was also wondering if anyone else has modified their semi auto Thompson to function with unmodified GI stick magazines.

- Ivan.

 

Check it up against what the 9X19 round gains in terms of muzzle velocity out of a carbine length barrel and you can see what I am looking at. Point of fact is that I purchased a Berretta CX-4 Storm carbine a few years ago in .45 acp. A great little carbine that I would recommend as a great house gun for about anyone. But I really screwed up in getting it in .45 acp. No performance increase out of a carbine length barrel and you can only get eight round magazines for it.
Subsequently I suggested to a relative to get one in 9mm for his wife for a house gun with OEM magazines that hold thirty rounds. A much better way to go IMO.

 

What everyone said. I got 1 in the early 90s think Ive shot it twice. Its got to be the heaviest thing in my safe.
When i did shoot it, it ate everthing without a hiccup out of drums and magazine.
Mostly just for bragging rights or conversation stater.

 

It seems to vary by firearm. The American Rifleman did a review of the Marlin .45 Camp Carbine back when it was new to market, and they found most ammo had about a 50fps loss out of the 16" barrel compared to a 5" 1911 they fired alongside it for comparison.

 

The obvious question is what kind of ammunition were they using on the Marlin?
If it was regular commercial ball ammunition, I can see that being quite possible. It averages about 40 FPS slower out of a 5 inch 1911 in my experience which suggests that the powder charge is well below GI ball. I have run into batches of commercial 230 Grain ammunition that were not even breaking 800 FPS. The Thompson won't even cycle reliably with commercial ball ammunition. It takes considerably more powerful ammunition to get it to run and the extra power in the cartridges might make a difference with the longer barrel as well.