To be fair about the Numrich/Kahr Thompson's.
The later safety levers are exact copies of the WWII safety and selector switches.
Very soon after heavy production started during the war, one of the first things to go was the fine, forged and checkered switches.
They were changed to a simple cylindrical body with a straight pin pressed in.
So the pinned safety is correct for the M1 type gun, and an understandable change on the other models.
As for the long heavy trigger pull, this is a direct cause of the design of the gun's trigger assembly.
Back when George Numrich started the design of the semi-auto Thompson, the ATF didn't want ANY gun made that even resembled a Thompson.
As one example, Plainfield made an M1 Carbine with an aluminum stock that had a Thompson-like butt stock and pistol grip, with an aluminum Thompson front grip cast with the stock body.
The ATF very nearly didn't let Plainfield sell it because it resembled a Thompson.
When Numrich started work on the Thompson, the ATF flat refused to allow it, and ordered work stopped.
Since there was NO law or regulation forbidding it, Numrich threatened to take ATF to Federal court.
Faced with the certainly that Numrich would ram it down their throat in court, the ATF agreed to allow Numrich to make the gun, but insisted it be impossible to convert to a full-auto.
When the gun was introduced, George Numrich gave a press conference in which he bragged that he'd spent $100,000 designing a gun that could not be converted to full-auto.
Within months, The Shotgun News was full of ads selling plans on how to convert the gun to open bolt and/or full-auto.
The reason the trigger pull is so heavy is the convoluted sear/striker/hammer system used in the gun.
Like many semi-auto replicas of SMG's, the makers wanted to use as many full-auto parts as possible to cut costs, and Numrich had literally tons of left over WWII 1928 and M1-A1 Thompson parts.
In order to satisfy the ATF and to allow using as many full-auto parts as possible, the semi-auto Thompson guns have a one-of-a-kind ignition system that simply doesn't allow a finely tuned, light trigger.
You have to approach the Thompson as what it is: A legal, firing replica of a historical full-auto gun.
It isn't a modern, light weight assault rifle, and it isn't a target rifle with fine adjustable sights and a crisp trigger.
Like the original gun, it's made of solid forged and milled steel, and American Walnut.
It's HEAVY, bulky, and has a rather crappy trigger.
You have to look at it like one of the replicas of a Colt six gun or one of the replicas of the Winchester lever rifles.....
A shooting replica
What it really is, is a "fun gun", that's as close as most people will ever get to having a full-auto Thompson.
Complaints about how long, heavy, and bulky the gun are, and how heavy and creepy the trigger are miss the point.
