I kinda want one but cant decide weather I want the pistol or the rifle what are the pros and cons which model should I get and do they take surplus GI mags, I am leaning towards the 1927/8 so I can use the drum. Not entirety sure why I want one but I do!

I've had one since the late 1990's.  Works great YMMV.

As for the pistol vs the rifle, it's totally up to you.  I have the rifle and am in the process of SBRing it.(what took so long, right).  Pistol would be cheaper to SBR but there was no pistol when I bought my rifle.

USGI mags will not work 100% of the time without modification to either the magazine (frowned upon) or the magazine catch (better solution)
USGI wood stocks will fit except for the front handguard which would need to be open up some.

Replacing the springs is usually something folks suggest to do right away to ease the pull of the cocking handle.  I just leave my bolt in the open position for storage.  I also rounded off all the sharp edges and had it parkerized.

Having shot the drum @ the old NRA DC range, I can't recommend the drum - it tends to slide out of place & jam.  The sticks are much more reliable - but that was a sample size of one.  Always seemed the aluminum framed models would be more practical.  Also seemed the ergos were too wrong for my nose - kept getting bopped.

thanks guys, were would I find the springs for the replacement to ease the cocking?

They are heavy pigs, and the novelty wears off pretty quickly.........one gun I definitely don't regret selling......

Just my experience. I had the 1928 model. Might have felt different if it was SBRd but I doubt it.

My experience as well.  Once everybody admires the "Thompson," the thrill is gone and you're left wondering why you're trying to hit something with this heavy-ass PCC.

If you ever get to handle a real Thompson like the early ones made by Colt, you'll forget all about the "Thompson" made by what is called Auto Ordinance.  That is precisely what happened to me.

heavy and expensive? yeap.
one of the coolest ways to send 45acp down range.
the drums are neat, but i never use mine. 20rd sticks are the way to go.
i've been thinking about sbring mine for over a decade now. i had the barrel shortened and the comp permanently attached and sbring it just hasn't been a priority.
i bought an m1928 savage part kits years ago for the barrel, and so far have used most of the parts other than the barrel....including the lower.

Brian what parts of the lower did you use?

The lower, and it's wood.

will a full auto lower work? What mods need to be done?

You can use a full auto lower but it will need some slight machine work to be done for the semi auto upper to fit.  The semi-auto internals all fit as well.  

If you do get the semi M1927 version the lowers are all over the place.  The fire select can be modified as a bolt hold open to make loading of a drum easier as well.

Thank you what type of work are we talking about? I think it would be neat to have a real original lower but this is a new weapon for me and I don't know anything about them, also I want to stay compliant with all those silly laws LOL but I have decided on the pistol. Just need to sell a few AK's to fund this!

More or less my experience too. I got one about 5 yrs ago. It was cool and very accurate. However, the novelty wore off fairly soon. Disassembly  and cleaning was a hassle also. I was able to sell it for a little more than I had in it so worked well for me, but unless I had a 'real' full auto Tommy, I scratched my itch.  

I just bought a 1927A1 Deluxe from Cabelas in Post Falls, ID.  I was vacationing in Spokane, WA at my daughters place.  Took my adult granddaughter and her new husbands pistol shooting at a range in Post Falls, ID. After shooting we went to Cabelas to look for 22 ammo. You can't get much of anything in Western WA.   Got a Remington Bucket of Bullets for $85.00.  I went down the gun isle just to see what they had. The last rack I came to had the Thompson out in the first slot. I about wet my pants. I have been looking for one for 2.5 years and couldn't find one in stock in Western WA.  Did the paperwork and packed it out to the daughters SUV.  In WA, Cabelas has to take it our to your vehicle.  Came with 1 30rnd stick mag, 50rnd drum. very nice fitted hard case, and a violin case, cool!!!  Also bought 500rds of 45ACP Blazer Brass ammo. As soon as I got home I ordered 2 more 30rd stick mags, a mag loader, and 2 more 3rd hand parts (they're small and easy to lose) for the Thompson and they will be here on Wed. 5/27.

I was born in 1948 and we got our first TV in 1954. The only thing on TV in those days was the news, some quiz shows, a few local talk shows, and lots of old movies.  I watched all the old gangster movies, war movies, crime fighting movies. I grew up watching everyone using Tommy guns!! My uncle spent two years on Okinawa teaching GIs headed for Korea how to shoot everything from 1911s to 155mm howitzers. He had some great stories about the Thompsons!!!  I grew up with the Thompsons, even had a Mattel toy Thompson that I wore out in two years.  I will never tire of the Thompson. It's part of my history and the history of our nation. It was the last gun on my gun bucket list. My daughter and son in law (retired Army) will get it when I pass on. I like the rifle version and it's legal in Washington now to own SBRs. So I might look around for a SBR Thompson M1. It's heavy, and the price of a nice 1911 (of which I have two at the present time), but I just love it!!!!!

I would go with the short barreled version with the detachable stock that is available from the factory.  

Lots of info about the semi version on the web.

Took mine out  yesterday it was a blast for sure SBR is coming drum ran flawless with 230grn ball and the stick mag conversion was cake.

I've owned an AO TA5 tommy gun pistol, TM1C rifle and a West-Hurley A5. All mine had the aluminum receivers, so weight wasn't an issue.
The A5 is unique in that it's a sort-of pistol, with the VFG. It has a 13" barrel with a total length of just over 26". That makes it an "other" firearm, and perfectly legal to have a VFG. Just no stock. They appear on Gunbroker occasionally. They haven't been made since the early 90s.
I sold all of my Thompsons, mostly because I needed the cash. I'd like another one, this time either a 1927 rifle model or another A5.

I really, really REALLY want one, I would have to smuggle it and mags up here though, they were too scary looking so are banned by name

One day maybe

Better choice with a pistol Especially if you want to SBR it down the road. There's a handful of folks of folks in the country who work on them, if that.

Someone built an AR upper w/ side-feeding Thompson mags, and spiral cooling fins on the bbl, as well as a Thompson foregrip.  Are you still allowed to have ARs?

My 1927A1 was an over weight, unwieldy, obsolete, expensive to shoot range toy that I somehow still enjoyed having.
Then I popped $200 over to Uncle Sam and got the SBR Tax stamp.
It's a whole new gun.
Some weight must be gone, but it can't really be much, but it FEELS so much better. Perhaps it's the balance? It's just "right" now.
Now it's an acceptable weight, handy, obsolete, expensive to shoot range toy that I shoot more than all the rest of my firearms, and I have many.
Seriously, in the WW2 horizontal foregrip mode with the 10.5" SBR barrel, it seems every bit as handy as my Tavor, which I compare because it shoulders similarly, with a lot of weight in the shoulder contacting portion of the firearm.
Should it be taken seriously as a modern tacticool zombie slayer? Probably not, it can't even spell the word "picatiny", but it would certainly work thusly in a pinch.
I am very fond of mine, and it runs like a clock.
Oh, and with the BBL shortened, they bump fire easily, which, while not really very important, or prudent, is still a fun way to spend a lot of money quickly for those of us in non-MG states.

My Ta5 pistol bump fire perfectly, Yes I did it with the 50 round drum!! It was a pleasure to shoot but having the 10" barrel on it already and being in Az the  SBR route is a no brainer for me. I do like the horizontal forgrip  but comparing it to the vertical I actually prefer the horizontal one for ego reasons. I will replicate the early 21's w/o the Cutts compinsator, just my taste but over all I am happy with my purchase! Highly recommended.

I'm am also one how went the SBR route with the Kahr.  Merged their Commando 1927 model with a parts kit from IMA.  Did all the work myself after a lot of research.  Modded the mag release to take GI mags.  Modded the full auto switch to act as bolt hold open.  Now it's a great gun.

awesome pic .....love the smile

Shame no one keeps that range area nice.. like racking up the spent stuff.

Agreed on the range clean up we always try to take all our empties. I did a lot of research before buying one. Glad I did I have loved the Tommy ever since I was a kid. It will go well with my pther SBR's TNW  PPSH-41 & TNW  Suomi KP-31!!!

Man those pics are making me even more antsy waiting for my paperwork to come through!!

Svt40 what did you SBR?

Just wondering where did you have your work done on the SBR Thompsons also what did it cost? I am about 1 month away from getting mine approved to SBR it

I have a Kahr TM1 that I bought back in 1998.  I put in to SBR it in April.

I found a guy who does a lot of the semi Thompson work on the machinegun boards.  His forum name is Deerslayer.

Looks like it will run around $500 for the barrel swap, new handguard bracket, dummy auto selector, modifying the magazine release, repairing the modified magazines and engraving.  It was just a rough quote.   That is also with him providing all the parts.

The only thing I've done to mine is taking a die grinder to it and smoothing out all the sharp edges then getting it parkerized.  I also added USGI wood to it.

Yep, happy as hell to sell mine and never looked back. You want a historic PCC then look for an Uzi, HK94, or Sterling carbine.

None of those would look right in my jeep though.

The heavy carbine aside with that horrible long barrel once you SBR them they are an entirely new gun and a fun weapon to enjoy. I went the pistol route and  waiting on my paperwork. Cant wait  to get it and really enjoy this gun more than I do now.

Bought the M1 factory SBR. Definitely a fun rifle to shoot. Got a good price on it, so made it less of a burden. I got a good deal on a factory 27 SBR too which the form 4s are being mailed tomorrow on. Not the most practical gun I own but a cool piece and fun to shoot for a 45 semi. Gets a lot of looks at the range

If you SBR them, don't pay anyone to rebarrel it, do it yourself. They are almost as easy as an AR...maybe easier. I did mine, with much fear and loathing, and was surprised at how easy it was.
Pad the receiver and clamp it in a vise, put an old belt over the barrel and work it out with a set of vice grips. Drift out the grip hanger AFTER the barrel is out (if you want to replace it with a G.I. 1/2 inch one), and reverse the process with the new barrel. I used a slide on front sight, so I didn't have to worry about timing it, and then drill pressed a hole for the pin, and off I went. Much easier than it sounds.

Agreed it does seem a lot easier that what people make it out to be some want an arm and a leg to do it for you.

Waiting on my beloved stamp for this this. So far I have put 1500 or so rounds down range with it no issues at all, the drum has been 100% reliable as well. The soft clicks and the loud ones when winding  were interesting to get used to but it works!

the soft clicks are a rivet or two, they can be dremeled on a little. that makes the soft clicks pretty much invisible.
just pop the retainer on the back side and disassemble the drum, then you should be able to see the two rivets.

Awesome thats helped alot!!:)

Ive had mine 10 years.its heavy,but I really like shooting it.not sbr.everyone likes to shoot it.its very accurate.ive hit beer bottles at 150 yards with it.believe it or not,lol.i would def buy another one.

I have the detachable stock  version of the 1927a1.  I could not be happier with it.  I have five of the 20 round sticks, in addition to the 30 round stick and the 50 round drum.  I'm on the fence about going the SBR rout.

Here are a couple photos.

First, with the stock detached.


And with the drum.

Shoot it enough and you can run them like a boss and smoke dudes with AR's and laugh at everyone that say they are heavy.


Takes 6-800 rounds of running them hard... once you break 1k the things are nothing to handle.

About 3 weeks ago I stopped by a new gun store near where my mother lives. I had passed it up four times and this time decided to stop in and see what they had. They're just getting started and building up their stock but it's a nice shop.  So I started looking at the rifles on the wall and what do I see, a Kahr/AO semi-auto TM1 Thompson. We can't own SBR at this time in Washington State due to sloppy language in a new set of gun laws the gun grabbers passed in 1/2014. So I asked to see it and It was in great shape and came with 7 30rd mags. So I did the background check and paid the $899.00 asking price and took it home. There were a few very small rust spots on the bolt but some steel wool took care of them. Other than that everything was in excellent shape.  It took it to the range and put 200rds thru it. Two of the mags worked 100%, fired every round every time. The other five were jam-o-matics. Looking at the rear of the mags it was always the left round that failed to chamber. The bolt would catch the round but it would hang up in the mags and the bolt would shove it into the right side of the chamber and jam it.  

So I figured I couldn't hurt the mags any and decided to see it I could fix them.  I found that the left feed lip on most of them hand small dings that would cause the round to jam in the mag. So I straightened out the feed lip and tried pushing the round out by thumb pressure. If it got stuck again then I did more reforming of the feed lip and opened up the front of the lip slightly.  When I could push the round out by thumb pressure I figured that it was fixed.  So I did all 5 bad mags and headed for the range the next day. Eureka, all 5 mags fed every round from full 30 or 20 round capacity down to just a few rounds in the mags.  I had 10 mags that I got for my 1927A1 and they all had feed problems. So I did the same fix on them and they all now feed 100% reliably also. I found that most of the left feed lips were curved down too hard against the follower. So I bent them up slightly and took some pressure off the round and that helped also.  The adjustments were only about 1/32nd to 1/16th of an inch, not much but enough to make them feed reliably.

The TM1 shoots like a dream and is about 2.5lbs lighter than my 1927A1.  If Washington State ever refines the language in I 594 so we can again own SBRs, I'll get both of them short barreled!!!

Zamo,

You are not accepting IM's.  Any way you can turn it on so I can get some details about the barrel you used?

I like mine.  A lot.  I've had it for several years.  Everyone who shoots it loves it and can't believe how accurate it is. I bought tthe 1927 deluxe model, but now outfitted it with a horizontal grip because the look and handling is much better.  It's so accurate and recoil is so negligible that it's almost boring.  I don't mess with the drum mag very much, but they're a must-have because everyone always wants a picture with one!  

If I had it to do over again, I would go with an SBR.  In fact, I'm going to probably stamp mine some day.

Mine is on the way back from the engraver right now.  Since I went the SBR route I decided to have the military markings engraved so it goes with my WWII jeep.  Once it's done I will post some pics.

For those of you who swapped the 16" barrel for a 10.5" yourself, did you have to head space it?  If so where did you get the head space gages?  And who has finned 10.5" barrels in stock?

Military barrels dont need to be head spaced I thought

not so much head spaced, just a matter of getting the front sight dovetail in the 12 O'clock position.

I don't think that will be a problem as the 10.5" barrel that I will be using does not have a threaded muzzle.  I am going with the ring style sight that is pressed on and then drilled and cross pinned.

How easy is it to convert one of the 16inch 1928s over to an sbr or should I just get a form4 one from the factory

Yep...