I've finally saved up enough to get something I've always wanted, a ''Tommygun''. It's going to be brand new, in the box, so, no worries about buying one that may be broken, shot-out, etc. I know next to nothing about them but have done a little research over the years and especially lately.

It looks like Auto-Ordnance is the brand to go with. I have one of their 1911's and it is good quality, well made and shoots great but it's more than 15 years old. How is their quality now ?

I'll be getting the M1927 Deluxe model with a 50 or 100 rd drum and stick mags. Anything I need to know about that ?
What do I need to look for when I check one out in person ?
Also, I'm left-handed. I'm so used to having brass fly across my face that I don't even notice it anymore, but a Thompson is a blow-back operated bolt, am I going to get a face-full of gas and unburnt powder every pull of the trigger ?
Of course I shoot with eye and ear protection but getting my cheeks and chin peppered with junk would be a little unpleasant .

Any and all advice and info is much appreciated. Thanks.

I am a Lefty who has fired a few full auto Tommy Guns.
One owner used Bullseye in his thousands of reloads.
Lotsa smoke and crud.

I think they all were pussycats.

My only experience was a bad one. A friend bought one and after 3 rounds the firing pin pilot (#19 in the exploded view HERE) sheared in half, effectively ending the fun for the day. He sent it back, took forever to fix, got it back and had nothing but problems after that with feeding/functioning so he ended up returning it and getting his money back.

ETA not that it matters but his was the T1C "Commando" model and HEAVY with that long barrel

I've owned 3 semis over the years, very finicky, long story short I have a 1927A1 SBR from the factory and runs like a dream with the mag it came with. I bought 3 drum magazines
from Numrich Arms, made in Taiwan, some Tommy gun owners directed me too, they said they were the most reliable new drums out there. I haven't had one jam or stovepipe
in any of the drums, heavy yes but it's like shooting a .22 with all that weight, I love mine.

Based on what I've heard, you actually want an older West Hurley model, not the newer Kahr made tompsons.
I have an older WH 27a1 that I just sbrd.  No problems here.

Very nice gun, but it's pretty bad with the 16" barrel.  A must sbr project.

So, 3 out of 4 say they're OK. 1 broke 1st time out. There's a shop about 15 miles from me that has a lot of them and they have a ''NO B.S.'' lifetime warranty. If bought from them and it doesn't work properly they fix or replace right there. So far it looks like that's where I'm going to get it.

Haven't seen any West Hurley models, but will keep looking.

About the SBR route: That's been the plan all along. Instead of waiting and waiting for the stamp to come through then getting the short barreled version, I'll buy the gun now and apply for the SBR then have it chopped off. At least I'll be able to have one now to shoot while I'm waiting. If the shop I buy it from does the chopping it probably won't void their warranty. It's a question I will ask them.

Not a bad plan.  But this is not a gun you want to "chop" the barrel on.  Just get a replacement 10.5" barrel when you receive your stamp.  West Hurley's are the older guns, and don't seem to be very common for sale.  Not saying they're a rare gun, just not for sale often.  

This is how I got mine about 3 months ago, and how it sits now.

That's beautiful ! The wood looks so much nicer now and you have a military model that takes drums too, good idea.

I like the .mil model because of my affection for U.S. military weapons, which I have a good collection of, it would fit into nicely. I actually have enough to get both and am seriously thinking about it.

Seeing the pics of your weapon and the difference between them made me think of a really off-the-wall question.
Since a Thompson separates kind of like an AR (the ''upper'' and ''lower'' slide off), would it make any sense to buy the 1927a1 version now then when the SBR stamp comes through, buy a .mil style ''upper'' with the short barrel ? It could then be interchangeable.

I'd like one but to me they look "wrong" with a long barrel.

What's the difference in the Auto-Ordnance & the original magazines?

location/size of the mag release hole.

Forty5cal....
Yea there is actually a huge difference with these guns and ARs.  The upper for a Thompson is the "gun" with the serial number.  So it's literally reversed from ARs.
Thompson lowers can be swapped out easily, but the upper is yours.  If you sbr it the upper/barrel gets engraved.

Also, thanks, about the wood.  It's the same wood in both pictures, but I stained it reddish/brown so it would all match my m1 garand.

It looks the same color/shade as countless Garands I've seen. Good job getting it right, I bet they look great together. Your Thompson is exactly how I want mine to look.

I went to the LGS yesterday and asked for prices then sprung the wild idea of swapping uppers on the counter guy. He looked like this for a second then said, ''That's something I never thought of doing, but it's a pretty good idea. It's do-able''. He explained it as follows: Buy the '27a1 now, get the SBR stamp, then come back and order the SBR .mil upper.
I would then have 2 uppers and 1 lower that could be swapped out in seconds although 1 would be the longer '27a1 model. If I wanted to get another stamp they would change barrels on the a1 then they would both be ''correct'' length Thompsons.
I have a 2 rifle hard case that can be cut out to fit 1 assembled rifle, an upper, a drum and several sticks. When I go shooting I would take that and have 2 different Thompsons and much less weight to carry.

I know what you're saying about the upper being the serialed part. On paper it will look like I have 2 SBR rifles.

In my mind this would be no different than having an AR with different uppers except the ''uppers'' would have serial numbers.
What do you think ? Am I warped or do you think it would work ?

Again, everybody's opinion and ideas are welcome and appreciated.

Auto Ordinance:  Out of business.  Owned by Kahr.  Kahr:  current manufacturer.  The AO has no warranty if not manufactured under Kahr, and Kahr will not touch it.  This is what they told me when I had a bad drum and lost a rear sight screw.  

Drums can be quite finicky, fragile, and are pricey.

The tommy gun is a heavy bitch.  I traded an AR in .45ACP to get mine.  That was a mistake.  I sold mine a couple years ago.  It did run well with stick mags, after they were modified for the correct magazine catch position.

I would get an SBR right from the factory, Form 4, that's what I did. No engraving of your name that nobody wants to see if you ever sell it. I checked Numrich website, the 50 rounders are $179, they lowered them after the
last ban scare, they are worth every penny.

True that.

If you absolutely must have one of these, try and find a set of "EZ-Pull" springs, else you'll need 2 strong men and a boy to help you charge the gun at the range. And lord help you if it jams with a drum in place... Stick with stick mags for your own sanity, only need 1 drum jam to convince you.

I would never buy a Thompson unless I was content with other go to rifles.  The semi auto Thompson is a novelty(I'm not talking about an smg).  It is heavy, it is cumbersome, and a pain to load if using a drum; but damn it looks badass.  I couldn't be happier that I have one, but I would never use it for anything serious.  It's role is to look damn good, and the nostalgia of it being a fantastic combat/gangster submachine gun helps.

Yes the EZ pull spring kit is a must also.  I did a lot to mine to get it perfect for me.  But luckily it has always run well.

I knew I'd get good advice from the guys on this site and you haven't let me down, Thanks.

Here's where I'm at now,
I know Kahr Arms makes the Thompson but they are under the Auto-Ordnance brand name.
A ''Tommygun'' is a novelty. It's by no means a self-defense weapon. I have plenty of those. This/they will be purely for shock and awe value. I can imagine the looks on my friends' faces when I pull a SBR Thompson from the case. I'm 40+ yrs old and I've wanted one ever since I can remember.
They just don't look right at all with those half mile long barrels. The only one that even remotely looks like it should is the military one with the horizontal foregrip here: Military Model
and that is still long.
I've waited this long for one, I can wait a little longer to get exactly what I want. I'll get the SBR stamp then order a .mil style from the factory or dealer. If it works and doesn't have any problems then I'll get another stamp and get the '27A1 SBR.

Thanks for the info and sharing your knowledge and opinions.

ETA: An EZ Pull spring kit is a ''must have'' and I will get one.

Can't get a stamp until you get the S/N.  Buy the gun 1st.  Then file for the stamp.

I bought a spare horizontal foregrip for mine to swap out the vertical sometimes to give it the "Windtalkers" look.

I bought a AO m1a1 version new in 2012 and haven't  looked back. It's a really fun gun to shoot and I've never had a jam. I bought a few extra 20 and 30 round stick mags. Guess I got lucky. It is a pure novelty, but a fun one.

I have two of the Kahr/AO Tommy guns. I have the Deluxe 1927A1 semi-auto (I live in Washington State and we can't have full auto) with a 16.5" barrel and a Kahr/AO TM1 with the 16.5" barrel.  I bought the 1927A1 NIB in May of 2014. I bought the TM1 used from a local gun store about 7 months later.  The 1927A1 wouldn't fire more than 5-8 shots without jamming. I  bought 12 more 20 and 30 rd mags and modified them for the semi-autos.  Some of them were better and some were worse than the factory new mag that came with the gun.  The used TM1 came with 8 30rd mags and two of them worked 100% in both guns. So that told me that the problem was with the mags not the guns. I modified the mag lips slightly, took some pressure off the rounds and they started to shoot 100% of the time. I had to do a little tinkering with a couple of the 20 rd mags but eventually I got all 21 mags to work 100% of the time. I have wanted a Thompson since I was 8 year old. My uncle was stationed on Okinawa from 1950 to early 1953. He trained GIs headed for Korea how to shoot everything from 1911s to 155mm Howitzers. He had some great stories about the Thompson's and they were one of his favorite guns.

I have a blast with both of my Thompson's now that they shoot as they should. When I uncase them at the range everyone has to stop and come and see them. I let everyone have a 20 rd mag to try out if they want. I get a lot to takers!!! Everyone walks away with a BIG grin on their face.  

</a>" />


</a>" />

Guys I went though it, and ended up sending my Kahr Thompson to PK in Colorado to get tuned and prettied up.

The Kahr are not all that. The West Hurley is a better choice.

Good luck. Just realize to get it to do what you want reliably, you'll spend the 750 - 1200 initial costs and 1200 PLUS in tuning etc.

ONLY go to PK in Colorado. He will likely ha it for 6 months to a year....fair warning, but, it's worth it

I read somewhere that Kahr may introduce a carbine with a shorter barrel, with the moderator permanently attached to make the entire barrel 16". The barrel should be about 1.5" shorter than the current models.

I just got mine back from PK about 2 weeks ago.  It took him 2 weeks to swap barrels for me and a couple other small things.

Well, I had significant tuning and the deep blue polish and a change of attachment of the fore grip. He even tuned a drum magazine.
I took a long time, but, it was beautiful, and functioned.

I had it at the gun show and some guy just kept handing me 100 dollar bills until I took them for it......I regret it to this day.... just like most every firearm I've sold....well except for that lead-spitting P.O.S. Hawes .44 magnum back in the day...LOL

Mine runs fine.....








shooting video!
http://vid942.photobucket.com/albums/ad264/patiance4you/DSCN2756.mp4

I've had three, an early 1990's West Hurley, a mid-2000's Kahr TM1, and a 2013 Kahr 1927A1 Deluxe. Of the three, the latest production Kahr (with the round knob, and removable buttstock) is the ONLY one that works 100%. I have SBR'd it, and that, and the EZ-Pull springs are the BEST things you can do with the things. SBR'ing it made it a new weapon. Totally. It restores the original balance and ergos and makes a heavy POS into a full on hoot. Especially when bump firing. I live in WA too, and that, and the price of FA means I'll stick with the Kahr. I have set it against my nightstand on SHTF detail. I have many firearms, and would trust this one as much as any. It never jams. Oh, ditch the gangsta foregrip and go horizontal like Sgt. Rock. Handles MUCH better. And stay with sticks. The drum is ridiculous. Two 30 round sticks and you have more capacity, at a fraction of the cost, and you'll never have to wish you had three hands.



www.armoryz.com

Here's an article on the new 14" barrel Auto Ordnance is building. No tax stamp required::

http://www.ammoland.com/2016/01/thompson-t1-14-carbine/#axzz3zdSjtsm6