Does anyone else own a Thomspon "tommy" gun? If so, please step in.

[dlclarkii]

I just got this Thompson 1927 A-1 T1 last week and I took it to the range today for the first time and this gun was a real pain in the ass to shoot. I have a few questions for anyone else that has a tommy. I used 230g 45 ACP by Remington as recommended by the manufacturer.

First here's the Tommy:


First question, I used the 30 round stick to shoot my very first round. I released the bolt in it's locked position and my first round was loaded in the chamber. I aimed and pulled the trigger and nothing. WTH? I inspected the gun, checked to make sure the safety was off and attempted to fire and nothing. I did this inspection a couple more times and finally the gun fired. Is this normal on the first use? I typically except any gun to fire when ever I pull the triger. What happened?

Second question, I also have a 50 round drum, I loaded the drum per the instructions and wound the spring 9-11 clicks. Half way through spending ammo, the drum appeared to need to be wound again? The instructions didn't say that? The spring inside wasn't tight enough to push the latter half of the ammo out of the drum. Every ten rounds I had to wound it another click. Is this normal? No wonder why the GI's never used the drum in WWII.

Third, see the pictures below. Because the cartridges were not tight in the drum (see the above question as why) the cartridges started jamming in the gun's chamber. The bolt was frozen shut and after softly hitting the bolt backwards I was able to lock the bolt and release the drum. The bolt froze because of this piece which I'm not sure what it's called (seen below). What is it and why did it do this? I was able to work in back in place with a pair of pliers? Is this common?







What it should look like after I fixed it.


This gun is sooo finiky and it belongs in the Smithsonian.

Now that the gun is "fixed" and the bolt is not frozen, I attempted to dry fire and I don't hear that "click". I don't have time to drive to range until next weekend and I'm not sure if the gun will fire or not? I'm considering calling Kahr tomorrow regarding these problems. If anyone else owns one of these guns and can tell me what I may be doing wrong or what is happening I'd greatly appreciate it.


Thank you.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[bbqgrill]

I don't own one but that looks like the extractor.

I've only seen one once and the guy was shooting a Viet Nam Commemorative with all the engraving and gold, anyway he was shooting handloads and blew the magazine apart and cut his hand.

[Chuck R.]

Send it back ASAP.

I've got an M1 that I inherited from my uncle.

They are finicky, but some guys have great luck with them. Mine had issues, and locked up on it's first range trip. Two trips to "The Tommy Gunner" for over a year total, and $400 later it now runs like a sewing machine. Mine now even feeds my 200 grain SWC reloads.

Mine is the pre-Kahr version. From the picture, it looks like your extractor is broken, or at least come off the bolt.

Do not, I say again DO NOT work the bolt with the safety on it will damage the sear and you will have issues somewhere around the $400 mark

Chuck

[dlclarkii]

Send it back ASAP.

I've got an M1 that I inherited from my uncle.

They are finicky, but some guys have great luck with them. Mine had issues, and locked up on it's first range trip. Two trips to "The Tommy Gunner" for over a year total, and $400 later it now runs like a sewing machine. Mine now even feeds my 200 grain SWC reloads.

Mine is the pre-Kahr version. From the picture, it looks like your extractor is broken, or at least come off the bolt.

Do not, I say again DO NOT work the bolt with the safety on it will damage the sear and you will have issues somewhere around the $400 mark

Chuck

It would have been nice if this was written in the instruction book because I have been working the bolt with the safety on and off trying to unfreeze the bolt when it jammed. But I guess I have to send it back because the damn gun won't dry fire now. Son of a bee.

[unleashed]

wow i was looking in to one of these ,,but i thought it out an will just keep
saving for a full auto that is what i really want,,, did u have to pay for the glass??
mabe that happe when u droped it thru the glass,,jk lol

[Chuck R.]

It would have been nice if this was written in the instruction book because I have been working the bolt with the safety on and off trying to unfreeze the bolt when it jammed. But I guess I have to send it back because the damn gun won't dry fire now. Son of a bee.

Sorry to say it is:

Page 9 of the owners manual:

DO NOT PULL BOLT BACK WITH SAFETY ON OR DAMAGE TO THE FIRING PIN MAY RESULT AS WELL AS PERSONAL INJURY.

Problem is, it's in red like the other 250 warnings in the manual. And of course on every other page it says "Always set weapon on Safe when not in use".

Like I said, I never even got to fire mine as I inherited it. My uncle never fired it either, but he must have been one "bolt to the rear" pulling individual, because "clicky no worky" when I got it.

Chuck

[dlclarkii]

Sorry to say it is:

Page 9 of the owners manual:



Problem is, it's in red like the other 250 warnings in the manual. And of course on every other page it says "Always set weapon on Safe when not in use".

Like I said, I never even got to fire mine as I inherited it. My uncle never fired it either, but he must have been one "bolt to the rear" pulling individual, because "clicky no worky" when I got it.

Chuck

I like the word "MAY" and it's called a "SAFTEY WARNING" You think the manuf could put it in big bold text and take the word "may" out? Lovely warning, I had to put my bifocles on to read it. Maybe this is gun is a piece of crap and that's why they have 250 warning lables, lol. But thank you for pointing this out, I was trying everthing to get the bolt unfrozen. I had no [Edited] clue what was wrong at the time. The son of a bee really started to piss me off with all the problems I was having with it today. IMO it's a complicated gun. I'll contact Kahr tomorrow. Thanks again.

edit: I tell you pulling the bolt back takes a gorilla arm, it's a very tight spring.

wow i was looking in to one of these ,,but i thought it out an will just keep
saving for a full auto that is what i really want,,, did u have to pay for the glass??
mabe that happe when u droped it thru the glass,,jk lol

No the glass didn't cause damage to the gun, the gun was in it's hard case and the hard case was in the shipping cardboard box.

[paul45]

I have a 1927 A1 I bought new about 2 years ago. I only have 20 and 30 rounds sticks. I could not justify the cost of a drum vs $15 for a Stick Mag at the Gun Show.
I have over 2500 rounds thru it. It has functioned flawlessly. The only issue was the screws that hold the rear sight shoot loose after about 50 rounds. I red lock-tited them but they need to be redone ever 200 rounds or so. The gun is accurate and fun.
It looks like the extractor broken on your.
Good Luck - Let us know how the customer service is and how they treated you.

[dlclarkii]

I have a 1927 A1 I bought new about 2 years ago. I only have 20 and 30 rounds sticks. I could not justify the cost of a drum vs $15 for a Stick Mag at the Gun Show.
I have over 2500 rounds thru it. It has functioned flawlessly. The only issue was the screws that hold the rear sight shoot loose after about 50 rounds. I red lock-tited them but they need to be redone ever 200 rounds or so. The gun is accurate and fun.
It looks like the extractor broken on your.
Good Luck - Let us know how the customer service is and how they treated you.

Funny you mentioned that, the screws that come loose on mine today too.

PISTOLS SHIPPED TO THE FACTORY MUST BE SENT PREPAID. THE KAHR SERVICE DEPARTMENT CAN NOT ACCEPT COLLECT SHIPMENTS.

I have to pay to ship the gun to Kahr. I had to pay to have the gun shipped to a local FFL and now I have to pay shipping again. And I threw the shipping box away so I don't have any way of shipping the damn thing back now, lol. This just ticks me off. :(

[Greg in VA]

I have a full-auto M1A1 Thompson, so not sure how much help I'll be. Your last photo of the extractor after you fixed it, well, it's not fixed. It should be pushed further to the rear so that it's somewhat even with the bolt face. This could be why it dosen't go "click"...the bolt isn't going into battery. Have you field-stripped it?

[cphilip]

I have the later military clone A1 model.

[Stout308]

I also just purchased a late 1980's Thompson 1927A1 and am having a major problem with the weapon not firing. I posted a new thread with better details, but basically the trigger will not release the firing pin with the gun "right side up". Oddly it fires everytime with the weapon "up side down" though. If you come up with any ideas on fixing your problems or have any infor on mine please let me know. Thanks.

[dlclarkii]

Update 2/21/09:

Prior to today I took the Thompson apart and reset the extractor on the bolt plus I cleaned it and re-oiled the gun. I took the Thompson back to the range this morning for the second time and it worked flawlessly. The Thompson ran like a sewing machine spitting out 110 rounds w/o once choking and that was from (2) 30 round sticks and the 50 round drum. The 50 round drum worked flawlessly too. I took the advice of another member and wound the drum (3) 360* turns (i.e. 12 (1/4) turns). Plenty of spring tension to snug all 50 rounds. Thanks for all the feedback. David

[SHOOTER13]

I own a 1927a-1 Thompson T1-C...Commando model...with one 50 round drum and ten 30 round stick magazines. Once broken in, they are a blast to shoot.



Tommy Gun bolt springs are very very stiff when NIB and the bolt assembly must be kept well oiled...especially for the 1st thousand rounds. Even the way you load the drum and stick mags...very precise...you got to read the manual.

You gotta push up on the mag release while you slide the stick mag in, then slap the bottom to make sure the mag catch clicked into the mag hole. ( The bolt can be in either the open or closed position...SAFETY ON )

The drum must be inserted into the receiver slots from the LEFT SIDE ONLY. ( The bolt must be locked open {back} to load...SAFETY ON ) The bolt will remained closed after the last round is fired from the drum and must be locked open {back} to remove the drum. It does take some geting used to...and it does become second nature after awhile.

Looking at your pics: You got an extractor problem...it may even be broken. I would look into sending it back to Kahr / AO to repair...and there is a procedure for that too...read the manual...you must contact them first and get a shipping confirmation number before sending it off.
And wrap it yourself...buy insurance...and don't tell the jerk you give it to that it's a gun...tell 'em something like machine parts for a lathe...or you'll never see it again.

Good luck...let us know what happens !!

[Shadowsbane]

I used to own one. Make sure you just let the slide slingshot by itsself when you chamber a round. Mine would never feed right if I rode the slide.

Also the rear sight coming loose seems to be quite common.