Quick question

[RogerD]

I purchased a 1928 W Hurley Thompson a few days ago that my SOT had on consignment for a very attractive price. I'm told the gun was manufactured in the 70's and that the last two owners, who knew each other, only fired a few thousand rounds through the gun. I will be the 4th owner. It looks to be in very nice condition. I did not field strip the gun and the question arouse about a Blish lock. Did AO install the Blish lock in 70's era guns. My SOT is out of town so I can't check the gun myself. Thanks for any info.

 

[reconbob]

If it is a M1928 it will have the blish lock. Some guns had the

angle cuts for the lock improperly machined and this is covered

here in previous posts and threads in great detail. If the previous

owners had no problems you should be ok. Then again it sounds

possible that they may not have shot it enough to know, or maybe

the reason they did not shoot it much was because it didn't work.

You need to find the previous thread on this and look at the

photos and you need to examine the gun to compare it to the

photos. If the locking slots are defective they can be fixed - PK

specializes in this - but I don't know that the first thing you want

to do with a newly acquired gun is send it off to get reworked

and of course if it needs the work the price for the gun should be

less.

 

Bob

[TD.]

Hi RogerD,

Yes, your Model of 1928 West Hurley Thompson will have a Blish lock. This is one part that was not manufactured by Auto-Ordnance Corporation in West Hurley, New York. The Blish lock in your gun will be marked on the side with "S" (Savage Arms) or "AOC" (Auto-Ordnance Corporation - Bridgeport factory).

 

As GI Thompson parts became hard to find in the mid 1970s to the end of production in 1986, AOC WH manufactured many of the smaller Thompson parts. None of the WH parts are of very good quality. Be especially careful of the buffer pilot. If it is not marked on the flat side of the flange with the letters "S" or "AOC" - it will need to be replaced. The WH buffer pilot is a two-piece design that can come apart when firing. Inspect this part and replace if necessary before firing.

 

I did a story in the November 2011 issue of Small Arms Review magazine about the West Hurley Thompson parts. Back issues are available at the SAR website. I believe you would greatly benefit from this story.

[RogerD]

Thank you very much. I'll have access to the gun at the end of the week and I will check these items out.

[TD.]

While you have the Thompson field stripped, see if the actuator has any letter markings, usually on the left side toward the front. The markings can be S, square S, R or AOC. If not marked, it may be a cast West Hurley actuator. If so, it will need to be replaced if you plan on doing a lot of shooting! Take and post some pictures, if possible.