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New - Colt Thompson in French Service


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The breakage was certainly unfortunate, but how many are shot where nothing breaks. The 21 Colt shoots in

a unique way and replacing the original actuator with a 28 actuator will certainly alter the way it shoots. To each his own,

but I would rather it shoot the way it is supposed to shoot rather than like something else...

Sorry you giving bad advise. When the Colts were being shot like wild ponies, the Colt parts were easier to replace and they were not the collector pieces they are today. Protecting the high value and hard to replace items is the best advise to take. Just bcause you have a 4 wheel drive does not mean you have to bury it in mud or take it boulder hopping. I do not see many Mercedes SUV's on the logging roads elk hunting.

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I realize the wrath that I am about to bring down upon myself but nevertheless here goes:

Don’t change out ANY parts. Shoot it exactly the way it is. That’s how it came out of the

factory and that’s how it was meant to be shot. These guns were not made to be babied.

Shoot the bejesus out of it exactly the way it is and enjoy it!

You even capitalized the word any. Bad advise!!!

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Free advice is worth what you paid for it. And here's mine. This is a rare firearm and irreplaceable family heirloom. If something goes wrong, no amount of cussing will send you back in time to undo what you did. "That's why we told him to swap out parts." Then he's not truly shooting his grandfather's gun anymore, so what's the point? There are enough other Colt Thompson owners out there who can get you trigger time under the right circumstances to keep your risk/reward ratio reasonable. I've got an original Colt 3rd Model Dragoon (1854) and an Uberti repro of the same revolver. One's for fondling and one's for firing.

 

Stepping down from my soapbox now...

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Well, you all have the advantage of me. I personally find it incomprehensible that anyone would own a gun that

he is afraid to shoot. But, that’s just me. I would LOVE (there are those caps again) to shoot the gun that is

the subject of this thread, but not with so many parts swapped out that you have to read the markings on the

receiver to know what you are shooting...

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Thanks for all the information and advice. We have shot it multiple times. two or three times about 20 years ago, and about a month ago trying to up load a video.

Im still just blown away about the possible history. I really wish I new more about how my grandfather got the gun. We have a trunk full of old letters he sent home after the war we are rereading to see if he talked about it at all. What little info I have Ill try and write up as I understand it.

 

I cant seem to get them to work Im not the most techy person.

Edited by Slightly Twisted
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Congratulations and thank you Slightly Twisted for sharing.

I encourage you to keep searching for info on your grandfather. My dad was a WWII vet who passed away 10 years ago and we are still coming across old letters and documents relating to his war service that he never mentioned. He was in Germany near the end of the war, but the coolest thing he brought back was a sword.

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Well, you all have the advantage of me. I personally find it incomprehensible that anyone would own a gun that

he is afraid to shoot. But, that’s just me.

 

Fortunately for Lucas McCain, Artemus J. Quarles didn't share your opinion. Even back in 1959 when this episode was filmed (or circa 1880's/90's time period of the western "The Rifleman") some firearm enthusiasts were fanatics about preserving the original condition of their prized possessions.

 

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Slightly twisted, that is a beautiful Colt Thompson.

Here are a couple of Photos of Colt Thompsons in French Vichy service:

 

Sgt 23 RI 1941 Caylus Trg camp.JPG

 

Sgt with infantry Regt. at Caylus Trg camp 1941, where I spent a bit of time myself on the training grounds in the 1980's.

 

Vichy Gendarmes 1943.JPG

 

Vichy French Gendarmes on parade in 1943

 

Stay safe

 

Richard

 

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Do you mind if I share these photos?

 

Feel free, I found them in the French publication, 'Gazette des Armes', and there are some more on the board, that I have posted in the past.

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Do you mind if I share these photos?

 

Feel free, I found them in the French publication, 'Gazette des Armes', and there are some more on the board, that I have posted in the past.

 

Here you go:

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15126&hl=%2Bfrench+%2Btroops+%2Bindo+%2Bchina

 

Stay safe

Richard

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That does look like a cross-hatched German WWII sling. If it has three holes then it's a 98K sling and the buckle (frosh) is missing. If it has just two holes it's an MP-40 sling. That may be an original MP-40 sling button.

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Morning thanks for all the great info. Work has been a b#$&h it week and I haven’t had time to do much. I’ll try and reply to all the pm shortly.

 

 

I’m going to try and give the best history of the gun I know.

My grandfather was a engineer stationed in Landstuhl Germany from sometime in 1948 to 1953. He never really talked about his service to our family, but we think he was working on infrastructure for the airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. During that time my grandmother moved overseas to be with him and my father was born in Landstuhl. As of right now we do not any of the guns history in Germany, but both saved ration card to acquire many different antiques. When they returned home life was not easy for them. The few stories we have regarding the gun are, the wood scratches in the stock where from my grandfather mounting the gun to the front of a moped and driving around his farm fields shooting rabbits. He never talked about its history, how he acquired it, or why he had it.

He passed away in 1991, and when he did my then step grandmother called my uncle and father told them if they didn’t pick up the guns and other war related items they where going in the trash. My uncle wasn’t really interested, so my dad went picked them up. Looking back now it was crazy risky and lucky he went to get the guns. He drove through 6 states with a unregistered (to him) NFA item. Once we physically acquired the guns we found his paperwork registering the Thompson. With worked with the state police and a local firearms historian the legally transfer the gun. This was a huge undertaking because we had no idea what we had to do or how to do any of the transfer. When working with the historian he couldn’t find anything on the Thompson, and because of the fore grip he concluded it most have been acquired from a dealer. The Paperwork disputed that but we were unsure. Once the transfer was completed we shot the gun once, being invited to Hiram Maxim machine gun shoot in Dover-foxcroft Maine. There we shot the Thompson for the first time. It’s been in the safe since then really, coming out getting cleaned and right back in. I moved to Indiana in 2008 and transfered the gun to my family about 3 months ago.

 

 

So that is full of holes and gaps I’m working on his latters home during the post war and trying to find any information.

 

I’ll take a few pics of the sling today and post them.

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My grandfather was a engineer stationed in Landstuhl Germany from sometime in 1948 to 1953. He never really talked about his service to our family, but we think he was working on infrastructure for the airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Construction of Landstuhl/Ramstein A.F.B. used the resources of the French Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the time period your grandfather was there. Maybe he traded with a French soldier a pack of Lucky Strikes for the Colt?

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My grandfather was a engineer stationed in Landstuhl Germany from sometime in 1948 to 1953. He never really talked about his service to our family, but we think he was working on infrastructure for the airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Construction of Landstuhl/Ramstein A.F.B. used the resources of the French Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the time period your grandfather was there. Maybe he traded with a French soldier a pack of Lucky Strikes for the Colt?

 

That’s very possible. We have 3 large China cabinets they traded chocolate and cigarette rations for. Then sold more ration cards to get the money to ship them home. I’m guessing he traded something he had for it. Just no idea what or how. I really hoping it’s in the letters somewhere. We have his truck/footlocker full of that type of thing.

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