West Hurley M1 Question

[chas8008]

I just picked up my WH M1.

 

Why is there two clicks when I cock the bolt to the rear?

 

And lets pretend I only shot two Thompsons before I bought mine. What should I know.

[ppgcowboy]

The are two notches to catch the sear. If one does not catch the other will. Also helps when a weak round is fired.

[reconbob]

The gun should always lock back in the rear most position. If not then

in some way the gun is short recoiling. The best test is to fire one shot semi auto

and see where the bolt locks. No harm is done when it locks at the front position

but thats not the way it is supposed to be.

I always wondered about the two notches. Thompson guru Doug Richardson

claims that back in the day there was a second type of ammo being tested that

would have used the rear notch and that they never changed it as the gun was

manufactured in its various models. The Thompson is the only submachine gun

I can think of with two sear notches so maybe Doug is right. (On M1/M1A1 bolts

the rearmost notch is to lock the bolt with the safety.)

 

Bob

[buzz]

They put so many expensive deluxe features on the 21 Thompson, it would not surprise me if the extra notch was put on just as a safety feature.

Edited July 2, 2017 by buzz

[jim c 351]

The foreword notch is a safety devise . It was common practice for a soldier to carry the gun bolt foreword with a loaded mag. If the gun should be dropped in this condition the bolt may jar rearward enough to feed a round and fire, never reaching the rear most notch. But, it would hopefully catch on the foreword notch. It also helped prevent a run away gun when dirty or shooting weak ammo.

The M1/M1A1 also had a 3rd notch that allowed the safety to be applied with the bolt foreword, which also prevented an accidental discharge. The 21/28 lacked this feature, but the British experimented remachineing 28 bolts to add this feature.

Jim C

[Toaster]

Any pictures of this remachining?

 

I had speculated that notch was there to help catch the weak double fire as previously mentioned. Way back when ammo might not have been as predictable/strong.

 

I see little reason to exclude it as Doug claims to have in his new design.

 

Seems like a step backwards.. But he is getting old and left to his devises. People don't want, and won't check him which is sad.wheres his replacement? Where's the Doug Richardson Ultimax! He could use a hand and a mental buddy! A bit crotchety from what I've experienced. Solid heart though. I do wish the very best

[Toaster]

I just checked to make sure. He claims it's useless in a recent post. But also notes the seat inclusion notch to allow bolt closed safety so perhaps I answered my own question.

 

I've had doubles come off trying to pull singles though on other platforms. A little irritating and sloppy it seems. And that don't sound like a Thompson. Curious to see if his new bolt will hold singles.

 

Also curious if I should call him back as I previously requested a 2m2 which no longer exists

[TSMGguy]

It bears repeating often: make sure your trigger technique is good. We don't squeeze a TSMG trigger. Pull it with vigor, and positively release it. Think of it as being a switch.

[Toaster]

Assuming a 1000 rpm on a 21 that gives us a trigger time of

0.06 seconds.

 

Now I'm 22, and flipping a stopwatch that fast can even be tricky. I cant imagine bein in the thick of it trying to do that. Or being old. Or weak. Or gripping it cause it's an anchor.

 

Anyone wanna stand corrected..?

[chas8008]

Thanks guys.

 

I am a pretty new M1 owner.

 

I Know the WH are looked down apon by some. But I am a shooter!

 

 

little backround. I have 8 or 9 macs, a 760a1, 76/45 stemple, Uzi, Sten Mk II, Reising mod 50, a Colt m16, armalite ar 18, Valmet m76, HK sear, RLL. I am sure I am missing some but I am not a MG noob.

 

I do forget some basic ass shit some times. So the "Grab the trigger" post is a good reminder, thanks.

 

And thing else?

 

I have 12 Seymour stick mags and some others. A few are tighter then others. Problem?

 

thanks

 

http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/126911/IMG-0197-240153.JPG

[jim c 351]

chas,

Congratulations on finally owning a real submachinegun.

Jim C

[TSMGguy]

I have 12 Seymour stick mags and some others. A few are tighter then others. Problem?

 

thanks

http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/126911/IMG-0197-240153.JPG

 

 

I've found that generally if there are problems with a TSMG the stick mags are generally not to blame if they're otherwise in good shape. The design of the mags is so simple and robust, unlike some others, notably the double stack, single feed design of the WWII German MP-40 mags.

[Tarheelstate]

The magazine well probably needs a little machining if some mags are tight on the M1A1. Contact Dan Block (deerslayer) and he can get it corrected for you. He just did mine.

[chas8008]

well.

 

She ran ok today.

 

Mags will big a project for later.

 

I think my boltface/firingpin is fucked.

 

I am getting 80% contact on the primers, I think the pin/nub is worn down.

 

I was getting 1 rd every few mags that the primer was smashed but not ignited.

 

What is the height of the nub on the boltface in a perfect world?

[buzz]

It's worth checking but I don't think that you should 100% attribute light primer strikes or poor ignition to the firing pin.

 

Have you ever checked the recoil spring?

 

If you take the spring out, does the bolt rock forward and backward freely?

 

Is anything rubbing or dragging on the bolt?

 

Does it strip cartridges cleanly?

Edited July 5, 2017 by buzz

[huggytree]

ive thrown out thompson mags for egged latch holes (not intentionally egged for 1927)...just worn

 

out of 30 i tossed 3 or 4 that would fall out of the gun....sportsmans guide junk

[chas8008]

It's worth checking but I don't think that you should 100% attribute light primer strikes or poor ignition to the firing pin.

 

Have you ever checked the recoil spring?

 

If you take the spring out, does the bolt rock forward and backward freely?

 

Is anything rubbing or dragging on the bolt?

 

Does it strip cartridges cleanly?

 

When I got it I slide the bolt in and out w/o a spring and it is butter smooth.

 

I did not say light strikes.

 

The primer gets smashed, like almost the entire face of the primer is concaved inward. There is nothing left to hit, I could not set the (Round off in my glock)

[chas8008]

oh and how to a set this thread to email me when there is a post?

 

Thanks

[ppgcowboy]

Click the follow this topic button

[TSMGguy]

I think that the first fix to try on an unreliable WH M1 TSMG is always to switch out the recoil spring for a new one. This is the easiest, cheapest, and most likely thing to need attention. I did that, but still my LNIB WH M1 had the same symptoms, so I sent it off to PK for the whole treatment. The gun had other minor issues, like ejector indexing, but PK said that biggest problem was that the geometry of the feed ramp was all wrong. He returned all of the gun's specs to original GI, including the ramp. I asked PK to reassemble the gun using an unissued GI M1 TSMG parts kit from Omega. This included an M1 "bright" bolt, the one with the separate hammer and firing pin. The gun's been ruggedly reliable ever since it was returned to me.