Cody Firearms Muesum Visit

[Texas Man]

Just got back from Cody, Wy. On display is a mint 1921 Colt. It is chrome plated and from the clean markings on it it looks to be factory??? Serial number is 170 and it is on loan from the Cody Police Department with its fomers name listed below. seems to be another sad case of not being restered in time.

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

QUOTE

It is chrome plated and from the clean markings on it it looks to be factory???

 

Yah, but from what factory? It didn't leave Hartford that way. Maybe that is why it looks "mint"?

[SecondAmend]

Chromeplated, eh. Goes nice with the fins (on the barrel) I bet. Wonder why they didn't put skirts on the ejection port.

[colt21a]

i will buy it for 5,000.00 to go next to my replica mgc.have to have something to display at show's.wink!!take care,ron

[Texas Man]

The man who owned it before the police department, forgot his name, was a machinegun instuctor teaching the use of the Thompson Submachine gun to American Special Forces during the war. Gun may be nickol plated, You can see the marking real good and it is serial number 170 with no sign of refinish that I could tell. It may be a special order gun or a refinish. I am sure some of You Thompson students may know the instuctor that owned the gun as he was well know at the time. Wish I could remember his name.

It does look different for sure of what you expect to see. He former owner has a display about him and his work during the war in the museum as well.If you have never been to the Cody Firearms Museum, You are missing looking at some of the worlds finest firearms on display. Some of these arms are priceless and super rare.

 

You would enjoy looking at the Colt Factory Collection including from the Patterson to current issures. I enjoyed a Colt 1921 in mint condition with a hundred shot drum in the Colt display alone with Colt beltfed arms, Gating guns and a hell of a display of John Brownings machine guns. Bill Rugers light machine gun is also there, as is Marlin, Smith and Wesson and just about anyone else you can think of that ever made machine guns in the U.S.

 

I was informed, that only less than 5 to 10 percent of the guns owned by the muesum were out on display at any one time due to space limitation. I was told that there were a lot of other Thompsons and accessories in storage that may someday be put out. I think Bill Ruger put up 36 Million in cash to build the firearms wing. There are five muesums in all under 300,000 square feet of building. Bill Ruger has only a small section about Ruger. The Remington Collection is the worlds largest and most complete and the Winchester Factory Collection is now here as well.

 

Also while I was talking about their Thompsons, I was told about a old war vet whos widow walked into a police department in my area and give them two full auto Thompsons that her husband had. The informant did not say if they were legal or what model they were.

 

If You ever get the chance to go to Cody, Plan on at least a couple of days just in the gun section.

[Ron Mills]

Texas, thanks for your good info on that Cody museum. Quite interesting, and thanks for the history on 170. I saw a nickel-plated M1A1 at a show once; the dealer just shook his head when I commented on it and lamented about "somebody taking a perfectly good gun and ruining its finish". I agree.

 

For those of you that haven't been to the Rock Island Armoury Museum (Rock Island, IL), it is nothing short of breathtaking. Thompson Model 1919, Serial #6 is there, along with numerous other Thompsons, and oodles of other full-auto gems. Strange, some serial numbers are filed off a couple of 1921's, as I recall. And, like most museums, these pieces are only a fraction of what they have. Documents on many of the guns are in a book in front of the displays, too. That's cool. I took 2 of my kids there, so they could "learn more of our history" (hee-hee). They actually dug it!

[full auto 45]

I just talked to a friend of mine who is a C3 dealer in Indy. He told me he sold a nickle plated M1A1 Thompson in Phoenix at the show. I saw it on the corner of the table as I was walking and talking to Merle the drum doctor. I went back to look for it and it was gone. He said he sold it in minutes of putting it out on the table. I wonder where it got to? I told my dealer I was pissed because he didn't call me. He didn't know I was going to be there and visa versa. If any one knows of this one, get in touch with me.

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

Texas,

A refinish doesn't diminish the clarity of the original engraved markings. The "Midas" TSMG was a reblue, and if anything, the markings look sharper. There is just no documentation to support that any of the 15,000 Colt guns had a finish other than blue when they came off the assemby line in 1921-22. Could a TSMG have been sent back to Colt at some point for chrome-plating? Doubtful. Maybe Maguire had Savage/AO do it.

 

Mike,

Why not just chrome one of your current TSMGs'? What was special about the M1A1 sold at the SAR show?

[SecondAmend]

And why not a floral pink M1A1 as AZDoug had on his Sten?

[full auto 45]

I like the finish on mine just fine there Art. I have a company that does great nickle and gold plating. Send me the parts and I'll get them done for you at a fair cost. Those old guns surely need some refinishing don't they? I have a couple,well Tracie has them now for the NRA show, of nickle plated XXX mags that would have gone real nice on the gun. Hell I even have a gold plated XX mag I found one day.

A nickle plated parade gun would look good in any display if you ask me. No I won't refinish mine.