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PK does it again


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To be honest, If I am buying a TSMG I am going to buy a milsurp gun. I would not pay milsurp prices for a comparable condition WH gun.

 

Couldn't agree more!

 

WH's seem to be going for around $16k. You send it to PK and drop roughly five grand on it, and you still have a replica - with $21k into it.

 

You can buy a pretty decent '28 WWII gun these days for that number - which is what I would do. I value the history and the story.

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I was one of those ill informed Thompson buyers first time around. A Thompson is a Thompson, right? I wanted a military 1928 because that is what the local sheriff had. He let me "borrow" it one week. A Savage Lend-Lease. Firing that thing was better than my first..er, well... Had to have one. At the time (late 90's) I couldn't touch a military gun for less than 12k. And rough at that. About double my budget at the time. And I found a Westy just a few miles away at a class 3 dealer, so I jumped on it for about 7K. It wasn't until many months later I learned the difference between it and the military versions. So along came PK. I don't recall having any firing issues that were not drum related, but he did the first round of work on it soon after I got it. Mainly the Blish locks and fixing the warped receiver. General West Hurley issues. Second time I sent it to him he did a ton of cosmetic work, polishing the nose and rear of the receiver which were left in-the-rough from the factory. And he reblued it to spec, plus added a ring front sight. Small other accoutrements. It is truly a work of art now. I don't shoot it much anymore. Have a beater M1 Savage for that. I sent it to him one more time last year to pin the front site that for some reason I elected not to do the first time.

 

I haven't checked WH prices in awhile, but seems last time I did they seemed to be priced about the same as a military 28 or M1. And these aren't PK'd. At the least mine is nearly as pretty as a Colt off the shelf back in the day. A true gem.

 

R

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Like Rust, I got my LNIB WH M1 for far less than one would go for today. As an investment, it's looking pretty good, even figuring in a trip to PK, and very reasonable cost of his work.

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I was one of those ill informed Thompson buyers first time around. A Thompson is a Thompson, right? I wanted a military 1928 because that is what the local sheriff had. He let me "borrow" it one week. A Savage Lend-Lease. Firing that thing was better than my first..er, well... Had to have one. At the time (late 90's) I couldn't touch a military gun for less than 12k. And rough at that. About double my budget at the time. And I found a Westy just a few miles away at a class 3 dealer, so I jumped on it for about 7K. It wasn't until many months later I learned the difference between it and the military versions. So along came PK. I don't recall having any firing issues that were not drum related, but he did the first round of work on it soon after I got it. Mainly the Blish locks and fixing the warped receiver. General West Hurley issues. Second time I sent it to him he did a ton of cosmetic work, polishing the nose and rear of the receiver which were left in-the-rough from the factory. And he reblued it to spec, plus added a ring front sight. Small other accoutrements. It is truly a work of art now. I don't shoot it much anymore. Have a beater M1 Savage for that. I sent it to him one more time last year to pin the front site that for some reason I elected not to do the first time.

 

I haven't checked WH prices in awhile, but seems last time I did they seemed to be priced about the same as a military 28 or M1. And these aren't PK'd. At the least mine is nearly as pretty as a Colt off the shelf back in the day. A true gem.

 

R

 

PK's work is nothing short of spectacular. Few (if any) guns left the factory in better shape.

I'd take a PK'd WH over an average shooter 1928 any day of the week...

Edited by mattnh
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It just depends on what you are looking for, history or shootability. With WH guns you can only ever have one.

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To be honest, If I am buying a TSMG I am going to buy a milsurp gun. I would not pay milsurp prices for a comparable condition WH gun.

 

Couldn't agree more!

 

WH's seem to be going for around $16k. You send it to PK and drop roughly five grand on it, and you still have a replica - with $21k into it.

 

Interesting . . . then is a Savage a replica too? How about a Bridgeport? Commercial?

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The debate will never end. It's like making a deal on a car, If you are happy with the deal then it's a good deal, someone else might not see it that way. As someone posted here, are you looking for history or just a nice smooth shooting, good looking Thompson. I guess anything other than one of the original 15,000 Colts are all replicas if that is the way you care to look at it. Be happy, enjoy shooting what you own and don't make light of PK's talent. Some make it sound as if PK is ripping off all the WH owners who avail themselves of his services.

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The "Replica" Thread - This is the longest and most read thread in Machinegunboards.com history. Take a day off from work, read it, and formulate your opinion about the succession of the Thompson through the years...

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5769

Edited by Bridgeport28A1
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IMO a fully PK's Hurley is worth at least as much as a beater M1 or 1928.
People talk about history.
How many TSMGs actually saw battle ? Is there any way of knowing which ones did or didnt ?
Or are they historic just because they were built in a specific time period ?


Sounds crazy now but a PK'd Hurley IS historic as these threads will live forever.

Look at the prices of "Resto-modded" cars by the famous builders like Coddington.
They will always be worth more than an unrestored model.

PS I dont own a PK'd Hurly much less a typical Hurley.
I do have a few historic TSMGs so one might think I would be on the side of the WW2 etc guns.
This is just the way I see it.

Edited by lightguy
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IfI was buying today I would go military surplus

But since I didn't pay a lot for the Westie it was well worth the PK treatment.

 

I think this is the exact logic behind most of the PK'd WH.

It prob doesn't make sense from a pure financial sense to rework an otherwise great condition WH,

but the net result for the current owner (and future owners) is pretty spectacular...

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I'm looking at it like this: WHs are a hit or miss. Some work well, some don't. If one sends a WH to a gunsmith who CAN make it work as it should and make other corrections and enhancements, it's money well spent.

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Yeah a sad state you have to send a gun in to be reworked.Funny how that never happened with Colt or the Millions of in line WW2 models Either M1 M1A1 OR 1928.

 

That just shows how far we have fallen.

Heck the current Colt which isn't even a former shell of itself even from the 60's. Can't even get the New Python just right.

And won't venture into regular steel and Blue.

 

But hey its 2020. Enjoy what you have left. Never ever going back to whatever was before.

Some say WHY look back.. Yeah that is why all the old stuff is always COOL. Thats why never look back..You can see what you missed.

RON K.

 

Edited by colt21a
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My! You may have about the second or third finest looking Westy out there! :-) Paul did mine many many years ago. I got the proof mark. When he refinished my "shooter" M1 Savage, he declined to mark it because the gun wasn't in the best of shape when he got it and it probably didn't deserve the mark of quality.

 

DId he "finish" the nose and rear of the receiver for you? Cannot tell...

 

I am surprised you went with the '21 style ring sight in lieu of the Cutts. I, too, had him do that to mine. Makes it shorter. Now drop a '21 actuator in and fire that baby up! You can get him to mill you a '28 down, and get a spring kit from him. Nice!

 

My WH has been to him three times since I bought it in 1997. I think it's here to stay...

 

Rust

PK didn't finish the sides of the receiver nose, just the top and bottom. There is a GEG stamp that isn't counterfeit (applied by George Goll) that we decided to keep on the gun. The rear of the receiver is also not polished. I wanted the ring sight because I shoot lots of cast bullets. No comp to have to scrape the lead residue from. Plus, I like the 21A look. I should have bought a better made gun from the outset, but being a newbie, I wasn't aware of the difference and the 21's and 28's were above my budget at the time.

I'm keeping the gun until it's time to pass it on to the next caretaker. But I wanted it to look and run as a TSMG should, and man, does it ever! Money well spent.

Chief762

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PK didn't finish the sides of the receiver nose, just the top and bottom. There is a GEG stamp that isn't counterfeit (applied by George Goll) that we decided to keep on the gun. The rear of the receiver is also not polished. I wanted the ring sight because I shoot lots of cast bullets. No comp to have to scrape the lead residue from. Plus, I like the 21A look. I should have bought a better made gun from the outset, but being a newbie, I wasn't aware of the difference and the 21's and 28's were above my budget at the time.

I'm keeping the gun until it's time to pass it on to the next caretaker. But I wanted it to look and run as a TSMG should, and man, does it ever! Money well spent.

Chief762

 

You are saying that George E. Goll was applying his proof mark to West Hurley Guns, manufactured in the 1970s???

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No. George E Goll applied his WWII inspection stamp to THIS WH28.

This Westie was originally purchased and registered in 1979 by Col. Terence McCool, PA ARNG, ret.

Col McCool and George Goll were friends, and upon McCool acquiring this TSMG, Mr. Goll stamped the gun in several places, and gave McCool

some accessories like the fancy grade furniture and a Bridgeport 'L' drum.

Some other TSMG tidbits of Goll and McCool have surfaced on this forum. I think Dave Albert has some correspondence that refers to their acquaintance and friendship. PK also thought at first that the stamps were counterfeit but later agreed that it was an interesting little provenance and he saved the best stamp.

Chief762

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Fascinating. Learn something new everyday! R

 

No. George E Goll applied his WWII inspection stamp to THIS WH28.

This Westie was originally purchased and registered in 1979 by Col. Terence McCool, PA ARNG, ret.

Col McCool and George Goll were friends, and upon McCool acquiring this TSMG, Mr. Goll stamped the gun in several places, and gave McCool

some accessories like the fancy grade furniture and a Bridgeport 'L' drum.

Some other TSMG tidbits of Goll and McCool have surfaced on this forum. I think Dave Albert has some correspondence that refers to their acquaintance and friendship. PK also thought at first that the stamps were counterfeit but later agreed that it was an interesting little provenance and he saved the best stamp.

Chief762

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