Jump to content

Colt Thompson SN# 2450


Recommended Posts

I have been going through my Thompson's checking to see what is correct and what is not. I have found a few surprises. Weapons that I just assumed were correct were not. After tearing them down I was surprised to see one of them full of Savage parts, etc. Another with a Savage bolt. One with a Navy actuator instead of a 21A actuator. Fortunately over the years I have stashed back enough to correct the problems. In any case, I was digging around in the vault and pulled out SN# 2450. After I broke it down I noticed something that I had seen yesterday on another Colt bolt assembly. A small "j" stamped in the slot of the bolt. I went back and checked and found the other bolt that had the same small stamp. A very tiny "j" stamp. There are no other markings on the bolt, except that small "j" in the spring slot. The pics below show what I am describing. Both bolts came out of Colt weapons. Anyone ever notice this on another weapon?

 

Also I took a shot or two of the sight protector that someone put on it. Very neatly done. I have never seen another. I believe it was probably done while it was at the St. Joseph Missouri Police Department. Pics attached.

2450 bolt.JPG

9760 bolt.JPG

951204-1a.JPG

951204-1f.JPG

951204-1m.JPG

Edited by firearm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have seen a couple of Colt bolts with X stamps in the spring channel. I believed them to be inspector stamps.

 

After commenting on this last evening, I dug out some of pictures of the bolt from Colt 1928 Navy Model Gun # 12074. You can see it has an "X" stamped near the front end of the channel.

 

Colt $ 12074-1.jpg Colt $ 12074-2.jpg

 

I previously owned a 1928 Navy Model # 5862. It also had an "X" stamped in the same location. My original thoughts were that maybe when the converted the internal parts for the Navy Model they stamped some identifying marks on the bolt as some internal check that the conversion had been done/completed?

 

Anyone else have a Navy Model Thompson with a mark on the bolt channel? If not, it may be just a routine inspector's mark.

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

While posting the pictures for this reply, I noticed that the overall shot of the bolt had a mark in the middle of the channel. I went back to Photoshop and enlarged the pictures and sure enough, there is a partially stamped "J" in the same approximate position as in the the pictures posted by firearm.

 

Colt $ 12074-3.jpg

 

So, maybe the "X" stamping does have something to do with the Navy conversion?

 

 

 

 

Edited by gijive
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also I took a shot or two of the sight protector that someone put on it. Very neatly done. I have never seen another. I believe it was probably done while it was at the St. Joseph Missouri Police Department. Pics attached.

 

firearm,

 

post-2814-0-53331700-1556933040_thumb.jpg

 

Really neat sight protector attachment, that is a great accessory! The only other time I have seen a similar protector is on one of the Stembridge Gun Rental movie Thompsons used extensively during movies and television shows from the 1930's through the 1980's. The attached series of photos shows some scenes from the 1967 Roger Corman film, "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre". The scenes depict the assassination of North Side gang leader Hymie Weiss in front of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on October 11, 1926.

 

http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id89.htm

 

During the sequence, which was obviously done in several takes, the sight protector on the blank firing Thompson, fired by the late actor Richard Bakalyan, magically appears during the second half of the sequence. It is not there in the opening few seconds of the scene.

 

SVDM-3.jpg SVDM-4.jpg SVDM-6.jpg SVDM-5.jpg

 

SVDM-2.jpg SVDM-1.jpg SVDM-7.jpg SVDM-8.jpg

Edited by gijive
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may be on to something. My 28 Navy bolt has a similar stamp to the one pictured by gijive.

ppgcowboy,

 

Did you check in the area under the Blish Lock on your bolt to see if there is an "X" stamp?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ppgcowboy,

Please post a picture, if possible. Thank you! What is the serial number of your NAVY?

 

gijive,

I have seen that sight attachment on another Colt, one I believe was posted to the Board sometime in the past. Does anyone remember this sight attachment in a previous post?

 

Your great post about the letters in the Colt bolt for NO 2450 reminded me of a number found in the channel of another Colt bolt. NO 6718, which sold recently on gunbroker.com, has the number 18 stamped inside the channel. I was fortunate to take a few pictures of this Colt's prior to it being shipped to its new owner.

 

DSC_0416 NO 6718 resize.JPG DSC_0422 NO 6718 resize.JPG

 

I am pretty sure I have seen a similar stamping inside another Colt bolt but the serial number escapes me. I too thought these marks were some type of Colt's inspector markings. As gijive say's, perhaps there is more to this story. Of course, just knowing you have an original Colt's bolt gives one piece of mind. Anything else is a bonus!

Edited by TD.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Catching up on my post reading. Interesting about the Stembridge Rental.

My A0 was registered on a form 2 by Stembridge Rental on June 29, 1944.

Back to the photo: I'd put the actors right ear about 16" away from the Cutts.

Ouch.

moviestvaldsmascr.PNG

Edited by mnshooter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...