New member - finally got to shoot a Thompson!

[Thompsonlover]

Hi Guys,

 

This is Keith, I am a firefighter in south Florida who absolutely loves Thompsons! When I retire from the Fire Service in a little more than 3 years, my retirement gift to myself will be a WWII Thommy gun! I'm a big WWII buff and have owned at one time just about every semi-automatic weapon used in the conflict. My uncle was a WWII vet. He was a member of the 29th Division and landed on the Normandy coast 11 days post D-Day. He was a Bar Man for a few weeks when the regular guy was killed. He never used a Thompson in combat. I have a collection of WWII 8x10 photos taken by Combat photographers and have sent a few ones to Frank for Volume III. I believe two might make the book. I am anxiously waiting its publishing so I can get my copy. I have learned a lot from this Forum and there are many knowledgeable people posting here. There is a range in Miami where they rent machine guns so I went down yesterday and finally got to shoot my dream gun!! It was such a thrill to handle that gun. A few months ago, I bought a Dummy Thompson. Its a parts kit with a dummy receiver. What I found interesting was that it came with the foregrip band which means it was issued to the troops in the field ( after emailing Frank and with the info he sent me plus Canfields book on WWII weapons) This is my toy until I can get my real one. The bottom pic may make volume III.

I have attached the video and some pics of the gun. Some of you may have seen it on Gunbroker. I made a deal off line when it was relisted a few times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jim c 351]

Keith,

Nice shooting. Looks like you are already a good Thompson gunner.

Hope you someday realize your dream of owning the real thing.

If you need the cash from your pension to buy then I guess you'll just have to wait.

On the other hand if you have a little cash laying around then start looking now.

You seem like too nice of a guy to go without a Tommy for three whole years.

Jim C

[buzz]

Nice shooting.

 

You picked an outstanding gun for your first MG. Most people don't really appreciate what a excellent gun the M1 and M1A1 are.

 

I own an M1A1, a nice wartime RIA arsenal rebuild. I bought it from a local dealer just for the heck of it, now it's probably my favorite gun.

 

You might want to buy that M1 or M1A1 right now, because you might not like the price in three years.

 

Three years is a LONG time with regards to NFA prices. And if Hillary gets elected, the price might double in a month.

 

Might want to invest in a reloader and components now too. It's not unusual for me to bring 500 or 600 rounds to the range with the M1A1, these guns burn up a lot of ammo.

Edited March 25, 2015 by buzz

[Dolphinvet]

If you want to shoot the Thompson and you're in south Florida, you might want to consider coming up to the Malabar gun range on the first Sunday of each month. We complete there with sub-machine guns. I own 3 Thompsons and will bring mine if you want to play a bit more and am interested. The match starts at 9AM (well the walk through does anyway). Next months match will be on the 12th. If I can get a substitute for my shift I will be there, and will bring my M1, 1928A1, and possibly my 1921 for show and tell anyway.

 

PM me if you want more details.

[Thompsonlover]

Keith,

Nice shooting. Looks like you are already a good Thompson gunner.

Hope you someday realize your dream of owning the real thing.

If you need the cash from your pension to buy then I guess you'll just have to wait.

On the other hand if you have a little cash laying around then start looking now.

You seem like too nice of a guy to go without a Tommy for three whole years.

Jim C

Thanks Jim!! I might be able to swing a Thompson sooner then 3 years but I'll have to run it by the boss(wife) LOL.

[Thompsonlover]

Nice shooting.

 

You picked an outstanding gun for your first MG. Most people don't really appreciate what a excellent gun the M1 and M1A1 are.

 

I own an M1A1, a nice wartime RIA arsenal rebuild. I bought it from a local dealer just for the heck of it, now it's probably my favorite gun.

 

You might want to buy that M1 or M1A1 right now, because you might not like the price in three years.

 

Three years is a LONG time with regards to NFA prices. And if Hillary gets elected, the price might double in a moventh.

 

Might want to invest in a reloader and components now too. It's not unusual for me to bring 500 or 600 rounds to the range with the M1A1, these guns burn up a lot of ammo.

Thanks Buzz! I've been watching the prices and am concerned about them spiking in the near future. Your M1A1 sound nice its basically what I am looking for. Have you had it long? The Thompson won't be my first MG. I owned a MK760 for over 20 years but had to sell it to fund another project. The other project was the actual fire truck used by my grandfather in the 50's. I've had it for 8 years now and spent 5 years restoring it! The reloader components are a good idea. My brother used to make 9mm reloads for my MK.Pics of the fire truck: The second one was taken in 1954.

[Thompsonlover]

If you want to shoot the Thompson and you're in south Florida, you might want to consider coming up to the Malabar gun range on the first Sunday of each month. We complete there with sub-machine guns. I own 3 Thompsons and will bring mine if you want to play a bit more and am interested. The match starts at 9AM (well the walk through does anyway). Next months match will be on the 12th. If I can get a substitute for my shift I will be there, and will bring my M1, 1928A1, and possibly my 1921 for show and tell anyway.

 

PM me if you want more details.

Thanks Dolphinvet! I will definately PM you!