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Phila Ordnance Full Auto Blank Gun Revisited


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  • 2 weeks later...

I just received mine. First time I ever handled a Thompson... it's smaller than I thought it would be. Fired a shot in my living room last night. Fun!

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I just picked up my M1A1 today also my first thompson :)

Been waiting to hear that, congrats. Start a new thread and celebrate. Looking forward to all of the details.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Bob,

 

Very interested in one of your M1A1 Thompsons. I have an MGC 1928 gun that I have never used and another that is a M1A1 dummy that does not shoot the "special" blanks. Just want more info on the gun and the BATF letter.

 

Thanks!

 

Dan

No need to hesitate. I bought one of the first PO M1A1s, and have been very impressed with it. Workmanship is just excellent.

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On December 1st at Fort Mifflin several of the WW2 Reenactors had them.

My first question to the owner was if the Rounds were fed backwards with the Firing Pin in the Chamber, I had seen a TSMG Full Auto Blank Gun like that at Ft Indian Town Gap, he said no the Rounds face forward in this Gun from Philadelphia Ordinance.

I got to see it up close and was told about the special barrel restrictors that are internal keeping enough gas to move the bolt back to cycle the next round.

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The phila ord gun is just like a real full auto in the reciever area just different dimensions on parts. The barrel has three small holes instead of one big hole so no live ammo can be fired. There is a restrictor at the end with a small hole to build pressure to cycle the gun. They work well. A friend of mine was probably one of the guys you saw there firing his at Mifflin.

Dan

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The phila ord gun is just like a real full auto in the reciever area just different dimensions on parts. The barrel has three small holes instead of one big hole so no live ammo can be fired. There is a restrictor at the end with a small hole to build pressure to cycle the gun. They work well. A friend of mine was probably one of the guys you saw there firing his at Mifflin.

Dan

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Bob,

Any word from ATF Tech. Branch on change to .45ACP-Blanks from the current required blanks (?).

 

I would really like to pick up one of these uppers........after the change to use standard .45ACP-Blanks. Keep me on the list till then.

 

Regards, RichardS

US Army, RET

I wouldn't get too hung up on using "standard" blanks, or be especially concerned about the availability of PO blanks in the future. Bob of PO has proven to be in this for the long haul. The price for his blanks in in line with those from Atlantic Wall and other places. I have little doubt that if Bob no longer produced his blanks, someone else would.

 

You get the same sound and a nice flash from Bob's blanks, but while using much less powder. That means lower operating temperatures, and little or no erosion. Bob has stated that it was harder to get the blanks right than the guns. He definitely got both right. I couldn't be more pleased with my PO M1A1 blank gun.

 

All of that said, I think Bob's decision to produce blank Thompsons that use "standard" .45 blanks was not a good one. He was by himself in making complete, high quality blank guns. Part of owning one is the need to use PO's arguably better proprietary blanks. People would have come around to that idea, and come to embrace it after seeing and owning PO blank Thompsons. Bob had the chance to define the market. As the numbers of these guns went up, so probably would the likelihood of the blanks always being available. Now, PO blanks will compete with "standard" blanks within Bob's own product line. New blank gun buyers will see that word "standard" and buy based on it alone.

 

When I bought my PO M1A1, I was pretty sure it would never become an orphan, for which blanks were not available. Now, I'm not so sure, and so cancelled my order for one of the new PO blank M1928A1s.

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Great guns. The blanks are very expensive, however. I understand why they cost so much. This puts a damper on the whole project, however. Especially if the blanks are not available one day.

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An update on all this. When I designed the gun, guided by personal meetings with ATF, I came

away with the opinion that the gun must not be able to chamber and fire "standard" ammunition. Also

at the time (4-5 years ago) there was no non-firearm full auto blank gun made that used a standard sized blank.

I designed the gun for ammo with a reduced rim diameter so that if someone attempted to use

standard ammo the base of the cartridge would not fit in the bolt face and the cartridge would not fire.

This is the design that was approved by ATF.

Since that time another manufacturer has had a gun approved which

uses standard size .45 blanks. I am in the process of petitioning the ATF to get approval for the Phila Ord

gun to use standard blanks. When the ATF approves the new design I will switch over to standard

sized blanks. Anyone with an existing gun who desires to do so will be able to buy a new bolt to enable

them to use standard sized blanks.

BUT - the two main manufacturers of blanks - Atlantic Wall and Swanson - make blanks that are far

more powerful that the Phila Ord blanks, and i do not yet know what size adaptor would be required to

fire those blanks safely. Just a reminder - even though the Phila Ord blanks use less powder they have

the identical report (123 Db) as standard .45 ammo.

The Phila Ord blank was designed specifically for the gun. The gun has the three hole bore which

results in less bore volume which requires less powder. When you open a Swanson or Atlantic Wall

blank it appears that the case is filled with as much powder as it will hold, whereas in a Phila Ord blank

the case is less that 1/2 full of powder.

I will post here when I get the word from ATF.

 

Bob/Phila Ord

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No. Bob can elaborate, but this is a brand new receiver and internals designed from the ground up to fire only blanks. It takes original parts like the trigger frame and foregrip.

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