18 replies to this topic

[vollon]

Hey you all !

I am new to this forum and living in Belgium.
Last week I found a left-over from WWII ,a TSMG M 1928.
I think it's a commercial gun , it has no US or A1 after the model and serial number. ( serial number is 44xxx and has a S prefix ).
It has knurled fire selectors and safety levers and knurled actuator.
On the receiver there is I think a military/acceptance stamp , GEG in a circle.
The gun also bears the British "crow foot" acceptance stamp.
A Kerr sling came with the gun and six 30 rnds magazines.
The gun is like new and I had to completely "degrease" it.
I bought the TSMG from a friend who was more interested on selling me his M1 carabine.
I payd $200 for the piece. I think this was a very good price.
A gun shop in Brussels sells TSMG for about $ 750 importing them in new condition from Russia.
What I am looking for is the L -drum magazine.
A gun shop has one in stock , I think it is a recent copy from AO.
He ask $ 600 for it. Do you think this is a good price ? Are those copies reliable ?
What do you think is the value of my gun ?
Oh by the way , a happy New Year to you all , and this is a Graet Site !!!

Greeting from th Old Continent

[Jay Baker]

Welcome to the forum Vollon. If your Thompson was in the US in live condition, it could be worth 12 to 15 thousand USD. Cut up into parts, its worth at least a thousand. Over there, you tell us what its worth. Is it deactivated? Sounds like you found a nice piece at an unheard of price, you should hang on to it. IMHO

As far as the drum price is concerned, over here that's an average price if its a West Hurley drum. Mine works in my 1928A1 but does not fit as securly as my original WWII drum.

Jay

[vollon]

Not at all.
The TSMG is in firing condition.
Do you mean $ 1500 in the US ?

[bug]

Vollon

No, he means 15,000. It sounds like you have an early Savage production gun. I have a pic posted below (titled Ooops) of my gun that has an S16,xxx ser number. Does it have the vertical or horizontal foregrip? When you disassemble the gun, look for the S marking on the various internals. Pics would be nice.

We can only dream of such prices here. Our laws prevent the importation of such guns for civilian use.

It is funny that the WH L drum is priced about the same as here. If you plan to shoot with the drum I'd keep looking for a WWII version. That would be funny, An $800 drum on a $200 gun.

[Sgt]

Vollon--
Welcome to the board. Yea, that is 15000 U.S. dollars. Our laws have made these beauties scarce and expensive. You would never be able to import your piece to the U.S.. So what are the laws like in Belgium? Did you need to register the machinegun? Can anyone own a live machinegun in Belgium?

[vollon]

Wow ! I thought 800-1000 $ was a very good price for this gun.
Yes it has a horizontal foregrip.
Lucky me that the guy whom I bought the gun from was ignorant about the value of TSMG's !
I know that the gunshop in Brussels import them directly from Russia in new condition , with two magazines , oiler and cleaning accessories for $ 800.
Yes , you need a license as a collector to own machineguns in our country.
Drum magazines are very hard ( almost impossible ) to find overhere , I called gun shops in Germany , France and England without result.
I would like to "let it speak" one day but my gun club does not allowe us to shoot full auto.
As I said , I had to degrease the piece , even the barrel was full of it.

[Ron Mills]

Vollon, you are the luckiest man that I've heard about today! Good for you and your great find. I'd be happy to degrease that beauty for a week and keep repeating the price to myself, smiling all the while. The price on those guns imported from Russia are really good too. Check sarcoinc.com for drums; they have them for sale from time to time, as do our forum members here.
Welcome to the board, and maybe you could post a pic or 2 sometime for us!

Ron

[Zamm]

Hey Vollen,
Where do you live in Belgium? I work there a lot ( In the northern part, Antwerpen and Turnhout ), just curious as I did not realize that your counrty had provisions for full auto.

And Man o Man, did you do the score of the New Year! Congrat's on that 28!!!!
Cheers, Zamm

[private_joker]

time to pack up and move to Belgium!

i would buy as many form russia for 800 dollars as they could import

[Zamm]

Joker,
If you like Beer ( Ah, Duval, 24% alcohol that tatses like cream soda, Westmalle Triple, fermented 3 times, smooth and goes straight to your legs!), Great food (kind of French slanted with German size helpings! Those Frites!!! ), excellent pralines ( chocolates ) some of the best cheeses known the man, and probably the friendliest group of people you will ever meet, then it's the place to be!
Oh yeah, you can own a silencer for your .22 to shoot at vermin so as not to disturb the niehbors!!
Zamm

[private_joker]

yes but how would i get all the guns i have now over there

hmmm

[Grumpy]

Vollon, you are one lucky man!
Happy New Year!

Bill

[Walter63a]

Vollon, you are indeed fortunate. If I were you, I'd try to buy as many as possible at that price. The prices will only climb, even over there, as the supply is limited! Can you post a photo or two! Regards and welcome, Walter

[vollon]

Thanks guys, and yes it's still a great place to live altought we have a lot of restrictions about owning firearms and politicians are doing there best to
prevent us from gun ownership ( thanks to the restrictions of European Community , remember what happend in England.)
I live in the town of Tienen , between the cities of Brussels and Liège ( as you know the gun making capital of the world = FN )

About those TSMG's 's comming in from Russia , go to www.cornet-armes.com and than to catalogue and than to armes de guerre and you'll see !!

[TSMG28]

Vollon,

Congratulations on your wonderful deal. Your Savage 1928 is a very special piece, and the price you paid for it is fantastic. You may want to take the advice of the others on this string and buy up more of the "Russian" Thompsons, even at the 800 USD price tag. They will not last for long, and once they are gone, we may never again see a stash of pristine TSMG's. BTW, I was unsuccessful connecting to the site you posted. Is the URL correct?

Best wishes on you hunt for a drum. I have heard that they are difficult to locate in Europe. You may want to check Norway. Their military had some TSMG's and accessories that I understand they have been selling recently.

Keep fighting the EU restrictions on firearms. It would be terrible if some of the oldest and finest gun manufacturers in the world could no longer sell creations to the EU public.

Roger

[colt21a]

a buddy of mine spent alot of time in russia,and looked at all the colt 1921ac's there and military model's also,packed in cosmo in wood gray and pine type crates,

along with new 100rd and 50rd drums.............

and can't bring squat back,

he tried,and has connection's...............not even as parts kits,or trying to bring them in through a neutral source,

so all the prices can excite whomever they want,heck ak's are 50.00 buck's in somalia,and big buck's here..........its all in relation to the hot spot..............

gold plated ak's are cheeep!!!in iraq>who cares???

if items are not here in the u.s.a. who cares what it go's for anyplace else................

we exported acura nsx back to japan when they imported them here,and they ran out of them there for bigger buck's......... its nice somebody can buy something else there for a good price..

but lets not get teary eyed guys over that.............

thats the rate over there........................

jeeez!!what planet have you guys been livin on for the past decades..................this has been age old facts on alot of firearms for years...................

jeeeeeeez!! i wonder what they sell mosin's for $4.94

so its nice he bought a tommy cheep!!!he can shoot it {belgium farm cow pasture} and oil it down and have fun,can he move here and sell it for more don't think so...................so its worth the some of the parts on the market over there...... can they bring over the german fg-42's still sitting in grease.{on the island next to greece??}or some of those israel mp-40's.............they have been a trying but no such luck yet................

so lets get with reality pay up the big buck's and smile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wink!!

its all in the game.............

take care,ron


oh and glad you bought something nice.

[StoryforU]

QUOTE (vollon @ Jan 2 2004, 04:59 AM)

About those TSMG's 's  comming in from Russia , go to www.cornet-armes.com and than to catalogue and than to armes de guerre and you'll see !!

http://www.armes-cornet.com/

Attendez!

http://www.armes-cor...gues_guerre.htm

[Walter63a]

Ron, I'm sure a lot of the guys on this board know that the prices of a lot of small arms are quite a bit lower in other countries. I have been aware of this for a while. I think that there isn't quite the market for original Thompsons in Europe,.....yet! Did you notice the price on the .223 cal. semi-automatic Ruger Ranch Rifle, at 450 euros. That is equivalent to what they go for over here, at $550. The supply of those Russian Thompsons is limited and finite. Once demand goes up in Europe, as more collectors and individuals realize their unique place in history, the prices will climb. Regards, Walter

[colt21a]

QUOTE (Walter63a @ Jan 2 2004, 02:02 PM)

Ron, I'm sure a lot of the guys on this board know that the prices of a lot of small arms are quite a bit lower in other countries. I have been aware of this for a while. I think that there isn't quite the market for original Thompsons in Europe,.....yet! Did you notice the price on the .223 cal. semi-automatic Ruger Ranch Rifle, at 450 euros. That is equivalent to what they go for over here, at $550. The supply of those Russian Thompsons is limited and finite. Once demand goes up in Europe, as more collectors and individuals realize their unique place in history, the prices will climb. Regards, Walter

yes some prices do not make sense,and i wonder what a good ole u.s.a.m-6 go's for???and they have the f.n.p-90 semi- auto over there for civvy's to buy,but yet we can get them here for police and military only,go figure........ maybe the collecting thing will pick up,russia has over 5,000 thompsons in inventory............

so they will last awhile for sure,and a few hundred colt 21's shipped over in the 20's and a few in the 30's............probably never to surface again..................

i just wish my buddy was able to write down serial numbers,but he's a importer -exprter,numbers don't phase him anyway have a good 2004................take care,ron