9 replies to this topic

[stickfam]

I am looking into purchasing what I believe is called a 1928 a22 (NFA registered of course). Was wondering how reilable these actually are and where do you get them worked on and where do you get parts?

Also there is a 50 round drum for this available locally for this gun. Any comments on the .22 LR drums? Sorry for the newbie ? but I figured this was the place for this ?

All comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Stickfam

[The1930sRust]

Reliability? Hmmm. Probably not that good, but nothing that cannot be easily taken care of. And I only say that because I reckon it is a West Hurley. PK here can work on it, but parts may be hard to come by (for the .22 versions).

TCN .22 serial number page

Also, did the West Hurley .22 only take stick magazines (though I may be thinking of the original .22 calibre semi auto versions that took a banana style magazine)? If you say you have a .22 cal drum, I am sure I am wrong. The only .22 cal full auto I've ever seen had some sort of weird stick magazine adapter in place where the drum would go. Does it look like these?



How much? I bet the rate of fire is outlandish!

Just a few thoughts.

Originally, I said I thought you could convert a .22 FA to .45. Looks like I was wrong about the receiver being convertable (thanks, PK--see post below). That explains why my receiver was steel and everyone thought it should/would have been made of aluminum. Learn something new everyday!

Edited by The1930sRust, 17 August 2003 - 03:23 PM.

[hawksnest]

I once owned a WH .22 F/A. My opinion - Junk. Receiver was aluminium. floating firing pin. Used 30 shot stick mags - lots of malfunctions, jams, dnf, BLOWN cases, broken extractors. Sold it (warned buyer) and glad to be rid of it. In a later model I saw, WH had corrected part of the problem by putting a fixed firing pin on the barrel end! When the bolt of this later model stripped a .22 shell and chambered it the rim of the shell was crushed by the raised firing pin in the chamber near the barrel end. Only a few .22 produced. (less than 200 I think) I see them for sale in the 5k - 6k range. Mine had a phony L drum that had a 10 shot stick mag concealed inside. Drum wouldn't work at all. Used the money as part of the money needed to buy a Savage M1A1. If you are a collector then go for it. If you are looking for a reliable shooter then in my humble opinion stay away from it and buy a Ceiner conversion kit. (Only 10 shot mags available unless you are police or military, thanks to our current law).

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

Stickfam,
If you are looking for a .22 that is the most fun to shoot and plink with, consider the original belt fed Tippman mini Browning half scale versions of the .30 and .50 machine guns. They operate exactly the same as the full size Browning's and are a blast to shoot. Take your pick of full auto or semi.

[PK.]

The 22's were aluminum recievers, not convertable to 45. The 22 sieral numbers seen on 45 cal guns were the result of the factory scraping already serialized receivers and re-applying them to new 45 receivers.

Drums and "banana" were availble and required the adapter shown in the photos.

[JimFromFL]

No experience with the .22s, but can offer the following opinion.

If they can not be converted to .45 then I would not recommend it.
For the most part, I would guess the drums and mags are very very rare and not enough available to keep the item running.

There are plenty of cheap 30 round mags available for the Thompson.

Not sure of the price of the .22 Thompson but figure you could get a .45 Thompson for a few dollars more, but if it is really the full auto .22 your after and not a Thompson then go for the American 180.

[TSMGguy]

I have no experience with .22 thompsons, but have owned a Vector arms Uzi for a while. It is papered in 9mm, .45, and .22. I almost never take the .22 conversion kit out of it. It is fast firing and reliable, and is perfect for a long afternoon of full auto shooting as it takes a while to shoot up a 500 round brick of ammo.

These are beautifully made, and caliber conversions are accomplished in the time it takes to field strip and reassemble the gun. The .22 configured Uzi weighs about half what it does in 9mm. Vector ran out of Uzis a few months back, but many dealers still have them.

[LIONHART]

I owned a SA 1927A3. My opinion? Pot Metal Junk! Run for the hills!Get FAR away from it!!

[hawksnest]

One of the reasons the West Hurley .22 caliber full auto Thompson are JUNK (imho) is based upon the one I owned. The feed ramp is so poorly enginered (single stack mag) that the factory cut away over half of the shoulder at the rear of the barrel so that the shells would feed (some of the time). This results in an unsupported area around the base of the shell casing, just in front of the rim. If the round is not fully seated when it goes off then the back of the case bulges and often ruptures. The extremely loud explosion of a rupture becomes even more exciting as the brass shrapnel from the blown case and the spring steel shrapnel from the blown (and ruined) extractor come hurtling out! When I sold my West Hurley .22 caliber full auto I went into great detail with the buyer of all the problems and dangers and I had the buyer sign a written warning/disclaimer. There are also other problems with the gun , but SAFETY should be your first concern.

[nfafan]

QUOTE (LIONHART @ Aug 20 2003, 12:43 PM)

I owned a SA 1927A3. My opinion? Pot Metal Junk! Run for the hills!Get FAR away from it!!

Amen! Run as fast as you can!