29 replies to this topic

[DC Chris]

Alll-

This isn't a shill for this company, but I thought I would pass along this information.

I went north 'o the border today (to Pennsylviania, where they still respect the 2nd ammendment!) and stopped in at a local gunstore. The owner emailed me with information that he had a new production L drum in stock (more on that later), of which I quickly purchased so I could shoot one in my state that allows possession but bans over the counter and mail order sales on hi-caps (sigh). So, PA gets my tax money and an out of state vendor profits. You gotta love the morons in Annapolis.

Anyhoo - I met Scott Morris from Freedom Armory. He has a very nice store and is a really nice guy. He had three transferrable Thompsons in stock and two were ready for sale:

1) The most beautiful 1921 AC Colt I have EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. This gun was freaking flawless and from a PD down south (either Tn or Az - don't remember which one he said). It had no PD markings and was in the 5XXX range, non-crossbolt stock. Purchased from an estate in Maryland. He was asking $32K and let me tell you - this thing looked perfect like it just left the assembly line.

2) He had a Rewatted Savage 1928 with a non-crossbolt stock, cutts and vertical foregrip in the $15k range. I couldn't tell you if the serials match or not... I was too busy drooling over the Colt but this gun looked clean too. But, if someone here is looking for a Savage at a reasonable price by todays standards....

3) He also had a mint M1 Savage, US property marked with the front grip band which is also transferrable, but he told me that they were expanding to an indoor pistol and rifle range (how cool is that) and he was keeping it for a renter.

They are on the web if anyone is interested (Shrewsbury, PA). As to not be a commercial for him, you can look it up the contact info yourself. They don't have the guns on the website.

So, I purchased the new L drum and can already tell the rails aren't the same and the quality is not as good (glup! I don't want to hear it!) as my WH L or my WH C drums. The fit is so tight sliding in the drum rails (yes, it is assembled correctly) it is currently not worth even taking to the range. I plan on inserting it a few times to "break it in" but I just wanted to forewarn others that the Kahr drum is not a good fit out of the box in my 1928.

Your mileage may vary and I hope it does.

Chris.

[philasteen]

DCChris

please don't take this the wrong way - is your level of Thompson expertise such that you are confident you could have spotted a refinish on that 21?

[DC Chris]

Philasteen-

1) I was going by what he told me
2) I was possible it was a refinish but seemed to have the standard use wear (such as around the selector levers) - but I am pretty sure for 32K considering he admitted having the rewat cheaper for that reason. He also claimed that this Colt came from a collector's estate who had all high quality stuff. Regardless - refinished or not - it was a great looking gun I or someone else would love to have in our safe. I have seen refinishes before (the one on Damon's site), at shows in person and on other sites with mismatched barrels, but it looked like it had two owners - the PD and the guy in MD.
3) Read the last line of my post - "your mileage may vary" - buyer beware, etc. I never claimed it was all original because I really don't know. That would be up to a potential buyer to inspect it before purchase. You insinuated that I don't know Thompsons and in no uncertain terms did I even cliam this was original because without a teardown it and carefully inspecting it - who knows. I don't have 32K laying around so I was more interested in the M1.

If you know something I don't about this gun, please share.

Please don't take this the wrong way either - if you don't like to hear about something that maybe someone else on this forum WOULD have an interest in and enjoy owning these guns (even if you dont) - keep it to yourself.

Chris.

[philasteen]

DCChris, I didn't mean to insinuate anything - I was considering a trip over to look at it, but it's a 3 hour drive for me - that's why I was asking, I have previously seen 2 "mint" Thompsons that turned out to be refinished. I have no knowledge of this 21 beyond what you saw - I don't know that I would necessarily spot a good refinish either.

[DC Chris]

I would suggest calling/emailing him first and asking. For 32K, that is a very fair question. The guy seemed to know his stuff.

The wood on both guns was great. You can tell that the previous owners (I don't think the Colt and the Savage were from the same estate, but I could be wrong) took very good care of them.

If you find out, please let us know. I would think that a refinish would easily drop the price into the $20's. I guess maybe to someone else if the price was right (even if it was a refinish) it still would be a nice addition to a collection. Class three is always going up.

Chris.

P.S. I asked him who did the rewat on the 1928 and he did not know.

[TD.]

Is this the Thompson?

http://www.gunsameri...s/976458541.htm

If so, the serial number is NO 5818. Gordon lists this Thompson as being purchased by the Arkansas State Police and later in the Rodney Buaas Collection in Maryland in 1995. I spoke to Scott Morris about this Thompson in April 2004. Chris is right, Scott is very friendly and easy to talk too. Philasteen (and Chris), send me your e-mail address and I will forward you the pictures Scott sent me. I too wondered about it being a perfect Thompson since it was a former police gun. It is hard to believe those Arkansas boys never took it out of the office...but who knows? As Chris says, it is definately worth the price of a telephone call.
TD.

[fred]

TD,

Who was Rodney Buaas? Big dealer? Big Collector? I have in transfer now, a really gorgeous MP5A3 that I am buying from the boss of an equipment salesman that I deal with. The boss told me he got the MP5 from Rodney Buaas about 10 years ago. I had never heard the name before until now.

The MP5 is sooo beautiful (a HINT of wear on the edge of the mag well), that if it is any indication of quality, I would not hesitate buy the Thompson if I were in the market for a 1921.

[TD.]

Fred,
I do not know this collector. The name was listed in Gordon Herigstad's book on Colt Thompson Serial Numbers as the owner of NO 5818 in 1995. Apparently, he had a collection of Class Three firearms. Perhaps he is still around and can answer some questions about NO 5818. It is not a common name. An internet search may be productive.

[DC Chris]

Yes - that is the gun. It does look as good as described - the Guns America picture does not do that Colt justice.

Rodney Buass is apparently dead. Scott told me it was from his estate. He also said there were BAR's, MP5's, etc... the quote was "He had all premium stuff"

Chris.

[Sig]

I show Freedom Arms was offering this back in April of 04 along with a #4680 L drum for $40k total.
Price was offered at $33k for gun alone in July.
I had the s/n of the TSMG as #5618, not at home right now to check provenance of that one.
I could have typo'd the s/n (maybe 5818) when I recorded it back in April.
michael

[colt21a]

i sold rodney serial #98 1921a,if he has passed...may he rest in peace!thanks for the info guy's.....

take care,ron

[Lotusnut]

Well, I can second the opinion of Scott Morris and Freedom Armory. I went and looked at the Colt 21A #5818 in late February after Scott sent me pictures. It was a bit of an anxious time, because my wife was due at about the time I left ! She is so cool though, she said I should look at it if i was thinking of laying out that kind of money !!!! So I made a quick flight out to Maryland and drove up to see Scott. I have to say, he IS one of the nicest folks you will meet.

I looked at the Colt 21AC #5818 and it looked perfect. The buttstock had the anchor of remington on it, and the switches had some wear around them. I did not do a tear down on it, and honestly, probably couldn't recognize a top notch refinish if I had to. But, I knew the history of the gun, and I knew that Rodney Buass collected only the best. More importantly, I want a gun to keep that I enjoy looking at.

In short, I ended up buying the Colt 21 AC #5818. I brought the drum home with me and my wife got some laughs out of watching me intently going over this empty drum !!!! I couldn't be happier and I will post pics once the transfer goes through.

While I was there, I looked at the Savage 1928 A1. I called Scott last week, and we made a deal on that gun. It is a Savage 1928 A1 NAC rewat and came with a bridgeport L drum. It was in excellent shape, and the rewat was very minimal and sympathetic. I intend to use it as a shooter (which doesn't mean I won't shoot the '21, just much less often).

Needless to say, I can't wait to get these two in my possession. I can't say enough about Scott and Freedom Armory. They had the patience and class to send me pic after pic and no request was denied. I recommend them without any reservation.

By the way, we had a little girl 3 days later !

Edited by Lotusnut, 07 April 2005 - 11:34 AM.

[DC Chris]

Lotusnut-

Well, at least you left the M1!!!

Congrats on all three new acquisitions!

If you found out about these from my original post, I am glad I could help.

Chris.
Columbia, MD

[Lotusnut]

QUOTE (DC Chris @ Apr 7 2005, 11:37 AM)

Lotusnut- Well, at least you left the M1!!! Congrats on all three new acquisitions! If you found out about these from my original post, I am glad I could help. Chris. Columbia, MD

Hi Chris,

actually, i just came across this thread yesterday ! It was reassuring to get your perspective on it after the fact though !

Its alway reassuring to get a second opinion on people and I think your opinion of Scott Morris is spot on !

best regards

[Merry Ploughboy]

Lotusnut,

Yes, congratulations and enjoy many happy times with all three new acquisitions - at the same time. By the time your daughter is 10 she should be able to have a Thompson of her own assuming you and your wife are shooting the two you just got.

[Lotusnut]

Ha Ha ! Can't wait to surprise the relatives with a picture of the munchkin holding a Tommy across her lap !

[Lzxray]

Congratulation...

I think that this gun was much discussed back in Sept. of last year on the Bower's Board. Do an NFA archive search.

http://www.subguns.c...cgi?read=406430

[Lotusnut]

I found that thread along the way as well...didn't really tell me much except that it might be original, or it might be a re-finish...

Thats the reason i went to look at it in person. Needless to say, I was quite happy with the way it looked !

[Lotusnut]

Here are some pics I have of the Colt 1921 AC and the Savage 1928A1.....



Photobucket Photos Page

Edited by Lotusnut, 07 April 2005 - 10:36 PM.

[gijive]

QUOTE (Lotusnut @ Apr 7 2005, 08:41 PM)

Here are some pics I have of the Colt 1921 AC and the Savage 1928A1..... My photos

Lotusnut,

Thanks for posting the pictures, the guns look nice. Unfortunately, the Colt gun does not have an original rear grip on it. It is a WWII variety grip, most likely made by Strombeck-Becker (see Frank Iannamico's American Thunder for details) and should have an "M" stamped on the top of the grip near the slotted area. The contour of the grip isn't correct for a Colt grip and the wood is too light colored and evenly matched for an 80+ year old gun. If there is no contractor stamp on the grip it was probably sanded off. . It is a nice refinishing job, for sure, but altering or replacing the rear grip would indicate the gun and finish may not be original. If the front vertical grip and butt stock are original, they certainly wouldn't match (in color and finsih) the WWII variety rear grip. Age, hand oils and normal wear would darken the wood. All these clues add up to refinishing.

It is a beautiful gun, nonetheless, and you should be happy with it! Good luck with your new purchases.