18 replies to this topic

[Gunner]

Wow! I never thought it would happen. And ahead of schedule! My very minty 1928 WH arrived today, about 6 weeks earlier than I had thought. I've spent the evening stripping it and inspecting, and (at least in the eyes of a novice Thompson owner) everything seems pretty good. The finish is 99.5%, and the gun has been fired very little. The bolt (blued) and Blish lock are Savage. The actuator appears older (with knurled knob and the finish seems different, so I wonder it's a better grade than the WH ones. The mag catch looked crappy, so switched it out with I a GI mag catch and spring I had bought for the occasion. The mag catch action is still kind of mushy, like the spring's weak. The only other "less than perfect thing" is the bore seems to have some dried grease or gunk, requiring me to use nasty solvents.

I'm planning to load mags tonight and take her out after work tomorrow!

[John Jr]

Glad you got it! Take it out and shoot the hell out of it. Thats what they are for!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!

Jr

[Norm]

John Jr,

Congrats!

It's healthy 10 pound baby boy!

Feed it well!

Norm

[The1930sRust]

Wow! That's great. I am reminded of the time when I went to pick up my West Hurley 1928. Second only to holding my son the first time (and the gun didn't immediately pee all over the place..point- gun). Keep us posted on the gun, and make sure you read over the FAQ again. There is some new stuff there that may be of interest to you.

[full auto 45]

Congrats! The first one is always the best experience. Remember to keep it clean and feed it well and often. And give it a good oiling down when done,they always like that. Post some pictures of the little devil soon for us all to see.

[Jay Baker]

Congratulations Gunner!

How long did your transfer take? I ask because I'm seven weeks into the wait for a WH M1. Best of luck with your new baby, with the new parts it should be a good one.

[gijive]

Good luck with your new gun! Let us know how it works. Don't worry about the magazine spring feeling mushy, if it is installed properly it should be fine. Post some pictures if you can.

[Sgt]

Gunner--
That's fantastic! I share in your excitement!! I'm also in anticipation when some day my own transfer comes through. Glad you got your's early; mine is about a month late, due to complications.

[Grey Crow]

Congrats on the new addition!

I agree with the rest of the posts keep it clean and well oiled.

The oil thought reminds me of a friend who is a long term FA shooter. When I was looking over his M1A1, I noticed a thin film of oil seeping from every place it could. The wood was black from many years of oil and use, finish was parkerized. Even though my taste leans towards the 21/28 it was still a beautiful piece.

Treat it with respect and it will pay back in return.

[hawksnest]

Gunner: If this is your first Full Auto be Veeeerry Veeerry Careful. Thompsonitus is uncontrolable (the disease not the gun) and often contagious. Before you know it you'll have a spare this and two spare thats and then another gun. Congratulations.

[Gunner]

Thanks for all the congratulations, guys.

Jay,

I don't know why it moved so fast. I mailed the application in August. The check cleared Sept. 3. It "went pending" Sept. 23, and was approved Oct. 30. This was an intrastate transfer -- Form 4 to Form 4.

GI,

I wish I could post pictures, but I can't figure out how to set up my website and all that. (Fortunately I'm better at working with guns than cyber stuff.)

I'm hoping to leave work early today and shoot her. Loaded up some mags last night after I finished inspection/cleaning. Cycled some snap caps through after reassembly, and I was a little concerned because they didn't eject, but I guess that's just a difference between dummy & live ammo. I'll post a report.

[full auto 45]

You could email me a couple of photos and I can post them for you if you like.

[JimFromFL]

Thanks for sharing about your new toy.

Now, go out and have a blast and be sure to share your experience with the board.

[Bisley45]

I've got some snap caps like that, the rim is machined a little too thin, my guns work 100% woth the real deal but this one lot of snap caps stay chambered 90% of the time

Have fun with your new toy, hopefully your only stopage in firing will be running out of shells. best of luck

BB

[Gunner]

A quick range report. Fired 300 rnds. S&B FMJ. Had maybe 5-8 jams. The first was weirdest. Tried 39 rnd. drum that came with the gun. Fired 10-20 rnds then jammed. Cleared the action, but the bolt wouldn't go home completely. Field strippped the gun, and found a case caught at the top of the receiver--between the front of the bolt and the front of the receiver. Repeated attempts to close the bolt had smashed the the case to about half of its original length.

I found a second distorted case on the table. It was unclear whether the gun had ejected it or whether it came out manually, but it had a bulge around the circumference, like it had been comprssed as well -- a belt around the case about 2/3 of the way up.

My 30 rnd. mags seemed to run fine, so I tried a couple of WH L's I'd acquired while waiting for the gun to arrive. One seems fine, but one jammed about midway through. Cleared the weapon and emptied the rest of the drum. Tried again with similar results.

As I was packing up, I noticed the slide release button had fallen out of the buttstock. It was lying on the floor, and I pushed it badk in and it worked fine. What's odd is that now I can't get it to drop out again. Seems to work perfectly, but I don't trust it.

I'm going to try to make it out again today, and will let you know how it goes. Thanks.

[Gunner]

PS Despite the bugs I mentioned earlier, THIS IS ONE HELL OF A FIREARM! I was thrilled at how well it held on target. I just let the horizontal foregrip lay in my left hand and allowed the weight of the gun to keep it on target. Just seemed to lob bullets in to the sweet spot!

[Walter63a]

Congratulations on the new arrival!!

[The1930sRust]

Tis late and I am tired, but a few quick comments. Glad you had fun with the WH! Now, there is no reason it cannot be made to fire at 100%. I had some of the same stoppages you metions (even the curious spent shell lost in the receiver). Simple problems to overcome should you decide to do so. Now, my WH hasn't jammed or otherwise failed to fire in some time after a bit of TLC. Good luck!

[LIONHART]

Would LOVE to see some Pics!