LongRifle

Crazy timing. I have not been on this board in months (maybe closer to a year) and I logged on this evening while watching Tora Tora Tora. I sent 817 to Recon Bob at Philadelphia Ordnance and he completely reworked it. All new parts, bolt, barrel, small internals, and complete repark. It is like brand new. Great shooter. Sold it to a good friend of mine locally.

I have used their kiosks for a couple purchases. Works great.

Search the forum for "Urich". You will find a 3 page thread from 2013 where I purchased #817 Here is one post from that thread where I spoke to Richard Urich. He is a great guy. My gun had been not well taken care of, so I ended up speaking to ReconBob at Phila Ord. I shipped him the gun and he did a fantastic re-work. He replaced nearly all the parts from barrel to bolt to grip hanger. I also had him replace the rear sight. He took a USGI sight, re-tapped the screw holes to fit modern Thompsson screws, and then milled out the bottom of the sight. you can now read the mfg data very clearly. No need to remove the screws, but clearly, the screws are now easier to remove if needed. Add an overall re-park and the gun is now my favorite thompson. Shoots like a champ. After all of the work, I called Richard Urich again and sent him some pics and videos of 817. ---old post--- Posted 21 February 2013 - 06:53 PM Thanks to all that have replied. I think we have an answer.... So, I actually spoke to the gentleman that made the receiver. First I apoligize, I did not initially post clearly some information. I just did not think it to be super important (newbie mistake). The manufacture on the ATF forms is R.W. Urich. of Allentown PA. That is stamped very clearly under the rear sight. The ATF forms very clearly disclose him as the manufacturer NOT Auto Ordnance or Savage. So, again, my bad, I thought that had something to do with Rewatting But, again, I physically spoke to R.W Urich today. He is a very nice person. Very much into WWII history and I cannot thank him enough for his time. In short, he did indeed build about 100 Thompson receivers and register them back in the late 1970s and early 1980s using either rewelds (which this one is not), or Phila Ordnance or Richardson receivers. He asked me to send some pics and he would look at his records and confirm which receiver he used.

Just sent to dalbert@sturmgewehr.com from LongRifle

I just ordered the springs and buffer material from McMaster-Carr. HUGE shout out to McMaster-Carr!!! NICE JOB!! I ordered the stuff yesterday around noon. Package arrived today in the mail. Now if I can just find the time to install the stuff.

Sorry guys, I have been offline for a while Per Sandman, I did indeed speak to Mr Urich a couple of times and exchanged notes with him . The guns he made were made from Phila Ord or Richardson receivers. From my interaction with him, sounds like solely Phila Ord or Richardson. He never mentioned rewelds to me as I recall. He found his bound book and my #817 was made on May 6th 1986, again from either a Phila or Richardson. He did not cite which A year after manufacture he was inspected by BATF compliance division and the data above was verified. Here is what is really interesting... he said the ONLY stampings HE put on the guns were the stampings under the site. Serial company city state. He actually commented that the gun has received quite a "face lift" since he made it (his words). So I did not dig further but all the fluff on the sides may have been added by another Class 2 dealer that he sold a fair number of his guns to. Just in case that data is wrong, I will not publish the name of that person / company. In the end, I picked up my gun for about 14k so I think I have a good runner for that price. It did cause me a lot of angst however. The gun was present as "original" when I bought it. I kept asking the seller (before I bought it) why it was so cheap and he said it was because of the Urich stamps and "the way it was registered". Seller still contended it was original. He was willing to "make it right" once I unwound the mystery. NOT original, but a good runner.

Had the same problem many years ago, not long after Kahr purchased the company In my case, the situation may have been a little different in that the bolt actually fractured along the line of the extractor and wedged back into the receiver. Everything was locked up tight Send my gun to Kahr and this was my second send back . Believe it or not, my barrel was warped out of the box. I shot 2 FEET left at 25 yards. you could easily see the bent barrel, it was crazy. They replaced the barrel and like I said, I now was faced with sending it back a second time I started to exchange emails with a customer service person and that guy, personally went down after the bolt was repaired and test fired 2 boxes through the gun at varying distances . Ever since, the gun has function flawlessly and is far more accurate at distances under 100 yards that I would have ever expected . I have fired thousands of rounds through it since. Very pleased with their customer service. Also, locktite those little screws in place on your site, I lost a number of them before locked mine in. I used the strongest locktite because I tried low and medium and neither worked. Strong works great. I never plan to take the sight off .

I was about to ask the same question today. I am tempted to just buy the Kahr, and make due. I know that some years ago, "1927a" made a case, but as best I can tell, he is not making them any longer. As best I can piece together, it may have been a lack of original hardware issue. I am more concerned about the quality of the wood than the accuracy of the hardware... we just don't seem to have a lot of options.

Right... what are a few details between friends..? Seriously though, I apologize because now that I review the thread, this would all been a lot easier had I referenced that from the get go. THANKS

Thanks to all that have replied. I think we have an answer.... So, I actually spoke to the gentleman that made the receiver. First I apoligize, I did not initially post clearly some information. I just did not think it to be super important (newbie mistake). The manufacture on the ATF forms is R.W. Urich. of Allentown PA. That is stamped very clearly under the rear sight. The ATF forms very clearly disclose him as the manufacturer NOT Auto Ordnance or Savage. So, again, my bad, I thought that had something to do with Rewatting But, again, I physically spoke to R.W Urich today. He is a very nice person. Very much into WWII history and I cannot thank him enough for his time. In short, he did indeed build about 100 Thompson receivers and register them back in the late 1970s and early 1980s using either rewelds (which this one is not), or Phila Ordnance or Richardson receivers. He asked me to send some pics and he would look at his records and confirm which receiver he used. So, clearly, this is NOT an original Savage AO #817.

I have to check the underside of the receiver . This getting interesting. Does anyone know anything about R.W. Urich of Allentown PA??? I am fairly certain this is Richard W Urich. I found a gun in the auctioned Bruce Stern collection that was listed as "**MAXIM MG08/15 WATER COOLED MACHINE GUN. SN 3661. Cal. 8mm. This water cooled machine gun orig manufactured in Germany at the Erfurt Aresenal in 1917(remanufactured, possibly rewatted by Richard W. Urich of Allentown, Pennsylvania" Seems this person had some manufacturing ability. Rewatted is what the seller had guessed happened.

It does have a serial number on the trigger... 312503. I cannot find any S on the lower. Nor can I find the Auto Ord stamp. Seems like a Savage lower due to the Full being placed over the Auto. According to American Thunder II, that is how Savage did it Yes small allen heads holding site on. This is not a post sample... if I understand what that means. This is a fully transferable gun that I just received Clearly been refinished . I picked this up from David Spiwak. His best guess that it was a DEWAT at some point, and reactivated and registered. The reason that site has the allen heads is that the guy that registered it put his name under it. R.W. Urich. So that it is easily removable.

OK, thanks for the links... here you go Several pics.. Serial number, the GEG markings, then the Full Auto marking that is Savage style, and then the US property which is savage style and the Bridgeport stamp on the right side

Thanks for getting the thread back on topic... I was not sure how to do that . Been a registered user for a long time, but not an active participant.... So, I will indeed post some pictures once I figure out how to do that. In answer to your question however, it is not a West Hurley the serial number is just 817 (I will fight my paranoia about posting serial numbers). On the right side it says Bridgeport, but the US Property stamp is a Savage style stamp. The gun has 2 stamps on the front left by the barrel. I don't have it in front of me now, but one looks like crossed and one is initials... J something from my memory. JEC or JHB or something like that. I will work on the picture upload.

I bought the gun through David Spiwak. It is already in my safe for the night, but I will try to post some pics soon. I also HOPE this will be my only full auto. It is exactly the gun I have been wanting for decades. Nice parkerized finish, pretty good wood.. shooter not a wall hanger. It was posted on Spiwak site as follows, our guess is that it was deactivated in the past with a plugged barrel and Uhrick reactivated it: Item #8xx: Thompson M1 (Bridgeport) registered by John Urick. His stamp is under the rear sight. The rear sight has had two of the weak rivets replaced with tiny allen screws. Low serial number 8xxThe gun is Savage manufacture and in excellent condition with nice original finish and wood. Excellent bore