Merry Ploughboy

Nice place to keep everything neat and tidy. You have enviable foam cutting skills.

JAC was in business as of last October. I placed a mail order and received the shipment exactly one week after I dropped the order into the mail box. No idea whether or not there's a store front. Good luck.

I'm thinking that the spout subassembly may be swapped on to the Noera body from a Scovill can. All the WWII Thompson Noera oil cans I'm familiar with have spouts that do not have ridges on the perimeter and are not stamped with any characters. See, for example, the one in the photo of WWII oil cans Nick has posted above. MHO, YMMV, etc. It would appear then that I have a mismatched Scovill sprout assembly on my NOERA oiler body to go along with my mismatched AOC/Savage. Are the crinkle finish WW2 era oilers made by Scovill or is the manufacturer lost to time? As I understand/interpret what is stated in "American Thunder", both Scovill Manufacturing and Noerea supplied the crinkle finish painted, substantially 'brick with a spout on one end' shaped body oil bottles for the WWII Thompsons. MHO, YMMV, etc.

I'm thinking that the spout subassembly may be swapped on to the Noera body from a Scovill can. All the WWII Thompson Noera oil cans I'm familiar with have spouts that do not have ridges on the perimeter and are not stamped with any characters. See, for example, the one in the photo of WWII oil cans Nick has posted above. MHO, YMMV, etc.

I had a WWII vintage Noera oil can years ago. It went with a '28 when I sold it. No pics any more either. I am not as skeptical as TD about the vintage of the two nickel plated oil cans on the far right. I think that the cap and spout pieces were common to all the shapes of oil cans that were sold by Scovill, so the more shallow MADE IN U.S..A. stamping is likely the result of gradually wear and shifting adjustment of the stamping equipment. The equipment would get repaired/adjusted and the stamping would change accordingly. The nickel plated can on the far right, in my opinion also, looks to have been polished/buffed at some point in time. So, I'm of the opinion that the nickel plated oil bottles are likely of pre-WWII vintage. MHO, YMMV, etc.

Yeah, there has been a growth in Thompson accessory prices commensurate with the prices of the guns themselves. The early Thompson oilers (and I say early because there is evidence that the first Savage 1928s were furnished with the same buttstock oil cans as the Colt made Thompsons were) are nickel plated brass. I've got one that has a small area where the nickel plating is gone and the brass is clearly evident. I've seen a few photos of Thompson oil bottles where portions of the underlying brass has corroded to verdigris. Back in the mid to late 1800s until WWII when nickel became scare due to its extensive use in wartime materiel, small nickel plated oil bottles/cans/containers or oilers were very common and made by a number of companies. As well as Scovill Manufacturing, oil bottles made by W & B, and Cushman & Dennison are commonly encountered examples. Such small oil cans (sometimes called pocket bottles) were furnished with and sold in the aftermarket for such items as sewing machines, fishing reels, watches and clocks, manual adding machines, bicycles, and of course, firearms. Small oil cans that are stamped with the Shakespeare brand fetch a handsome premium over the very common unmarked versions. The oil cans furnished with the Thompsons (and also sold as an aftermarket accessory for $0.50 in the 1936 AutoOrdnance catalog) were specifically sized to fit into the long, cylindrical hole in the buttstock, but otherwise seem to be the same as other nickel plated oil cans of the era. MHO, YMMV, etc.

For original nickel plated oil bottles (which I speculate were made by Scovill Manufacturing Co.) sold by AutoOrdnance as a separate accessory as well as were included in the buttstock of Colt 1921 and likely early Savage 1928 Thompsons, condition generally dictates the price. Anywhere from about $120 to $350+, though apparently one sold for $500 on eBay just over a year ago. I'd guess that around $200 for one in average condition (original, but with some normal handling scratches and minor dents; small flakes and wear to the plating; small, light corrosion at the solder joints) is about right. IIRC, Doug Richardson also used to advertise WWII oil bottles that were stripped and nickel plated. I think TATA and/or TCA asked IMI to mark their WWII oil bottles that were stripped and nickel plated, and IMI stopped producing them instead. MHO, YMMV, etc.

I've learned that even experienced submachine gun shooters should only be given a 20 round mag that is at most half full when it is their first time shooting a Thompson (and turning it into an anti-aircraft weapon). I've also come to only use 20 round mags when I'm the one who's paying for the ammo regardless of how well controlled the shooting may be. So I rarely have anything other than 20 round mags at hand for shooting, and an empty drum for photos. As for buying parts before the gun, I'm of the opinion it somewhat depends on how obsessive about having an all period correct gun and accessories collection you are. Colt, transitional/pre-WWII, and WWII eras may be one way to categorize and time frame limit buying. Another consideration may be that some parts may need to be installed to ensure that they fit and function properly. Buying now may preclude any potential recourse should a part eventually be found to be inoperative or defective in some way. Best of luck and enjoy whatever you buy. MHO, YMMV, etc.

The Chicago PD may have regarded it as a "Public Service Murder" and decided to solve it after the next Ice Age My comments were a veiled reference to the classic 1959 romantic comedy film "Some Like It Hot" of which an integral part was inspired by the SVDM. "Joe" was played by Tony Curtis and "Jerry" was played by Jack Lemmon. The female lead was played by Marilyn Monroe.

With respect to neighbors lodging noise complaints, I bought a suppressor for my M16 because neighbors at a couple of places where I shoot made known to the owners of the properties that their horses and dogs became agitated by the loud noise. Pistol caliber subguns seemed to be quiet enough to get by. Nowadays I usually shoot 9mm and .22LR with the M16 anyway.

Thanks for sharing. I can't help but think the SVDM case would have been solved had the authorities questioned the two musicians, Joe and Jerry, who witnessed it. Well, nobody's perfect.

As to how many were made, per The Sixth Edition of "Colt Thompson Serial Numbers" by Gordon Herigstad, no fewer than 102.

From the title, I thought that the thread was going to be about someone's father's Thompson. FWIW, PAWS did AR-15 to M16 conversions as well.

FWIW, a number of years ago, in answer to a question of how many of different types of machine guns were transferable, for Reisings the answer was about 9,000. Apparently many were sold or later given to police departments and corrections facilities. From what was stated, Reisings were produced into the 1950s for the LEO market.

Though I haven't bought a C &R gun of any type, not even in-state, in a number years, I do buy enough from Brownells to make it worthwhile at $10/year. So I've been diligent. There're a couple of other places that gave a discount to C & R holders that don't any more so my savings aren't what they used to be. Renew and enjoy all the benefits.

Welcome to the website! The first change that comes to mind is to modify the magazine catch (or get a replacement catch and modify it) so that unaltered WWII vintage (so-called G.I.) magazines can be used. The WWII Thompson mags are still readily available and at a relatively low cost. Best of luck and enjoy many safe and pleasant shooting experiences with your Thompson.

So long as you're buying it as an historical artifact you should be okay. From what I've read, the 40 round drum had a poor reliability record and was replaced by the more reliable 71 round drum (which isn't all that reliable either - buy four to get three that work 100%, and waste hours and hours trying in vain to get that fourth one up to par). For reliability, the Oscar Payne designed Thompson drums are the standard by which all others seem to be judged. Enjoy that cute little 40 rounder! They are a unique and scarce accessory. MHO, YMMV, etc.

I've bought several TSMG items off eBay from sellers in Europe. Always took three weeks minimum to get to me. The sellers all had established track records so I wasn't too concerned. One of the purchases was for some stick magazines, not a drum. Best of luck with your purchase. MHO, YMMV, etc.

When I wanted '28 furniture to replace the items on my '21 I found a complete set on eBay from a European seller. It took about three weeks to get shipped to me. The stock (non-cross bolt) and pistol grip are in fair condition and the horizontal foregrip (which I did not need) was like new and I sold it to offset some of the cost. It did take a few months of watching before parts came up for sale at a reasonable price. Best of luck with whatever you decide to pursue. MHO, YMMV, etc.

Very low muzzle climb, even when shooting that 100 round drum. Thanks for sharing. MP

IIRC, on their website they specifically state that they do not do letters for Colt manufactured machine guns. FWIW, I used to own a three digit serial number Colt AR-15, Model 601 machine gun. When I sent a FOIA request to the BATF, the first substantive part of the response was a redacted copy of the Form 2 showing when it was initially registered as manufactured (Jan. 31, 1961), and the next transaction was the Form 5 transfer to an LEO a few days later. MHO, YMMV, etc.

Welcome to the Board and congratulations. The Savage should turn into a great shooter with a great history. The drum appears to have a dent that will likely need to be expertly reduced for proper functioning but otherwise looks to be in quite nice shape. Shoot safely and with pride!

I have a Kahr 50 rnd. drum that came with a 27A1. Both of the rails were a slight bit tight on the top and bottom fit so I squished them in ever so slightly with lock jaw pliers by way of a half dozen or so pinches along the length of the rails. If the fit problem you have is similar, you may wish to try a like approach. If the fit problem you have is related to fore/aft tightness, a different approach would be required as trying to squish the outside edges of the rails in will likely deform the front and/or rear plates and could cause different sorts of internal problems. Best of luck. MHO, YMMV, etc.

Unfortunately, even shooter grade frames are relatively expensive. One could try going the other direction and put a bevel/chamfer on the top outer edges of the rail on the mag. Only do so on a couple shooter grade mags to see if/how much it helps. Disclaimer: I'm not a competitive shooter - recreational only, so I have no concern with rapid mag changes. MHO, YMMV, enjoy safe shooting times, etc.

In lieu of the Richardson rail rear sight substitute, this looks like it should work: https://www.brpguns.com/picatinny-rail-adapter-for-thompson-smg-brp-stg-m1a1-1928/