Dennis Todd

Please tell the guy I'll pay more if he wants to sell it. Dennis (610) 543-7300

Hi Roger, Glad to hear you are alive and well and living in a free state. I still have a couple of Colts you unearthed many years ago. The comments about your book seem to ignore the context and era. You have owned more Colt Thompsons ( as well as other machine gun types) than anyone else on earth and wrote from your observations and research at that time. Certainly additional information has surfaced in the decadeds since publication. The binding of my personal copy is completely shot from extensive use. Did you buy back the rights from Charlie Steen? ;-) Dennis Todd

Y is listed as Yale and Towne of Stamford, CT, a contractor that made TSMG sling swivels. We cannot find them listed as actuator/bolt suppliers. And. the location is odd. I have several Stevens 1928 bolts marked S in th eproper location with II or III on the right upper rear.

Jennie and I will be set up with Bug and Bernie all weekend. Come and see the original Colt 1921 parts kit on a dummy receiver with matching serial numbers, two original German FG42s, etc. It should be a great weekend. Dennis Todd

I read the thread and found some of the replies a little confusing. Let me try to sum up the important points. The 1986 "Firearms Protection" Law banned new machine gun production for civilian ownership. After 1986, a licensed manufacturer (Class 2) can make new machine guns for sale to Law Enforcement, military, etc, but not for retail sales to individuals. Also, a licensed manufacturer cannot, in principle, make post-'86 machine guns solely for personal use. The licensee is supposed to be "in the business", not building a collection. A private citizen can build semi-autos (check state laws) for personal use. You can also build short barrel rifles (barrel less than 16") wih a $200.00 tax stamp and a completed ATF Form 1. You cannot use most parts from a machine gun parts kit to build a semi-auto because the internals are too "readily convertible" to full auto. If you could buy a parts kit and add a receiver, Thompson submachine guns wouldn't cost $15K and up. Guys, did I miss anything?

Check your e-mail. I will be getting several complete M1A1 TSMG parts kits next week and will have them for sale at the SAR show in Las Vegas 8/25 and 8/26. If you are interested call Jennie at (610) 543-7300

Frank, Jennie and I will be there. We have already reserved our tables. Hope to see lots of TSMG folks. Dennis Todd

There are several other piles of machine guns taken at the same time and place. They show similar mounds that include M16s, M60s,Miniguns and even Soviet DP28s, suggesting the VietNam war era, rather than Korea, or earlier conflicts.

What a nice 1928. It's a shame someone swapped the barrel at some point. If only they could talk. The smooth barrel can be corrected with the Russian imported kits. Some of them had barrels that are like new.

DCBRYAN1, I have a nice late production WWII Savage 1928A1 with matching upper and lower nunmbers in the S-525900 range. It has smooth barrel, Cutts compensator, horizontal grip and "L" sight. Sorry no case or repro drum. The price is $22,500.00. Call me if you'd like to discuss it. Dennis Todd (610) 543-7300

I have been reading this thread and chuckling to myself. We live in a capitalist society where we try to make a profit, not socialism where we all share because of "brotherly love". Have any of you guys ever taken an economics course? Many of you seem not to understand "The Market". Someone posted the question, "Why should they raise prices, simply because they can?" The answer is an emphatic Yes. That's why they are in business, to make a profit! Supply and Demand work to create "P1", the Market Price. Change those and the Market Price changes. The market for this item is limited. The reason so many cool things are not produced (or reproduced) is that the start up cost cannot be covered by the limited scale of the market unless the price is high. Too high price and no one will buy it, so it doesn't get made. Real businesses do the math every day. It sucks, but that's economics 101. This isn't like Potato Chips, where they can sell them forever and make a nice steady small profit. Do you think they can import and sell 20,000 of these 50 round Thompson drums? I mean, we all need a couple, but how many Thompson guns are there in this country? And what happens when a few of these start to show up at crime scenes around the country (and you know they will) and the Dems scream for a "drum ban"? What if the foreign government refuses to allow future export? When the demand is gone, either through government action or filling the market, the product stops selling. The manufacturer/ importer/dealer cannot sell any more and the product is finished. If the manufacturer has not made a reasonable profit, he's broke. Sure, they can make something else, but that's another issue. To me, the drums are still a value at something like 75% of the price of an original because they work. Heck, as has been written, Kahr sold crappy drums for a higher price, and they sold because there was nothing to compete in the low-end market. The market works the other way, too. If someone posts these at $1000.00 they won't sell because that's way above what the market will pay at this time. Too many times I have heard guys in this field complain that something was overpriced, then whine for 20 years that they shudda... $3,000. for a full-auto Thompson, you'd have to be crazy to pay that much. They're still refining gasoline and I don't know anyone who has stoped driving because gas isn't 39 cents a gallon any more. Maybe you guys should write to Exxon. Just my opinion.

Gordon Herigstad's "Colt Thompson Serial Numbers" lists #2072 as a 21A that was exported to the government of Mexico, destroyed and imported as parts to Shooters' World in Phoenix, AZ in April, 1993. Tracie Hill also lists that number as "destroyed". The AZ connection makes some sense, but ???????

Murray, Jennie and I look forward to seeeing you, et al, at SAR. Have a safe flight. Dennis Todd

It seems that only good ol' GH has the resources to track down the barrel and the 1921 TSMG. I will miss having the numbered barrel in my collection. I am sorry that I am unable to make the TSMG get-together this weekend. Jennie and I hope to see most of the guys at other shows.

Jennie and I will be there and look forward to seeing you, again. I don't think she'll be joining your wife for retail therapy, though. Dennis Todd