TGCJ

Called them a couple of times on the early sight cover - out of stock.

Does someone have contact information for PK - I need several buffers.

Colt/Thompson wood is hard to find. However, I found an excellent condition Colt stock, pistol grip and fore-grip along with a shot magazine, nickel oiler and three boxes of .45 shot shells at the Rock Island Auction Company auction several (three) years ago. I think I paid $3500 for the lot. I only needed the Colt fore-grip but the stock and pistol grip were upgrades for my gun. I subsequently sold the Colt stock and pistol grip along with a Savage fore-grip to someone on this forum. RIA frequently has Thompson parts for sale. It is worth checking their auctions. I have seen several Colt stocks sell at RIA over the years.

As I recall a 1934 Ford offered the same level of protection from a .45ACP round. I am sure a .30-06 would provide a different result.

El Paso Saddlery made top quality leather goods. Long ago, when I was in the Army, I bought a couple of their holsters. That was long before e-bay and before I learned that genuine US holsters were available for not much more money than a good reproduction. Once I found that nearly new, original, firearms and accessories were available I was hooked. I started about ten years too late.

El Paso Saddlery from the late '70s or early '80s. I had a couple of their holsters at that time. It shows some age - it is now 40+ years old but it is not a WWII holster.

My Colt M1918 Browning Machine Rifle. Along with the Thompson the BAR is the classic American individual automatic weapon.

If you find an original please contact me - I would like to have one to display with my Colt M1918 BAR. Tom Jackson

Thanks Jim. You are familiar with the gun. I was lucky Darryl decided to sell it. I am trying to put together all the associated 'stuff'. I have most of it. I am looking for an original 1918-19 manual and first style front sight cover w/rectangular cut-outs.

I was able to purchase this Colt Browning Machine Rifle recently. Here are some pictures of the gun and accessories. I was very fortunate that a member of the forum responded to my post and offered to sell this excellent BAR. The only item I would like to find is an original 1918 dated manual.

I think it hammered at $40,000 so add 17.5% plus sales tax. Check Poulin's website for the final price.

Interested in purchasing an original copy of the WWI handbook for the M1918 BAR

I cannot over-state how well the transfer of Darryl's Colt BMR went. It is a really great gun - I could not hope to find a better Colt BMR. The Trans Am 455 Super Duty is a great car - I am glad I could assist in funding the restoration. TGCJ

Would any M1918 Colt Browning Machine Rifle/Browning Automatic Rifle owners like to share the manufacturing codes on the butt-plates and rear sights of their guns? My sample of two Colts have one "R" and one "E" marked rear sight leaf and a Winchester "W" stamped on the inside of one butt plate trap door I examined. Since these parts were unmodified M1917 rifle components it makes sense for Colt to have acquired them from the three makers of M1917 rifles. From my two-gun sample it appears parts from all three makers may have been used by Colt. I am curious to know what the manufacturing codes are on the rear sights and butt trap doors of other Colt M1918 guns. Marlin too. I have been looking thru "Rock in a Hard Place" but have not found it especially useful for details on M1918 guns - lots of filler. On page 35 it states that the M1917 rifle rear sight leaf was 2 5/16 inches long while the 'modified' sight on the BAR was 2 1/16 inches long. The "M1917" sight leaf in the illustration is from a British P14 rifle which had a longer sight leaf. I am not in the same location as my BAR but I am fairly certain that the M1918 rear sight leaf was identical in length to the one on the U.S. M1917 rifle.

I have looked at the BARs sold by Rock Island Auction over the last few years - Darryl's BAR was as good as the best one sold by RIA and quite a bit better than most of what has come thru the auction. I really wanted a Colt - I have only seen two at RIA. The Colt that sold in December 2021 was a decent gun but showed quite a bit of wear. The Colt that is for sale in the June auction has a Winchester barrel. I want to thank Darryl for contacting me and working with me to get the deal done. I could not have had a better transfer. My next step is to find the cartridge belts, manuals and other accessories. The Colt is almost too nice to shoot and I really enjoy having all of the "stuff" that was issued with the guns during the period of use.

I picked up my Colt M1918 Browning Machine Rifle from forum member DARRYLTA recently - just over 10 months for the Form 4 approval. I am extremely pleased with the condition of the gun and the transaction generally. I doubt I could find a better early Colt M1918 (or M1918 BAR of any make). A big plus was the opportunity to examine and handle an original Colt Monitor - a one-time experience I really appreciate. Most of the guns I bought over the last few years were purchased at RIA or other big auctions. It was so much nicer dealing with a knowledgable collector.

Bill, If you had bothered send me decent pictures of your BAR and returnmy phone calls and e-mails you might have sold me your gun in December 2021. I bought a BAR from a member of the forum about a month after you failed to respond to my inquiries. The seller responded to my inquiries AND provided quality photos of his gun immediately after initial contact. I looked at the BAR that sold at RIAC last Fall - I don't think price and quality comparisons with your gun are relevant - but then you never bothered to provide decent photos of a gun you want to sell for $50K. The RIAC BAR was a 98% original finish gun with X-serial number...

I will take the tool box if still available.

My father was in a machine-gun section with 7th Regiment, 1st Marine Division and carried a TSMG. He mentioned drums were still in use in May-June 1945 on Okinawa. He preferred stick magazines because the drums were difficult to reload at night.

Interested in purchasing a M1918 BAR. Please PM me if this gun is still available.

The fact that no one has seen a picture of a three-cell/30 round magazine pouch does not mean the pouches were not issued and used by the Marines - at least in the Okinawa campaign. My father's combat time on Okinawa was from mid-May 1945 until the island was secured in late June 1945. He was very specific about the equipment he carried so I assume he knew how many magazines his ammunition pouch held. If the 30 round pouches were issued in the last months of combat to the 1st Marine Division there would be fewer photos showing them in use. The 1903/1903A1 sniper rifles with Unertl scopes were first issued in 1943 - any photos of these rifles are scarce.

My Dad was a member of a light machine-gun section on Okinawa with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Dad carried a M1928. He said that he kept a 20 round magazine in the gun and carried a pouch with three 30-round magazines. He kept a 50-round box of 45 ACP in his pack. He said ammunition was never a problem and everyone carried as much as they wanted. He said that in his battalion the Marines attempted to get as many Thompsons as possible in the machine-gun sections to protect the guns during night attacks. Apparently there were still 50-round drums available as late as June 1945 - Dad told me drums were not popular because they were too difficult to re-load at night. Dad also carried a M1911A1 pistol is a shoulder holster as well as two hand grenades. He brought the pistol and holster home and it remains in my collection. Dad mentioned the Thompson is one of his letters home -"...I am carrying a Tommy Gun now. Boy is it heavy." As a kid in the 1930s Dad played Cops and Robbers - carrying a "Tommy Gun" was a big deal for him. The 7th Marines replaced their Thompsons with M1 Carbines in 1946 in North China. Dad told me he hated to give up his Thompson - he considered carbines to be worthless. Dad saw a lot of combat on Okinawa - as far as he was concerned the Thompson was THE GUN. He mentioned seeing one of the Chinese Thompson copies carried by Nationalist Chinese troops.

Appreciate the comments on values. My estimates of the value of the parts appear to be in line with current prices. Like most collectors I like to get as much as I can when I sell. I can't recall any instance when a seller reduced the price of a gun or part because I 'needed' it or was a new collector. In my experience the more I 'needed' the part/gun the more I paid. I am satisfied with any arms length transaction when two equally well-informed parties agree on a mutually acceptable price. I would prefer to avoid the overhead associated with auctions but I think that is the nature of the game today. Although I no longer need the stock, forearm and other parts I don't have no immediate need to sell either. I would prefer to have the cash to advance my collection and if I can sell for a reasonable price I will let the parts go. I will notify the board when I list the parts. Thanks to everyone who responded.

The value range for the stock and fore grip Colt Chopper provided is about what I figured. I will try and post some pictures of the stock and fore grip. I would describe the stock as "Very Good" and the fore grip as "Excellent". I have looked at a number of Colt Thompsons at Rock Island Auction in the last several years and the stock condition is pretty much what you would expect on a police gun with 80-85% blue. The fore grip shows very little wear but I have never seen an un-modified Savage grip in excellent condition. My guess is the shot cartridges are in the $600-$750 range. Best guess on the rear sight is $200-250.

GunBroker may be the way to go. However, I would never put anything with much value up for auction without a reasonable reserve. That is why I would like to determine a retail price range.