nate129

Jim, is that the British stock made during WW2 to replace damaged original wood stocks on the lend lease guns often used by the Home Guard? I recall seeing a photo of the stock in Rock in a Hard Place, this is my first time seeing one outside of that book.

Good point, I forgot about ArmaSteel in NESAs IBMs and Korean era Royal Typewriters. If memory serves some of the early NESA production may have used steel receivers?

I know a guy who was shooting 220 grain round nose surplus hunting rounds out of a open bolt BAR without issue. The Internet is full of horror stories about folks who have damaged Garands by deviating from M2 ball spec 30.06, even some damage from 150 grain milsurp stuff that is aged, like the MKE Turkish ammo that came into the country in 1000 round sealed cans a few years back. But the Garand and BAR are vastly different designs, the beefy receiver with Browning's buffer design allow for more strength in my opinion. I recently fired my Winchester m1918 followed by a 1903 Springfield, same ammo. The effect of that buffer was immediately evident. It seems like a lot of Garand damage with hot ammo happens to the stock rear of the receiver which seems unlikely in the BAR design.

I'm in the area, currently in Stillwater, was in Inver Grove until last year. Several folks have told me one of them is on display in the police chiefs office. One retiree that was on Dakota swat told me he shot it in the 90s. If I remember correctly the Thompson on display was recovered in Chicago after the post office incident. I have yet to stop by their office to check it out. I have been to the post office where apparent .45 slug holes can be seen in the brick.

Thanks for making this Bob, I will get a check in the mail to you tomorrow.

There is a Colt m1918 for sale on Gunbroker, https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1012028513 Perhaps the seller is a board member. The auction has 190 detailed pictures and the text auction description has a link for a live fire video. The pictures show some interesting details and Colt stamps, including an apparent Winchester field gauge for the gas piston head which is not something I have seen before. I am interested in the "passport stamps" mentioned in the auction description, "when it came home." I assume this references the British proof stamps. I have a Winchester, also a lend lease - some of the stamps on this Colt are similar but not all. Did the British apply a special stamp when the weapon was released from service, and if so which stamp?

There is another early front grip on eBay right now, seller is asking 2k. https://www.ebay.com/itm/225781884369?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ERw0er-OQ3a&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=CdxM9saJT6K&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

What is the price for their cases?

Galoob distributed the micromachine toy line in the late 80s and 90s. My mom worked for a toy inventor in eastern WI who designed the micromachine line. I remember as a kid telling him how it would be neat to have micromachine trains, and about a year later he had them on the shelves. Unfortunately I did not get a cut of that design profits but I was happy to play with the trains. This inventor, Clem Hedeen, has a website talking about his history with Galoob. Not sure if he was involved in the mini Thompson but if not he probably would know who to ask. Looks like Hasbro bought Galoob in the early 2000s. Clem's website: http://www.funcitytoys.com/index.html Website has contact info.

Good news Dan. I have a M1 .22 kit purchased from Merle. After a few hundred rounds the extractor broke. Merle was great on the repair and had me send the kit in. He seemed to discourage extractor replacement myself and preferred to do it himself. So I am not sure how involved the part swap is. I never fired it since the repair - not long after the repair Merle was sidetracked with health issues, and figuring it would become impossible to find replacement parts after his health failed. If you end up making new spares or have alot of extra stuff I may try that kit again. Nate in MN

Not my auction, these don't seem to come up often. Sharing here in case any of you are looking for one. The description indicates this grip is original Winchester but I don't seen any W stamps present. Originals seem to often suffer minor to moderate cracking, this one looks to be in good shape. https://www.gunbroker.com/item/990616911

Another eblast today stated the sale is extended until 5/31.

I received an e-blast from Ohio Ordinance Works that they have a $500 off memorial day sale, for both the A3 BAR and HCAR. More info here: https://www.oowinc.com/exclusives/semi-auto/1918a3-slr/ Pasted eblast: The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) model 1918A2 developed by John M. Browning in 1917. We manufacture the 1918A3 variant with with machined parts produced in-house to strict tolerances to insure lifetime reliability. Every Ohio Ordnance Works BAR is fully assembled, inspected, test fired, and certified before shipment. Memorial Day is the perfect time to add this fully functional piece of American WWII firearm history to your collection! Adjustable gas operated, closed bold, walnut .30-06 semi auto with 24” barrel Sites adjustable from 100 - 1,500 yards (windage and elevation) Includes two 20-round magazines (state restrictions may apply) Web sling, carrying handle, and bipod Cleaning kit and manual Dealers/FFLs call (800) 541-GUNS (4867) or email here for dealer pricing and delivery options. Special Memorial Day pricing begins today! Call (440) 285-3481 for ordering assistance. Use MDAY23 discount code at web checkout. Review BAR Advanced Features Ohio Ordnance Works, Inc, 310 Park Drive, Chardon, Ohio 44024, 440.285.3481 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

I was looking at the photos, and recognized the camo backdrop as something Jerry often uses at Recon Ordinance in Wisconsin in his auction/sales photos. I know Johnsonlmg41 is familiar with him also. And on closer look I see several photos have a box with Jerry's name. It has me curious what the history of this Type 100 is and if Urban Armory is somehow in relation to Recon Ordinance? If Urban Armory picked this up from Recon you would think at that asking price they would have had new photos taken? About 15 years ago I had a chance at a Type 100 down in southeast Minnesota. I think at the time it was around 10k. I had a few nambus type 14s so I knew how expensive 8mm Nambu was. Decided to pass on it, I wonder if this may be the same gun given its proximity to Jerry's operation.

Thanks for posting this, I also have a stripped Swedish grip frame for my Winchester 1918. I found some metric screws at the local hardware store that were close enough to kind of work, thanks for Strange Ranger for the additional info I can now see why it was close but not correct. Now I have a better solution with the 1911 screw idea. My first stab at shooting with this grip, especially from the shoulder, was not as interesting as I expected. I honestly found the traditional gripless lower to be more comfortable. The cant of the Swedish grip is awkward. The original Monitor style or FN style seems more natural with that rearward cant.

Hello Lukasz, welcome to the boards. I made a post in the full auto board a while back about how to convert the slow/fast A2 group to semi mode to follow the function of the 1918 semi/full, which would be another method to convert without any mods in the buffer/actuator. If you have an A2 weapon I suspect that simply removing the "sear release stop lever" will change slow mode to semi only (without moding the sear as shown in my post, this would only be needed in the early 1918 style receiver). Maybe with this change and fixing the selector to semi only via a weld or pin you can meet the requirements of your Polish law?

TD, GIJive's research showed the gun was originally sold as a 1921AC (#4945) to Von Lengerke & Antoine Sporting Goods, who in turn sold it to "Gopher Mines Company of Minneapolis" (fictitious company) on 5/20/1927. That data was found in Gordan's book. Chuck graciously donated some repro 1921 parts (bolt, actuator) made from WW2 parts so guests and members may shoot the gun without causing damage to those valuable original parts. The type 1 compensator we got donated was in rough shape on the exterior, PK re-finished that to match the repro barrel he installed. It looks great but as you mentioned the bluing is not a perfect match to the receiver, but neither would an original barrel as you wisely point out. Another item we are missing is a drum magazine. There are several 20x mags that have the correct markings to likely be original to the gun, but no drum. Several older members of the agency recall a drum at one time but its been lost to history.

My work agency owns an original 1921AC, at some point a M1 barrel was installed (maybe due to a squib causing damage years ago?) History of that weapon, a former gagster gun, can be found in my prior posts. PK did his magic and replaced the M1 barrel with a very nice reproduction, and a very kind member donated an original type 1 compensator (which PK refinished) and installed on the repro barrel. If a true Colt barrel were to surface and our budget allowed the purchase it would be nice to make our 1921AC all original again.

For your help correcting the stock on my bar I'd be happy to. I can bring it with one of these days when I make the trip.

Back in fall of 2021 several retailers were selling Turkish (MKE) 30-06 from the 1960s and 70s. It started as sealed 1000 round cans and as supplies dwindled it changed to smaller lots in the cardboard cases. I picked up a 1000 round case early on at about .82 each which was a great deal. Before buying, I did a web search on the topic which resulted in several good reviews from the Garand community. Tonight I found a auction of MKE 30-06 on GunBroker and the seller mentioned reports of Garand damage with MKE 60s production. Google put me onto a few threads like this one: http://forums.thecmp.org/archive/index.php/t-285669.html Above thread, and others on Reddit, report case failures, cracked stocks, and in a few examples receiver damage (this data was not out there when I purchased the ammo). Now I am shy to shoot this stuff in a BAR. My guess is the massive receiver and stout buffer would help but probably not worth the damage potential. Curious what others think. Also to inform the community for others that may have bought this stuff.

I removed the early buffer tube from my Winchester and confirmed what George taught me about the differences in the rear of the receiver, as pictured in the first photo of the above post. My Winchester receiver is original and unmodified and as such the rear "ears" of the A2 sear bind against the receiver interior just forward of the buffer tube threads. This interference point is present even when the buffer is removed from the receiver. This binding point prevents the sear from dropping down low enough to reset, causing full auto only in the F setting. I assumed the A2 overstamp on the modified guns only signified the swap of buffers, but clearly the process also involved modification to the receiver interior forward of the buffer threads as shown above. I did not recall seeing any such info in the BAR bible, Rock in a Hard Place.

I also received this bad news for my WH M1. I am not complaining and appreciate everything PK has done for our community. I think it's agreed by all that he is the best Thompson smith in the world. As PK's career slows I hope his vast amount of knowledge and experience is transferred to another gunsmith that will keep the business going. For my next steps thankfully the M1 is working ok so no big hurry, and less issues without the blish lock slots. I have heard the main issue with Hurley M1 series is the magazine area of the receiver being out of GI spec. I will probably reach out to Andrewski, he did wonders on a Winchester BAR for me a few years back.

Thanks for sharing Matt, and for your service. Did the M1 make it to that museum in Florida?

Howlin Mad, great job your videos encourage me to try something similar although I honestly don't now if I could hit plates that far out in open bolt semi mode. I struggle at 100 yards to get good hits in an 8 inch bullseye target - using the early Winchester rear battle sight the gun seems to shoot a bit low at 100 yards (sand bag rest no bipod) yet with the A2 bipod installed it seems to shoot 4-5 inches high at 100 yards. It seems the rested bipod influences the barrel. I assume the early battle sight is set for 100 yards using 150 grain bullets? Or perhaps the early WW1 era sights were calibrated for a different load (I believe M2 ball spec was not established until nearer WW2). Mongo, I recently picked up a stripped M/37 frame and the grips from Apex after seeing Howlin Mad's videos. I have an extra A2 lower and plan to move all the internal parts over. But I noticed the trigger guard opening on the M/37 frame is significantly larger than the American versions, which I assume is for gloved hands. I suspect the mag release is different (shorter) to accommodate the larger opening? Perhaps you could confirm. Apex does have swedish mag releases so I'm not out of luck yet if they differ. The other part I am after is the 4 hand grip screws - Apex or the other common sources don't list these, if you happen to have any spares please let me know. I did try the frame in my Winchester and it is a perfect fit. The pistol grip is firm and certainly provides a different experience. I must admit the straight drop feels ackward when shouldering, an angled grip like the FN or Monitor would probably feel more natural to me. Photo:

I recently learned about the South St Paul robbery from a member of the Dakota County club during the deer rifle event. The member was a retiree from Dakota County Sheriff's Office and recalled a time in the 90s when the SWAT team got new mp5s and went out to the range to qualify. A team member from the South Saint Paul PD brought that Thompson and a few of the team members shot it. From what he understood, the weapon is still on the wall from the chief's office despite efforts from the Dakota County museum across the street to display it there. He also told me that there are still bullet holes in the post office walls from that robbery, I drove down there a few weeks ago and found a few holes in the bricks that look to fit .45 slugs.