Lawman9328

My original post was more about putting my TSMG into a trust in order to prepare for the very unlikely event that I pass on 😶 I've heard several people say that a trust makes it easier for someone else in the trust to take over ownership. It is doubtful that I would use the Trust to purchase additional firearms (although I am curious as to why that makes it more difficult). In the unlikely event I did purchase additional firearms down the road, I would think it would be easier to just purchase them myself and then add them to the trust (or is that a problem ?) Does anyone know if "Gun Trusts" are any different than a regular trust ? Yeah, I know the obvious.....gun trusts have guns in them, but are there any other details that make them different regarding paperwork, who can be in the trust, etc ? Can "non-gun" related items be part of a "gun trust" ? Just trying to get as much free advice before I shell out money for a lawyer !!

I went shooting yesterday at the local range and didn't have a very enjoyable experience !! I had numerous failures with almost every one of my magazines in the feeding of ammunition while trying to do about 10-round dumps from both 30- and 20-round stick mags. I'm thinking the problems is with my magazine catch since it appears the magazines are not seated high enough for the bolt to rack a round from the sticks. When I held the magazines at the base and kind of pushed them up into the weapon I didn't have any issues at all. I checked the holes on the back of the magazines and they were round with no obvious modifications to fit the semi-autos and no significant deformities from routine use. UPDATED INFO: I have a West Hurley with USGI internals. I have posted photos previously and the comments I got back stated that it looked like the weapon had been re-worked very professionally but I checked with all the "big names" (PK, Dan Block, etc) and none of them had a record of having worked on my serial number. The internals are primarily Savage and AOC. I purchased via an auction and the consignor stated that some internals were Colt......I believe those to be both selector switches and maybe the ejector. I tried on numerous occasions to contact the consignor to get more information but never received a response back. I am unsure of the magazine release's origin. It does not have the "purple haze" of many WH parts but I have also not taken it apart to determine if there is a manufacturers mark on the back. The magazines are a mix of everything. I had one 20-round patent date mag, a couple of early blank 20-round mags (not Colt era), and a mish-mash of WW2 era 20- and 30- round magazines from various makers. I had the same issue no matter what magazine I was using. Because I initially thought it might be an ammo issue I ended up using four different brands of .45 ACP / 230 grain ammo......Fiocchi, Sellier & Bellot, Winchester, and Federal/American Eagle Are there other things to try in order to narrow down what the exact problem may be and/or suggestions on fixes I should try ? Thanks, Gene

As a newer owner of a TSMG, when trying to learn as much as I can about owning a Thompson I've frequently heard or read stuff about Gun Trusts and C&R Licenses for collectors and Class III owners. Most of the information I've gathered seems to indicate a positive opinion of gun trusts and a so-so opinion of the C&R Licenses for TSMG owners I'd be interested in any insight folks here on the board would be willing to provide. Are they both definitely a good thing or are there hidden negatives that I need to consider before moving forward with either of these ? Thanks in advance.

Just wanted to pass along my thanks to those that offered suggestions. I went with a combination of them (heat, vice, bigger screwdriver, etc) and was able to finally get the butt plates off. After breaking down the buttstocks into their individual component I found the stocks are stamped with a "W" (Wild Fowler Decoy) but there really aren't any markings on any of the other hardware. However, one of my attachment mechanisms was stamped with a 4-digit number. I've seen frequent mention of butt plates and stocks being numbered but haven't really seen anything concerning the attachment devices being numbered. Was this a common occurrence ? Thanks again to everyone for the assistance.

Seeking help from the masses...... I recently obtained 2 complete buttstock assemblies. I want to break them down to the individual components (swivels, attachment points, buttplates) so that I can clean them. Everything was going fine until I tried to remove the butt plates. I can't get either one of them off because the large screws just won't move. I tried using some WD-40 around the screw in the hopes that maybe it would seep down and help loosen the screws......but didn't have any luck. Would anyone have any suggestions ? I'd like to try and do this without destroying or damaging the screws. Thanks in advance, Gene

Tracie My cousin owns a gun store down in Florida and he had these two full-auto commemoratives for sale about a year ago. He had them for a while and offered them to me but I passed on them....but he did eventually sell them. If you would like I can contact him and see if he would contact the person who purchased them and see if they would be willing to speak with you about taking photos. Gene

Bob, I would like to get one also. I'd like to wrap it up into my payment for the work you are doing on my compensators if possible. Please let me know if we can do that. If you would prefer I can also send you a separate payment. Just let me know how you would like me to proceed. Gene

Marcus5, Las Cruces Gunsmith makes reproductions in both the 1921 and 1928 versions........https://lcgnm.com/product/thompson-1921-checkerd-rocker/ I've never purchased from this supplier but I believe I have seen comments on their work posted in the forum. Gene

Well......regarding the comments about changing a WH barrel.....I have no idea if my barrel is a WH or a later reproduction by someone else. I know that it's not a USGI barrel. However, it has rounded cooling fins and most of the WH barrels I have seen from around the same period are more square. In addition, unlike the WH barrels my barrel has no compensator on it. It also has alignment marks on the receiver / barrel. I know all that doesn't mean that my barrel isn't a WH....it's just that someone went to a lot of trouble to make mine look like a 1921 and not a 1928. As for my latest range trip, the second attempt at the range went much better !!! I still had issues but believe those to be ammo and/or magazine related. 1. Changing the firing pin, firing pin spring, and recoil spring did away with the problem of rounds getting light strikes on the primer and not firing. 2. When I used the Winchester ammo it seemed to work flawlessly. 3. I ran a full 50-rounds through my Bridgeport drum (in about 10-15 round bursts) and there were no issues at all. 4. I had issues with a couple of magazines not seating high enough and the bolt would pass over the top without pushing a round into the chamber. MOST of my magazines were USG issue and the holes in the back appeared round and not modified for the semi-auto versions. However, I did have a couple of mags that appeared to have slightly elongated holes in the back.....looked more like normal wear and tear, not significant modifications like those done to make USG mags fit the semi-auto. 5. My magazine catch seems to have issues because on most magazines I had to manually set the magazine catch on the magazine. There were very few times that I pushed the magazine into the well and it just "clicked" into place. Not sure if it's an issue with the mag catch spring or the alignment. 6. After running out of Winchester ammo, I tried Fiocchi. That didn't work at all. Not sure what the issue was but those did not want to feed into the chamber properly. I tried a couple of different magazines and they all had the same problem. Never fired a single round of the Fiocchi so I'm crossing it off my "future purchase" list !! 7. Next I tried Sellier & Bellot ammo. Seemed to work just about as well as the Winchester. No misfires or light strikes.....however I did have a one or two failures to chamber properly. Next trip to the range I'm only going to use Winchester ammo since that seemed to work flawlessly. I'll also be taking ALL of my magazines in order to shoot each of them and eliminate the ones that don't seem to work. Gene (aka "Lawman9328")

TSMGguy, I did replace the firing pin, firing pin spring, and the recoil spring. I'm not sure how used my recoil spring is. The one I put in seemed a little stiffer than the one that was in it but don't know if it was NOS or used since I bought it in a package with some other spare parts. I'm crossing my fingers that the fixes I made will be enough to solve the issue.

DPedersen, I appreciate the offer. I do have a WW2 Savage barrel standing by if I end up needed to change barrels. Hopefully I won't need to resort to that !

Dan K, Thanks for the information. That will be my fall back plan. I'm really hoping that I won't have to resort to anything too serious. I guess this is just the cost of owning a WH !!

1gewehr, That seems to be the consensus here on the board. If my "quick and easy" fixes don't work.....the polishing of the chamber will be Plan B.

Motorcar, I'm hoping a barrel replacement can be avoided but I have a WW2 Savage barrel standing by if necessary. I replaced firing pin, firing pin spring, and recoil spring. We'll see what happens tomorrow at the range !

Dalbert, Well, I'm crossing my fingers that won't be necessary but I'll bite the bullet if that turns out to be the only option. Honestly, I'm not sure my barrel is an original WH or not. Mine doesn't have the compensator on the front and people say that it looks like the weapon has been nicely re-worked by someone that seemed to know what they were doing. Do you know if WH put alignments marks on the barrel / receiver ? Mine has those.....but no other markings on the barrel.