To ReconBob. Your post (although 11 years ago) thrilled me. Short story: I'm near 70 and a retired firefighter. A retired firefighter friend of mine recently came into possession of an Auto Ordnance WWII (America Remembers) Tribute Thompson #283 of #300, along with several other nice firearms. He isn't into the firearm hobby and asked if I would take a look at what he had and offer an opinion on collectability and value. I'm no aficionado either but I agreed. I had never had contact with any Thompson, original or remake. He and another gentleman had not been able to draw the bolt back and I also tried. They did not have the Owner's Manual or any related paperwork. I had never experienced the kind of resistance attempting to charge a firearm and I have several AR platforms (7.62 and 5.56) plus an M1A. They were convinced it was a mechanical problem. Not to be defeated, I started digging and found my way here. Read your post and looked at the pictures and printed off everything. Downloaded and printed off selected pages of Thompson Owner's Manuals. I contacted the guys and went back out this past Sunday with a pair of gloves and a few heavy duty 12" nylon zip ties. Yep. I wrapped three zips around the bolt while one man held the thing steady. I pulled hard (no idea of pounds) while he held and when the bolt was in position, the third pulled the bolt up, to catch. When I showed up earlier, they both thought I was nuts with the zip ties and papers but I had them read your post and they (hesitatingly) thought "If you want to try it". I signed up for this board specifically to say "Thank You" and the other members. I'm going to try and attach a pic of me holding the thing. Sure wish I could hang it on my wall......
