just4grins

I sent an e-mail to Thompson Barrels.

Im thinking about filing a form 1 and building the Richardson silencer for my 1928 West Hurley. I have the correct tools to change the barrel without damage, I have the plans for it from Mr. Richardson, and I have legally built a silencer before. The only downside is that I would have to lathe turn and drill a Savage smooth barrel (which I happen to have) which seems like sacrilege. Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket smooth barrel that has the proper (not pistol) chamber to use instead? I used to restore model As, and when I would find a body with the firewall cut out so some dingbat could install a V8, it was like someone defaced the Mona Lisa. Cutting on a WW2 barrel feels like that. Has anyone on the forum built this silencer? As with all or Mr. Richardsons designs, it seems well thought out.

Another thumbs up for the new repro "C" drum. I took the rotor assembly out and greased it (NGLI 1.5 synthetic grease), and then reassembled the drum. I have used and reloaded the drum 5 times now, and not a single failure to feed or fire. I'm using my 230 grain plated reloads. Very impressed! One drum = 3.2 pounds of lead downrange. There is some "gee whiz" value to this, but it's really a lot of fun to shoot. I even tried a mag dump, and the extra weight makes it a little easier to keep it on target.

I bought one of these but haven't tried it yet. I have greased my 50 RF reproduction drums (I made the required adapter a few years ago) Does this drum require greasing? It seems pretty smooth.

This loader is a "make from". I started with a loader from "Lucky's Loader " ( http://www.luckysloader.com/handgun/ ) that I bought at a gun show. I milled a slot in the back to fit the BDM stick mag that goes with Merle's .22 conversion kit, and then milled the plunger down to fit between the lips on the mag. It works very well. http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/Thumbsaver5.jpg http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/Thumbsaver4.jpg

I use CLP in my kit. No issues. I went the shortened stock recoil spring route, as recommended by Merle.

I will take some close up photos. I was in PK's queue for almost 4 years, and it took him a little under 4 months to do the work. Absolutely worth the wait. It now has a GI lower, all GI internals, a GI foregrip support, a new barrel, a GI Lyman rear sight, with PK's std bluing. The Deerslayer furniture is equally nice, and also worth the wait (much shorter lead time). PK also blued an extra set of stock hardware so that I could put on some less dressy furniture if I wanted to keep the new wood pristine. I have put about 1000 rds through it and have yet to have a single jam or failure to feed. It also works well with my BDM .22 kit, although I had to mill the slot in the BDM mags to get them to sit about .015" lower so they would feed properly ( which PK advised me in advance was a possibility). I'd shoot more .22 in it if I could find any! Go figure: I have many times as much .45 as I have .22, so I'm shooting the real thing. Pricey, but fun.

I've been meaning to post this for a while. My WH has been PK'd, and has new deerslayer furniture. Awesome work by both. Runs perfectly, looks great. It's nice to know that there are still craftsmen and artists who take pride in their work and are truly world class. http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/DSC09781.jpg

The loader is a "make from". I started with a loader from "Lucky's Loader " ( http://www.luckysloader.com/handgun/ ) that I bought at a gun show. I milled a slot in the back to fit the BDM stick mag that goes with Merle's .22 conversion kit, and then milled the plunger down to fit between the lips on the mag. It works very well. http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/Thumbsaver4.jpg http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/Thumbsaver5.jpg

1. I was in queue for 4 years and 2 months (August 2008 to October 2012.) PK had my gun from Early November last year through Late March of this year (a little less than 5 months). Worth the wait, and a quick turnaround once he received it, given the amount of work done. 2. The finish is his standard finish, with the flats polished to 240 finish and buffed, and the nose and back grit blasted. This is what PK recommended for a West Hurley, and it looks great! (Photo below) I didn't see a stamp on the gun (wasn't aware that he stamped it). I've had it apart to look at the inside and maybe it's there and I wasn't looking hard enough. http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/DSC09726.jpg What doesn't show in the photos is the fit of the parts! The frame has no play whatsoever when latched or sliding off, and pulls off smoothly and easily. Everything on the gun fits like a swiss watch. I'm going to shoot it next week, and the function will undoubtedly match the good looks.

I thought those guys who said that their PK'd Thompsons were too nice/beautiful to shoot were just plain silly, and I couldn't imagine acting that way when I got mine back. Well, I got it back last week and I understand! I'm going to shoot it, but it's a real act of will. I'm nerving myself up to do it. (If you've ever cliff jumped into water, you know the feeling). Amazing, flawless work from PK. I'm in Deerslayer's queue for new furniture, so this gets even better! Maybe I can find a beater somewhere.... http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss248/just4grins1/PostPKThompson.jpg

I know that his gold plated AK is in the ATF inventory at Martinsburg. I suspect the Thompson may be there, too.

I got together with some friends and ordered 25,000 bullets (various calibers) from X-treme. For a 25,000 bullet minimum, you get the wholesale price, pay the freight, and it comes out to be about 75% of the retail price. Good deal if you don't mind transporting a small pallet that weighs 1500 lbs (or more).

Have you tried plated bullets? I shoot 230 grain RN plated from X-treme bullets,with no leading or issues. A little more expensive than hardcast lead, but much cheaper than jacketed. Feeds nicely in my Thompson.

The one I have that works the best with the kit is a stock Thompson recoil spring shortened to 9 1/4" per Merle's advice. I am guessing that the 9 1/4" spring is the modified stock spring fo use wih the kit. The original springs which came with the kit didn't work well (too stiff). The modified Stock spring works like a champ with Federal bulk pack.

Very, very nice. I especially like the foldouts. A friend sent me this link to a tool chest that may be the best I have ever seen. Yours rivals it in terms of the thinking and workmanship that went into its design and construction. http://www.wimp.com/toolchest/

What ammo do you find to be the most reliable? I have been told to try the federal bulk pack (~$16/500 at walmart). However, I haven't been able to pick any up and try it. Last night tried a little federal blue box, winchester HV, but mostly winchester wildcat. The winchester wildcat runs ok with maybe ~1% failure to fire. The failures to fire seem to be either the primer compound is uneven, or the rim is too hard. I've been checking the WM ammo counter every time I stop by. So far they've been consistently out of the federal bulk pack. Merle spent a good bit of time on the phone with me describing everything he did to make my kit right. He endorses the Federal Bulk Pack, and advises to stay away from the Remington Golden Bullets. I agree with him about the Golden bullets. When I first got my kit I used some and damaged the kit. http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/ind...0&hl=golden

What ammo do you find to be the most reliable?

There are a couple for stick mags listed here - both are mods to existing thumbsavers. The second one listed in the thread is easily available. I don't know of a loader for the drum. http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/ind...1&hl=loader

I really like my BDM kit. I have the barrel/bolt mod which allows the .45 ejector to remain in place, the new steel cocking knob, and use both the stick and drum mags. The only issue I have had is ammo (don't use Remington Golden bullets - everything else seems to work well, although the Federal bulk pack works the best) and the original "soft" ejector bent over time, which Merle has since replaced with a new spring steel one. Very durable, big improvement. I strongly recommend the modified cocking knob. Smoother action, no bluing wear. Overall, cheap fun and very reliable. Much more affordable way to turn money into noise, although I often shoot .22 to start with, and then convert over to .45 while at the range. Merle's help, advice, and service has been outstanding. A bigger contrast to Ceiner I can't imagine.

If you look at the recieiver about 1/2" forward of a line drawn even with the trigger you can see the weld line on both sides. I have built rewelded machined receiver AK-47's. They did a nice job, but it is still a reweld.

278301-R1 is the part number for an International Harvester Tractor intake valve. It looks like they turned the forward half out of the valve, drilled it for the pilot for the back and then pressed it in.

I shoot 230 grain plated reloads (Extreme bullets) in my WH. 5.6 grains Hodgdons Universal Clays.

The Remington golden bullets do not run well in any semi-auto, and I had one go off out of battery in my WH, damaging the extractor. The burst cases would seem to indicate an out of battery condition - did this occur exclusively with the Remington bullets? If the extractor is bent, it will need to be replaced. I replaced mine myself with a part furnished by BDM. You just drive out a roll pin (hold the extractor in place during the last part of freeing it up or the extractor spring will go flying), and then install the new extractor and reinstall the pin. This is the post that shows the damage: http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/ind...amp;hl=Blackdog I had ejection issues until I took a stock .45 recoil spring and shortened it to 10" per Merle's suggestion. Made a world of difference. Now runs very well, with an ejection/feed issue of maybe 1 round in every 300 rds or so, which I chalk up to the Ammo more than the kit. I have about the same failure rate in my Ruger 10-22T, which is a well proven design. As noted above, it likes Federal Bulk Pack the best.

I also like my BDM kit. I've got Merle's new cocking knob fitted to it. Smoother operation, no bluing wear. I've had the best luck with the Federal Bulk pack and a stock recoil spring shortened per Merle's instructions. . No leading (maybe because they're copper plated), and no feeding or ejection issues. Lots of cheap fun.