TD.

jim c 351, As you well know, members of the TUSCO Rifle Club can also attend the Thompson Collector's Association (TCA) Show. After all, it is your club house and range. That said, it is a private event and not open to the public. While I can only speak for myself, I am very grateful that the TUSCO Rifle Club allows TCA to use its facilities for the annual show & shoot. Last I checked, I believe most of the current TCA officers are also TUSCO Rifle Club members. I also doubt any of the TUSCO Rifle Club members that are not active in the Thompson community frequent the Thompson forum on MachineGunBoard.com. So come join us in the fun.

NO 3380 hammered at 90K plus a 20% Buyers Premium. Impressive. Those that attend the Hill family All Thompson Show & Shoot have seen this Thompson displayed many times. The package contained the only U.S. Marine Corps Service Kit I have ever seen - see below. Also included was a 2nd Edition Auto-Ordnance handbook (not pictured). NO 6014 hammered at 106K plus a 20% Buyers Premium. Very impressive since it had a World War II grip and the fore grip appeared sanded. The butt stock looked a little rough and did have a small crack toward the front. There was something going on with the wood on this Colt. The package did include a lot of extras including what appeared to be a L drum with a nickel rotor. Unknown if the L drum was numbered.

seth m, Welcome to MachineGunBoards.com. Forum member Annihilator was last on this forum on December 14, 2025. He has not been a frequent visitor of late. If you click on his name on the top left of his post, it will take you to Annihilator's page. Every registered member has a page. You will see a rectangular box title "Message" at the top of his page. Click on this and send him a private message. He will receive an email from this Board telling him someone has sent him a Private Message. Hopefully he will reply and you two can make contact. I am interested in the French Colt's as part of my continuing research on the Thompson submachine gun. I have only found 24 French Colts thus far. All are listed in my story, A French Colt Returns Home, in my 3rd book, A Thompson Compendium. Please let me know if you discover additional French Colts as part of your research. You can Private Message me as well. Best, TD. - Tom Davis, Jr.

JEB007x, It appears you have a very nice example of a M1 Thompson submachine gun. This variation is not my specialty but others on this forum are very knowledgeable. If you do not already have a copy, I highly recommend, American Thunder, Third Edition, by Frank Iannamico. It is a steal at 40 bucks on Amazon.com. I can say the bolt you pictured is not an Auto-Ordnance West Hurley, New York bolt (good news). I have found the best place for parts is Board member Phil Askew. He has a very nice selection of NOS parts. Phil can be reached via PM on the Board or by emailing him at: philfordparts@yahoo.com Phil will be at The American Thompson Association Show & Shoot later this year. Another reason not to miss this event.

Just a guess: I am thinking there may be a final manufacturing process that rounds off all the sharp edges on the Blish lock. Would "tumbling" or the lack thereof apply to this squared off AOC marked Blish lock?

Colt Thompson submachine gun NO 11943, a 1921AC with a mismatched frame (NO 4959), hammered at $100,000 plus 17.5% Buyers Premium at Rock Island Auction on May 9, 2026. Simply amazing!

This is another great Thompson event at a wonderful gun club. If you like shooting your Thompson submachine gun, this is the place to be on Saturday. At least 5 shooting events run by the very capable members of the TUSCO Rifle Club and TCA volunteers. The show and dinner are on Friday so come early, display your collection and eat a great dinner. Barbeque again? This is a private event for members of The Thompson Collector's Association. Private Message Got Uzi (VP John) above, and I bet he will let you join TCA at the door. Or you can contact me at tkd5501@fuse.net and I will put you in touch with the right folks.

Hi everyone, The Hill family All Thompson Show & Shoot for members of The American Thompson Association is a fantastic event for those that like Thompson submachine guns. I know the 35th annual S&S will be something special. Actually, all of these events have been something special but the 35th anniversary promises to be quite exceptional. If there is any way you can make the S&S, this is the year to be there. The location is Granville, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. It is easily worth a long drive or a short plane ride and rental car. You will have a great time! And see items of Thompson past that you will probably never see anywhere else. There are parts, books, perhaps a few guns for sale and Donna's cookies are free! The camaraderie you will share with many likeminded people is off the chart. Ask for a free display table to show off your collection (bring a table cover). Send in your paperwork today so there will be a name tag at the door allowing your entrance into this private event.

Arthur, The first thing that jumped out at me when I saw NO 11943 was the 1922 patent dates on the right-side receiver. The 1922 patent dates are reported to be found on Colt's from serial numbers 14,500 to 15,040. I have found one exception to this rule, NO 14488, pictured in my Amateur's Guide book in Chapter 14, pages 92 - 95. Of course, many of the earliest NAC Thompson submachine gun were manufactured by Numrich Arms with Colt receivers with 1922 patent dates - see Chapter 7 in, A Thompson Compendium. There is little doubt this NO 11943 was manufactured or at least roll marked at the end of the Colt production run in 1922. I doubt we will ever know the why. It is certainly an interesting piece of history, but buyers need to judge the product, not the story. But having Reed Knight in the story is always a good thing! NO 11943 was assembled from a parts kit that was offered for sale at an Ohio Gun Collectors Association (OGCA) Show in March 2021 for 16K. It was later advertised on gunboker.com in May 2021 with a "Buy it Now" price of 15.5K; it sold for $11,925 plus whatever fees were associated with the sale. Several members of the Thompson community and I inspected the parts kit while it was at OGCA. It was an obvious re-blued kit, verified by the person at the seller's table on Sunday. The grip currently on NO 11943 is not the same as was advertised with the parts kit (good eye Cincylance). Of note, the barrel appears to have 30 fins. I believe the barrel is the same as in the parts kit, but the compensator is now not affixed properly (loose as per the auction description). One look and it is obvious something is wrong with how the compensator is affixed to the barrel. The receiver of NO 11943 shows some wear. It is in nice condition but not new. What you are looking at is a shooter grade incomplete Colt with a mis-matched early Colt frame. The story is nice but judge the gun. If I was interested, I would definitely go see it in person to find out what else is missing or not correct, i.e., Savage marked Blish lock. Attached is a picture of the frame serial number.

JEB007x, Welcome to the Thompson forum! Is your Thompson an Auto-Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York, M1 Thompson submachine gun. Can you post complete picture of the underside of the bolt?

What a place to have a Thompson Show & Shoot. There has to be room in the basement for a 10-lane shooting range!

If this NAVY 1928 is a Colt, figure $5000 to $7000 for an authentic Colt barrel. Provenance is very important but condition and with compensator is key.

Show below is an example of PK's work involving the replacement of the Blish lock slots on my West Hurley Thompson. These "new" locks have survived a number of C drum dumps over the years. I was at a private machine gun shoot last week and someone ask me if I had any Thompson magazines. I told them only these round ones pointing to my two C drums on the table. I would like to know if John Andrewski does this or something like this with the slots. I would not be afraid to purchase another West Hurley if PK. had an apprentice working with him.

Doug Quaid, Over the years I have seen some Blish locks not fit in some guns. Manufacturing tolerances?

Great catch. I agree. It appears to be the same picture. +1