Chasan Corp Thompsons

[ClevelandShooter]

 

I agree that the value here is that of a shooter, not collectible...

 

Bob

 

 

Just as are the WH & Kahr examples, except they require tweaking before they can be reliable shooters.

hello Arthur, My Westie has never had a ftf nor any malfunction whatsoever, 20 or 30 round mags, 50 or 100 round drums. So please do not make these unfounded statements.....................

Bill

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

hello Arthur, My Westie has never had a ftf nor any malfunction whatsoever, 20 or 30 round mags, 50 or 100 round drums. So please do not make these unfounded statements.....................

Bill

 

Did you purchase it new from Ira Trast's Numrich of West Hurley New York? Or was it massaged at some point by a previous owner who substituted G.I. parts for WH parts and, or, had a gunsmith who specializes in tuning them work on it? It would seem that the general consensus on this board is that a factory new out of the box WH is not reliable.

 

Here is a WH owner stipulating to this assertion:

 

TD.' timestamp='1265248442' post='97390']

The purchase of a 1928 West Hurley is a crap shoot. Most/all do not run 100% regardless of what the sellers claim. Some do not run at all. I believe 11K in hand will allow you to obtain one on today's market. (10K may also work) The wait for PK's magic will be approximately 2 years, but I have not seen any better craftsmanship or mechanical knowledge of this Thompson gun.

 

 

If your WH is completely stock and runs with no hiccups, then the internal components of your WH would be of interest to other completely stock WH owners who could save money on upgrading their WH parts if doing so is merely superfluous.

[mnshooter]

^{Other posts have indicated that a WH full of GI parts is no guarantee of success.}

^{The blish slots, feed ramp, magazine position, and barrel/receiver/frame alignment, are among the issues GI parts may not improve.}

^{No doubt Paul, Bob, or Dan could add to the list.}

[ClevelandShooter]

hello Arthur, My Westie has never had a ftf nor any malfunction whatsoever, 20 or 30 round mags, 50 or 100 round drums. So please do not make these unfounded statements.....................

Bill

 

Did you purchase it new from Ira Trast's Numrich of West Hurley New York? Or was it massaged at some point by a previous owner who substituted G.I. parts for WH parts and, or, had a gunsmith who specializes in tuning them work on it? It would seem that the general consensus on this board is that a factory new out of the box WH is not reliable.

 

Here is a WH owner stipulating to this assertion:

 

TD.' timestamp='1265248442' post='97390']

The purchase of a 1928 West Hurley is a crap shoot. Most/all do not run 100% regardless of what the sellers claim. Some do not run at all. I believe 11K in hand will allow you to obtain one on today's market. (10K may also work) The wait for PK's magic will be approximately 2 years, but I have not seen any better craftsmanship or mechanical knowledge of this Thompson gun.

 

 

If your WH is completely stock and runs with no hiccups, then the internal components of your WH would be of interest to other completely stock WH owners who could save money on upgrading their WH parts if doing so is merely superfluous.

 

 

I can attest to the fact that it runs equally well with the Westie lower or a GI lower, guess I am a lucky guy because I believe that I am the third owner and when I brought it it was unfired. Now it's .22 twin brother is another story, but I believe that it is only a magazine problem.

Bill

[TD.]

It is certainly possible to find a "stock" West Hurley 1928 Thompson that works. However, to find one that works perfectly all the time, including semi-auto fire, is by far the exception rather than the rule.

 

Bill,

I am curious as to the number of rounds you shoot in your Westie each year and if the actuator is a GI or West Hurley part. I do hope you have a GI pilot installed.

[ClevelandShooter]

TD, it has a few thousand rounds thru it. I have used both the West Hurley actuator and yes the pilot is GI. I am blessed with a couple friends that are RKI's on Thompson's and was not long after I purchased it, The Russian kits arrived. So the West Hurley parts are semi-retired. Some day I will devote the time to get the .22 running. My grandson is 6 and is cutting his teeth on a Marlin .22 bolt action I purchased for him, and i would love it be running for his second full auto experience, his first will be the 1919A4.......

They shoot semi-auto? LOL never tried it seriously .

Bill

Edited December 4, 2011 by ClevelandShooter

[TD.]

Bill,

You are one of the lucky ones. Thank you for your post. In a perfect world I would be very interested to have PK. examine your West Hurley. There are certainly some good ones out there, some much better (or worse) than others. I spoke to PK. while doing the research on my story about West Hurley parts that was recently published in Small Arms Review magazine. Some of the West Hurley Thompson's he has re-manufactured over the years have tested his limits! There is no doubt the availability of the Thompson parts kits have been a great asset to West Hurley owners.

 

Try the semi-auto function the next time you are at the range. Ten to fifteen rounds will tell if that function is working as intended. I know, who cares about semi-auto - I bought a machine gun!

[First Sergeant]

TD,

 

My first Thompson, a brand new WH 1928 purchased in 1978, has run 100% since day one. I have mentioned previously that the only non-GI part was the buffer pilot. It also has thousands, if not tens of thousands, of rounds downrange while still remiainig totally reliable. Being my first, it is still my favorite. We all remember our first, right?

 

I've shot semi-auto many times and up until this year, used it for all the TATA shoots at Tracie's. Again, no problems. I've considered myself fortunate to be one of the few (apparently) lucky ones. Chuck

[Canuck]

I bought my Westie directly from the factory in 1975. I wanted a "shooter" so thought I'd get a new one. I didn't know at the time that a Westie would be any different than a WWII vintage Savage. Mine (248A) was the one hundredth and fourty ninth off the production line and everything internally was GI except the buffer pilot. I learned from this forum to replace that piece and have done so. I was actually shocked when I learned of all the problems owners have had with them. I have fired 20, 30 and 50 round magazines and never had a problem. Never shot a 100 round magazine in it. I even ran some semi wadcutters through it once with no hick ups.

 

Like First Sergeant it was my first Thompson. Sorry if we have gotten diverted from the original Caspian Corporation topic.

[DLansky]

My first Thompson was a westie as well. I had the actuator knob fly off and hit me in the head and I had the sear wear down so the gun continued to empty the drum even though I was not squeezing the trigger. to take the lower off the upper requires that I first remove the vertical fore grip and replace it with a a 2 x 4 piece so I can push on it with my feet while I squeeze the trigger, hold down the frame latch button and pull the lower rearward with all my strength. it will not accept a savage lower. I had the gunsmith replace all of the lower parts with GI parts and I did the same with the internals and the ejector. how that gun passed quality control is beyond me and shame on me for not being a member of this board before I bought it.

[darrylta]

I second DLansky's comment, shame on me for not seeking out more info. I somehow figured since it was of new manufacture,,

it would have better metal and better machining.

 

I found out about there misgivings before the transfer was complete and have not attempted to even fire it.

It's been on PK's waiting list for almost 3 years now. I later found out that the rear had been repaired by OOW, I suspect

a speed bolt was the culprit since it was included in the sell with the Hurley. I should have bought Maple Leafs instead.

 

My question is how can reputable sellers sell them with a straight face??

And,,,,,, have you ever seen a Hurley for sale with PK's stamp on it ?????

-Darryl

Edited December 5, 2011 by darrylta

[DLansky]

I bought mine from Nick Tilotta in Dallas. I believe I had previously bought an Uzi and 2 Macs from him. the limited research i had done revealed that he was a knowledgeable Thompson person and that he owned several Thompsons. he assured me it a was fine entry level Thompson and that he hoped I would be back for the "real thing". Still, it is my fault for not having bought the books (like we recommend to all possible buyers before they do their first purchase) and I do believe that caveat emptor should prevail in the absence of written assurances.

[Canuck]

Even though my Westie runs well if Canada had the equivalent of PK up here I'd have a few things done to it. New barrel with thinner cooling fins. Dump the compensator (no idea who made that) and put on a '21 style front sight. Tart her up like a Colt. When I first started shopping for a Thompson some Thompson owners up here thought I should get one of the semi autos that had just been approved. I am so glad I didn't go down that road but they did fill a niche then and still do. I also had contact with a fellow named J. Curtis Earl but he wanted about twelve or fifteen hundred for a Colt then and I thought that was highway robbery for such an old gun. KIck myself in the ass everyday that I didn't get a Colt then when we could import them. I know there were issues with him but .....pardon me while I kick myself in the ass again!

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

I also had contact with a fellow named J. Curtis Earl but he wanted about twelve or fifteen hundred for a Colt then and I thought that was highway robbery for such an old gun.

 

JCE's pricing was certainly way ahead of his time, but the age of a Colt TSMG, as is the case with many collectibles in any genre, had much to do with the value.

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

100,000

[dalbert]

100,000

 

Congratulations go out to Arthur for making the 100,000th post on Machinegunboards.com this morning!

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

[Arthur Fliegenheimer]

100,000

 

Congratulations go out to Arthur for making the 100,000th post on Machinegunboards.com this morning!

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

 

 

Thank you, Dave. Couldn't have done it without the previous 97,416 posts of fellow board members. Thanks to Laura Ingraham for celebrating this moment.

 

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b56/Polythemus/LauraIngraham.jpg

[ClevelandShooter]

100,000

 

Congratulations go out to Arthur for making the 100,000th post on Machinegunboards.com this morning!

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

 

 

Thank you, Dave. Couldn't have done it without the previous 97,416 posts of fellow board members. Thanks to Laura Ingraham for celebrating this moment.

 

 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b56/Polythemus/LauraIngraham.jpg

Your welcome Artie..........I am impressed with your knowledge of Thompsons

[cubguy]

Thanks for posting the link to this

[buzz]

Interesting thread

 

 

The density of steel doesn't change very much from one kind of steel to the next.

 

The extreme difference in density from the very lightest steel to the very heaviest is 3.8%.

 

Difference between the types of steel normally used to make gun receivers is going to be way under 1%.

 

 

So it's very doubtful that one Thompson receiver would be noticeably different than another in weight if the dimensions were the same.

 

If one Thompson weighs noticeably different from another, the culprit might be the wood, which can vary in density quite a bit.

[gunhistorian]

Sort of an interesting debate, but all smoke and little flame! First, I doubt that the original AOC had an "exclusive" contract with Colt in the common (maybe) use of the term. That is, I doubt that AOC was restrained by the contract from entering into contracts with other manufacturers but Colt was free to subcontract for parts. BTW, while this might be in Hill's book == my copy being destroyed by a now former spouse in a domestic dispute == who did the production engineering (if any) of the TSMG? Colt or AOC? I can't comment on Chasen but if my memory is correct == and at my age, that is doubtful == I seem to recall that Helmer in "The Gun That Made The 20s Roar" stated that some company (or individual) in West Virginia was contemplating production of Thompsons. Can't remember if they were to be semi-autos of FAs or both. He did not name the company. Obviously, Numrich acquired the parts from Kilgore -- BTW, a fairly well-known and connected member of a heavy ordnance company was probably then working for Kilgore -- which was apparently limited to a sale of assets and not of the corporate name and trademark. Some of this is "legal stuff", but it should be kept in mind that most transactions are governed by law and it sometimes helps to have a fundamental understanding of "law".