Help With 1927 Semi Auto

[Tgunner]

I recently purchased a 1927 Semi Auto and somewhat confused on its usage. Is it possible to pull the slide back and have it stay back in the rear position if the drum or stick mag is not mounted? I was told the only way to pull the slide back and have it stay back is when the mag is mounted and the only way to mount the drum mag is with a "third hand". I dont seem to have the third hand. Were do I get one?

[dalbert]

Tgunner,

 

Welcome to the board!

 

You will need a third hand to accomplish your objective.

 

Here's a link where you can buy one:

 

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/Long-Gun-Magazines/Thompson-Thompson-3RD-Hand.asp

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

[deerslayer]

you can push up the trip by hand without a magazine in place, just reach into the mag well area with the bolt all the way to the rear and push it up while slowly letting the bolt slide forward till its rests on the pawl. If you are a bit tallented with your hand, you can hold the bolt all the way to the rear while you push up on the magazine catch to slide the drum out. You may find depending upon the drum that it will resist sliding into the gun if its fully loaded and wound tight, the top round will hit the mag well side. If you load the drum, then slide it into place, then wind it, you won't have this problem. GI drums also won't have that problem, just the newer kahr drums. Read the posts in the archives and welcome to the thompson world.

Dan

[Tgunner]

I just realize it is a 1927 A5, which I'm told is considered a pistol. Where can I find a manual for this weapon? Anyone know what it is worth?

[OCM]

I'm assuming it's the Kahr Thompson " pistol " . It's the same instructions as Dan's posting, you just don't have the butt stock, which puts it in legal length limits with the feds.

I don't know value of these, guess at 900- 1300 maybe. I suspose the manual for the 1927 full version is the same, just ignore the section on butt stock .

 

Have fun

[Sgt]

I'm just curious, have you had a chance to shoot it yet. I was wondering if they've ironed out the jamming problems in the newer 27s. When I first got mine many years ago, It had to have some major overhauls to get it to work properly.

[Tgunner]

Figured things out, now Ive got to find a place to shoot it. I live in CALIFORNIA, need I say more???? Edited March 2, 2012 by Tgunner

[Tgunner]

One more silly question, how do I switch out the barrels. I have a shorter version of the one that is currently mounted, the shorter one has some kind of flash suppressor and is a few inches shorter.

[Gio]

Tgunner,

Welcome to the board. If your Thompson pistol is a Kahr it has the horizontal front grip. The WH came with a vertical grip. The pistol has a 13" barrel and the auto Thompson has a 10.5" barrel. You can't put a shorter barrel on your pistol unless you file with BATF, likewise with putting a vertical front grip. The WH pistol was made with vertical front grip with approval from BATF. Good luck with your Thompson pistol and have fun.

 

Frank

[T Hound]

One more silly question, how do I switch out the barrels. I have a shorter version of the one that is currently mounted, the shorter one has some kind of flash suppressor and is a few inches shorter.

 

Thompsons' don't have flash suppressors. It is called a Cutts Compensator and it is there to keep the recoil

from raising the barrel off target as you fire full-auto. Probably best to keep it on.

 

 

 

 

I am not as expert yet as a lot of these guys, but I've had Thompsons for a while now. I hear that putting

a Thompson barrel on is as easily as simply screwing it in! You might need a wrench at the very end in

order to seat it. Put a piece of leather or comparable material between the wrench and the receiver and

finish by screwing the receiver ONTO the barrel. Your barrel should be in a vise clamped between two

pieces of wood with a cylindrical curve to fit to the barrel when you do this.

 

As for the barrel removal here is a helpful pdf from the American Gunsmith magazine (recommended).

Hope that helps!

Thompson BarrelRemoval_AmericanGunsmith_Nov08.pdf

Edited March 2, 2012 by T Hound

[mnshooter]

One more silly question, how do I switch out the barrels. I have a shorter version of the one that is currently mounted, the shorter one has some kind of flash suppressor and is a few inches shorter.

 

Thompsons' don't have flash suppressors. It is called a Cutts Compensator and it is there to keep the recoil

from raising the barrel off target as you fire full-auto. Probably best to keep it on.

 

 

 

 

I am not as expert yet as a lot of these guys, but I've had Thompsons for a while now. I hear that putting

a Thompson barrel on is as easily as simply screwing it in! You might need a wrench at the very end in

order to seat it. Put a piece of leather or comparable material between the wrench and the receiver and

finish by screwing the receiver ONTO the barrel. Your barrel should be in a vise clamped between two

pieces of wood with a cylindrical curve to fit to the barrel when you do this.

 

As for the barrel removal here is a helpful pdf from the American Gunsmith magazine (recommended).

Hope that helps!

 

I don't know who to credit for the saying "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing", but that would apply to anyone contemplating changing Thompson barrels. The one advantage to doing it on a semi is considerably less money might be lost.

As the article shows, changing barrels is not particularly difficult -providing you put several hundred dollars into proper tools. Years ago George Nonte promoted the use of a hammer handle for unscrewing S&W revolver frames. How many frames were sprung to early retirement as a result -will never be known.

Best wishes on your rebarreling.

[WWII502]

I tried swapping out my barrel on my 1927, I mared my receiver a bit and stopped. I put material between but still messed it up. You need a special hydraulic gunsmith vice. Barrel switching should be left to professionals with the right tools for the job. If you want to switch often, deer slayer (Dan Block AKA Thompson mechanic

extraordinaire) can do a quick exchange set up. It cost me around $250 for 2 barrels which is helluva lot better then tommy gunner. Just food for thought

[bug]

I tried swapping out my barrel on my 1927, I mared my receiver a bit and stopped. I put material between but still messed it up. You need a special hydraulic gunsmith vice. Barrel switching should be left to professionals with the right tools for the job. If you want to switch often, deer slayer (Dan Block AKA Thompson mechanic

extraordinaire) can do a quick exchange set up. It cost me around $250 for 2 barrels which is helluva lot better then tommy gunner. Just food for thought

 

 

This post should be pinned. Now imagine if you were talking about a 30K Colt........

[T Hound]

I recently purchased a 1927 Semi Auto and somewhat confused on its usage. Is it possible to pull the slide back and have it stay back in the rear position if the drum or stick mag is not mounted? I was told the only way to pull the slide back and have it stay back is when the mag is mounted...."

 

And your in Cali (like me).

 

DeerSlayers suggestion was very clever and true. I might just add that you may need to watch out that your finger does not get "nipped" when you do this-like mine did-i.e. you have to remove your finger fast enough before the bolt slams shut! I still do as he suggested, but I am a little more careful now. The reason, mechanically speaking, that this works is due to the trip inside the trigger frame. The trip has a tab at the end which is lifted up by a tab in back of the magazine only when the magazine is empty.

 

As the empty mag tab lifts up the trip "lever" the back end of the trip goes down and causes the sear lever front end to go down and thus the back end of the sear lever to go up. The back end then catches a grove underneath the bolt and keeps it in place as long as the magazine tab on the trip is held up in place. So there you go.

 

 

Now for the Cali part and not so happy:

I am assuming that you know that in Cali, if you use a drum, then it must be modified or already come modified to a 10 round drum before you can use it. The only exception to this rule is if you had the drum in your possession before these types of mags and drums were made illegal during the Assualt Weapons ban unholy era. Well the liberal California legislature during the same period made it offricial in California-in addition to the National ban. When the National ban ended they, typical of all crazy liberals, did not follow suit and still haven't. And believe me there attitude is absolutely an act of defiance to the rest of the country. I have personally experienced this in responses to letters of protest I have sent (and my letters were not impolite- but they'res were). If you do have a grandfathered drum, then be careful because a prosecutor might ask you to prove it is grandfathered vis a vis something like a receipt or letter from the seller (and maybe direct testimony from the seller (and they might ask THEM then for proof it was grandfathered).

 

I wouldn't shoot in a gun range and definitely not in any gun range near San Fran, LA, or San Diego. There will most likely be either range owners who don't want to deal with the possibilty of legal action against them or won't want to spend the money necessary to defend themselves (successfully) against a city criminal law suit.

 

 

And then there are tattle tells who, thinking, wrongly, that you have an illegal gun, will actually call the police. So you have to be careful and my advice is that you download the Calif DOJ gun laws (always online), print, and put tab markers on the pages that show why your Thompson is NOT illegal-and it isn't illegal provided you don't modify its barrel, put on a stock or have greater than 10 rounds ( i should mention that unless you have atf AND DOJ(Cali) permission then you cannot do anything that no longer makes it a pistol. Stupid I know but fed and state law) Keeping the DOJ laws on hand insures that you can prove to tattle tells (and why do they bother being gun owners) and LEOS that everything is CALI KOSHER. Again, better yet, just don't go to a gun range unless you know the owner is reasonable and knowledagble.

 

:cop:

Edited March 4, 2012 by T Hound

[darrylta]

As far as the Cali part,,

When China figures out that we are never going too pay them back,

I vote to give them California with the caveat that they must keep the

legislators and libtards.

-Darryl

[Lancer]

I recently purchased a 1927 Semi Auto and somewhat confused on its usage. Is it possible to pull the slide back and have it stay back in the rear position if the drum or stick mag is not mounted? I was told the only way to pull the slide back and have it stay back is when the mag is mounted...."

 

And your in Cali (like me).

 

DeerSlayers suggestion was very clever and true. I might just add that you may need to watch out that your finger does not get "nipped" when you do this-like mine did-i.e. you have to remove your finger fast enough before the bolt slams shut! I still do as he suggested, but I am a little more careful now. The reason, mechanically speaking, that this works is due to the trip inside the trigger frame. The trip has a tab at the end which is lifted up by a tab in back of the magazine only when the magazine is empty.

 

As the empty mag tab lifts up the trip "lever" the back end of the trip goes down and causes the sear lever front end to go down and thus the back end of the sear lever to go up. The back end then catches a grove underneath the bolt and keeps it in place as long as the magazine tab on the trip is held up in place. So there you go.

 

 

Now for the Cali part and not so happy:

I am assuming that you know that in Cali, if you use a drum, then it must be modified or already come modified to a 10 round drum before you can use it. The only exception to this rule is if you had the drum in your possession before these types of mags and drums were made illegal during the Assualt Weapons ban unholy era. Well the liberal California legislature during the same period made it offricial in California-in addition to the National ban. When the National ban ended they, typical of all crazy liberals, did not follow suit and still haven't. And believe me there attitude is absolutely an act of defiance to the rest of the country. I have personally experienced this in responses to letters of protest I have sent (and my letters were not impolite- but they'res were). If you do have a grandfathered drum, then be careful because a prosecutor might ask you to prove it is grandfathered vis a vis something like a receipt or letter from the seller (and maybe direct testimony from the seller (and they might ask THEM then for proof it was grandfathered).

 

I wouldn't shoot in a gun range and definitely not in any gun range near San Fran, LA, or San Diego. There will most likely be either range owners who don't want to deal with the possibilty of legal action against them or won't want to spend the money necessary to defend themselves (successfully) against a city criminal law suit.

 

 

And then there are tattle tells who, thinking, wrongly, that you have an illegal gun, will actually call the police. So you have to be careful and my advice is that you download the Calif DOJ gun laws (always online), print, and put tab markers on the pages that show why your Thompson is NOT illegal-and it isn't illegal provided you don't modify its barrel, put on a stock or have greater than 10 rounds ( i should mention that unless you have atf AND DOJ(Cali) permission then you cannot do anything that no longer makes it a pistol. Stupid I know but fed and state law) Keeping the DOJ laws on hand insures that you can prove to tattle tells (and why do they bother being gun owners) and LEOS that everything is CALI KOSHER. Again, better yet, just don't go to a gun range unless you know the owner is reasonable and knowledagble.

 

:cop:

 

[WWII502]

Wow and I thought that Illinois was ridiculous....

[T Hound]

Well, the state of Illinois isn't, but the City of Chicago definitely beats Cali for anti-gun. And, no offense brothers, liberal or not, I'm not for anything that gives up territory to China. They're worse anti-gunners than the liberals. Rather the better choice would be to take California completely back from the liberals and kick the liberals all the way out of the country. THAT is were the really belong anyway. Hell, send them to Europe since they love it so much there.

 

And to this end we really need to start by transforming Hollywood and the news media into a conservative group which means unemployeeing all the liberal reporters, editiors, publishers, and the screen writers, directors, producers, and studio heads. Gone, baby gone is where they need to be! I guarantee that is one action which would quickly bring fast results! They can go on welfare.....in Europe.

:soap:

Edited March 5, 2012 by T Hound

[mnshooter]

Well, the state of Illinois isn't, but the City of Chicago definitely beats Cali for anti-gun. And, no offense brothers, liberal or not, I'm not for anything that gives up territory to China. They're worse anti-gunners than the liberals. Rather the better choice would be to take California completely back from the liberals and kick the liberals all the way out of the country. THAT is were the really belong anyway. Hell, send them to Europe since they love it so much there.

 

And to this end we really need to start by transforming Hollywood and the news media into a conservative group which means unemployeeing all the liberal reporters, editiors, publishers, and the screen writers, directors, producers, and studio heads. Gone, baby gone is where they need to be! I guarantee that is one action which would quickly bring fast results! They can go on welfare.....in Europe.

:soap:

 

If that could actually happen, the population of Hollywood would be somewhere around...twelve?

[T Hound]

Works for me brother! Well okay, maybe we don't throw the hot chicks out.

[Lancer]

How bout we git back on topic.....Thompsons. Who cares about Cali gun laws, most here live in the free world. There are plenty of forums out there where you can wine about the state YOU choose to live in, please spare us.

[mnshooter]

How bout we git back on topic.....Thompsons. Who cares about Cali gun laws, most here live in the free world. There are plenty of forums out there where you can wine about the state YOU choose to live in, please spare us.

 

2ND

[WWII502]

Agreed.... I am taking my new 1927 kahr and building it into a proper 1928.... Anyone know any nitty gritty details that I can't easily find in a book? Like the butt plate has a small tab on the top of the butt stock, etc....

[T Hound]

How bout we git back on topic.....Thompsons.

 

Excellent idea. I don't like whining either.

[Joe H]

Agreed.... I am taking my new 1927 kahr and building it into a proper 1928.... Anyone know any nitty gritty details that I can't easily find in a book? Like the butt plate has a small tab on the top of the butt stock, etc....

 

Doug Richardson's book "New Production Semi-Autos" is a good source of info.

 

http://www.1927a1.com/

 

Modification to use the FA selector as a bolt hold open:

 

http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5767&hl=bolt++hold++back

 

 

Have fun,

Joe