Mainecoon Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Hi all, I'm considering buying a new Kahr A-O Tommy Gun (1927 A-1) but in reading online I come up with about 10 to 1 negative reviews about the gun, the company, the quality control, the customer service... A lot of these reviews and blogs are several years old BUT I cannot really find much positive since then to offset the bad press. How is the QC on these Tommy Gun repros these days? Or is buying one of these still a crap shoot, so to speak? A "you pays your money and takes your chances" deal? How is Kahr compared to the older A-O guns? Any difference? How about the new crop of 2016 releases? Thanks for any helpful insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandman1957 Posted September 19, 2016 Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 Recommend asking RECON Bob if he: 1. Makes a semi-lower that you can put a WWII parts kit onto or will he build one for you. 2. Can / does he fix semi auto's? If customer service is crap but Bob will fix them, then that may open another door. Thompson's are addictive good luck, and hope you find one that suits your needs.Cheers,Sandman1957 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoon Posted September 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2016 I have been shooting cowboy action for years so I'm used to having firearms work done by gunsmiths for reliability and smoothness. This is not a new concept to me however for the price of one of these Auto-Ordnance Thompsons I'd rather not have to send it off to get it to work properly out of the box if you know what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterB Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Look, these guns are a hundred year old design. They are going to need some fussing and some maintenance compared to a brand new Glock 17. That said, they are extremely rewarding, and will probably end up being one of your most prized in your entire collection. I think Kahr did a fine job with them. I'd stay away from the aluminum, and instead get the steel receiver. Their customer service really isn't very good, but in the end you'll probably be modding your gun with all sorts of things like WWII wood furniture and sling, getting a tax stamp and a short barrel, perhaps modding your mag catch to accept original mags,etc. and that stuff would be above the head of customer service anyway. So just get one, embrace it, fidget and fuss and mod it, and you'll probably really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Before picking up a new Kahr T1 in December of last year, I too noticed lots of negative comments about it in these forums, but went ahead and bought one anyway. I fired over 100 hundred rounds without issue, including 2 full 50-round drums, so I thought I lucked out and got a good one. After about 170 total rounds, the extractor popped out of the bolt and completely jammed the gun. It took some back and forth with Kahr to get it fixed, and I'm not 100% sure that the issue won't come back (the whole saga is documented in my earlier post entitled "Extractor Concerns". Though I didn't have the trouble with their customer service that others seem to have experienced, the quality control of the firearms themselves doesn't appear to have improved...if it has, boy, I'd hate to see what it was like before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garlicrazy Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I have a kahr from 2012 and a brand new one 2016 they both run great and I'm not easy on them I bought them to shoot the stick mags are fussy but I prefer the drum get an ez pull spring kit and shooter choice gun lube you'll be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58healeybn6 Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I agree with Garlicrazy. I have had mine for a couple of years; put on a 1928 detachable stock, original Lyman rear sight and a correct vertical front grip. I have had a couple of issues so I also invested in a video from American Gunsmithing Institute on Thompsons which includes the 1927 disassembly. I do any repairs or mods myself; the more you know about the gun, the better you will be. Just be smart about what you can do and what you can't. Also, contact Dan Block for an EZ-pull spring kit; makes a world of difference. As has been said, Kahr's customer service is rude and all they will do is tell you to send it back if you have issues, but I'm sure that is driven by the lawyers. I think the quality is very good; they just need tweaking to make them great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassmagnet Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 Ditto - extractor gave some issue, but I fixed that. The rest is fine - finnicky on some mags, but I work around that too..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamellarllc Posted September 21, 2016 Report Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) I bought the aluminum pistol and SBR'ed it works like a top and pushing 700 round mark and no issues Edited September 21, 2016 by lamellarllc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecoon Posted September 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 You SBRed a pistol. I assume this means you installed a butt stock on the pistol. Is there a conversion kit for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hang-Fire Posted September 22, 2016 Report Share Posted September 22, 2016 I bought the aluminum pistol and SBR'ed it works like a top and pushing 700 round mark and no issuesWould you mind detailing your conversion? I'm especially curious what you did about attaching a stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamellarllc Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 I did a search for a lower found a steel one, and had a member here that made the plate , waited until my form came back and had my machinist do the milling and welding the adapter plate on for the 21/28 removable butt stock. I think it was Angus06 that made the adapter plate for me here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal2metal Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 (edited) Looks awesome, man! I remember you saying that you were thinking about going the sbr route. I still keep putting it off for my m1a1; maybe sometime soon! Edited November 15, 2016 by pedal2metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterB Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 Looks awesome, man! I remember you saying that you were thinking about going the sbr route. I still keep putting it off for my m1a1; maybe sometime soon!The longer you put it off, the worse it's going to get. It takes forever as it is. May as well have the ball in their court, as you wait. One boring and rainy Saturday, I decided to just finish the form and get it sent off. So glad I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal2metal Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 Looks awesome, man! I remember you saying that you were thinking about going the sbr route. I still keep putting it off for my m1a1; maybe sometime soon!The longer you put it off, the worse it's going to get. It takes forever as it is. May as well have the ball in their court, as you wait. One boring and rainy Saturday, I decided to just finish the form and get it sent off. So glad I did.I know... I've put it off for 15 yrs now. ugh... I've got to get cracking w/ it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterB Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 Looks awesome, man! I remember you saying that you were thinking about going the sbr route. I still keep putting it off for my m1a1; maybe sometime soon! The longer you put it off, the worse it's going to get. It takes forever as it is. May as well have the ball in their court, as you wait. One boring and rainy Saturday, I decided to just finish the form and get it sent off. So glad I did.I know... I've put it off for 15 yrs now. ugh... I've got to get cracking w/ it!You do, because the barrel in your avatar looks, well... Lame lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedal2metal Posted November 17, 2016 Report Share Posted November 17, 2016 (edited) LOL, I should Photoshop it. (j/k) I know, I hate it & have NEVER fired it in public due to the lame look! My brother had his semi Krink legalized a couple of yrs ago and I wish I could do the same. (He got lucky, they never cashed his check, but he has the stamp) I'm still laid-off from my last job & am in school full-time working towards a new career... so I can't justify the $200 just yet, unfortunately. I paid $750 for my M1 back in late '98 (mine was built in '97) and it has always fired fine for me; I'm sure they cost alot more now, but it still looks weird to me... and it hides in the safe. lol Edited November 17, 2016 by pedal2metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin601 Posted November 17, 2016 Report Share Posted November 17, 2016 I have had a kahr since 2012, no complaints, 1 problem though, the rear sight fell apart. I called up kahr they send the sight back, all postage paid. Took a month to get back, not because they were slow, but because USPS kept bouncing it all over the country. Even sent new mounting screws as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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