huggytree Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Pic 106 shows a light color band across the top of the gun. This gun has been listed for months. Is that a cut and weld mark. Bands of color change are never a good sign. Look for one with a clean finish. No rust pits. M1s are all parts guns. Most refinished. Would be nice toFind numbers matching upper and lower. Also a 1950-1960 government refinish. Vs a recent one. Price for a m1 $21-$25 maybe $26k for a nice one. Dont buy a pitted gun. Look for a nice one. Post pics here and you will get opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Even though I bought my M1A1 from Dan Shea who is well known in the hobby I still drove out to his shop in las vegas from phoenix to look at the gun I bought and feel comfortable with the purchase. If you are close enough make the trip and close the deal in person if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted April 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Thanks for all of the advice. Im away presently and hopefully will go see it myself next week. I will look specifically at the receiver mark, the new sight and my iPhone leave a lot to be desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Conrad,That is a wise decision to go and look at it. If it has been heavily buffed and refinished, you should really study if this is the Thompson for you. While price is important, originality is forever. You will find a lot of refinished and rebuilt Thompson guns on the market. It takes some patience to wait on a real nice one. I have found the hunt is 90% of the fun when buying anything Thompson. Given today's prices, after you commit, it really does not matter what else comes up for sale as you are probably out of the market. I feel certain the All Thompson Show & Shoot and the Thompson Collectors Association Show & Shoot later this year will feature plenty of nice guns for you to learn from and evaluate. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 (edited) Hi Tom...can you elaborate a little on your comment about the upper being heavily buffed and refinished? Most all of the GI guns have some sort of armory refinish park job. What would the heavy buffing indicate?? A receiver repair ??Thx Vin Edited April 2, 2018 by Petroleum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD. Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Hi Vin,The Auto-Ordnance Corporation name on the right side of the receiver looks very light. Same with the Thompson bullet trademark logo on the top of the receiver. Hard to tell about the receiver edges with these pictures. I believe many of the GI guns on the market today have been civilian parkerized. Your correct about many of the guns on the market looking like this one (based on pictures). I would wait for something more original since if I was just starting my search. All that said, perhaps better pictures will resolve the issues I have raised, above. All good stuff!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted April 2, 2018 Report Share Posted April 2, 2018 Ideally your looking for something like this or better. This one has had moderate depot adjustments done and conversion to A1, but the finish is original AFAIK. Finding original M1's matching and unmessed with these days is tough under 30K if you can find one. If you compare and contrast many decent photo's you'll start noticing small nuances that make a difference on values IMO. As TD noted it can be difficult to be patient, but then the rule of thumb is buy what you can afford/ available now, get it, keep looking, and trade up. This one is probably the 4th one of these I've owned over the years, trading up, and I'm calling it good enough at this point on this model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 3, 2018 Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 (edited) All good info thanks TD and Johnson !! Looking at the markings on my M1A1 as a comparison mine are much deeper and very clear including the thompson bullet logo. Edited April 3, 2018 by Petroleum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greystone45 Posted April 3, 2018 Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 I passed over many rebuilt / reparkerized M1 Thompson's until I found an original matching numbers bring back with honest wear and slight pitting here and there. I couldn't be happier with the one I finally bought. I guess it depends on how important unmolested / original finish is to you as opposed to restored to like new appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted April 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 Thanks all for your comments - they continue to be invaluable. Again, the whole idea of buy once cry once is big for me. If you guys tell me a need an AC or savage then Id prefer to lay down the capital and do it now than purchase something that I wont be happy with. Im less concerned about the the exact price and more concerned with getting something terribly reliable that is worth the seemingly ridiculous expense. A rusty Ferrari makes 0% chance to me. Im looking for something like a drivable 63 split window corvette. Not museum, not backyard mechanic resto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted April 3, 2018 Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 if your willing to pay $2-4k extra to make sure you get something nice Ruben has them for $30k...refinished and beautiful....not original, but the one i saw was # matching...he will give you great service for the extra profit.....i occasionally see prices on his website that are close to market...he has recently raised his thompson prices by $2-3k in the past 1-2 months....so that may tell you what the market has done...or will be Savage'' i think ''is always more desirable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted April 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2018 So youre saying 30k savage is the way to go huggytree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Check the subguns.com board of inquiry, ask about him and see if he's on the "good guy" list. I'd say if in doubt, find yourself a c-3 dealer near that area who is reputable and take them with when you go look at it. Then if you buy it, Let him take possession and handle paperwork for you.Might get a better price too as the seller gets rid of it and gets paid immediately.That said, that's a nice looking gun, lots of mags and spare parts that you'll need to run it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) So youre saying 30k savage is the way to go huggytree? not for me.....but for someone new to NFA and Thompsons Ruben is a ''safe'' option...your paying $4k extra for it....but he has 2 of them sitting there..both refinished and beautiful..... for me? i prefer an original finish, numbers matching gun......but the rarity of them over the past 2 years means your going to wait a long time....i can only remember a couple coming up for sale...its been a very long time since ive seen one that id buy if i were in the market....... i would buy a Savage 1928a1 all original # matching if it came up....that would be my #1 choice in a shooter price range......i also like the 1928ac's as they are often # matching and original finish (ruben has one, but refinished)....many are smooth barrel and late rear sight (which id prefer as i have old eyes) #1 question---do you want a m1 or a 1928?.....want the ww2 killing machine m1 or the classic look with a drum...possibly vertical foregrip.... im too cheap to give ruben $4k i dont need to....but as prices rise---6+ months from now you may find yourself with a similar gun at a similar price...without his great service....he also just went up $2k in the past couple of months on a similar gun....so he sees the market rising or he is creating the rise... buying a Thompson isnt like buying a Mac 11 or Uzi...you dont have 10-15 good choices a month....you get 2-3 a year and 20 POS guns you dont want Edited April 4, 2018 by huggytree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron_brock Posted April 4, 2018 Report Share Posted April 4, 2018 Conrad, Unless the money is burning a hole in your pocket, Id suggest going to one of the Thompson club meets this summer. Look at a ton of guns all in the same room, likely shoot both examples and truly decide what you want. Youll get to see every model and a huge variety of conditions. Then let folks in the club know and youll likely get guns presented to you before they hit the market. That way you end up with several people looking for you so when one comes up for sale they will point you to it. It took me over 10 years to buy my gun due to funds and then finding the right one that spoke to me and the wife (she insisted on a Colt). The seller came to me last year and offered a gun that I never thought would be for sale. Over 20 original Colts were sold last year from St Louis PD and none were ever posted outside of the clubs and a sprawling word of mouth. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk in greater detail. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Conrad...Ruben just listed this one. Its worth a look. https://dealernfa.com/shop/m1-thompson-bridgeport-cr-matching-serials-209239/ Sent from my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbomb50 Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Has Ruben had that one listed before? It looks familiar. This auction for an early Savage M1 ended today with no bids.https://www.gunbroker.com/item/759122268 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 (edited) Just saw it. Besides ownership history, rewat, refinish, and round count anyone know what questions to ask? Does Ruben normally negotiate on price? Edit - hes had a 1928ac for a long time, think hed play ball with that price? Edit #2 - saw the GB auction, called them. Still available. Is that a reasonable price? Edited April 6, 2018 by Conrad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 (edited) Has Ruben had that one listed before? It looks familiar. This auction for an early Savage M1 ended today with no bids.https://www.gunbroker.com/item/759122268The gun looks clean...$400 for shipping ?? Yikes Edited April 6, 2018 by Petroleum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 ruben wont give -$1 off.....dont bother trying...ive made an offer on a Colt he had for 9+ months....it sat for many months after i offered...his response was ''it is priced correctly''....and after 1+ years it was for someone i like the $22k price of the one on GB.....im sure Rubens for $28k is nice also get tons of pics of the $22k one....id start with looking at that one....all the m1's are mismatch, refinished...so matching parts dont matter so much...rubens is matching upper/lower....that makes it more desirable...had it been original finish i think $28k is a fair price...but its a refinish......is it worth $6k for matching numbers? i like the one on GB.....ask if its a dewatt....get some pics and post them.....good price and nice looking gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83Baron Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Is Rubens an arsenal refinished M1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggytree Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 (edited) an arsenal refinish wouldnt look very nice...it would show marks all over it...it most likely would be a used gun in Korea or after in the reserves... if it looks perfect---its a new refinish i dont think ive seen an arsenal refinish m1 in a year+ for sale they are always recent refinishes...most with pits in the finish.... you want to see no pits, some machining marks still and strong markings....then you know it wasnt a rusted POS they refinished...its only been lightly sanded.... originally the guns finish wouldnt be smooth,nice...it would have machining marks----quickly made gun on an assembly line....(not a polished fine Browning rifle/shot gun for the commercial market) here's an image i believe TD gave me that i always use to show people the tool marks a thompson should have a comparison to a S1928 from 1940 vs a later 1928a1 US war gun Edited April 7, 2018 by huggytree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonlmg41 Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 The one shown in Reuben's ad is actually really nice. If I were in the market I'd look hard at that before he figures out what he has and raises the price to his standard retail +15%. One question you never ask is "round count", it can make people hang up the phone on you since it makes you sound like someone who's never bought a used gun before. As the saying goes "buy the gun, not the story". HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petroleum 1 Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 The one shown in Reuben's ad is actually really nice. If I were in the market I'd look hard at that before he figures out what he has and raises the price to his standard retail +15%. One question you never ask is "round count", it can make people hang up the phone on you since it makes you sound like someone who's never bought a used gun before. As the saying goes "buy the gun, not the story". HTHWhat are your thoughts on the GB M1 for sale?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
83Baron Posted April 7, 2018 Report Share Posted April 7, 2018 Makes sense Huggy. Spiwak had a few new looking M1s a year or so ago for sale. They look similar to Rubens which is why I asked. I believe Spiwak had also advertised those as arsenal refinished. an arsenal refinish wouldnt look very nice...it would show marks all over it...it most likely would be a used gun in Korea or after in the reserves... if it looks perfect---its a new refinish i dont think ive seen an arsenal refinish m1 in a year+ for sale they are always recent refinishes...most with pits in the finish.... you want to see no pits, some machining marks still and strong markings....then you know it wasnt a rusted POS they refinished...its only been lightly sanded.... originally the guns finish wouldnt be smooth,nice...it would have machining marks----quickly made gun on an assembly line....(not a polished fine Browning rifle/shot gun for the commercial market) here's an image i believe TD gave me that i always use to show people the tool marks a thompson should have a comparison to a S1928 from 1940 vs a later 1928a1 US war gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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