Thompson Pistol ? current project :)

Hi
What can you do with lots of "bits and Pieces"??
A project
love it or hate it here it is (obviously still work in progress:))

I don't care...as long as it is full-auto I Love It ...

But I can't imagine how this beast will go if this is in real steel: being a .45 with a back-heavy receiver without the front handle (will keep shooting at the sky)...

Looking good

8ace

looks really cool mate

It's pretty and ugly at the same time, fascinating :-)

Hi
Yep some love it some hate it

Its gives some really good barrel effects due to 1.5 inch barrel and full auto !!

I will (I always say this ) do a video when finished as I have a new toy coming, a camera which can do slow motion, though its only 125fps it should still be fun:)

Looks good - If you mount a MG38 Compensator, it will looks more like a STAR WARS Lasergun

It looks really terrific - if holding the mag wasn't enough to combat muzzle rise in real steel - a loop strap as on the Ingram would help - looking forward to the video.

Pit.

Hi everyone!

I couldn't see an introduce yourself section, but this is my first post.

I'm actually looking to acquire an MGC Thompson at the moment (currently holding out for a forward venting model, so could be waiting a while).

Other than being a genuine enthusiast, I wish to use it as a functioning prop for a short historically inspired film. This is the reason I settled on the MGC right here. I'm looking to strip it of most of the furniture, as apparently this was a popular way to carry them with the "motorised bandits" of the roaring twenties.

I looked at various airsoft versions, but of course, apart from often being based on the wrong model for the period, the decent metal AEG's all carry the batteries in the shoulder stock, so wouldn't function.

The Denix replicas proved to be equally useless even as non firing props, as the shoulder stock is permanently bolted on from the inside of the gun, and has a visible shaft for the screw protruding even if you can get in to remove it.

I'm not intending to cut down the barrel, but nevertheless this is very cool. You don't often see this accurately depicted in films. Apparently one of the proponents of this stripped down machine pistol style was none other than Pretty Boy Floyd. Quite how he even hit the back end of a barn with it is beyond me, but supposedly he was pretty good.

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Very interesting, hope you will post more as you get along

Welcome to the forum!
There will sure be many people watching your progress with this modification :-)

Yes, welcome to the forum!

I find it interesting that the Thompson would be stripped of the forearm. Wouldn't the user need some place to hold the gun in front to prevent muzzle rise? If there was no wood furniture, I would think  the barrel could become too hot to grab after extended firing?

Always interesting to hear about and see projects.

By the way, John, did you ever finish this Frankenstein Thompson pistol????   

Hi Jerrod
You know me, always falling behind    
Its still on the boil ! got about 10 personal projects on the go, but keep falling back on my own obsession with my SAA's.

I did give it a test fire all good ! the problem "was" could not find any Drum mags, got access to some now.
I will try to get back on it for you guys and get a video up here in the next month.
I "think" regarding the recoil with a full drum the weight of the gun would help a lot to keep the muzzel down, and the actual problem one handed would be getting it up on target !!!

Without front or rear stocks a Thompson would be a terrible weapon to shoot accurately.
(They hardly kick at all, being heavy and pistol caliber, my 8 year old daughter has shot my Thompsons - but they are not a firearm that points naturally.)

I doubt it was a conversion done by anyone like Hyman S. Lehman who liked to add front stocks to his gangster customers' MG's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_S._Lehman

Looks like one that got damaged in a shoot out to me - or was used by a gangster with severely reduced intellect. As in modern gangster method of tilting handgun while aiming
Not one I'd care to replicate

pitfighter wrote:

Without front or rear stocks a Thompson would be a terrible weapon to shoot accurately.
(They hardly kick at all, being heavy and pistol caliber, my 8 year old daughter has shot my Thompsons - but they are not a firearm that points naturally.)

I doubt it was a conversion done by anyone like Hyman S. Lehman who liked to add front stocks to his gangster customers' MG's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_S._Lehman

Looks like one that got damaged in a shoot out to me - or was used by a gangster with severely reduced intellect.  As in modern gangster method of tilting handgun while aiming
Not one I'd care to replicate

It does seem kinda unlikely I agree. Supposedly that picture is Floyd's Thompson dropped after a shoot out. But I have seen another that would appear to show a damaged fore grip attached. Nevertheless that's what I've heard and read from a few sources. To be honest when it comes to films, I'm not above using a little artistic licence anyway.

See 24:05 for one reference.

Yes - he definitely attributes the technique to Floyd.
Floyd got lucky a few times and killed when he could have been killed, so by luck or design his gun style worked.

Here is a pic of another Thompson attributed to him - http://www.eastliverpoolhistoricalsociety.org/pbfloyd1.htm

An amazing time - always fascinating to me, there is an interesting sub-topic on the subject at the machinegunboards forum - I have run into a few of the contributors at the SAR gunshow - when i was collecting thompson gear they helped me get started with information and knowledge.
http://www.machinegunboards.com/forums/index.php?s=0c674b0b14b90d1002ccda17c625a305&showforum=41

Many of them there, are gangster era history buffs.

Pit.

Well I've never come across that one before. They seem to have quite the fascination with Dillinger. A man who owned a lot of guns, but ironically couldn't shoot for toffee. Looks like a great site though, cheers for linking it.