Show us your Guns!

[Story]

...this just in from SE Ohio...

Plans to sell four Thompson submachine guns owned by the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office to provide funds for new cruisers sparked one area man to seek another means of raising funds and save a part of "our history."

*
The four guns owned by the sheriff's office are all 1921 models, the first production model. Sales were sluggish then, given their cost, more than $200 when a new Ford automobile sold for about $400.

*
The guns were purchased by the Cambridge Collier Coal Company and the Rigby Mines and donated to the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office in 1932, according to Arnold Van Horn's history of the Guernsey County Sheriff's Office. They were brandished by law enforcement officers during unrest among area miners in the early 1930s.

The sale of the guns is proceeding. An initial appraisal indicated each gun was worth between $20,000 and $25,000.

http://www.daily-jeff.com/news/article/4626942

This is an unusually well-written article.

 

[John in Covina]

They were brandished by law enforcement officers during unrest among area miners in the early 1930s.

Thompson - On the Side of Law and Order!

 

[Story]

Thompson - On the Side of Law and Order!

You got it, pal!

 

[MKL]

My Latest

I received this a couple weeks ago. It is a Springfield GI 45 model - full size.

 

[bburtner@moran]

Springfield

Are the Springfield 1911A1`s made in Asia?

 

[anon`]

Are the Springfield 1911A1`s made in Asia?

Offshore bits and bobs (frame and slide and barrel at least, I think) are manufactured in Brazil by Industria de Material Belico do Brasil (IMBEL). I think the barrel (?) is stamped accordingly, if memory serves. As far as I can tell, they're forged (yeah, forged) down there, then shipped to Illinois where they undergo final machining and finishing, and are then assembled.

 

[MKL]

This model was made in Brazil.

Are the Springfield 1911A1`s made in Asia?

 

[John in Covina]

These days the ability of what some may consider 3rd world countries to produce fine goods continues to evolve. Improvements in metalurgy and manufacturing for these countries is compressed into years not decades as in the past. I have a 92F from Taurus of Brazil and it is well made. The materials fit and finish is pretty near top of the line. Once they get the metal right and the forging right then it's a matter of setting up the CNC machine to do the machining right. So the ability to make a 1911 has moved from our country to many others. Thompson's 1911 wasn't forged (I don't know if they changed that) and there were gunsmiths that did not work on them or try to do specific tune up jobs because of that fact. I have also seen some people that really liked their Norinco (China) 1911 but that is so time ago, I don't know if they bring those in anymore.

 

[anon`]

My two new babies. First guns that I personally have purchased! Everything else was either a gift or an heirloom =)

Colt Official Police 4" chambered for .38 Special above
Savage Model 1907 "10 Shots Quick!" pocket pistol in .32 ACP below

The Savage was, erm, savagely attacked by a previous owner who didn't know how to field-strip the gun. Might look for a new firing mechanism this weekend at the gun show. The Colt is in remarkably good shape, with very little pitting (just a couple spots on the other side and virtually all the bluing otherwise intact.

I'm a happy camper today!

 

[John in Covina]

The Savage is classic, those autos had a specific look to them that is interesting.

 

[Diamondback]

This model was made in Brazil.

Technically, American built on Brazilian forgings--Rock Island 1911s are built in the Philippines by Armscor, and Springfield's bought their forgings from Imbel for a long time now.

 

[Story]

The Savage was, erm, savagely attacked by a previous owner who didn't know how to field-strip the gun. Might look for a new firing mechanism this weekend at the gun show. !

For the Peanut Gallery's benefit - http://www.vintagepistols.com/1907/index.html

Anon - check your PMs.

 

[John in Covina]

Speaking of foreign 1911's was it the Argentinians that did a run that are collectable? I recall somebody spinning a yarn on how they had melted down some German warship for the steel to make rhese. Sound fishy to me.

 

[Story]

Speaking of foreign 1911's was it the Argentinians that did a run that are collectable? I recall somebody spinning a yarn on how they had melted down some German warship for the steel to make rhese. Sound fishy to me.

Colt Sistema, the myth being that they were made from steel salvaged from the scuttled Graf Spee.
Trail of breadcrumbs to background info -
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=68064

 

[Levallois]

[/B]

I want one - if I sell my truck I can still ride the bus, right?

 

[Levallois]

For the Peanut Gallery's benefit - http://www.vintagepistols.com/1907/index.html

The Savage pocket pistols are another group that just aren't that well known, even by gun afficianados. And yet, I think they outsold the Colt pocket pistols during the years they were competitors - I'll try to find that info. I've got a 1915 (only made one year) in 32 acp that's a joy to shoot.

John

 

[DutchIndo]

Unfortunately .45 ACP is getting hard to get. Even Wolf ammo is getting hard.
For those lucky enough to own a Thompson I hear Wolf is hard on the extractor. Buy extractors while you still can ! I heard the same is true for the Carbines.

 

[Story]

Since we're on Tommyguns, something I did not know about 'Machinegun Kelly':

When Kelly came to Fort Worth, his wild stories impressed a manicurist named Kathryn Brooks, herself a shoplifter and part-time bootlegger. They married and quietly made a home on Mulkey Street, although they did not go unnoticed by neighbors who recalled how the well-dressed couple got around in a big 16-cylinder car.

Meanwhile, Kathryn was spreading the word among her bootlegging customers and associates that her man was a brutal but efficient robber of banks. To seal the image, she went down to a Fort Worth pawnshop and bought him a "Tommy" gun.

Kelly may not have fired a shot in anger, but he practiced religiously with that gun. Historians believe that Kathryn came up with the nickname "Machine Gun Kelly." Ever the promoter, she gave out his spent shell casings as souvenirs.

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/1501615.html

 

[carebear]

That would be one of the few Thompsons used by a "name" bandit that was actually purchased, heck even stolen, from a civilian gun store, as opposed to stolen from a Police or National Guard Armory.

 

[Story]

That would be one of the few Thompsons used by a "name" bandit that was actually purchased, heck even stolen, from a civilian gun store, as opposed to stolen from a Police or National Guard Armory.

There were a few sold by Ira Goldberg (a surplus dealer in Philadelphia, with the original store remaining open until @ the 1990s), to local gangsters (Max "Boo Boo" Hoff being one).

The Auto-Ordnance Company's only restrictive requirement to dealers was to keep written records of who they sold to - but Ira (allegedly) made sure the serial numbers were removed. [huh]