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Thompson came in, need help

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help thompson
1K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  HerrZnk 
#1 ·
Got my Thompson m1a1 in today. Having all kinds of problems. Biggest one being the bolt won't hold open, either when I pull it back or on the last round. I can't pull the bolt back with the magazine in. And it won't hold back when I pull it back with no magazine. So I pulled it back and held it while I put the magazine in. I was able to chamber a round this way, but when I pulled the trigger, all I got was a click. So I removed the magazine and pulled the bolt back to extract the round. The round did not extract, it just re-cocked the gun. So I figured, what the heck, and pulled the trigger again. This time it fired and ejected the round properly , but again the bolt did not hold open. Any advice? I know some of you are familiar with these guns
 
#2 ·
First question; did you take it apart and clean / oil it when you got it?

I know on mine the recoil spring is so stiff that I couldn't fully cycle it until I got an oversized bolt knob for it. Are you sure it is cycling fully?
 
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#3 ·
I did clean and oil it. It seems as though the mistake I was making was trying to get bolt to hold open without magazine in. Magazine must be in and empty for bolt hold open to work. It's basically functioning now. But jamming on every 2nd or 3rd round. Got about 130 rounds through without much improvement. Most reviews say there is a break in period. I am going to shoot a couple more boxes and see
 
#4 ·
Is this an M1A1 NFA (full auto)? If so I can offer advice; if not, then no...
ETA: most commercial magazines are sh*t. (sorry) Surplus used to be $5 still in the grease paper wrap, that was all that I could get to work in my full-auto commercial M1A1 - and only after I replaced the crap West Hurley commercial bolt for a WW2 surplus bolt. It was a pretty SMG, nice when it worked - which wasn't often enough - so I sold it.
 
#5 ·
This is semi auto replica by kahr. I've put roughly 250 rounds through it with literally no improvement. It's jamming almost every shot. The most I got to shoot in a row without a jam was 3. I cleaned it after the first 150 rounds. And polished the feed ramp. Didn't help in the least. I hope it's only the magazine. I have more ordered. Some of which are GI surplus that I will have to file on to make fit. But by all accounts they still feed better. I've had alot of POS guns in my life but I've never had one jam this much. It's nothing to do with a break in period. Not when it's jamming almost every shot
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the tip. I want to sbr this gun and theoretically I could get the same Smith that fits the barrel to work on the jamming issue. But... do I want to sink more time and money into a tax stamp and 10.5 inch barrel and roll the dice on it ever getting right? I dont know. Super disappointed and discouraged .
 
#8 ·
I think I remember people saying the auto ordinance/kahr thompsons were completely different under the hood. maybe even striker fired as apposed to hammer. always been too rich for me so I never messed with one. I do remember someone posting one with a kaboomed barrel. it looked like a cartoon, peeled back like a banana. I think wolf ammo was blamed for that kb though. spending 1k on a gun then firing the cheapest ammo never made much since to me. I only shoot steelcased ammo in soviet block weapons.

I know it's gotta be making you ill, but check out some bigger forums maybe some tips out there to get it goin'.
 
#9 ·
Yeah the manual had a warning in big red letters NO STEEL CASE AMMO in about 10 different places. I'm like you, AK47 seems to handle steel case, and small caliber revolvers. Shoot steel case anything above 38 special standard pressure and you will regret it. I've made the mistake already. A friend of mine has a little experience with these guns. Says the stout recoil springs are mostly to blame. Which is consistent with what I've read elsewhere. He says the more you shoot the better it gets. Ive been sitting around the house, working the bolt back and forth like 700 times trying to loosen those springs up. I won't give up yet.
 
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