Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com.
I'm Ian McCollum, and here in front of me I have a selection of Thompson submachine guns.
Now over the last week or two we have looked at all of these Thompsons on the table,
and we've looked at their history and how this gun developed from its origins
through to its final massive use in World War Two.
And one question that that leaves is how do these different versions shoot? Because one of the primary
changes that was made throughout the Thompson's development was changing its rate of fire.
So the original 1921 had a very high rate of fire, 800 maybe a little more than 800 rounds per minute.
The 1921/28 guns, or the 28s and the overstamps, those were specifically
changed to bring the rate of fire down, and they have a rate more like 600, maybe 650.
And then the World War Two guns, the M1s, that rate of fire actually went back up,
and then they moderated it a bit on the M1A1.
So unfortunately, I don't have an M1 here, but I have a 21, a 21/28 Overstamp, and an M1A1.
We are going to go ahead and do some shooting with all of these, and just see what that rate of fire looks like differently.
So, we'll go ahead and start with our 21. This ought to be the fastest gun of the bunch.
And I should point out here when we're shooting this, we're out here at the range today,
we have gun high-speed footage, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet.
So I will have in the bottom of the screen there the actual rate of fire.
But at the time that I'm shooting this, I haven't calculated it.
So I won't be able to go with specifics, just feel of the gun.
So the fast one, the chopper.
[ 1921: 960 rpm. ]
It's got a pretty darn fast rate of fire. [960 rounds per minute.]
But it's pretty controllable, it is ... 11, 12 pounds with a loaded magazine, so one would hope that it's controllable.
... Actually I think the Suomi is probably a little bit better for shooting than this guy, but this isn't bad.
And that's an empty magazine in that one.
Alright, next up we have a US Navy property 21/28 Overstamp. This should be like 25% slower.
[ 1921: 960 rpm. 1921/28: 830 rpm.]
It is. [830 rounds per minute.]
You know what, I think it's actually a little harder to shoot than that 21.
Now I'm out of ammo, but.
You know, a lower rate of fire doesn't strictly correspond to a gun being more controllable.
... There're factors in the harmonics of the gun, and how that recoil impulse is being transmitted to the shooter.
Between these two, I think the 21 is the better shooting gun. But we have one more left to test here.
This is an M1A1. ... These two guys were the iconic gangster Thompsons,
this is the iconic World War Two GI Thompson.
Horizontal fore-grip, smooth barrel, we now have ... a charging handle on the side.
This should be kind of in between those two.
[ 1921: 960 rpm. 1921/8: 830 rpm, M1A1: 655 rpm. ]
You know what, I think that's the hardest of the bunch.
And it also feels like it's a bit slower. [655 rounds per minute.]
I suspect part of this issue is that this guy doesn't have a Cutts Compensator on it,
and judging from the handling of this and the 21/28 Overstamp, that Cutts Compensator actually, ...
... that does something real. There is a thing there.
This one certainly looks cool to me, I think it's the best handling of them.
I like the horizontal fore-grip, the vertical front grip to me is a little bit awkward.
And all of these have a very long length of pull.
... The Thompson is a heavy gun, it's iconic, but it really is a World War One pattern of machine gun.
So it's got a long length of pull, it's got a lot of stock drop,
so the gun does like to climb if you're not used to shooting submachine guns.
And for whatever reason this one is actually blowing more gas back in my face than either of the other two.
Try this one again.
Not bad.
And got something like 10 rounds left in this mag on the 21.
Boy, you know what?
I didn't think I would say this, but I got to go with the 21 on this.
It's got the worst sights, but it's ... the nicest shooting.
I'll be right back.
My Chopper, you see, my Chicago Typewriter.
I needs my money, you see.
Well, it's actually not mine.
This is actually being sold, as are the other two that you just saw,
at the Morphy Auction House in their upcoming fall of 2018 Firearms Auction.
This one and the 21/28 Overstamp are both fully transferable, the M1A1 is a dealer sample.
If you take a look at the description text below you can find links to
catalogue pages for all three of those by way of ForgottenWeapons.com.
That'll have their Morphy catalogue pictures, price, description,
everything you need to know about, well, maybe picking one up yourself, because
these are pretty cool.
[ cc by sk cn2 ]