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Blank firing full auto M-1 Thompson Submachine Gun


kanemono
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New from Phila Ordnance. All-machined steel construction Full Auto blank firing only

gun. Exactly like an original Thompson but with proprietary enhancements to prevent modification.

In the past those attempting to make blank guns have made them too fragile or weak for ball ammo

the result being low quality plastic and zinc toy quality guns shooting pipsqueak blanks. Phila Ordnance

has gone the other way designing an all-steel gun that is too strong to modify.

The result is a gun that is so realistic it is even referred to in the ATF classification letter as a

machine gun but is classified as a non-firearm. The gun feeds, fires, and ejects crimp brass blanks

full auto just like an original gun.

NO paperwork, NO FFL, NO NFA Forms, NO Registration, NO Taxes. You order direct, it gets

shipped direct to you just as if you were buying a book or DVD.

While the intended audience for this is battle-reenactors

it is also suitable for a Thompson collector and especially those who love Thompsons but live in

a no-machine gun state or those who don't have $15K+. You can even take it to a shoot and the

only thing that will give you away is the spent brass.

Bob is offering these to board members at a pre-production price of $2495. Pre-production

means the guns will be made here at Phila Ordnance, will have many (but not all) original parts

and will use original Thompson magazines. The special blanks for the gun sell for $25 per box of 50.

Because of required design features and safety the gun will not chamber or fire .45 ACP ammo or

.45 ACP blanks.

Later, when the gun goes into mass production only assembly will be done here, most if not

all of the parts will be new manufacture, and the guns will use a special blank firing mag which is not

interchangeable with a standard Thompson mag. (This is for states with high capacity magazine

bans). The gun has a new manufacture receiver, barrel, and bolt which cannot be modified.

Delivery will be approx February 2017. No deposit is required. If you want one let Bob know

he will put you on my list and contact you when ready to ship for the necessary info.

 

contact:

Bob Bower/Philadelphia Ordnance

[email protected]

215-576-0259

Utube video of gun firing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-E4JRwQZ-o

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  • 2 months later...

Nice! I wish the video showed the muzzle, though. I assume have the blanks facing rearward like the SS Room ones did?

For a newly-made item, the price isn’t all that bad.

I live in a state which banned all Class III weapons, so this would be the only alternative. But I don’t to ‘tactical’ events anymore where I could get any fun out of it.

That said, it’s awfully tempting anyway!

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BILL THE PATCH

That is beautiful, maybe someday that price will come enough for me to afford one.

 

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Talked to them back in April? Put my name on the list - said 3 months - still haven't heard a thing. Another reenactor pipe dream maybe??

 

Best,

 

Bill

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  • 2 weeks later...

Talked to them back in April? Put my name on the list - said 3 months - still haven't heard a thing. Another reenactor pipe dream maybe??

 

Best,

 

Bill

 

Hi, Bill, Definitely not a pipe dream. I put my name on the list for one of these in December, 2016. The original estimated February delivery date slipped to July, but it was well worth the wait. I suggest you call Bob Bower at Philadelphia Ordnance directly to sort this out. He's good people.

 

The gun is beautifully made, exactly like the original M1A1 TSMG except for the barrel, receiver, and bolt, which are the parts submitted to the BATFE for approval as a non gun. On these parts the exterior dimensions are the same. The rear sight is riveted into place, and the front sight (also a NOS original) is pinned, as it should be. Everything else will interchange with the originals, including XX and XXX magazines. Great effort clearly went into getting the details just right, down to the correct bolts and screws, and the proper sling swivels. The finish is beautiful, and the font and size of the markings are just right.

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  • 1 month later...

tsmguy -

 

Sorry, I never saw this response. Love to see a photo of yours when you have the time. I talked to Bob several times on the phone to personally add my name to the list and spoke with him via email a dozen times. Never heard another thing from him after the last time. Not sure what else I would have had to do short of getting on a plane and going to his work shop and grabbing one out of his hand to make it more clear I was ready with the money and wanted one as soon as possible.

 

Best,

Bill

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  • 1 month later...

Any updates on this? Did anyone else get one?

I was wondering that as well.

Didn't that "SS Room" outfit have the same issue; making a great product, sputtering and people not hearing back, followed by a sucking sound then a quiet implosion?

You'd think something like this would sell a lot among re-enactors, but I guess the startup costs would be crushing.

I don't even do tactical re-enacting anymore (I do displays all the time, though), and I'd love to have one!

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Any updates on this? Did anyone else get one?

OK, here is an update. I was put on the waiting list back in early June. Bob from Philadelphia Ordnance just called me last week and said he had worked his way down to me on the list. He said that he had several people on the waiting list who had passed on getting a gun delivered. He also said that my Thompson should ship this coming week. The gun is currently $2495 and the proprietary blanks come in boxes of 200 for $100 (50 cents per round). They are working on a blank round that will use an aluminum case rather than brass that will be cheaper, and they hope to have both types of blanks available in the future. He said that it actually took longer to develop the blank round than it did the gun. The blank is as loud as a ball round and the cyclic rate matches a real gun.

 

While I had Bob on the phone I tried to get as much current information as possible. He just produced guns 20 to 23. Right now production is very slow because he has to manufacture the major parts (receiver, barrel, and bolt) as well as put the guns together. Remember this project is only a part of his regular business. He is in the process of farming out the manufacture of the parts so that he can spend more time putting the guns together and doing function checks on the guns produced. One of the very first guns that he produced had a heat treatment issue with the bolt and it cracked along the extractor groove. It delayed his production so that he could ensure that the problem was resolved. He is hoping that production will increase with the coming year. His website is also in need of update, but Bob said he didnt want to advertise the gun fully until he took care of his slow production and cleared up his waiting list.

 

I also asked about the proprietary magazines which will require expensive tooling and will take about four months to get into production after prototypes are approved. He hopes to have those available those available next Fall. Any guns that they are producing now can be modified to accept the proprietary magazine once they become available. For those who may not be familiar, the intent of the proprietary magazines is for States with magazine restrictions. Since they will only fit this Thompson non gun they will not be subject to restrictions based upon capacity.

 

Hope this helps answer some of your questions.

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  • 5 weeks later...

It was my gun (#23) that had the bolt crack along the extractor retaining grooves. Apparently the failure caused quite a stir at Phila. Ordnance. I sent the bolt along with the barreled receiver back for analysis at Bob's request. Turned out that the depth of heat treating had been improper, resulting in a brittle bolt. Anyway, Phila. Ord. got right on the problem and I had the receiver back with a newly made and fitted bolt in 10 days or so. Bob kept me informed every step of the way. He sent photos of a new batch of bolts, along with a video of my gun in action as it was function checked before shipping. Things happen sometimes, and I'm really pleased with the way Phila. Ord. handled the problem. I tried to upload the video, but the file size is too big.

 

Edit: BTW, production serial numbers apparently start again each year, with the first two digits of the serial number being the year of production.

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  • 3 years later...

Have had my Phila. Ord M1A1 blank gun for three years now. It's been great. It offers all of the fun of a blank modified original gun without any of the hassle. Here are a few pics. .45 blanks are .50 cents each from Phila. Ord., and are made using new Starline brass. They're sold loose packed, 200 to the box. 

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Do they still sell them? I messaged them several months ago with an order request and have yet to hear back...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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2 hours ago, Hessian said:

Do they still sell them? I messaged them several months ago with an order request and have yet to hear back...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd call the phone number on the website and order direct. It's been my experience that Bob always answers.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 months later...

Hi, new to the forum and just wondering,  has anyone, or does anyone here know of anyone outside the U.S. buying one of these?

I'm in Ireland and finding it impossible to get an Allied WW11 blankfire 

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  • 1 year later...
Historic Artillery

With the return of blank brass available from Starline, Philadelphia Ordnance is continuing production of their excellent Thompson BFONG's. I visited the shop last Monday and picked up mine after a long wait on his list. It was worth the wait

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