M1 Thompson

[thepatriot2705]

Would you spend 15k on a fully functional M1 Thompson even if it meant decimating your savings?

[CRAMBONE]

Is it your money or mine? If it’s your money hell yeah im spending it. If it’s mine no I’m not. I want some land. If you really want the gat get a loan if all you have in cash is the cost of the gun.

[Diamondback]

M1? No. Fully functional Colt 1921AC? That'd be a bargain, those usually start at 40k.

[Firefly]

Hell no.

Never go into hock to buy a gun.

[sgtrock82]

Have you shot one before? Id be sure you shot one first, maybe a few times. Thompsons are cool to look at and talk about but I think they kinda suck in person. M3 grease gun 10x more fun.

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[Arik]

No. For any firearm.

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[utahjeepr]

On one hand it us an investment. The M1 is not gonna lose value. It will increase.

On the other hand, you will not likely see a skyrocket return in the short term. The increase in value should beat the rate of inflation but by how much? Your money is locked up and it would take a while to get it out when you decide to sell.

As your only investment and at the cost of all your savings? I would say no, unless you are looking at being able to replace those savings in very short order.

[MegademiC]

Only if its disposable income. If you have debt and /or have to Drain your emergency fund, keep saving.

[Steve Shannon]

If you spend all your savings because you want something rather than needing something, you will never have savings when you truly need them and someday you truly will need them.

Buying a gun as an investment only works if you really don’t mind selling it. This sounds to me like you want it too badly to easily make that economic decision.


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[sundance435]

First question, why is it only selling for $15k? Cheapest I've seen is $20k for an actual, late-model M1A1, which as far as Thompsons go are the least "collectible". Thompsons, like any old, very desirable firearms are a niche area with lots of nuances that drive prices by thousands and tens of thousands of $$$. That said, any transferable full auto is potentially an actual investment, unlike most guns. I wouldn't quite call it liquid, though, and the price is largely driven by laws, so I would call them speculative investments.

Second question, depending on the answer to the first, is what do you classify as "savings". If it's your 401(k) or funds you would normally use to pay mortgage/rent, etc., then no way. If it's your truly "disposable" income, maybe. How long did it take you to save that much? Fly has the simplest, best advice - don't go in hock to buy a gun.

[thepatriot2705]

First question, why is it only selling for $15k? Cheapest I've seen is $20k for an actual, late-model M1A1, which as far as Thompsons go are the least "collectible". Thompsons, like any old, very desirable firearms are a niche area with lots of nuances that drive prices by thousands and tens of thousands of $$$. That said, any transferable full auto is potentially an actual investment, unlike most guns. I wouldn't quite call it liquid, though, and the price is largely driven by laws, so I would call them speculative investments.

Second question, depending on the answer to the first, is what do you classify as "savings". If it's your 401(k) or funds you would normally use to pay mortgage/rent, etc., then no way. If it's your truly "disposable" income, maybe. How long did it take you to save that much? Fly has the simplest, best advice - don't go in hock to buy a gun.


Friend has tons of guns and might be willing to sell it for the price. I’ve worked two jobs for a year to be a pilot. So I’m going to take the money and be reckless with it.

[odugrad]

Best advice I can offer is, "ff there's any doubt, there's no doubt at all".

In other words, if you have to ask, the answer should be evident.

[SteyrAUG]

Friend has tons of guns and might be willing to sell it for the price. I’ve worked two jobs for a year to be a pilot. So I’m going to take the money and be reckless with it.

So long as it's a legit Savage or Auto Ordnance WWII period gun, keep in mind other companies like West Hurley made them and they are commercial copies produced right up until 1986.

[ABNAK]

I'd wait until after the election. If senile shithead and his libtard minions win your investment might equal ZERO with the wave of a pen, and you can't deny you have it or "sold it to some guy at a gunshow". Just sayin'.....

[SteyrAUG]

I'd wait until after the election. If senile shithead and his libtard minions win your investment might equal ZERO with the wave of a pen, and you can't deny you have it or "sold it to some guy at a gunshow". Just sayin'.....

Politicians don't understand NFA. If you tell them they need to outlaw machine guns, they have a staff member look it up who informs them that they were already regulated back in 1934 and that is the end of it. It happened several times when people called for silencer bans following Sandy Hook and other high profile shootings.

[OH58D]

I've shared this thread with my 97 year old father in law who carried a Thompson during WW2. He was with the 2nd BN, 16th Infantry Regiment from 1941-1945. This picture is of him with his Thompson at Jacksonville, Florida Navy Base in early 1942 where the Army shared the training facility, and got into plenty of fights in the local dance halls with sailors.

Not long after he shipped off to North Africa. He had been with a Signal Corps unit but transferred to the Infantry after Pearl Harbor. At D-Day he was in the 2nd wave at Omaha Beach that morning as an Army Buck Sergeant, carrying a radio and a Thompson. I think the only way we would spend $15K on a Thompson is if it had a serial number that matched the ones carried by my father in law. That would be quite the family heirloom:
https://i.imgur.com/4X8Zpcqh.jpg

[Straight Shooter]

HELL YES. DO IT.
IF you can feed that bitch in the current environment, and all else is squared away...BUY IT.
Get beau coup mags, spare parts, and of course ammo.
You'll ALWAYS wish you had later in life. Itll eat at you.
BUY IT.
Lookin forward to pics & a range report.

[P2Vaircrewman]

Back in the 70's a M1A1 Thompson could be had for less than $1000. There was one for sale for $750 + the 200 stamp. I was a young man with a wife and daughter, a house note and a good job in the petrochemical industry but $950 was more than a months pay so I blew it off. If only I had known what was coming with the 86 act banning new full auto to civilians I would have bought it. Still want one.

[sundance435]

Friend has tons of guns and might be willing to sell it for the price. I’ve worked two jobs for a year to be a pilot. So I’m going to take the money and be reckless with it.

Without knowing more about your situation and finances (retirement), I don't know what to tell you. Me now wouldn't - me 10 years ago definitely would have. As close as a Thompson comes to a gun for which I'd sell my soul, I just think retirement savings is too important now in this country. And while I doubt that outlawing true automatic weapons in this country is on the radar of any current politician, I think it's inevitable as our gun rights are continuously chipped away at over the years. The key with any valuable gun is knowing when to sell, which is like trying to time the stock market.

[sundance435]

Back in the 70's a M1A1 Thompson could be had for less than $1000. There was one for sale for $750 + the 200 stamp. I was a young man with a wife and daughter, a house note and a good job in the petrochemical industry but $950 was more than a months pay so I blew it off. If only I had known what was coming with the 86 act banning new full auto to civilians I would have bought it. Still want one.

There's a certain book that was tough to read because it basically catalogued all of the MGs and SMGs you could easily buy back in the day.

[JWill1776]

Obvioiusly, the heart wants what the hearts want, and it is your money, so FWIW.

That's a lot of money for a single firearm. And when you say it is "fully functional" do you mean it is fully automatic? If so, that seems like a low price to me, frankly, but who knows? I'd check on Gunbroker to see what others have sold for.

My guess would be that you will be thrilled to buy it and thrilled to shoot it, but the thrill may wear off and if you are emptying out your savings to acquire it, I can see some serious buyer's remorse kicking in.

Of course you can probably turn around and sell it for nearly what you paid...so look if you can't get precisely what you paid for it, look at it as a "rental fee" for the time you do keep it.

[JoshNC]

On one hand it us an investment. The M1 is not gonna lose value. It will increase.

On the other hand, you will not likely see a skyrocket return in the short term. The increase in value should beat the rate of inflation but by how much? Your money is locked up and it would take a while to get it out when you decide to sell.

As your only investment and at the cost of all your savings? I would say no, unless you are looking at being able to replace those savings in very short order.

Thompson values have been somewhat stagnant for the past 15 years. I would not view a Thompson as an investment, unless it’s a rare gun or one with unique provenance.

OP, if you’ve never shot a Thompson you need to do so before buying one. I personally don’t enjoy shooting them. Every now and again I get the urge to own a 28 or a war time m1. Then I shoot one and am reminded that I don’t like them.

If buying a Thompson, there are many many important details to consider. At $15k it’s likely a West Hurley, which may require some work and some parts swapping to get it functioning. I would buy a genuine WW2 28, M1, or M1a Thompson over a WH gun.