The Auto-Ordnance 1972-A1 Thompson, shown with a 20-round stick magazine. It is heavy, which should be no surprise as it is constructed entirely of steel and wood, and a lot of both. The first thing you’ll notice upon picking up one of these firearms is the weight. The original submachine gun fired from an open bolt design, however this gun fires from a closed bolt. My review of this piece is instead oriented from a user perspective as, even though I am now in my fifties and a “professional gunwriter,” other than a very brief two-mags-and-then-done exposure to a full-auto Thompson at a machine gun shoot, I have never before had the chance to examine in depth or test one of these firearms. Countless books have been written about the history of this gun in America and in war time. There are many people far more knowledgeable about the Thompson’s history and design than me.

The Thompson submachine gun was used famously by gangsters, federal agents, police officers, and American serviceman it is a piece of American history, and you will find no shortage of reference material if you’re interested in this design. John Dillinger with his “Tommy Gun.” (Paul Scarlata collection) The 30-round stick mags came later…but I had Auto-Ordnance send me some of those too. It arrives in a hard case with foam cutouts and one 20-round stick mag and one 50-round drum, which were the magazine options available at the time when this gun was new. The version sent to me is the Auto-Ordnance 1927-A1 Deluxe Carbine which features a standard stock and a 16.5-inch barrel tipped with the Cutts compensator. Auto-Ordnance also offers short-barreled rifle (SBR) versions if you’re up for the additional paperwork. You can have your choice of the original steel receiver, a lighter version with an aluminum receiver, stockless pistol versions with a detachable stock, carbines with 16.5-inch barrels or a version with a 14.5-inch barrel with the Cutts compensator permanently attached to provide a total barrel length of 16 inches. They have several models of the simplified M1 (it and the even more bare bones version M1A1 were issued to our troops in World War II), as well as several models of their 1927-A1 Thompson, which more closely resembles the original models which went into production in 1921. Because of that weight, recoil is very minimal.Īuto-Ordnance offers numerous semi-auto carbine versions of the Thompson. The Thompson is a big, heavy gun, and about as iconic a firearm as there is. Currently, there is only one company making this firearm - Auto-Ordnance. The Thompson submachine gun, the “Tommy Gun,” is the gun which is said to have made the “Roaring 20s” roar, and its use in that decade by gangsters earned it the moniker “Chicago Typewriter.” So, it only makes sense in this issue to cover this iconic American firearm.

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