Price of full auto Thompson

[Brad Johnson]

Have a friend that's thinking about jumping through all the ATF hoops to get a full-boogie Thompson. Any idea what a full auto original Thompson costs?

Brad

[The Rabbi]

$28k I think.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I heard they were in the neighborhood of $25,000.  But I'm certainly no authority, and I could be very wrong.

[The Rabbi]

In the old days you could get one, original, with case and drum mags for like $250.
Personally I'd have  a hard time buying something where 90% of the value rests on government fiat.  Imagine if they lifted the ban on new receivers.

[Monkeyleg]

It depends on the manufacturer, as well as the year of manufacture.

The 1986 Auto Ordnance model I had, which was the last of the run before the ban, is now worth about $15,000.

Earlier models made by Savage or Colt will fetch much, much higher prices.

And any original models from the 1920's? Fuhgettaboutit.

[BakerMikeRomeo]

In the old days you could get one, original, with case and drum mags for like $250.
Personally I'd have  a hard time buying something where 90% of the value rests on government fiat.  Imagine if they lifted the ban on new receivers.

That drives me crazy, too. The only reason those guns cost any more at all than their less-regulated cousins is because of the government artificially restricting supply (the bastards). And yeah, imagine how super-pissed you'd be if you bought an MP5 today for, like, 20 grand, and then the next day, it's only worth a couple grand because the ban died.

Of course, think how HAPPY you'd be because then you could just get another MG without losing an arm, a leg, both kidneys, part of your liver, and your freaking firstborn.

~GnSx

[The Rabbi]

Actually I asked my friendly neighborhood Class 3 dealer about this.  He has been doing this for over 30 years.  He told me before the ban a standard AR rifle was about 4-500 and a full auto version like 1500.  That's my best recollection of what he told me anyway.  So full auto was always a premium feature.

[Brad Johnson]

I think my friend just changed his mind.

Brad

[The Rabbi]

I think my friend just changed his mind.

Brad

Tell him to think of it as a new SUV except:
Doesnt use any gas
Will likely go up in value
Cheaper to insure
Chicks really dig hearing "wanna ride my Tommy Gun?"

[Monkeyleg]

Rabbi, I regularly receive catalogues from a police supply company that I've done a little business with.

They sell M16A2's to departments for between $600 and $700.

There is no reason why a full-auto version of a particular gun should be more expensive than its semi-auto counterpart.

I know the story of the FOPA of 1986, and I do not blame the NRA. It was a victory for 99.9% of gun owners, and a hit for the other .1%.

Still, though, it galls me that the anti-gunners even won that much.

When the Clinton AW ban was still in effect, I had to make a decision between abiding by the law, or saying the law is sometimes crazy, and just ignoring it.

In the case of full-auto's, I'd like to be able to say the law is crazy and ignore it. The consequences, though, are pretty scarey.

A short anecdote: years back I had a neighbor who was an armorer in Viet Nam. Somehow, he managed to come home with full-auto trigger groups for M16's, M14's, and a few other rifles. He kept them in wooden barrels in his attic.

He and his wife also collected religious statues.

There had been several thefts of statues from churches, and someone in the neighborhood called the police on him.

Detectives came over, and went through his house, with my neighbor's permission. They didn't find anything illegal (nor did I think they would). But, they opened those barrels, looked inside, decided there weren't any religious statues in there, and went on to search other areas of the house.

[The Rabbi]

Rabbi, I regularly receive catalogues from a police supply company that I've done a little business with.

They sell M16A2's to departments for between $600 and $700.

There is no reason why a full-auto version of a particular gun should be more expensive than its semi-auto counterpart.

There is no reason a Cadillac should cost more than a Chevrolet.  But it does.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

The added hassle of licensing and papering full auto weapons for sale to police forces drives up the cost a bit.  It isn't exactly easy or cheap to keep all of the records well-enough in order to satisfy the ATF.

[roo_ster]

Uncle Sam paid somewhere in the neighborhood of ~$500 for each M4A1 'bout ten years ago.  Of couse, US buys in BULK.

[mfree]

Of course, if the registration ban were lifted then one could in theory submit a Form 1 and make themselves a nice grease gun analog for the $200 stamp and about $50 worth of spare parts.

*That* is actually my primary reason for wanting the registry opened, not so much dropping price on NFA FA's.

[Jamisjockey]

http://www.impactguns.com/store/machineguns.html

Around $20,000 for an FA Thompson.

[Perd Hapley]

What would happen if full-auto guns suddenly became as easy to buy as any deer rifle?  Other than the bodies littering the streets, of course.  

It seems to me they would sell like hotcakes for a generation or so, until most consumers realized they were of little additional value to them.  After that, higher quality full-autos would hit the market, though in small lots, for those who actually wanted them.

[Monkeyleg]

Fistful, I suspect you're right.

One of the reasons I sold my Thompson was that I didn't often shoot it because of the cost.

Another reason was that, at that time, I was focusing on developing super-accurate handloads for my rifles. And a subgun is not exactly accurate. So, I found myself losing interest in it.

[Fly320s]

Thompsons = $20,000 to $25,000 each.

Look for more fun things here: http://www.subguns.com/classifieds/?db=nfafirearms&category=All+Items+in+this+Category&query=category&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=headlines&website=&language=&session_key=

GunnySkox,

If I could buy a MP5 tomorrow knowing that on Saturday the value would drop by 90% I would do it in a heartbeat.  I buy guns for shooting, not investing.  I try not to invest in objects that are legal at the discretion of the government.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks for the link, Fly320s.

Sob.

It's the Savage and Colt models that are in the $20,000+ range.

The Auto Ordinance models are only in the $14,500 to $18,000 range.

Sob again.

[Art Eatman]

A buddy of mine bought an A/O model Thompson in 1983 for $740 plus sales tax.  The dealer did some test-firing before delivery; I got to run a couple of mags through it.  Fun toy.

Art