[rktman]

Ever pick one up with the drum mag? They are HEAVY!. A buddy has the civilized (civilian) version and you gotta eat some Wheaties if you're gonna tote it around. And to think, you used to be able to pick them up at the hardware store. Didn't Sears sell them too? Can't remember for certain.

[wrench]

I was about to say the same thing. With a stick mag, they are 12 pounds, with a drum it is a real bar-bell.

[jjotto]

Same reason people don’t generally drive ‘57 Chevys as commuter cars.

[SkyDancer]

They had a new one at Cabela’s several months ago and unloaded it was >heavy< - can’t imagine how much heavier it’d be loaded, it was the drum version - came in a violin case with the title “Chicago Typewriter” ... what a funny name to give it.

[treetopsandroofs]

“General Thompson intended it to sweep trenches clear of enemy soldiers, but the Germans, rather inconsiderately, threw in the towel before development work was complete.”

Reminds me of what Mad Jack Churchill, the last man known to have killed an enemy soldier with a longbow, said about WWII:

“If it wasn’t for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!”

[x1stcav]

I managed to lay my hands on one in the ‘Nam and figured it would be the ultimate brush-cutter.

The weapon plus the steel magazines weighed a ton (the ammo isn’t exactly light either) and kicked my butt on patrols.

Wnet back to my M-14 and didn’t regret it.

[circlecity]

If they weren’t that heavy they’d be even harder to keep the muzzle down while firing.

[Ready4Freddy]

What happened to the Tommy gun?

Prohibition happened. The Mafia made them so popular that the Feds banned them.

[wbill]

The first thing that my grandfather got rid of when he was overseas was his Thompson. Said that it was too heavy to lug around.

I always thought that he carried a carbine, but Dad recently found some wartime pictures of him, and Grandpa was carrying a Springfield '03 in them. I know that he liked the '03, said that it aimed itself.

[Mariner]

"Today's thugs sling lead at one another with their plastic wonder-guns across playgrounds and parks, with poor accuracy and less style. "

More people die every year in their own bathtub than are killed by rifles and shotguns combined.

[iacovatx]

It has been written by others that the Thompson was not a successful product when introduced. It had an innovative purpose for trench warfare but WW1 ended before it could be employed in the trench fight. The trench shotgun was another technological approach to trench warfare and had some success in WW1, but not the Thompson. By WW2, trench warfare was largely obsolete.

The Thompson came too late to serve its intended purpose. It was hard to sell the gun after WW1 because it was very costly, heavy, and there were few practical uses for it. Police agencies purchased some but the success of a weapon design requires large contract purchases by government organizations and it wasn’t until WW2 that such contracts could be obtained.

Gangsters rarely used them. Thompsons simply looked interesting in movies making them into something iconic. The 1934 law nearly eliminating access to many firearms was based on perception more than reality.

[Jack Hammer]

Heavy, expensive to make, expensive to buy, and expensive to shoot.

[niteowl77]

My dad's older and younger brothers both adopted Thompsons soon after they had been in combat... despite having originally been issued something else. One was a second scout in an infantry regiment in WWII, the other was a recon Marine in Korea. The former was a slightly-built man of medium height, the latter a tall, muscular guy. They liked the Thompson's rate of fire, it was relatively short and handy, and they rated its reliability as better than the M1 Carbine.

One of dad's brothers-in-law usually carried a 1911AI and/or an M1 Carbine, but he would borrow a Thompson from one of the vehicles when he was particularly nervous about the surrounding scenery or when he had to deal with POWs (he felt that the Thompson made a more "persuasive" impression on the average German).

If any of them complained about the weight, I can't recall it, but in comparison to an M1 Carbine, it does seem to be a bit of a brick. As far as current usage goes, there never were that many of them out there, and even fewer made it out of some sort of government custody. They - like the BAR - were a popular criminal weapon when one could be gotten, but if they hadn't been full-auto, they would have been pretty poor "working" guns.

Mr. niteowl77

[Tommygun99]

Read my tag line....

I’m here. No, wait, I’ve gone. I don’t know...

[Laser_Ray]

They are bulky and weigh a crapton. A pistol-caliber “thug hose” like an Uzi is far more concealable and will send everyone around you (cops included) diving for cover just as well as the knock-you-off-your-feet slugs of the Thompson will.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I lifted one years at a gun show. Verry heavy and poorly balanced.
Next to it was another rifle based on a Mac10 frame with a 16 inch barrel and shoulder stock. Much better balanced!

[jmacusa]

Hey while we’re on a gun thread I'm having a bit of difficulty arguing with some air head liberal who says AR 15 should be banned and no one should be allowed to own one. I said to this person ‘’It's not a bill of needs, it's a bill of rights’’. And still they're yapping on saying I'm a right wing gun nut etc. Can anyone here maybe give me a few more thoughtful, intelligent spot on answers to shut this liberal whack job up? I'd be much obliged.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Back in the 1960s, there were some other brand Thompson style rifles on the market.
One advertised was the Apache. It sold well until the Feds found it would go full auto if you pushed the safety and pulled the trigger at the same time. One of these Apaches was used in an old POLICE STORY episode.

[freedomlover]

Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun

With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done

The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day

So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray

Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war

With their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore

For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees

They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese

Roland the Thompson gunner...

His comrades fought beside him - Van Owen and the rest

But of all the Thompson gunners, Roland was the best

So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead

That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head

Roland the headless Thompson gunner

Norway's bravest son

Time, time, time

For another peaceful war

But time stands still for Roland

'Til he evens up the score

They can still see his headless body stalking through the night

In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun

In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun

Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in

He found him in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin

Roland aimed his Thompson gun - he didn't say a word

But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg

Roland the headless Thompson gunner...

The eternal Thompson gunner

still wandering through the night

Now it's ten years later but he still keeps up the fight

In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley

Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it

[MileHi]

Years ago I met a guy at a range who was shooting a full auto Thompson. He let me fire a 30 round mag. WHAT A HOOT! Emptied it in three bursts due to muzzle climb.

[LouAvul]

Actually here in free America we can own full auto. But thanks to Reagan I can’t own a machine gun manufactured after 1985. That means if I wanted full auto Thompson I’m gonna pay about 25K. That for something that takes maybe $200 to make. I really want a full auto TG