By Graham Baates
YouTube personality, Graham Baates, gives us a video breakdown of the Chicago Typewriter also known as the Auto-Ordnance Thompson Sub-Machine Gun.
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Few firearms hold such an iconic place in history as the Thompson sub-machine gun. From gangsters to G-men, to images of World War II heroes storming beaches, the “Tommy” holds a special place in history.
Machined from steel, heavy, and perhaps a bit over-built in comparison to later designs like the Sten, the Thompson is a weight that many of us long to bear.
Prices for originals and Class III status puts these guns a bit out of reach for most. Auto-Ordnance has a solution available in the form of a semi-auto version. It fires from a closed bolt but otherwise is about as close to the real thing as most of us can ever get.
Auto-Ordnance Thompson Sub-Machine Gun
We took to the range with this beast and had a ton of fun with it. Ribbed barrel, walnut stock, and more than 12 pounds of steel and walnut authenticity.
Auto-Ordnance makes several variants of Thompsons to fulfill most any history buff’s dreams. With our “Chicago Typewriter” we had zero issues even when using loads lighter than the recommended 230gr ball ammunition.
As you can see in the video above it is highly doubtful that gangsters of the roaring twenties hung off the side of speeding cars and sprayed from their Thompsons with one arm. Regardless it was still fun to experience wielding such a historic design. Perhaps what impressed us the most was how comfortable it was to shoot and incredibly accurate for plinking purposes. While I can’t imagine someone trying to use one of these in a modern pistol-caliber carbine match, I can certainly understand wanting to own and shoot one. I’m grateful Auto Ordinance has made the effort to reproduce the Thompson with the love and care that they have.
About Graham Baates
“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time in the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel on the side. Visit Graham on Youtube .