August 5-6, 2011 marked the truly special occasion of the 20th annual All Thompson Show and Shoot, in association with The American Thompson Association (TATA), as hosted by the Tracie Hill family in Granville, Ohio. The 20th anniversary mark is an achievement that few events reach and is a testament to the passion of collecting, studying, researching and shooting the venerable and historic Thompson submachine gun (just for the sheer enjoyment of it) by the forever dedicated and faithful. Over 100 members and friends of TATA registered for the event traveling from such diverse compass points as Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah and Kentucky to attend the event to display, talk and shoot Thompsons.

On Friday the 5th, the show began at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center, hosted by world renowned collector and author Tracie Hill and his family, with over 50 tables of Thompsons and related equipment on display. With the doors opening at 10 a.m., Friday is devoted to a show and tell display of the registrant’s guns and accessories respectfully exhibited on display tables throughout the conference center. All makes and models of Thompsons were present as were a wide assortment of accessories, spare parts, stick and drum magazines, web gear, manuals and historical documents – many of which were for sale. The array of Thompsons and the devotion to the subject is exceptional from the earliest prototype models through the Colt production models, through the World War II production models through to the Numrich and West Hurley models.

At 1 p.m., approximately 60 attendees filed into the library to attend a presentation by Lt. Michael Kline of the Berrien County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department on the two Thompson guns used in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and how they were discovered and then forensically linked to the mass killings. Lt. Kline travels all over with these two historic Thompsons relating not the gory embellishment of the actual crime, but the then advanced and new technology of forensic science as applied to law enforcement to help solve crimes. While no one was ever arrested and convicted of perpetrating the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, there is no doubt that these two Thompsons were the guns used that infamous day and have been proven so by scientific forensic methodology.

The Shoot

Saturday the 6th was devoted to shooting Thompsons at a beautiful nearby range in Newark. The weather was hot and humid with temperatures and humidity both in the 90s; it was a beautiful summer day with no rain. There were two structured shooting competition events and then free range shooting time after that. Thompsons used in the competitions must be in original factory configuration.

The morning event had over 40 shooters registered and began at 7:30 a.m. Five shooters at a time would shoot with each shooter having a range officer supervising his or her actions.

• Stage 1. From a distance of 50 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 25 seconds to fire 20 rounds on one target using semiautomatic fire only.
• Stage 2. From a distance of 25 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 25 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 3. From a distance of 25 yards, shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 20 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 4. From a distance of 10 yards (30 feet), shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 15 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.
• Stage 5. From a distance of 7 yards (21 feet), shooters will load one magazine with 20 rounds and have a time limit of 4 seconds to fire 20 rounds on three targets using automatic burst fire.

Total rounds fired is 100 rounds. Less time is allotted to the shooter the closer they got to the target requiring speed as well as accuracy. Each target had to be engaged separately and sweeping the three targets in one long burst was not allowed.

Targets used were the standard OPOTA combat silhouette type. Hits inside and cutting the outer silhouette line counted as hits. The shooter with the most hits was the winner. Hits in the INZ (Instant Neutralization Zone – a T shaped area covering the brain and spinal column down to the middle of the chest) were recorded for use in the event of a tie.

Immediately following the first competition, the second competition took place consisting of metal “pepper-popper” knock-down targets. Over 30 shooters registered for this event. Two shooters would compete against each other in a two-out-of three engagement. A shooter had to knock down his six metal targets before the other shooter knocked down his six targets. The last, center targets, were set at a slight angle so that one would fall over the other in a closely contested event. After all the initial pairing of shooters took place, the winner of each heat then competed against the winner of another heat. New this year was a mandatory mag change during the final heats. This elimination process continued until there were only two shooters left to determine first and second place.

Free range shooting time was available on the main range during the metal target events located on a side range.

All shooting ended at 3 p.m. and everyone went back to their hotel to shower and freshen up for the buffet banquet dinner that was held back at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center at 5:30.

A delicious buffet dinner of tenderloin, chicken breasts and all the sides and trimmings were served along with a dessert selection that would please any palate. At each dinner place setting was a bronze and enameled medallion commemorating the special occasion and honoring the 20th anniversary of the All Thompson Show and Shoot. Every attendee received one as a gift. At the end of dinner, the winners of the day’s contests were announced. The morning shoot winners were: Paper target competition 1st place winner – James Gilronan with a 94 with 2nd place to Eric Wank with a 90. In the very closely contested and exciting steel knock-down competition, the 1st place winner was Tom Davis with 2nd place going to C.J. Roberts.

The camaraderie and gathering of like-minded people in a casual setting such as this two-day event is a testament to the diversity of interests that people are more than willing to share. This two-day event is actually a perfect microcosm of a perfect blending of subject, time and functions. The first day of show and tell is all about meeting up with friends and making new friends and sharing your interest and passion for the Thompson. Day two is the perfect culmination of actually shooting the Thompson in a competitive or non-competitive way to your heart’s content. How does it get any better?

The 21st annual All Thompson Show & Shoot will be held in August, 2012. Check the The American Thompson Association website for the dates and details.

The American Thompson Association
P.O. Box 8710
Newark, OH 43508-8710
Website: www.nfatoys.com/tsmg/tata

A Milestone for Thompson Collectors… Finally

Several months ago the NFATCA published a list of all of the things that we are working on with ATF on behalf of the industry and collectors nationwide. On that list was support that we were offering to the Thompson Collectors Association (TCA) in having the 1928 West Hurley Thompsons added to the C&R list of firearms, as determined by BATFE.

The work behind this initiative actually began in June of 2005 when the TCA requested that the Firearms Technology Branch consider adding “Model 1928 Thompson sub-machineguns (all calibers, including .45 and .22) manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s by the Auto Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York, to the C&R list. In January of 2006 the TCA received a letter from FTB acknowledging their request and informing them: “Upon reviewing the information you provided and conducting our own research into this matter in the context of Federal statutes and regulations, FTB has determined that any fully transferable Thompson submachine gun derives a substantial part of its monetary value due to its intimate association with the social and military history of the United States. Therefore the following submachine guns have been classified as C&R items: All fully transferable Thompson sub-machine guns registered on or before May 19, 1986.

Needless to say, this letter made everyone in the community happy until the following letter was received from FTB two months later in early March stating: “We have just discovered that this reply (referring to the January 2006 letter) was mailed erroneously, while your request was under review. Accordingly we regret to inform you that we must revoke the letter. We are continuing a review of your request and will send you the final FTB determination as soon as possible.”

This letter stunned everyone involved and sparked a lot of criticism from TCA and the industry as a whole. Everyone involved started to take a good hard look at what it would take to have a ruling in effect that would benefit the entire industry and ATF, yet cover the original issues with transferable Thompsons nationwide. The TCA spent many months and a ton of effort in an attempt to bring the issues to closure with little resolve. It was not until several combined energies came together between 2008 and 2010 to assist in bringing the West Hurley issues to conclusion that TCA gained significant traction on this issue. The efforts of John Spencer and Rick Vasquez at FTB, the push from the NFATCA through board member Robert Segel, and the final push from now Deputy Assistant Director Teresa Ficaretta made for the success that we have accomplished with accepting the Thompson rulings. After five years and undying efforts, the Thompson Collectors Association had finally gotten the written recognition that it had asked for, received, and then lost, but regained again in 2010.

On June 16, 2010, John Spencer, Branch Chief for the Firearms Technology Branch, wrote the final letter granting the West Hurley Thompsons C&R status. No small victory for both the TCA and the NFATCA in true partnership with ATF. Let it also be known that thanks to the efforts of Teresa Ficaretta we were able to get this issue finalized. She has shown beyond a doubt that true collaboration between the industry and ATF is a reality. We thank her for her gallant efforts on pushing this issue to closure.

This mission is complete and Thompson owners nationwide should be proud to know that West Hurley’s are now recognized as Curio and Relic NFA items. The NFATCA offers its congratulations to the TCA for their efforts in pushing this forward. As a member organization of the NFATCA this effort represented the first success in our organizations working together to accomplish a major initiative for the industry.

All NFA owners should recognize that this journey was a long one but definitely the result of ATF and the industry working together for success. So if you are still wondering what the NFATCA has done for you lately keep following our articles. Next month will yield yet another accomplishment in our quest for ATF industry success stories. Come join us today at www.nfatca.org.

By Robert G. Segel

The 14th annual All Thompson Show & Shoot, in association with the Thompson Collectors Association (TCA), was held on August 12-13, 2005 at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center in Newark, Ohio. Established in 1990, the All Thompson Show and Shoot is a gathering of interested people devoted to the collecting, shooting and history of the famous Thompson submachine gun.

Friday Thompson Show

Over one hundred people registered to attend the show and twenty-five people exhibited their Thompsons and accessories on fifty display tables. The two-day event was extremely well organized with TCA members and guests arriving on Thursday and setting up their tables for the show on Friday, which opened at noon. The sheer number of Thompsons in their various models and configurations, and the variety of accessories, would make any Thompson enthusiast wide-eyed in wonder.

At one p.m. on Friday, Michael Sigillito and David Albert conducted a multimedia lecture series in the conference room of the Thompson Collectors Conference Center based upon their new book Thompson Manuals, Catalogs and Other Paper Items. The ninety-minute presentation was attended by over thirty-five people and was split into two parts. Mike Sigillito began by discussing the “golden age” of the Thompson era and the differing early editions of the Auto-Ordnance Corporation manuals, catalogues and other related Thompson paper items, including French and Swedish language manuals for the Model of 1928. David Albert followed with his presentation of wartime and post-war manuals, catalogues and other related Thompson paper items focusing on Marine, Army and Navy technical manuals, field manuals, base generated training manuals, Ordnance Supply Catalog Standard Nomenclature List (SNL), and Depot Level manuals. Foreign manuals discussed included the British and Indian Small Arms Training Manuals (SAT) and Czech manuals in the Serbian language. Also discussed were the different newer West Hurley and Kahr Arms catalogs and manuals.

Following the presentation, the TCA held a general membership meeting for their members and a meeting of their board of directors. Additionally, a mandatory safety meeting was held for all who were going to shoot on Saturday. Failure to receive a safety meeting attendance sticker on your badge disqualified you from participating in any of the shooting activities whether organized or open range time. Attendees circulated among the many displays and socialized until about nine p.m.

Saturday Thompson Shoot

Saturday was set aside for the Thompson shooting match at a beautiful outdoor Newark firearms range. Only Thompsons could be used for the two matches but anything could be used on the open line. The morning paper shoot began at eight a.m. and ran until noon with ten groups of five shooters shooting five events. The five events of the paper shoot were:

1. 20 rounds, single shot, 50 yards, 30 seconds, single target.
2. 20 rounds, full auto, 25 yards, 25 seconds, three targets.
3. 20 rounds, full auto, 25 yards, 20 seconds, three targets.
4. 20 rounds, full auto, 10 yards, 15 seconds, three targets.
5. 20 rounds, full auto, 15 feet, 4 seconds, three targets.

Scores were calculated on the number of hits on the regulation man-target with notation of number of hits in the “INZ-zone” to ultimately determine tie breakers. The INZ-zone is the area of the target that encompasses the brain and spinal column.

The shoot was professionally conducted with a range officer assigned to each shooter on the firing line with strict adherence to range rules and commands. Safety was the number one priority and not a single violation occurred.

After a break for lunch, shooters had the option of participating in a pepper-popper shoot at a side range, or open time at the main range, or both if eliminated early from the pepper-popper challenge. The pepper-popper shoot was also well attended and consisted of two shooters competing against each other, each shooting at their own set of five steel reacting targets with a sixth and final steel reacting target. The two final sixth targets were set at an angle to each other so that as they fell, they would cross over each other so as to determine which target fell first and thus determine the winner in a tight race. Each shooter shot against another in a best of two-out-of-three heat. The loser was done and the winner went on to shoot against another winner until, finally, only one was left.

By three o’clock, everybody was pretty much done and tired and everyone went to their respective area hotel rooms to shower and clean up for the outdoor catered banquet back at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center later that evening.

The outdoor catered buffet banquet was attended by over eighty people and featured tenderloin medallions, baked chicken, baked potatoes with all the trimmings, vegetables, salad, and a wide assortment of delicious deserts. The winners of the day’s shooting events were announced and given awards for their achievement. The first place winner of the paper shoot was Jim Graham, scoring 97% out of the 100 rounds fired with 23 hits in the INZ-zone. The second place winner was Mike Wank, also scoring 97% with 9 hits in the INZ-zone. The winner of the pepper-popper event was Frank J. Cygler.

The All Thompson Show & Shoot is a well run, well operated organization of Thompson shooters, collectors and historians. All giving freely of information and exchanging of ideas and research. The attendees are a true cross section of Americana who have a common interest in Thompson submachine guns and a nicer group of people you could ever meet. Their meeting this year, in association with the new American Thompson Association, will mark the 15th annual All Thompson Show & Shoot and will again be held at the Thompson Collectors Conference Center in Newark, Ohio. This year’s event, scheduled for August 11-12, 2006, promises to be an exciting affair with many surprises as they celebrate their 15th anniversary of the show and shoot. Please contact The American Thompson Association if you require more information or are interested in attending the August event.

The TCA annual show and shoot is held each August in Ohio. It is a family oriented event that attracts members from all over the country. For members that live in the western part of the United States TCA member Don Hall puts on a similar “western” Thompson event each year in Chloride, Arizona- a quaint semi-ghost town.

To complete the research for my new book on the military Thompson Submachine Gun, I knew that I would have to attend the Thompson Collectors Association’s annual shoot and show. I had been a member of the association for several years, and always planned to attend one of the events, but time never allowed me to do so. This time it was different, I HAD to in order fully complete my research.

I made my motel reservations early in the year and marked my calendar. When August finally rolled around, I packed my toothbrush and Thompson and off I went destination Newark, Ohio. When I arrived in Newark I was pleasantly surprised, it was NOTHING like Newark, New Jersey. The area was very nice, it was a beautiful summer day and I was attending a machine gun event what could be better?

Tracie Hill, author of the book “Thompson; The American Legend, the First Submachine Gun” (a must read for the Thompson enthusiast) still heads up the Thompson Collectors Association. Tracie also has quite an impressive Thompson collection, which he regularly displays at major gun shows. Tracie and the TCA have done much to legitimize machine gun ownership through their work with the National Rifle Association, and with their historical world-class Thompson Submachine Gun exhibitions.

The TCA’s annual meet begins on a Friday and concludes Saturday evening. There is a safety meeting held on Friday night that you must attend in order to be eligible to participate in the shoot on Saturday. As it should be, safety is paramount at this event. The remainder of the first day was spent looking at all the impressive displays put on by the members, there were also many Thompson items offered for sale. The 2000 square foot display area featured 17 separate displays on 25 tables. Displayed were Thompsons, accessories and memorabilia.

On Saturday morning all of the members gathered at the Newark Police range for the shoot. Tracie has established a good rapport with the Newark Police Department, and the TCA members are the only civilians permitted to use the range. Newark officers even volunteer their time to run the range for the affair. For those members that want to participate, but don’t have guns, many members offer to “loan” their Thompsons to allow them to compete. There were a total of 56 shooters competing in the contests.

TCA range officer Sutton Coffman gave a briefing on the rules of the shoot, again insisting on complete adherence to the safety regulations. The first leg of the contest was timed semi-automatic fire at silhouette targets, this was followed by full-auto fire at varying distances. Everyone tallied their scores and moved on to the next event, the pepper popper shoot. In this contest two shooters compete head to head. Sutton gave a briefing on just what the object the event was, and how we were to proceed. In the pepper popper event there are five targets for each shooter to engage. Your weapon must be fired on full-automatic during the contest. Each individual target must go down before the next one is engaged. The first shooter to knock all his/her targets down in order wins, and he or she moves on to the next round until one by one all of until all of the shooters are eliminated except one. The targets are well balanced and require a good solid burst to knock them down. The competition is quite challenging and fast paced, each individual contest is usually over in just a few seconds.

I must interject at this point that I personally am not very fond of formal, regimented timed events with rules, although I am ALWAYS safety conscious. My idea of having a good time with a submachine gun is generally just going out into the woods with only one or two other shooters, setting up targets and blasting away. But, I must admit that I had a great time at the TCA pepper popper shoot, even though I didn’t win. I am looking forward to competing again at the next shoot.

Some informal shooting at the range followed the formal contests for the benefit of those who don’t normally get a chance to do much shooting. A few members are from states where machine gun ownership is restricted, and they don’t often get the chance to “play” with a Thompson.

After the shoot concluded everyone returned to their motel rooms to freshen up for the informal dinner. We all gathered at a local restaurant where Tracie had a private table reserved for us in the back room. After a good meal and talking Thompsons. Tracie gave out the awards for the winners of the shoot. The highest score of the silhouette competition was turned in by Phil Askew, followed by Sherman Kirkland. Winners of the steel pepper popper shoot were; first place Kevin Brubaker and runner up Lelan Whitmire. After the dinner everyone returned to the display area. At this point the ladies were afforded a “Ladies night out”. This was an opportunity for them to briefly escape from Thompsons, by attending a play in a downtown Newark theater. In the interim back at the show, a fund raising auction of Thompson memorabilia was held. After the auction the members elected a new board of directors. The election results were; Tracie Hill President, Tom Woods Vice President, L.J Warren Treasurer, Directors elected; B. Sutton Coffman, Chuck Klien, Lee Wolfe, Dave Dillon and Lyle Wescott. These aforementioned folks put forth a lot of effort in putting on not only the annual TCA event, but also with the Thompson displays they do throughout the country. They do a very professional job and do a lot of very positive things to enhance the public’s perception of the class III collector.

The 2000 TCA meet had 73 attendees which kept the event at a personal level, Tracie was the only person at the event that I previously knew, but by Saturday I had made a lot of new friends.

For more information about joining the Thompson Collectors Association write to;

B/H Distributing
P.O. Box 8710
Newark, Ohio 43055