Goin’ Shopping

In my quest to learn about the shooting aspects of World War II firearms, with one exception I have purchased representative samples of each basic type mentioned above. My Tommy Gun is the M1 version and my “grease gun” is the M3. The exception is Reising Gun but I have fired many rounds through a friend’s Model 50. It only functioned well with one of the several magazines he had for it.

Conversely, my M1 Thompson has never had a failure to function with any ammo but the M3 has failed to work well with some cast bullet handloads. I’ve found both SMGs easy to hit targets with out to 50 yards as long as bursts are kept short.

Twice as many 9mm rounds can be carried for the same weight of .45 Autos. Therefore, 9mm SMGs eventually ruled in military forces. Conversion kits were even made so “grease guns” could fire 9mm. But, even with only limited use, .45 Auto SMGs have their place in American military history.

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