Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe 1927A-1 45 ACP — Superb Engraved Carbine

Description

The Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe, catalog model 1927A-1, is the dress version of the semi-automatic Thompson, and this is a commemorative configuration of it. The metalwork is finished in sniper gray Cerakote rather than blue, the walnut stock and foregrip carry engraving, the receiver is marked, and it ships with both a 50-round drum and a 25-round stick magazine. Underneath, it is the Deluxe: finned barrel, Cutts compensator, vertical foregrip, 16.5 inches of barrel in 45 ACP.

What Makes It the Deluxe

The Deluxe is the configuration people picture when they picture a Thompson. The barrel is finned along its length for cooling, the muzzle carries a Cutts compensator, and the forend is a vertical grip rather than the horizontal type of the wartime M1. The stock is walnut. None of that is necessary and all of it is why the gun looks the way it does.

On the Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe those features come with the modern additions that make the gun practical: it is semi-automatic only, firing one round per trigger pull from a closed bolt, and it is a Title I firearm requiring nothing beyond an ordinary transfer. MAG5 Firearms does not sell NFA items, and nothing about this carbine is one.

Specifications

• Model: Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe, T1-14-50DC2
• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel: 16.5 in, finned
• Action: semi-automatic
• Finish: Cerakote, sniper gray
• Stock and foregrip: walnut, engraved
• Foregrip: vertical
• Muzzle: Cutts compensator
• Magazines supplied: one 50-round drum and one 25-round stick
• Sights: adjustable

A note on the drum magazine. Thompson drums are wound with a key before use and they are genuinely finicky about being loaded correctly — undo the winding after a session rather than leaving it under tension, and do not overwind. Loaded, the drum adds around four pounds to the carbine. It is magnificent and it is also the reason most owners keep a couple of sticks in the bag.

Why it is worth considering

• Deluxe configuration with finned barrel, Cutts compensator and vertical foregrip
• Sniper gray Cerakote, harder wearing and more corrosion resistant than bluing
• Engraved walnut stock and foregrip
• 50-round drum magazine included, plus a 25-round stick
• Semi-automatic and Title I, requiring no NFA paperwork
• Adjustable sights

Who it suits

The Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe in this configuration is a collector’s piece rather than a range gun, and the drum, the Cerakote and the engraving all point the same way. It suits somebody assembling a Thompson collection, somebody who wants the Deluxe pattern in a finish that is not the standard blue, and anyone buying a commemorative to keep. If you want a Thompson to shoot regularly, the plain Commando costs considerably less and does the same job.

Ammunition, Handling and Transfer

The Auto-Ordnance Thompson Deluxe runs standard 45 ACP, and 230 grain round nose full metal jacket is what the pattern was designed around. The original was built for ball ammunition and the feed geometry reflects that, so hollow points are worth testing before you rely on them and lead round nose is best avoided in a gun you would rather not scrub. With the drum fitted, keep an eye on how the rounds are seated before winding.

A Thompson shoots the way it does because of its mass: recoil from 45 ACP simply disappears into thirteen pounds of steel and walnut, and the sight picture barely moves between shots. It rewards a supported position and punishes trying to hold it offhand for long. Manufacturer information is published by Auto-Ordnance. Compare it with the plainer 1927A-1 Commando, browse our full Auto-Ordnance range, or the rifle catalog.

All firearm orders ship to a licensed FFL dealer for transfer, and MAG5 Firearms will coordinate the paperwork with the dealer of your choice.