Description
The Thompson 1927A-1 Deluxe 45 ACP is Auto-Ordnance’s semi-automatic recreation of the most recognizable American firearm ever built, and this version is finished in gold with a tiger stripe pattern across the metalwork. It is a display piece and a shooter at the same time.
Everything that makes a Thompson a Thompson is here: the finned 16.5-inch barrel, the compensator at the muzzle, the American walnut buttstock and vertical foregrip, and the drum magazine hanging below the receiver.
Thompson 1927A-1 Deluxe 45 ACP Barrel and Action
The 16.5-inch barrel carries the distinctive cooling fins of the original and wears a compensator at the muzzle. Those fins were designed to shed heat during sustained fire, and on a semi-automatic they are pure heritage, but they are also the single most recognizable visual element of the gun.
The action is straight blowback, chambered in .45 ACP. Blowback in a gun this heavy produces almost no felt recoil, which is why Thompsons are so pleasant to shoot despite firing a large, slow bullet.
Finish, Stock and Magazines
The gold and tiger stripe treatment covers the receiver, barrel, compensator and drum. It is applied work rather than plating over a rough gun, and it looks considerably better in person than photographs suggest.
Stock, foregrip and pistol grip are American walnut, shaped to the original 1927 pattern. Two magazines ship with the carbine: a 20-round stick and a 50-round drum, and the receiver accepts both without modification.
Specifications
- Model: 1927A-1 Deluxe
- Manufacturer part number: T150DTGTS
- Caliber: .45 ACP
- Capacity: 20+1 stick magazine and 50+1 drum magazine, both included
- Barrel length: 16.5 in., finned with compensator
- Action: semi-automatic, straight blowback
- Finish: gold with tiger stripe pattern
- Stock, foregrip and grip: American walnut
- Hand: right
- UPC: 602686214230
A Semi-Automatic Built to the Original Pattern
Auto-Ordnance has held the Thompson name since the 1950s and builds these in Worcester, Massachusetts. The semi-automatic 1927A-1 uses a 16.5-inch barrel to stay out of NFA territory while keeping the profile and controls of the original as close as the law allows.
The result handles like the real thing. It is heavy, front-loaded and steady, and once you have shot one the reason soldiers and police liked them stops being an abstraction.
Shooting a Thompson
Weight is the defining characteristic. At well over ten pounds loaded with a drum, .45 ACP recoil essentially disappears, and the sight picture barely moves between shots. New shooters are routinely surprised by how gentle it is.
Standard 230 grain ball is what the gun was designed around and what it feeds most reliably. The drum takes some practice to load and index correctly, but stick magazines are straightforward and inexpensive.
Why Buyers Choose It
Very few firearms carry this much cultural weight. Between the 1920s, both World Wars and a century of film, the Thompson silhouette is recognizable to people who have never handled a gun in their lives.
The gold tiger stripe version takes that a step further and turns the carbine into a genuine display piece, while remaining a functioning firearm that can be taken to the range.
Care and Handling
A gold-finished firearm needs a little more attention than a blued one. Wipe fingerprints off after handling, since skin oils show more readily on a bright finish, and store it out of direct sunlight in a case or a cabinet.
Mechanically the Thompson 1927A-1 Deluxe 45 ACP cleans like any blowback carbine. The bolt and receiver come apart without tools, and the finned barrel is easier to wipe down than it looks.
Who Should Buy It
The Thompson 1927A-1 Deluxe 45 ACP suits the collector who wants a centerpiece for a display case, the military history enthusiast, and the shooter who has always wanted a Thompson and would rather have one that stands out.
Learn more from Auto-Ordnance, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
Every firearm we list ships to your chosen FFL and is transferred there after a background check.
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