First Look: Standard Manufacturing 1922 Tommy Gun

Love the look of the Thompson submachine gun but hate the cost of filling magazine after magazine with expensive .45-ACP rounds for modern semi-automatic clones? The new Standard Manufacturing 1922 Tommy Gun gives shooters the look and feel of the traditional Thompson while being chambered in the inexpensive and available .22 LR.

The Standard Manufacturing 1922 Tommy Gun shares many of the same aesthetic features as the original firearm, and includes a stock and ergonomic forward grip constructed from walnut. The rifle comes equipped with a 16.4-inch barrel and measures in at an overall length of 34.5 inches.

The receiver on the .22-LR Tommy Gun is made entirely from aircraft-grade aluminum and is machined from a single piece of billet. The receiver comes in at 50 percent the size of a traditional Thompson gun receiver, ensuring that users don't have to haul extra bulk to and from the shooting range.

The 1922 Tommy Gun weighs in at about 5.5 pounds and ships with a 10-round stick magazine. The company also offers a drum magazine machined entirely from aluminum for those looking to have a gun that replicates the look and feel of 1920s-era Thompsons used by gangsters and police during the Prohibition era.

The Standard Manufacturing 1922 Tommy Gun operates using a blowback semi-automatic action, and the company recommends that owners use only high-velocity .22-LR ammunition in the gun. Standard Manufacturing also warns that the break-in period for the gun is 100 rounds, so users may experience some malfunctions during this break-in time.

The suggested retail price for the Standard Manufacturing 1922 Tommy Gun chambered in .22 LR is $899. For those looking for other modern-day semi-automatic recreations of the iconic Thompson submachine gun, the Auto-Ordnance Corporation, owned by Kahr Firearms Group, offers dozens of Thompson rifles, pistols and SBRs chambered in .45 ACP, along with a newer offering chambered in the less-expensive 9 mm.