Stemple 76/45 + Russian Lend-Lease Thompson Kit = STG-M1A

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The modularity and clever design of the Stemple Takedown Gun is perhaps best illustrated by the STG-M1A and STG-1928 (these are the same gun with either a horizontal or vertical front grip). In the early 2000s a bunch of Thompson parts kits came into the US, WW2 vintage lend-lease guns sent to Russia. They were M1 and M1A1 models, and had intact barrels but torch-cut receivers. BRP, who makes the Stemple, realized that the sear-to-magwell dimensions on the Thompson were almost identical to the Suomi and Stemple - and that he could make a version of the STG that was a nearly perfect clone of the M1 Thompson.
The registered Stemple receiver slides into a square Thompson lookalike housing, and original Thompson grips, stocks, and hand guards are used. It is chambered for .45ACP, using original Thompson stick magazines (naturally). The result isn a submachine gun that almost perfectly duplicates the handling of a true Thompson, without the historical value that makes the Thompson so expensive and keeps many owners from wanting to actually take their Thompsons out to the range.
Note that the example in this video is an early example, and models made today are able to take both stick and drum magazines. Also, due to the deign of the disconnector in the original Thompson FCG, the semiauto setting is not functional in the Stemple version - it's only full automatic.
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[@akyloren10050]

Next week: “What we have here may look like a MP5, but this is actually a Stemple takedown gun”

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Next up: the MG-34/42 disguise conversion kits. But wait, it’s also a Maxim! I think it’s already a Sten as well.

[@TheRogueWolf]

"This may look like a Russian T-72 tank...."

[@JanTuts]

It's Stemples all the way down!

[@arthurmaxson2863]

"this may look like a german Flak 88 but if you open it, its actually a mauser 98 but if you look more closely you can see that its actually a nagant revolver"

[@herosstratos]

There are Stemple Guns with G3 trigger-group and G3 stock ...

[@gregoryfilin8040]

The cycle of this gun: Thompson gets designed, Lahti gets inspired and makes the Suomi borrowing elements from the Thompson. Stemple gets inspired and makes the STG based off the Suomi. Then Stemple goes and makes a Suomi fit inside a Thompson. The circle of life is a fascinating thing.

[@RvEijndhoven]

Two corrections: 1. Stemple made the Stemple 76/45 based off the Suomi. 2. BRP then made the Stemple Takedown Gun out of unused, but registered Stemple 76/45 receivers (and made those fit inside a Thompson).

[@AnimeSunglasses]

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNTS INGONYAMA BABGITHI BABAAAA!

[@jonathanhill6064]

I do love these winding threads of businessmen and craftsmen borrowing and stealing ideas. A lot of single-designer ideas considered genius of one man actually work out that way. The input of multiple experts creates a firearm that is almost always amazing and the drama behind the scenes makes it even more so.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@jonathanhill6064 Well said!

[@achmeingott8855]

And then a Suomi enthusiast with some gun designs under his belt gets a hold of one

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Sort of fitting the receiver is a Russian nesting doll.

[@maxkronader5225]

Well played, sir.

[@Bansheeman6100]

Touche

[@CowboybubPercussion]

Haha, good one

[@zombieranger3410]

Next episode: “This may look like a dual refrigerator/freezer but this actually a Stemple gun”

[@enricopaolocoronado2511]

At this point, the Stemple is pretty much the master of disguise when it comes to making SMGs and/or PCCs.

[@maverickpaladin4155]

Lol...the Zartan of the firearms world.

[@kentr2424]

The guys at BRP are friggin' geniuses!!!!

[@benjaminbellamy7207]

What would they do with MP-5 parts kits?

[@chrisc2920]

@@benjaminbellamy7207 bad bad things

[@AdamBorseti]

I love that Stemple basically just makes reliable smgs and custom "skins" for them.

[@BunkerFox]

Next episode: "This may look like a Thornycroft Bullpup, but it is actually a Stemple takedown gun"

[@johnnyappleseed6415]

The phrase, "Relatively inexpensive machinegun" is uttered by no body. The more appropriate phrasing: The machinegun that doesn't financially cripple you as much as a Type 56 bring-back machinegun... :))

[@aborted4196]

Please Johnny we know you don't have enough money to buy one of these all you have are apple seeds

[@jubuttib]

Hmm yes. I had expected the Stemple based guns to be more affordable than they actually are, but I see that the BRP ones still cost like 14 grand. :D

[@Verdha603]

@@jubuttib I mean, it’s affordable when you consider that’s about 2/3rds the price of the cheapest Pre-86 Thompson’s sold on the open market.

[@killertruth186]

@@Verdha603 And the government wanted you to pay $500 for it and extra $250 for the full auto license...

[@barneymiller7894]

Well, no one buying one legally atleast 😂

[@Arthurzeiro]

4:37 this looks like a Scooby-Doo vilain reveal: - It was a Stemple 76/45 all along! - And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling Ian!

[@ramonandrajo6348]

LOL

[@beast0339]

I love the "Not A Thompson" nickname of this thing XD

[@jimmykool3253]

The Stemple won’t be inexpensive after Ian is done with them

[@sipofsunscorchedsarsaparil6052]

They cost like $14k so yeah.

[@charlessalmond7076]

Still cheaper than a Thompson, but yes, with popularity comes a higher price.

[@matthayward7889]

Man, the stemple just gets cleverer and cleverer

[@charleykeenan6171]

Impressive that this company has made some very interesting historically significant weapons available to a whole group of people who previously had not been able to afford them... Thanks for the walk through on this amazing design!

[@LeminskiTankscor]

I'm now waiting for the STGEN gun, STG40, PPSHTG and STG08/15. And the Frommer STGop for some reason

[@RNKel1]

And an STG 08/18

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

@@RNKel1 Oh I'd like an stg 08/18 with a nifty snail drum stick mag. Talk about silly fun guns.

[@schiltronmunitions3820]

Dude was an absolute genius back in the day, registering as many tubes as he could could possibly crank out before the deadline! I'd say that paid off!

[@Masada1911]

The name of this sounds like some fun hybrid between the STG-44 and the Thompson

[@AsbestosMuffins]

Next Week... "And this looks like an M1 Bazooka but actually there's a Stemple in there!"

[@Name-ps9fx]

That would be very much like a "hot dog in a hallway"!!

[@JanTuts]

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before we see a Stemple Lee Enfield.

[@JohnSmith-yv6eq]

Stemple-Charlton?

[@RichieRichOverdrive]

Stemchat?

[@chrisc2920]

Stem-74U

[@TheWolfsnack]

No Ian, the 10/50 drum is not a "truly" sad state of affairs.....that honour goes to the Canadian 5/50 drums.....

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Shut up and appreciate your single load LMGs!

[@azovac]

curious european here, hypothetically the pin could be removed from the 5 round drum right? Im assuming that the spring has not been changed to accomodate less rounds.

[@petesheppard1709]

@@azovac The magazines have to be altered to make it impossible to load more than the legally specified number of cartridges.

[@mikenorthrop5815]

Or the good old 5/75 drums with the t81 lmgs

[@mikenorthrop5815]

@@azovac hypothetically yes its totally possible to remove the pin (in minecraft of course) and have a standard/high capacity mag again. I as a Canadian would definitely never recommend this cause I'm sure the feds will find out somehow and come kick in your door, flashbang your family and shoot the dog over the spooky metal box with a spring in it

[@alimanski7941]

*pulls mask off* "Ah! It was old Mr. Stemple all along!"

[@nigelosborne7471]

If it hadn't been for that medaling ATF he wouldn't have got away with it.

[@kj3n569]

It needs a "Not a Cutts" compensator...

[@dbmail545]

Stemple M28 has the comp and it looks kinda dumb without the top charging handle.

[@vaclav_fejt]

@@dbmail545 Just like every airsoft "M1928" that's out there.

[@maxfaxdude]

The Stemple SMG appears to have almost as many configurations as Ian has hats.

[@vernonhess3842]

Somebody was really smart to get all those receivers properly registered before 1986.

[@jonathanbohm6489]

The Stemple is the Margarine of the gun industry

[@jonathanbohm6489]

I Can’t believe it’s not Thompson!

[@JohnSmith-yv6eq]

Margarine legs...easily spread?

[@lairdcummings9092]

Genius modification, chameleon receiver!

[@jwv5540]

Whoever is making these guns is making smart moves it's pretty badass how they're making old guns that are hard to find. Straight bad ass

[@bad74maverick1]

Well it started with John Stemple. He lived about 2 miles from me in Obetz. He used to come down to the gun shop and pick stuff up. He made the tubes all the way to the 86' deadline ban. Then he got into a protracted legal battle with the government. Basically they didn't like the fact he had almost 2,000 legally registered machine guns. It was a battle the government was going to lose but hoped to bankrupt him. Then John ended up in a partnership with Brian at BRP. He sold the remainder of the tubes to him and the court case was settled, John had the right to keep the receivers. John stayed in the partnership with Brian (if I remember correctly) until he died in 2007. There are only about 1,000 or so left of the tubes that can be built unless the Hughes Amendment is repealed and the registry can reopen. I met Brian a couple years ago, really cool guy. He walked me through my semi auto MG 42 build and a Semi Auto Suomi build I have yet to finish. Very knowledgeable. He's the one doing them now.

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

@@bad74maverick1 Very cool. Good luck to you on your build projects. Would be good to hear how those end up later on.

[@bad74maverick1]

@@CtrlAltRetreat Thanks. The MG42 is the hardest of the kits to build, what a pain in the ass!!!! I'm stuck on the Suomi right now, front trunion welding, not sure how to jig it up. My next will be my UZI kit and then my mg 34 kit. I have pictures of the build, maybe I'll make a collage and post a youtube video.

[@CtrlAltRetreat]

@@bad74maverick1 That sounds great. Again good luck to you. Every one of these that receives a new life is a little historical respawn of happiness.

[@SnoopReddogg]

"STEMPLE... More than meets the eye"

[@ParrotTactical]

What a great idea. Half the fun is having friends shoot guns they recognize and can brag about having shot later. Would LOVE to own one of these.

[@mohamedishan2108]

I hope this becomes a series "Stample and their cosplay guns".

[@wormyboot]

I hope one day to live in a world where Ian has more Stemple videos than Enfield ones.

[@jubuttib]

"I bet you thought this was a Thompson. Nope, Chuck Stemple."

[@geodkyt]

The Thompson adoptions are my second favorite Steeple configuration

[@geodkyt]

@@crispindry2815 Why am I picturing a "Scarface" type scene? LOL

[@simonrook5743]

So I guess you could buy a few conversion kits and build your stemple up for whatever you want to shoot that weekend!

[@MrGrimsmith]

That's rather where my thinking has been going. One licenced receiver, many barrels and sets of furniture. This particular one would be an issue owing to the modification to the front trunnion but the 9mm variants? No worries.

[@MrGrimsmith]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Fair enough, I wasn't sure how it would play with that version as it has additional pins to hold the front trunnion in place.

[@tokenbastard4586]

This fairly consistent stream of Stemple Takedown Gun vids is making me very upset that I'm somewhat fiscally responsible and have a wedding coming up, or I'd get one of these damn things...

[@duanequam7709]

I ENJOY anything you present. Thank for your dedication!!

[@Lucidius134]

it's absolutely hilarious how much stemple content is coming out now ian is geekin tf out, it's good

[@judahjohnston9954]

I know that's not how it is mechanically/physically but my brain just imagines stemple as a ditto and able to change it's form to whatever weapon (pokemon) also gotta catch them all!

[@slick_slicers]

You’ve got to admire the imagination of these people!

[@waltermacpherson3648]

This is the first that I have heard of these! Excellent video as usual!👍😎

[@colejohansen511]

It would be sick to see how this fires in a video compared to an actual thompson

[@evhensamchuk1676]

Next episode be like: Today we have a Stechkin pistol, but it is actually not a Stechkin pistol.

[@knowshet313]

Thank you for bringing this wonderful machine to our attention.

[@kevinbush5632]

I agree, this is a wonderful and well thought out compromise.

[@egg5474]

FG42 is starting to get jealous of these Stemple’s

[@notgraham.7215]

It better keep that I'm check before it becomes the stFG42

[@JRockySchmidt]

8:22 "Fun and cool." Had to check a few times because Gun Jesus usually apologizes when he swears. Great video! I learn more with every post!

[@taitonaito]

"definitely not a Thompson" is an overstatement.

[@Deamon93IT]

"This is not a Thompson" is the new "this is not a pipe". Amazing how a simple tube can find itself in so different forms, the idea is truly ingenius! Granted it may not be an actual Thompson but then again you pay less than an original and you can be a bit more casual, as outside of the tube everything is replaceable

[@bensmith4563]

Tube is replaceable with the right tools and major stones

[@frankbrowning328]

What a great idea! Another great explanation and story.

[@thatstahlhelmwehrmachtguy9605]

I love how 1 gun can turn into a different gun

[@chocolatemonk]

great vid!! Happy to meet you in Prescott

[@tocsa120ls]

Next video will be Ian smirking and holding an MP5, then pulling two pins and a Stemple tube falls out.

[@masterofdesaster8]

You may think this is a vss vintorez, but...

[@comiketiger]

Fascinating video. Thanks Ian! God bless all here.

[@Ihasanart]

"This week on forgotten weapons we're looking at a ZSU-23-4 Shilka, but actually its just a Stemple on the inside..."

[@ekim000]

These BRP guys are are really smart and innovative.

[@jfsinc]

Awesome. Thank you Ian.

[@indianapolisjones9479]

Friday Stemple video must mean Saturday range Stemple video

[@ForgottenWeapons]

;)

[@michaeldillon3022]

That is some badassery there!!!

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Ingenious adaptation!

[@trenvan5546]

stemple is the gift that keeps on giving!

[@camryhunt8673]

I can’t wait to see a stemple Lee-Enfield.

[@ScottCroom]

Really looking forward to the episode where they introduce an Oerlikon L85 and it's actually a Stemple.

[@paulosborne6517]

Still think that Stemple 76/45 with the HK furniture, drum mag and bipod is one of the sexiest custom builds ever. It is just so right.

[@jeffpotter6392]

A gem

[@ricojes]

"Inside this gun is a Stemple, inside this tank is a Bob Semple"

[@ssnydess6787]

Funny, I used to own one of the kits from Russia, it was a 1928 and even had the front 1/3 of the receiver attached. I investigated a partial receiver, but never completed it but ended up selling it back to an arms company. The story I got was that these were shipped with Sherman tanks that went Lend Lease to Russia...

[@jamesquigley8628]

Truly enjoyed this. Thanks and Be well.

[@tballstaedt7807]

I remember when all those Russian Thompson kits became available. I believe that they were part of a Lee tank packages sent to Russia during WW2 the Russians didn't have or use 45 auto ammo so they shelved them. As I recall they were premium kits.

[@thomasb1521]

Bloody brilliant idea

[@pop1626]

That is one gorgeous gun.....

[@proZach380]

I've had my eye on one of these for a few years now, back when they were only a hair over $10K...now close to $14K, and probably go higher after this video...thanks a lot, Ian!

[@matthewfilter7586]

I love this series.

[@asmo1313]

"the semiauto function is not functional on these" LOL,never thought I would hear that one, as this is usually the case with the full auto function

[@smartacus88]

It's really funny, about a month ago the Stemple crossed my mind (i remembered seeing advertising for it in The Shotgun News many years ago) and i began researching it. No time after that Ian started his video series on it. Weird.

[@madscottwallace7195]

The " not a thompson" made me laugh every time you said it. Hilarious dude.

[@glockparaastra]

Waiting for the Range video!

[@KoiosDusklight]

Man, I can't wait for the Stemple version of the Maxim PomPom.

[@gamer85p]

This would be great for reenactment!

[@mikesleftarm84]

Next video: the BRP Stemple Sten gun copy, the Sten-ple.

[@shagakhan9442]

Great video!

[@DtWolfwood]

Huzzah. I've waited for this.

[@HamiltonSRink]

Yankee ingenuity!

[@BootedVulture]

Welcome to Forgotten Stemples

[@afnDavid]

Every time I hear the ATF acronym it makes me depressed.

[@hoth3875]

Drinking game idea: a shot every time Ian says “not a thompson”

[@silentwraithgaming8631]

wait, your not?

[@davidcolter]

Damn that's clever. What a great story!

[@cheffy101]

Nice! Welcome to New Hampshire!

[@mekaerwin7187]

Looking forward to the stemple M2 Browning

[@schrodingersgat4344]

Ian was a warrior, from the land of sand and sun. The Thompson gun he fired was made from several guns. The deal was done in Pheonix On a bright and sunny day. He headed down to Texas To have some subgun play. Ian the long haired "Thompson" Gunner

[@user-oh2kt8lf6g]

Top charging handle is still possible as the square dummy "receiver" may conceal a curved arm attached to the bolt through the side slot in the tube receiver. The arm "embraces" the tube on the right in a semi-circle and its handle sticks through the top slot in the square "receiver". However, such configuration would make assembly/disassembly quite sofisticated.

[@johnathansaegal3156]

I'll say this on every Stemple video... if only he had 50,000 of those tubes ready to register in '86... the market would be filled with affordable "replica' everything. That tube could fit a mock UXI, MP40, Sten Gun... pretty much any of the sub-guns made could be altered in a way to accept a Stemple receiver tube. It's great he had the foresight to register the shelves of tubes he had... just unfortunate he didn't have ten times or more tubes ready to register come the deadline.

[@joet.s.6283]

This is pretty darn cool

[@davidkenworthy2403]

WOW! Gr8 video!

[@vanidy0115]

"There is a Stemple Takedown Gun among us."

[@iJacker]

Do you ever take a vacation or do you love what you do so much it doesn’t matter? I ask because you post very often and have a gosh darn zillion videos!

[@tankytank06]

Wow, that's pretty cool

[@chrisgabbert658]

I tend to like old odd things and this is 👍 neat plus it would go with my surplus parts 1911 45.

[@Qairyl]

I bet you thought this was a Thompson. Nope! John Stemple!

[@jamessimpson5051]

Really wanted to see you fire it and compare it to the original Thompson.

[@daveyoder9231]

Cool! Thanks for this. I like this not-a-Thompson.

[@philbertdez3863]

It's pretty cool that a company managed to make a functional full auto "replica" of the Thompson for customers at a price point that doesn't seriously break the bank(it's merely dent's it). It's not cheap by any means at 14k nor easy to purchase thanks to the necessary red tape, but will encourage more people to get into the hobby.