Thompson Omega 50 Cal. Needs some work
 

I found a 50 Cal Thompson Omega - Trigger is broke, inside of the barrel quite rusty, stock in excellent shape, ram rod good, Outside of the barrel okay.

Guy wants to sell it. What should I offer if anything.

JW

walk away and spend your money else where.

First off, are you sure the trigger is broken or is it just gummed up. Since the guy obviously was lacking in his cleaning and care for the rifle then it could be the old Triple 7 effect on the trigger grouping. Clean the barrel with a good cleaner then hit it 50 or 100 strokes with some JB and check for pitting. It could just be surface rust inside the barrel. Clean it all up and then check it out. Could be a diamond in the rough or it could be just plain old rough.

Hard to say if you might be able to save it to be a workable gun or not. I would just assume it as a parts rifle, and anything beyond that is a bonus. That said, you ain't got much for parts (for sure) other than the stock. I wouldn't offer much, especially if its the tupperware stock.

Offer some $ for the stock value alone. Then, if it turns out the rest is salvageable, you are ahead of the game. If it is the plastic stock, my guess is only about $50. Explain that it is not a low ball offer, just that you don't want to take a chance that the gun not useable.

It's really difficult to pin a value on something like that without holding it in your hands. Omega actions are quite simple so taking care of a broken trigger shouldn't be too big of a deal. But a rusty bore is a rusty bore. For me, that puts the gun at about 20% of it's original selling price, even less with the broken trigger.

But it sure would be interesting to pick it up for a song and have it re-bored to .54 or .58 caliber with deep rifling and a slow twist for round balls.

I would offer $30 if plastic stock, or $60 if laminate. Tell the owner the rest of the rifle is useless in it's present condition, with trigger broke and bore rusted. Former owner doesn't need to know of your own gunsmithing qualities / abilities. I would keep quiet about that part of the equation.

Had the same idea sir, I got a rusted .451cal barrel from a friend and sent it to another friend -now a .54cal with 1:56 twist. I understand it has the Henry-type of rifling - rounded edges and not square as traditional. Been staring at the barrel for 2 years now, maybe you should come visit me, inspire me to build a inline with a scope :wink::wink:

I just went to TC's site and "replacement Omega barrels" showed no results. Perhaps the Omega barrel is similar to the Pro Hunter or other in-lines?????
What I would do is pass on this potential headache and get an Impact. The money spent fixing a questionable gun may cost what the Impact costs, new. And no headaches. Good luck, whatever you decide.

How bad do you need the gun and are you willing to work on the headache? The stock is worth something. If the barrel is rusted and the trigger is junk the person knows that the rifle is nothing more then parts. Offer him $50.00 and when he turns you down, jump to $75. If he still refuses tell him good luck with his project. You might mention to him the Omega is no longer in production.

Face it the barrel while rusted probably can be saved. How well it will work is the question. But its going to take work. The trigger I have no idea. Maybe a simple cleaning or maybe you need a whole new assembly. Then you have a working rifle with a rusted barrel. So you're taking a chance with the rifle. How bad you want it and what are you willing to do with it is the question. I have always liked the Omega. I personally liked that Omega X7 I think it was called.