AMT Backup .380

[gamedic]

A friend wants to sell an amt backup so he can buy a ruger lcp. he offered me the amt for $100. I have read all the reviews on other sites about how terrible the amt is. What do you guys think. the gun appears to be in good shape. He says it is real picky about the ammo it will shoot, but hasn,t had any other issues. Thanks

 

[JcMack]

The reviews you read are right on the mark.

 

[kobsw]

I can only tell you of my experience.

FTF, FTE, Light Primer Strikes(Failure to Fire) and ejections of Ball Ammo right out the ejection port skipping the chamber completely.

Looks like a nice gun but at least this one is NOT!

My .02

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
I have had two.
one in 1976
one in 1993
Used .380 FMJ ammo in both.
Had negative problems.
Jimmy

 

[ColbyBruce]

I have owned two of those...one worked like a charm and the other made a great paperweight. Same thing with the Hardballer and Skipper pistols I owned.

A few months ago I ran across this, a AMT Back-Up DAO .45 a.c.p. for $135.00. It was ammo sensitive, and had a weak recoil spring. My brother replaced the spring, carefully ran emery cloth over all the sharpe edges of the slide and rails, polished the feed ramp, and inside the slide where it rides over the hammer. This little pistol runs like a Singer sewing machine now.

 

[flop-shank]

ColbyBruce, FWIW I would run lighter bullets in that gun. With a very short barrel I would expect expansion issues with heavy bullets from a .45.

gamedic, I would just put the money towards a P3AT. If the gun doesn't run right Kel-tec will fix it under warranty. They did for me and mine runs like a champ now. If you're going to pack a heavier piece than a P3AT or LCP, you might as well move up to a more powerful caliber.

 

[mm6mm6]

I got one for a song and read the same stuff you've read. I sold it for barely over a song to a co-worker. We went to the range together and he laughed himself silly. He put a 50 round box of .380 ball ammo through the gun flawlessly. Rather accurate too. He loves it! This is a pic of the actual gun:

He's a happy guy. I'm sad. It sure is a neat looking little gun.

 

[imashooter2]

I have one. It is a reliable pistol with ball or ball profile HP. Blow back operation and skinny back strap make it not much fun to shoot. All steel and heavy for its size. Its not much fun to carry. Take down requires a hammer and pin punch. Its not much fun to maintain.

If I had it to do again knowing what I do now, I wouldn't buy it.

 

[Evil Dog]

Think I will stick to my Beretta.

 

[KyWstJoe]

Neighbor had one NIB 10-12 years and never fired it. We took it to the range and fut 50 down range with no issues. Got home and cleaning it noticed the backstrap had cracked all the way thru about 1" long. Junk!

 

[j2k22]

owned the original single action Backup 380 for about 20 years; always functioned correctly and was quite accurate inside 15 yards. It is heavy by today's standards, but is still as flat as a pistol can be.
Also have the DA .45, and while the trigger is long and heavy, it works as designed and I have not had any malfunctions. It too is rather heavy compared to the polymer framed Kahrs, and considerably less accurate, but inside 10 yards it will get the job done.
You need to have strong hands and a decent grip to operate these little beasts successfully. The quality varies from gun to gun. For the money involved, they are a good deal.

 

[mxbob]

Still have two in the family, both perform flawlessly. I only quit carrying mine when I found a reliable lighter weight gun. One has been fine from new, the other took some "breaking in" and is fine since. Cleaning and disassembly is a pain but worth it as no gun functions well full of pocket lint.
Bob Ray

 

[ColbyBruce]

Dana Safety Supply in Sugar Hill, GA (770) 381-8633 has one of the original AMT .380 Back-Up pistols for sale, if anyone is interested. I think it is priced at $175.00 but I may be wrong.

 

[rug357]

I had one back in the late 80's or early 90's and I liked mine.

Mine would run great with FMJ/ball ammo or Remington JHP ammo only.
All other ammo would have FTF issues. The recoil spring would have to be changed frequently as they went "soft" after a short time. Mag spring needed to be changed frequently too. I kept a handful of Wolff recoils and mag springs on hand at all times. If I started to have FTF or FTE problems I would change both recoil and mag spring and it would work okay.

It was small in size but was heavy. Also, I would carry it with empty chamber as the little safety could come off in the pocket. It was a nice back-up piece for the time.

AMT had very spotty QC issues with all their pistols... some work great while others were POS.

 

[gamedic]

The guy that has it for sale is a trusted friend, he says it is a little finicky with ammo but shoots well. The gun looks to be in great shape. I think I will buy it and give it a try. For a hundred dollars I think I would get my investment back if I don't like it. The weight doesn;t bother me. When I carry now it is a full size Sig 220.

 

[Palmetto Sharpshooter]

I bought one in the seventies. It was extremely inaccurate. I found out why when I found I could drop an entire .380 catridge down the barrel from the muzzle end. Like I said, junk.