AMT semi autos, I like them!
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Neversink n Klapperthal
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saw a new 357 Auto Mag in about 1974 for sale. Think the price was around 400. I passed on it.....
I got one of those, but in .40. Lived pretty well in an ankle
holster. Shot ok, but tended to break firing pins. Wrote AMT
a nastygram the second time that happened, and they sent
a few.
Ive got its BIG grandaddy...A useless Beast...throwing expensive fire and brimstone at every pull of the trigger....but for some reason I can't get myself to part with it..
It has been as dependable as some good autoloaders I own, and better than many I no loner own.
Makes cracking big holes in things....
It has been as dependable as some good autoloaders I own, and better than many I no loner own.
Makes cracking big holes in things....
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Patrick L
Member
Buddy of mine had a Hardballer. Very unimpressed, reliability issues with ball FMJ!
Great concepts, just poor execution.
I find it interesting that in my early 90s Wilson brochure (back in the day you sent him YOUR gun to be worked over) it specifically lists AMT as a gun they would NOT work on.
Great concepts, just poor execution.
I find it interesting that in my early 90s Wilson brochure (back in the day you sent him YOUR gun to be worked over) it specifically lists AMT as a gun they would NOT work on.
gwpercle
Member
I still have my AMT Hardballer , no issues whatsoever .
The Colt Commander and Colt Gold Cup went away ... they had the issues .
The AMT Hardballer and two Mec-Gar magazines remind me of the Energizer Bunny...they just keep on keeping on .
Not all AMT's are bad...most people who complain about them ...have never actually owned one ... it's always a friend who has had the problems .
I've owned this Hardballer for 28 years now , so this is coming from a owner ... not a friend of a friend of an owner .
Gary
The Colt Commander and Colt Gold Cup went away ... they had the issues .
The AMT Hardballer and two Mec-Gar magazines remind me of the Energizer Bunny...they just keep on keeping on .
Not all AMT's are bad...most people who complain about them ...have never actually owned one ... it's always a friend who has had the problems .
I've owned this Hardballer for 28 years now , so this is coming from a owner ... not a friend of a friend of an owner .
Gary
Never owned an AMT pistol but had the Ruger 10-22 copy, Small Game Hunter. It was a great .22 rifle. Ruger sued AMT for patent infringement and started making the 10-22 in stainless like the AMT
target tech
Member
My only experience with anything AMT is an early childhood memory. My uncle Steve came back home to PA from CA for a couple weeks every summer, and he always brought a couple of guns with him if he drove. It was the summer of '79 or '80 when I shot my first .45 auto. I was 10 or 11 years old and stainless autos were something pretty new. He lived in Monrovia and Arcadia was just down the street. The Hardballer was a tricked out .45 for a early '80s factory gun. I don't recall if I even hit the target, but that was the coolest gun it the world to me at that moment.
MyDads38
Member
Had a Hardballer that would not run at all. Took it to a gunsmith and left it for a week. When I went back, he said "my best advice is to get rid of it!". He couldn't get it to run either and said it was junk. Traded it off asap. I've had several 1911s over the years and never anything with so many issues. Your money, but I wouldn't spend it on an AMT. :-(
4896worker
Member
Any idea what they did to you .380 backupI had a 380 Back Up that I kept for about 15 years.
Bought it new, and had an issue with like primer strikes. Sent it back, and never had a problem with it after that. Other than what felt like a 20 pound trigger pull. Mine didn't have a safety.
I moved to FL and my ex stayed in Ohio till our house there sold. Only brought 2 guns with me, the AMT and my Winchester 1200.
Took my carry permit class and had to use the AMT for the shooting part of the test. I passed so I guess it wasn't that bad.
Mine has the light primer strike problem
The_Truth
Member
I grew up shooting an AMT Backup .380. My Dad's gun that he's carried since the 80s. Absolutely can't stand that gun. Super finicky. Basically a coin flip as to whether or not it feeds the next round. Slide bite. Hard to break down. I wouldn't buy one for $50.
I have broken it all the way down before. Not the easiest of tasks.
Overall a giant PITA. Do not recommend. SO MANY other better options out there now there's no reason to settle for an AMT Backup .380 in the year 2020.
YMMV.
I have broken it all the way down before. Not the easiest of tasks.
Overall a giant PITA. Do not recommend. SO MANY other better options out there now there's no reason to settle for an AMT Backup .380 in the year 2020.
YMMV.
I have a .45 "backup" and a .44 Automag. The backup works fine, for what it is. the Automag is cranky, but I knew that about them before I got it, so I'm okay with that.
I was following the new production Automag for a while, but haven't looked into it for about a year- seemed a situation of always promised, never delivered.
I was following the new production Automag for a while, but haven't looked into it for about a year- seemed a situation of always promised, never delivered.
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I had two of the single action .380 Backups in the '80s. The key word there is "had" because I couldn't get any reliability out of either of them. It could have been the awful .380 cartridge or the guns. Probably some of both.
Now with the great subcompact 9mms on the market, there's no need for one.
Now with the great subcompact 9mms on the market, there's no need for one.
I bought a 380 AMT in the early 90's. It was not the cool little backup gun the ads in the gun magazines made it out to be. Mine bit the web of my hand, recoiled enough the wife wouldn't shoot it (well, just that one time) and I could only get two fingers wrapped around the frame.
I ran across a nickle Makarov and suddenly had myself a new 380. It would bite occasionally, but It was much easier to shoot. I don't recall the little AMT ever acting up though, it just wasn't a fun gun.
My cousin bought one in 22 mag, and the frame cracked within the first month. That was it for me & any AMT.
I ran across a nickle Makarov and suddenly had myself a new 380. It would bite occasionally, but It was much easier to shoot. I don't recall the little AMT ever acting up though, it just wasn't a fun gun.
My cousin bought one in 22 mag, and the frame cracked within the first month. That was it for me & any AMT.
gregintenn
Member
I had a 380 Backup years ago. It worked great. I liked it. I can't recall what went with it, but I do not think I have it anymore.
My last ex (yes, yes, more than 2, less than 4) had an AMT .380 when we met. I recollect that it was a mite heavy for its size and had a really difficult trigger. I stayed away from it. Her gun; her problem. She was a grown-up Texas lady so I never interfered in her business.
At one point, I did buy her a used, Wells Fargo turn-in, 4" Model 10 with a heavy barrel - she wanted a "trunk gun" in case she got car jacked/kidnapped. I was happy to let her have that for whatever purpose she wanted.
At one point, I did buy her a used, Wells Fargo turn-in, 4" Model 10 with a heavy barrel - she wanted a "trunk gun" in case she got car jacked/kidnapped. I was happy to let her have that for whatever purpose she wanted.
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JohnHL
Member
Ah, good old AMT.
Arcadia Machine and Tool.
Back in the 80s, I thought they were cool for producing an entire line of stainless guns when the major manufacturers were just beginning to dip their toes in the water.
I never owned one, but of course I have my own "I knew a guy" story, so here goes:
Around 1990 (IIRC) a local "catalog warehouse store" (remember those?) had mistakenly priced some Winchester 22 Magnum ammo at 22 LR price.
They fixed their mistake quickly, but not before a very close and long time friend and shooting buddy (now deceased) could pick up a few thousand rounds.
He had been burning through an inheritance at the time, and chose a new AMT Automag II to burn up his new found ammo fortune.
I was with him on its "maiden voyage" and on the very first mag, it spit about half of its firing pin back in to his face, just below his left eye.
Luckily he wasn't seriously injured, the dealer took back the AMT, refunded his money, and he sold the 22 Mag ammo to a mutual friend with a rifle.
After hearing more stories about sporadic AMT quality, I started to think there was something to them.
John
Arcadia Machine and Tool.
Back in the 80s, I thought they were cool for producing an entire line of stainless guns when the major manufacturers were just beginning to dip their toes in the water.
I never owned one, but of course I have my own "I knew a guy" story, so here goes:
Around 1990 (IIRC) a local "catalog warehouse store" (remember those?) had mistakenly priced some Winchester 22 Magnum ammo at 22 LR price.
They fixed their mistake quickly, but not before a very close and long time friend and shooting buddy (now deceased) could pick up a few thousand rounds.
He had been burning through an inheritance at the time, and chose a new AMT Automag II to burn up his new found ammo fortune.
I was with him on its "maiden voyage" and on the very first mag, it spit about half of its firing pin back in to his face, just below his left eye.
Luckily he wasn't seriously injured, the dealer took back the AMT, refunded his money, and he sold the 22 Mag ammo to a mutual friend with a rifle.
After hearing more stories about sporadic AMT quality, I started to think there was something to them.
John
When the first Hardballers first came out a buddy dragged me to a gun shop. The owner let us field strip the pistol. It had metal shavings in it from the manufacturer. Since then, I've seen other AMT products and the lack of quality never let me spend hard earned money on any of them. There is a reason they aren't still making handguns. It always interests me though when someone will come along and tout them these days. I suppose that most gun folks under the age of 50 don't know anything about them, so would be taken in by claims that the AMT's were ok.
Tex1001
Member
^^This. I still have 2 from the 80's, when they were all we had. They are reliable but I still cringe thinking about shooting them.
I went to Kel-Tek and never looked back.
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