OMC - Back Up - in .380 ACP need advice please

[JJEH]

Today I tripped over a OMC - Back Up - pistol in .380 ACP. Now I was looking online to find out more and according to Wikipedia AMT bought the molds and by today it's being marked by High Standard.

My question is if they are rare and have any value since it's OMC and not AMT. Or is it just another pistol I can use for around the house....?!

I appreciate your input!

 

[ColbyBruce]

You asked for advice

My advice is to steer clear of the gun, regardless of who made it. The products were never of high quality, known for reliability, or considered collectible.

 

[jaykellogg]

Opinions are like bellybuttons, and mine is this gun is a low power rather heavy backup gun. There is one on Gunbroker looking for a $200 bid. Maybe someday it'll be a collector, but that is a ways down the road

 

[JJEH]

Well, not what I expected honestly. But as always, I do appreciate your help

 

[mkk41]

The earliest ones were marked OMC for Ordnance Manufacturing Corporation. They were designed by Harry Sanford , the designer of the original Auto-Mag. The early guns were very good guns. I carried one for almost 30yrs. After a few spots that were sand-blasted a bit too rough were smoothed out , the were very reliable guns. Mine is as reliable as a Craftsman hammer. Quality slipped with each later company .

Only reason I still don't carry it is bacause I bought a Kel Tec .380. Just as small , 1/2 the weight.

 

[WC145]

Today I tripped over a OMC - Back Up - pistol in .380 ACP. Now I was looking online to find out more and according to Wikipedia AMT bought the molds and by today it's being marked by High Standard.

My question is if they are rare and have any value since it's OMC and not AMT. Or is it just another pistol I can use for around the house....?!

I appreciate your input!

When you tripped over it you should have kicked it out of the way so it doesn't happen again. I had one of those almost 30 years ago and my take on it was that it was very rough overall, functional but heavy, gritty trigger, not particularly accurate. They have no collector value and little value as a shooter unless you want a noise maker you can throw in a tackle box and not worry about. I would not trust one for carry or home defense.

Also, the guns being produced by High Standard are copies of a later DAO Backup that was made by AMT, it has nothing in common with the OMC version you're looking at.

 

[Cyrano]

I had an AMT backup and finally got rid of it. It did have some reliability problems, and the safety is hard to reach, but what did the pistol in for me was the recoil. 380 recoil isn't very much in that heavy a gun, but the thing has a large grip safety so the recoil is transmitted by two narrow strips of metal on either side of the grip safety. It hurts if you practice much with it.
.

 

[Fishinfool]

Had one back when they were the new, "hot thing". Mine went down the road as it was never really reliable, even with ball ammo. My PPK/s was a much better second carry gun at the time. The early stainless steel OMc / AMT guns had some problems with metal galling, though I never noticed it on mine.

Larry

 

[safearm]

I had an early AMT in .380. It functioned OK, but was rather heavy for it's size. Later I had a AMT Back-Up in .38 Super, the real Pocket Rocket. Although still heavy, it was the larger size frame and actually was not bad to shoot. I sold it for a handy profit to a dealer who wanted it more than I did. I too carry a Kel-Tec P3AT now due to its size and weight.

 

[NFrameFred]

Had one >briefly< several years ago and found it to be a dog. Didn't function well, rough, and was a pain in the keester to break down and clean. Best thing I can say about it is it was better than the 45 caliber version I shot (belonged to someone else) that was made for a short time . . . .

 

[pharmer]

Had one a long time ago. Traded it, an Iver Johnson tp-22 and a Beretta .25 for a Sig 228. Still have the Sig. If I still had them I certainly would think a buy back for $200 per would be the best outcome for those 3. Joe

 

[H Richard]

A friend of mine had an AMT back up many years ago, and about everyone in the club tried it and we determined the trigger pull was something over 20 lbs. The short grip and the way too heavy trigger made it impossible to hit anything reliably with.

 

[mkk41]

A friend of mine had an AMT back up many years ago, and about everyone in the club tried it and we determined the trigger pull was something over 20 lbs. The short grip and the way too heavy trigger made it impossible to hit anything reliably with.

You must be talking about the later DAO version. Yes , that was a real turkey.

The original single action version has features from the 1903 Colt and Baby Browning.

An excellent design , cheaply executed.

All parts were investment cast and matte glass beaded. Too rough apparently. A gunsmith knowledgable in these guns can slick them up real nice. Mine in totally reliable and has dispatched charging dogs on 2 occasions.

 

[pawncop]

Another vote for don't do it. I am sorta hard headed, so I had two (2) at different times, both were not reliable, with fail to feed issues depsite the ammo.

Looked cool but I needed a backup gun.

 

[JJEH]

Thanks fellas, I appreciate all of you.

 

[Old Corp]

I was a young guy working at a LGS when the AMT's appeared in the early 70's. I recall selling, and seeing many come back with problems. FTF's were common, as were very light primer strikes. Recall disassembling one to try and diagnose the light-strike problem and encountered a striker spring that looked as if it would be at home inside a Bic pen.

 

[mkk41]

I was a young guy working at a LGS when the AMT's appeared in the early 70's. I recall selling, and seeing many come back with problems. FTF's were common, as were very light primer strikes. Recall disassembling one to try and diagnose the light-strike problem and encountered a striker spring that looked as if it would be at home inside a Bic pen.

They are not striker fired. They have an enclosed hammer.

BACKUP SINGLE ACTION Accessories | Numrich Gun Parts

You are probably thinking of the firing pin rebound spring.

 

[Cyrano]

I was a young guy working at a LGS when the AMT's appeared in the early 70's. I recall selling, and seeing many come back with problems. FTF's were common, as were very light primer strikes. Recall disassembling one to try and diagnose the light-strike problem and encountered a striker spring that looked as if it would be at home inside a Bic pen.

I had one of those guns. Sent it back to AMT and it came back with a much stronger spring, and trigger pull. No FTFs though.

 

[Ballenxj]

The earliest ones were marked OMC for Ordnance Manufacturing Corporation. They were designed by Harry Sanford , the designer of the original Auto-Mag. The early guns were very good guns. I carried one for almost 30yrs. After a few spots that were sand-blasted a bit too rough were smoothed out , the were very reliable guns. Mine is as reliable as a Craftsman hammer. Quality slipped with each later company.

So I take it you're saying the OMC versions were the better ones?
Thanks for the info.
I have been researching these, and a lot of people on different forums are calling them junk, or paperweights.

 

[ditrina]

Die Zombie DIE!!!