Pawn shop find: AMT Hardballer **PROBLEM UPDATE**

[olivehead1]

Picked this up the other day for $475 OTD. I've seen these go in online auctions for around $500-525 on average, before shipping and transfer, although I'm sure I can get some comments along the line of, "I wouldn't pay more than 300 bucks, tops." Anyway, I'd say very good condition with some scratches and wear here and there, and the only dings being a couple on the serrated flat top running along the top of the slide (drawing a blank at the moment on what you call that). I was looking for something different and came upon this.

Any thoughts or info I should know would be greatly appreciated. In particular, does anyone know if these grips are factory? I've seen picks with black wrap arounds that were purportedly factory, but also read comments that some came with checkered grips. And any idea on date of manufacture? Serial number A06xxx

Thanks.

 

[diyj98]

All the ones I've seen had the rubber grips, but I've also read that some had wooden grips. I'm not sure what they look like though.

 

[k22fan]

Your Hardballer was a common 1911ish .45 at gun ranges during the later 1980s. At the time the owner of the name AMT also owned the name Automag and was making various sizes of recoil operated tilting barrel Automags chambered for .30 Carbine, 10 mm Magnum, .45 Winchester Magnum and other cartridges that I've forgotten. A couple of our members ream their N frame Model 610 10 mm chambers deeper for the 10 mm Magnum but otherwise it is pretty much forgotten. I shot a couple of other people's .45 Hardballers and remember them as being satisfactory. Compared to Colts your Hardballer was inexpensive. It does however have the Gold Cup's adjustable sight. I hope that memory helps a little.

The original late 1960s Automag was a large recoil operated magnum with a rotating bolt head. The first Hardballer was a smaller .45 ACP version of that pistol that retained the rotating bolt head. It was advertised for Bullsye matches. I never saw one used and doubt they ever made it into production.

 

[olivehead1]

Your Hardballer was a common 1911ish .45 at gun ranges during the later 1980s.

This reminds me of another question I meant to ask in my original post:

I've read comments here and there that not all parts in the AMT guns were "standard dimension" or "mil spec" parts (or similar descriptions). With my limited experience field stripping and handling this gun, it pretty much looks like a typical 1911-pattern pistol. Other than the trigger (wider than most 1911 triggers?), what parts are NOT interchangeable? Is it any less a "1911" than guns from SA, S&W, etc., that clearly deviate from the 1911 and 1911A1?

 

[ken158]

I bought a few of them when they were introduced in the late 70’s and I believe you have factory grips on your gun. They tended to gall when shooting and a good line was required to keep them going. Fixed and adjustable sight guns were available. I think right about $300 was dealer price. I bought one at a gun show last year for $350 and sold it for $500 before I could get out of the building.

 

[Bill 76]

Bill likes it!

 

[italiansport]

I have one of the AMTs is 30 cal carbine. On the few occasions, I've shot it the noise shuts down the whole range. And that along with a 1 foot flame out the barrel every time you touch it off makes an impressive sight!
The major issue with it is it's finicky about the ammo used and is not a reliable shooter.
Jim

 

[Breakaway500]

I bought this AMT Auotmag V recently and it’s been fun. It’s like a 1911 on steroids and is in 50AE. AMTs don’t seem to bring strong money but so far mine has been fine.

 

[texmex]

It is a pure 1911 and pretty much a stainless copy of the Gold Cup before Colt made stainless guns. The main problem with AMT was their quality control. If you bought 50 of them, 20 would be perfect, 15 would have problems but could be made to run while the other 15 would just be too far out of spec to be useful. Things like you could push the slide stop out no matter what position the slide was in. A long slide AMT I looked at sometimes had the hammer fall when you dropped the slide. If you held the trigger back, the hammer would stay back but if you didn't, the hammer would follow. Not good if you dropped the slide on a loaded magazine. A friend of mine worked on an AMT Government Model till he was blue in the face and never did get it to work reliably. He even tried swapping out parts with another AMT and still couldn't get it to work. He swore that if you took a grip screw off the one that didn't work and put it on the one that did, the good one would stop working. But if you got one of the good ones, they were very accurate. The stainless alloys they had back then were subject to galling in the rails but as long as you kept it well lubricated it would be fine. I hope you got a good one because if you did, it is a nice piece of stainless handgun history.

 

[olivehead1]

Things like you could push the slide stop out no matter what position the slide was in. A long slide AMT I looked at sometimes had the hammer fall when you dropped the slide. If you held the trigger back, the hammer would stay back but if you didn't, the hammer would follow.

Thanks for this list of additional function checks I can perform after cleaning tonight.

 

[colt_saa]

Picked this up the other day for $475 OTD. I've seen these go in online auctions for around $500-525 on average, before shipping and transfer, although I'm sure I can get some comments along the line of, "I wouldn't pay more than 300 bucks, tops." Anyway, I'd say very good condition with some scratches and wear here and there, and the only dings being a couple on the serrated flat top running along the top of the slide (drawing a blank at the moment on what you call that). I was looking for something different and came upon this.

Any thoughts or info I should know would be greatly appreciated. In particular, does anyone know if these grips are factory? I've seen picks with black wrap arounds that were purportedly factory, but also read comments that some came with checkered grips. And any idea on date of manufacture? Serial number A06xxx

Thanks.

I can not recall a set of factory grips that looked like that with the logo missing from them

My View? Great guns.

I still own three of them

Harry Sanford was not only one of the original collaborators that brought us the Auto Mag series of pistols. Yes, all of them. I am proud to have made his acquaintance

I have owed two AutoMags. One in 44AMP and the other in 357AMP. I also had an AutoMag IV chambered in 45 Winchester Magnum

Harry was a true innovator in the firearms industry.

Harry Sanford's company, AMT, produced the very first stainless steel auto loaders known to the world. It is true that some of the early guns had some galling issues, but that is just like Smith and Wesson had in the Model 66 the first few years.

Like any good company, AMT's metallurgy and manufacturing techniques (along with S&Ws) evolved as new things were learned over the decades.

The HardBaller is very attractive to many shooters with it's serrated flat top slide and the wide trigger that had only been in the Colt Gold Cup up until that time. I really like the wide triggers in 1911s.

The AMTs did not use the Gold Cups Eliason sight, many of them had a copy of the ACCRO sight that was commonly found on many Colt revolvers of the era, that is the sight that is on yours

The AMT HardBaller and Javelina(10MM) Long Slides were another first in the industry.

The 7" Long Slides maintained the serrated top strap and the wide trigger but use a rear sight that was more reminiscent of the Millet design

Back then the only way to get a Long Slide 1911 was have someone like Clark cut up two slides and weld them together.

AMT also produced a Commander sized HardBaller called the Skipper. This was great because Colt had not yet introduced the Gold Cup Commanders and being of stainless construction it was popular amonge many boaters

The amount of problematic AMTs is way overblown. Who knows why. Many of the AMTs were used in competition throughout the decades.

I only had three failures with any of my AMTs (HardBallers or AutoMags). On one a sight pin sheared and I replaced it with drill rod. The second failure was actually a magazine plate whose weld let go just as I was reloading during an IPSC stage. Harry was very apologetic and sent me four mags to replace the defective one. The third issue was the frame ring on my 44 AutoMag cracked.

 

[MOONDAWG]

I had an AMT Hardballer during the early 80's. I had no problems whatsoever.

Some folks at the time complained about slides galling frames and having to use lithium grease to prevent it; but mine worked great with plain ole Rem-Oil.

After market 1911 parts interchanged fine on it. The only issue I had was a set of custom 1911 laser engraved grips. Due to the oversized thumb safety, it chipped a tiny piece of wood off the top of the grips when engaged.

 

[gwpercle]

My Hardballer #A269XX , Covina, CA. , came with the wraparound rubber grips which are marked AMT with the co. logo.
I have replaced a few minor parts with standard Colt 1911 parts , barrel bushing , recoil spring , trigger , grips , extractor all fit with no problems .
Mec-Gar magazines for 1911 are proper.
It appears to me to be a 1911 in stainless steel . The frame and slide are milled from investment castings like Ruger pioneered.
Early days of stainless steel had it's problems..this is 1977 and AMT was the first SS 1911...Colt didn't even have one.
I'm not sure what year mine dates too but it's a good one.
I've won trophy's with it and it shoots better than my Colt Gold Cup and Colt Commander. Of the 5 1911's I've owned this one is staying.

$475 OTD ? I think you did just fine . The early AMT's did come with wood grips at first and they might be factory, check the back for marks.
The grips are usually the first thing that gets swapped on a 1911.
Mine has had 4 different sets from time to time...now wearing Ebony Ahrends and looking out for some affordable stag grips.

There is a site Ian's AMT Information Site that has additional info on the AMT guns.
Gary

 

[Dvus]

I found an AMT slide at a gun show a long time ago and put it with an Essex frame and Colt parts. It is the best shooting 1911 I've owned. My only complaint is the stainless front sight.

 

[pasound]

Back in early '80 I bought an AMT Hardballer from my LGS for about $300 (I think - memory?). It was a mess. Stove piped, trigger locked, lots of trouble. LGS took it back, said he would fix it, and handed me a Randall all-stainless 45 and the paperwork for an even trade. I did. The Randall was a Colt clone in stainless, early on. Shot great, and better with Wilson mags. Had it several years, was one of the several "had to sell" pieces I lost in the 90's. Anyone else seen Randalls?

 

[AJ]

Nice find, enjoy it. In the late 1980's one of my Sargeants bought one. He had a problem with galling. We lubed it with everything we could think of and still it galled. Finally he lubed it with 30 weight motor oil and viola it worked! We lightened the trigger pull, ported it and polished the feed ramp. He had a keeper!

 

[AJ]

Anyone else seen Randalls?

Open this in another thread. I think you will get a fair amount of responses.

 

[max]

I had one years ago and can't remember what I did with it. It was a little scratchy compared to my Colt, but it worked well.

 

[pharmer]

I had an AMT "Lightning" .22 pistol maybe 6 1/2" barrel. Excellent pistol that I traded to a local for a pristine Model 65 that is also long gone. I like the idea of a "longslide .45" Joe

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

In it day it wasn't thought much of and considered a cheap made 1911. I had one. The back would elevate with each shot(the screw would turn). Also they were known for galling between the slide and frame. I had a very hard time selling mine back then as nobody that new 1911's would touch it. Today I wouldn't own one if it was free. Lots better stuff out there.