automag owners shooter?

[robone]

any own an automag? you know the .44 version? has anyone ever fired one?

seen one in the store the other day in the sued section....picked her up...wow kinda heavy....but if i remember rightly wasn't there a movie with this auto pistol

[AngusPodgorney]

D you mean Sudden Impact? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086383/)

[SOSARMS]

I felt that it is kinda whimpy......Maybe the weight, or maybe because there not a lot of tiger in the tank !!!:eek: Have only shot it 50 rounds or so though....more of a novelty gun at the time if you ask me...IMO....

[BillCA]

Someone with more history of the Automag will come along shortly... :)

The AMT AutoMag originally used .308 brass cut down to form the brass for the .44 AMP cartridge. As you would guess, until they managed to get someone (Norma, I think) to make brass and cartridges, it was a handloader's gun. All well and good.

A friend owned one and a fellow shooter owned the other. When they worked they were a hoot to fire. The weight and recoil mechanism took up a lot of recoil. But the springs were heavy and you needed to be solid in your hold of the gun.

Downside was that you needed specific bullet profiles to function correctly. Jams, FTE's & misfeeds were common until you sorted out the best OAL for your gun and best power level. It was big, heavy and clumsy to shoot unless you had large hands.

AMT went through two different series, as I recall some are stamped AutoMag II. These had some improvements, but the gun cost far too much and had a reputation as a high maintenance gun. But it predated the Desert Eagle by a good 10-15 years and showed you could make a "magnum" semi-auto pistol.

Personally, if I wanted that kind of power, a .44 Mag or .454 Casul would probably work better in the field.

[trooper3385]

They had an automag in one of the Beverly Hills Cop movies. I forget which one, but it wasn't the first one.

[tomh1426]

My friends father has one in a .30 carbine (I think)

[Marcus]

Wow,lots of misinformation flying around here!

The original .44 Auto Mag was introduced in 1971. It was a truly revolutionary piece of technology. They`ve been in and out of production several times over the years. The extreme cost of manufacture usually dooms each attempt. The last production run was in 2000 (Harry Sanford Commorative model). It was the first all stainless steel handgun (S&W guns that predated it used carbon steel internals). That stainless steel BTW was Carpenter 455 Special which is also part titanium. Barrels and even calibers interchange in seconds. The fully adjustable trigger was a copy of High Standard`s match .22 pistols (through agreement with them). It was the first and is to my knowledge the only pistol to ever use extensive electron beam welding in it`s construction,a process still used almost exclusively for spacecraft and high performance aircraft.
The .44 Auto Mag is not heavy as magnum pistols go,in fact it weighs about the same an an 8 3/8" S&W 29. It`s roughly 50% lighter than a Desert Eagle. Neither is it unusually large,it fits quite well in unmolded holsters for 6" S&W N frames. The grip has a *smaller* circumference than many double stack 9mms and is the smallest of all the magnum autos. This due to the fact that there are no lockwork or springs in the backstrap.
When introduced many people thought that because the .44AMP round was similar to .44 Rem. Mag. that they could use the same loads and bullets in it. Imagine using your favorite .38 Special loads in a 9mm auto and you get the idea. Those who used the wrong powders,wrong bullets,didn`t seat them to the proper OAL or use the right crimp had reliability issues and blamed them on the gun. The Automag likes slow powders like H110 and W296 to best operate it`s recoil action. SWCs,lead hollow points and such will feed (or not) the same in an Auto Mag as they would in most autos. They like jacketed bullets with a slightly rounded ogive like any other auto. I use 240gr. XTPs in mine over 22g of H110 for a velocity of right around 1400fps. It`s every bit as reliable as any other autopistol I have and amazingly accurate. One of the few handguns I regularly shoot at 100yds+. Recoil is very mild compared to my .44 mag. revolvers.
Back in the day Auto Mag guru Lee Jurras was known for shooting 240gr. loads in the 1600fps range by the thousands with excellent durability,accuracy and reliability. Some of his loads were in the same pressure range as 30-06! He and George Nonte (author of Handgun Hunting) took just about every large game animal in north America and Africa short of elephants with .357 AMP and .44 AMP Auto Mags. The very first auto pistol to take many of these animals. For many years the .44 Auto Mag was the worlds most powerful autopistol.
The Auto Mag requires a little common sense and care. Keep the recoil spring guide rods tight,lube it properly,shoot the proper loads and replace the recoil springs every 1000rds. or so (available from Wolff) and they`ll shoot forever. Some collectors would have a fit to know I put several hundred rounds through mine the first month I had it. I still shoot it whenever the mood strikes me and it brings a big smile to my face every single time. They`re also a great investment,as expensive as they are their prices have been climbing steadily for years.
Now,the rest of the Automag (one word) clan. These are all *totally* different handguns that have nothing to do with the original. They have as much in common with the older namesake as a Luger does with a 1911. They were all rather crudely finished and had spotty quality control. Kinda like comparing a Ferrari to a Mail Jeep.

Baby Automag: AMT Lightning (Ruger Mk2 clone) .22lr with a vent rib etc. made to resemble a scaled down .44 Auto Mag.
Automag II: .22 magnum rimfire
Automag III: .30 Carbine and 9mm WM.
Automag IV: .45WM,10mm mag.
Automag V: .50AE, 440 Corbon

Just for clarity, this is an original .44 Auto Mag. Marcus
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/MarcusUSA1/MVC-022F.jpg

[44 AMP]

I now have 3. An 8" .44 (my shooter), a 6.5" in the case (my safe queen), and recently got a 7.5" .357 (haven't shot that one yet).

Original loads were too hot, and the guns would often break after only a few hundred rounds. With lower powered ammo they shoot and run pretty well. Accuracy is outstanding.

The gun is somewhat overcomplicated, and was always very expensive to make. They sold for $350 at a time when the S&W M29 was $283.50!

To me they are the most beautiful of any magnum autoloaders. Much more comfortable to hold and shoot than an Desert Eagle. And unlike the Desert Eagle, you can use (hard cast) lead bullets if you want, as the recoil action doesn't get plugged up by bullet lube/lead as can happen with the Desert Eagle. The gun is also lighter and the grip is smaller in diameter and trigger reach. They have exellent adjustable triggers and sights, unlike the early model Desert Eagle I have.

Factory ammo is still made for the .44, by Cor-Bon, Midway lists it, but is currently out of stock. Original ammo was made by CDM (Mexico, owned 49% by Remington, at the time), they made 1 million rounds. Later Norma made ammo for a short time. Both the CDM and the Norma is collectable. Cases can be made from .308 Win brass (or anything with that head size), and RCBS made form dies and reamers to do it, on a custom basis.

A true pioneer handgun design, sadly, one that never stayed in production long enough to get all the bugs worked out. Not suited to a service/defense type use (Even though Dirty Harry did use one in Sudden Impact), it is fine gun for hunting and long range shooting.

Scoping the Auto Mag is difficult, and scopes don't last long (usually), due to the design and function of the gun. It is best with iron sights.

The .44 Auto Mag (.44 AMP) hasd been featured in a few movies, the most well known is Sudden Impact. The gun also had a smaller part in Beverly Hills Cop 2, and a very small part in the Burt Reynolds movie, Malone.

Do not confuse the later generations of Automag (II,III, IV, & V) with the original, outside of the name and the fact that they are also made of stainless steel, they are totally different designs.

The 1977&78 Gun Digests have an excellent 2 part article on the Auto Mag, and can sometimes be found at the gun shows.

While the guns do not have the practical untility of .44 revolvers, or even the Desert Eagle (because it is still in production), they are great fun to shoot, and always turn heads at the range.

[Peter M. Eick]

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/eickpm/44amp.jpg

I have mine but it is a safe queen. Unfired still as originally shipped. Some day I will pick up a shooter just for grins.