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Auto Mag Pistol

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Auto Mag
File:Amp-44am.jpg
AMT manufacture
TypeSemi-automatic pistol
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designerfirst - Max Gera
Designed1966 to 1971
ManufacturerAuto Mag Corporation
Unit costfirst - $217.50
Produced1971 to 1982
Specifications
Mass57 oz (3 lb 9 oz) (1.62 kg)
Length11.5 inches
Barrel length6.5 inches
Cartridge.44 AMP
Actionshort recoil
Feed system8-round single-column box magazine
SightsAdjustable target sights

The .44 Auto Mag pistol was designed between 1966 and 1971 by the Auto Mag Corporation to bring .44 magnum power to a semi-automatic pistol. It was the first semi-automatic .44 magnum pistol. It was made from 17-4 stainless steel.

Function

The short recoil operated Auto Mag pistol featured a rotary bolt with locking lugs located at the front similar to the M-16/AR-15 rifle. The Auto Mag is a heavy pistol designed to give handgun hunters .44 magnum power in a semi-automatic pistol. The .44 Auto Mag was designed to shoot .429 inch, 240 grain bullets at about the same velocity as the .44 Magnum revolver.

History

In 1970, Auto Mag Corporation president Harry Sanford opened a factory in Pasadena, California. Guns were made in both .44 AMP and .357 AMP, and changing calibers required only the additional barrel and cartridges. The same frame, magazine and bolt could be used on both. After producing about 3,300 pistols, Auto Mag Corporation went bankrupt.

Auto Mag Corporation was short-lived due to a variety of reasons. The design team that took the Auto Mag pistol from a good looking but non-working prototype designed by Max Gera to a fully functioning pistol disagreed with Harry Sanford about how the company should proceed. The design team was convinced the Auto Mag pistol was not ready for production and could not be produced at a profit. The design team also believed that even with the correct finished design, the wholesale price of the gun had to be greatly increased. The design team was unable to convince Sanford, and they all resigned. Then the pistol was rushed into production by a group that was not familiar with the design and what needed to be done. This led to expensive manufacturing processes and poor functioning pistols that had to be reworked after being purchased. Severe underpricing of the Auto Mag pistol to indicate huge market demand to potential investors made success impossible. A final analysis showed that the Auto Mag Corporation lost more than $1,000 on each pistol that it sold wholesale for around $170. The pistols originally sold retail for $217.50.

The Auto Mag pistol was featured in the Clint Eastwood movie "Sudden Impact" in 1983. Clint used his .44 Auto Mag pistol to kill the bad guy after he lost his 44 magnum revolver.

Lee Jurras, of Super Vel ammunition, commissioned a limited 1,000-piece run of Auto Mags to be given the LJ-prefix on their serial numbers. They were to be custom-made to his specifications and were chambered for his wildcat .41-44 Jurras Mag Pistol (JMP) round. Jurras' own personal model, serial number LJ-0005, is shown in a promotional photo with a skeleton-framed shoulder stock and a 2x scope.

Trust Deed Estates (TDE) then took over and set up in North Hollywood, California, later moving to El Monte, California. During this time, High Standard had a number of Auto Mags made with its name on the guns. Later, Ordnance Manufacturing Corp. (OMC) joined TDE and produced a few more guns. Then the Arcadia Machine and Tool became the manufacturing facility for the Auto Mag pistol.

The Auto Mag design gave birth to three new cartridges: the .44 Auto Mag (.44 AMP), .357 Auto Mag (.357 AMP) and the lesser-known .41 Jurras Magnum (.41 JMP).

The history of the Auto Mag pistol was researched in depth and presented in the book titled, "Auto Mag: The Pasadena Days - 1966-1972" by Bruce Stark. The book contains a detailed history of the Auto Mag pistol, including copies of internal memos, blue prints and patent, the history on who actually developed the gun, and copies of its brochures and advertisements. See http://www.glossover.co.uk/bruce/page.asp?id=33

Ammunition

The .44 Auto Mag Pistol (AMP) cartridge was introduced in 1971. Its rimless, straight wall case was formed by trimming the .308 Winchester case (or any other member of the .30-06 family) to 1.30 inches (33 mm). No U.S. manufacturer has offered a factory loading for this cartridge, but ammo was once available from the Mexican firm of Cartuchos Deportivos Mexico, while Norma (a Swedish firm) produced loaded ammo and empty cases. Today, .44 AMP brass is available from Starline Brass, but forming the case for the ammunition requires a set of custom dies from RCBS, an inside neck reamer, and plenty of spare time. Loaded ammo is available from Cor-Bon.

The .357-44 AMP round was introduced in 1972. It was similar to the .44 AMP, except it was necked down to take the smaller bullet.

Collecting

From 1970 to 1982, approximately 9,500 Auto Mags were manufactured, by different manufacturers and in different variations. TDE made a limited run of "A" series pistols in the early 70's that consisted of only 132 units. These "A" series are extremely hard to come by today, as most have been bought up by avid firearms collectors.

Statistics

Auto Mag Pistol

  • Manufacturers:
    • Auto Mag Company (AMC); Pasadena, CA (1970-1973).
    • TDE Corporation; North Hollywood, CA (1973).
    • TDE Corporation; El Monte, CA (1974).
    • High Standard; ? (1974?).
  • Chambering: .44 AMP (Auto Magnum Pistol) [10.74x33 mm] (1970), .357-44 AMP [9x33 mm] (1972), .41-44 JMP (Jurras Mag Pistol) [10.41x33 mm](?).
  • Barrel Length: 6.5 inches.
  • Overall Length: 11.5 inches.
  • Weight: 57 oz (3 lb 9 oz) (1.62 kg) [.44 AMP]; 54 oz (3 lb 6 oz) (1.53 kg) [.357 AMP].
  • Magazine: 8-round single-column box magazine.
  • Sights: Adjustable target sights.
  • Finish: Stainless-steel.
  • Furniture: Two-piece black polyurethane (AMP models) or holly or ebony wood (JMP model) grips.
  • Features: Ribbed barrel.
  • Production: 1970-?
  • Price: Original retail $217.50 later increased to $275 ($425 for a paired .44 AMP and .357 AMP barrel kit)

AMP Wildcat cartridges

These were rounds test-bedded by the developers, but never adopted due to the limited demand for the .44 AMP round.

  • .30-44 AMP [7.62x33 mm] This was an experimental cartridge based on the .30 M1 Carbine bullet.
  • .36-44 AMP [9.14x33 mm] This was an experimental cartridge based on the 9 mm Parabellum bullet.
  • .46 AMP This was a theoretical short-cased round designed for a proposed narrow-frame model for shooters with small hands.

Other calibers

AMT (Arcadia Machine and Tool) manufactured several firearms under the Auto Mag name, including the AMT Auto Mag II in .22 WMR, AMT Auto Mag III in .30 Carbine, AMT Auto Mag IV in .45 Winchester Magnum and AMT Auto Mag V in .50 Action Express.

References

External links

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