The AMT Back Up Returns… On Steroids

The yarn-spinning potential wrapped around this handgun and its genesis could use up an hour of gun gabbing. For starters, AMT (Arcadia Machine and Tool) was merely one in the lengthy list of acquirees of AMC (Auto Mag Corporation.) The latter was established in 1970 by Harry Sanford with a factory opening in Pasadena, CA. His goal, bring forth a semi auto able to deliver the velocity and stopping power of a .44 Magnum revolver.

The debate still continues whether it was Sanford who designed the Auto Mag initially or Max Gera, head of the AMC design team. I’ve seen an impressive list of patents awarded to Sanford but they were for handguns later produced by AMT. These included the Hardballer, Lightning, 10mm Javelin and some AMT shoulder arms. At any rate, the debate will probably continue. Suffice it to say the Auto Mag was eagerly awaited for by the shooting public but the design team warned it couldn’t be made and marketed at a profit.

They were right. They were also ignored by AMC investors. After a production run of less than 3000, the Auto Mag Corporation went bust. No surprise there. Consider these factors. The pistol was complex in the making. The desire to rush it out the door created quality problems. The ammunition for which most purchasers yearned, a wildcat magnum .44 caliber 240 grain slug loaded in a cut down .308 rifle case called the .44AMP, was not commercially made. Which brings me to the bottom line.

At the original MSRP 380 is packing bigger punches with 9mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, .357 SIG, .45 ACP and .400 Cor Bon. of $217.50, $1000 was lost on every Auto Mag sold! Even the most fanatic of hardline "Share the Wealth" politicians would have to admit no business could survive such a combination of horrors. The buzzards circled. The first of them to swoop and acquire a portion of the AMC remains was OMC (Ordnance Marketing Corporation.) This, eager readers, was where the OMC .380 Back Up pistol was born.

When AMT came on the scene to purchase tooling and rights, it became and has remained the AMT Back Up. That it still exists, through the reports of poor quality and frequent mishaps created by being tossed about from maker to maker, I find amazing. Fortunately, extinction was staved off when Hi Standard of Hamden, CT, a company known worldwide for the quality and accuracy of their .22 target pistols, entered the ownership parade. At the time the Back Up was a single action plagued with safety problems.

To overcome those problems it was converted to DAO. With the conversion came a truly terrible trigger pull. That reputation of Hi Standard continues with anew High Standard of Houston, TX, who revived the gun valley company by taking over manufacturing of the Hamden pistols and bringing back aboard the same tooling, component suppliers and a fair sample of the master gunsmiths that had made them legends. At this year’s SHOT Show I spotted a large frame pistol on display at their booth wearing "AMT Houston,

If cleaning fails to resolve the problem, it is not difficult to relieve a Back Up of all its parts for further investigation. Texas USA" on its slide. You guessed it. The Back Up is now riding to market from the Lone Star State. Gone is the problem of wimpy firing pins. All AMT pistols coming off the line now boast the same one in the .380 as used in the 9mm, .38 Super, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, .400 Cor Bon and .45ACP models. It has never broken.

They’re working on that terrible DA trigger pull, too, and thinking seriously of design changes. One I’d like to see happen is the slide locking back after the last round. Another is a better sight set up. With the present one it makes no sense trying to aim a Back- Up. Even when the target is within seven yards, you point it. Field Stripping Remove the magazine, check the chamber and protect your eye sight. Closely inspect all pins to determine whether or not they’re roll pins. If they are, follow Dr.

Blood’s recommendations: Use a roll pin punch and only drift out the pin enough to free the part it is retaining. Follow this prescription and doing damage to the pin in reassembly will be eliminated. What you may have heard or read about basic take down of a Back Up is slightly different in this particular case. The recoil spring in this pistol is quite strong. The take own pin notch at the lower left of the slide must be held in position over the pin in order to push it out.

Holding the slide with one set of fingers may be a painful problem at the very least. If that’s true in your case, have a new five cent coin standing by. Pull the slide to the rear. Hold it as best as you can. Slip the nickel in between the breech face and bolt face. Allow the slide to trap the coin. It will be held in firmly but moving the slide slightly to get it centered over the pin will be come much easier. If for no other reason, you can grab the coin with pliers to gain some more leverage.

Doing anything remotely like that with the slide itself can only leave ugly stuff behind. You must push out the takedown pin (16) right to left but the pin is hidden under a sizable plate held in place by the right hand grip panel. After removing the grip and lifting off the plate, take memorable note of how the trigger bar spring (20) mates up with the trigger bar (26) and front of the magazine well.

I stress "memorable" due to the fact that you’ll soon be turning the pistol over immediately after or during the removal of the take down pin. The slide (2) is moved off the frame (1) forward. Invert the slide to lift out the recoil spring (18), barrel (29) and recoil spring guide (9). You’ve gone as far as you have to go to prepa Back Up for cleaning. The majority of gun owners take pride in performing that task.

The pistol has been handed to you, therefore, because the owner has convinced himself something far more serious than dirt is making the pistol misbehave. Detailed Disassembly Let’s start with the bolt. A 1/8th diameter pin (17) retains the firing pin (7) and its spring (21). It performs double duty as the firing pin stop pin. The stop blocks the firing pin when the trigger is completely pulled. The block (32) and its spring (31) will come out once the firing pin has been removed.

The extractor (6) is retained by another 1/8th" diameter pin (8). Drift the pin downward far enough to free the extractor and its spring (22). So much for the slide. Now, the receiver. The right hand grip panel is already set aside. Remove the left hand panel. Work-

A slave pin is recommended in building this assembly. ing from the right hand side of the frame, detach the trigger bar (26) from the trigger (5). Detach the trigger bar spring (20) from the trigger bar and frame. Set all those parts aside. The stud at the upper end of the trigger (5) serves as the trigger bar pin and a pivot for the bar. The hammer pin (11) goes through and lines up, from left to right, the ejector (23), the hammer (4), a spacer (33) and the firing pin block lever (30).

The spacer is a restricted part but only shows up in older model pistols, usually those made in California and Utah. In current production pistols the spacer has been replaced with a stud on the lower right side of the hammer. In reassembly, I recommend you employ a slave pin matching the diameter of the hammer pin. Start the slave in from the right, capture the firing pin lock lever, the spacer (if any), the hammer and ejector in that order. Push out the slave with the hammer pin.

The trigger pivot (15) is only 1/32" in diameter. Treat it kindly. The hammer strut pin (10) remains in the hammer. There’s no reason why it should. Remove it, the strut

(24) and the mainspring (19). Drift out the magazine latch pin (12) to free the latch (3) for removal. You have the gun totally stripped now and ready for a detailed cleaning. In the process, inspect the hammer strut, mainspring and rear inte- 1 Frame 2 Slide 3 Magazine Catch 4 Hammer 5 Trigger (Incl. Trigger Bar Stud) 6 Extractor 7 Firing Pin 8 Extractor Pin rior of the magazine well. What you are looking for are rub marks on any of the surfaces. If you find any, polish them before reassembling the pistol.

By doing so you may have encouraged a heavy trigger pull to ease up somewhat. The polishing has to be 18 Recoil Spring 19 Hammer Spring 20 Trigger Bar Spring 21 Firing Pin Spring 22 Extractor Spring 23 Ejector 24 Hammer Strut 25 Magazine Assembly 9 Recoil Pin 10 Hammer Strut Pin 11 Hammer Pivot Pin 12 Magazine Latch Pin 13 Grip Screws 15 Trigger Pivot Pin 16 Takedown Pin 17 Firing Pin Stop Pin executed carefully. All you’re looking to accomplish is the elimination of friction between these areas.

Overdo it on the mainspring and you could weaken it. Really overdoing it on the mainspring could heat it up to the point of making it useless. AG AMT Back Up (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 26 Trigger Bar 27 Grip Set (2) 29 Barrel 30 Firing Pin Lock Lever 31 Firing Pin Lock Spring 32 Firing Pin Lock 33 Hammer Spacer (If present)