AMT Automag IV - A Browning in .45 Winchester Magnum 

Ah yes, my favourite plinking cartridge: .45 Win Mag

“Wait, you loose money on each gun?” “Yep, about $1000” “Then how do you make any money?” “Volume!!!”

These videos are about much more than just guns; engineering, business dynamics, politics and personalities

Looks like a "45 Longslide with Laser Sighting..." You know, without the laser.

Ahh. AMT. Had one of their stainless 1911 clones in 1984, with saw tooth gaps in the rifling and with the extractor hole being drilled off center. Could not get though a magazine without a failure to extract. It was, in effect, a single shot. Did not bother to send it back, but traded in on a Colt Officers Model a few months later. There was, at the time, a magazine called Gun Tests which took no ads and was very honest on its reviews and was very critical of the AMT clone. That is how I found out that the misdrilled extractor hole problem was not an isolated case. AMT went out of business? No surprise to me.

"He's got a gun!" *scoffs* "That's not a gun." *draws Automag* "That's a gun!"

I will never understand what kind of person would willingly watch a Forgotten Weapons video and then hit the thumbs down button. Ian's voice is so soothing and you can't help but leave each video at least a little bit smarter than before

"We loose money on each one, but we'll make it up in volume." Always a sound business plan.

I actually owned an Automag III - in .30 Carbine. Strange weapon, but fun fun to shoot. And yes, it also came in the 9mm mag as well. I always thought it should have come in a kit - like the IWI Jericho came in 9mm Para and .41 Action Express. I still regret selling my collection of unique and strange stuff.

“Yay, look upon me and know me my child, and know that I am packing.” - Gun Jesus

I never forgot this pistol, we used to sell them at the gun store I worked at in the 90's. I always wanted a III in 30 carbine just because it was odd and cool.

"Max Guerra" is basically the most combative name possible.

I personally owned this pistol and the Auto Mag V in .50AE. Both developed cracks in the frame and slide. The metallurgy of these pistols is similar to 1980's die cast transformers toys.

Ian, traditionally with 1911's you would remove the recoil spring prior to pulling the pin out to disassemble them. This makes it easier to disassemble as you don't have to fight the recoil spring to position the slide to pull the pin out.

I have shot an automag IV in .45 win mag. It had magazine related malfunctions, but once the feed lips were adjusted it was reliable. It was also supremely accurate and very easy to shoot well. The downside is the ammo is about $2 per round.

My father wrote the manual for the Amt .50 long slide

I fondly remember this gun from Madness Interactive way back in the day. I remember it was a one-hit and a huge wound on anything you hit with it.

I briefly owned an AMT Javelina (pronounced Jam-Elina) 10mm long slide. Unfortunately, they had the ‘gall’ to use metals for the frame and slide that resulted in a lot of friction, hence with the heavy recoil spring and galling the slide was tough to rake even when dripping with lube, the gun would not properly cycle even with +P ammo and lots of lube, and the feed ramp contour resulted in bulging of the fired case, making it non-reloadable due to weakening. Took it back for trade-in credit after two very frustrating range sessions.

The AMT auto mag III in 30 carbine is quite unique. It is very accurate as the 6 inch barrel is twisted 1 in 12” as opposed to the WWII US 30 Carbine with a 1 in 16” twist. I have hand loaded 125 gr Speer which stabilized and shot extremely accurate out to 100 yards. The hammer spring, after 3 or 4 hundred shots, started to weaken and needed repair. After that it has functioned perfectly for more than 25 years now. The recoil is “normal” as compared with a 1911. Younger people get a kick out of the rather large fireball from the muzzle. They are quite collectible and are commanding quite high prices now.

My morning sermon

I had one of AMT’s .380 Backups in the early mid 90’s… what a flash back

I don't own a Automag IV, but do have the III in .30 carbine. All in all it is a well made and performing pistol. With it's long sight radius and high velocity (by pistol standards) it is a 100 yard pistol. My only regret is not buying spare mags. Looking at what they go for now I should have ignored the stock market and horded Automag pistols.

My uncle has a .30 Carbine Automag 3. They are SO fucking cool. It is a beefy hand cannon, that admittedly shot like ass, and needed good smithing work to get it shooting reliably. It seriously needs to be immortalized in a game.

The AMT automag III 30cal was reliable when we used it. Just expensive to feed, recoil was a little harsh but manageable. I always enjoyed taking it to the range.

Out of my many handguns, I mainly shoot my Automag II 22 mag and my S&W 357 mag. They are the guns to have fun with. Thanks for the very informative presentation.

How many people got into AMT because of The Terminator or the Hitman series?

I have the II in .22 magnum from about 1980. It shoots well WHEN CLEAN, and not when not. Huge muzzle flash that lights up the night. But fun.

Always wanted one of those in .44 AMP. I have one in .45 ACP..shoots very well.

I purchased an automag II many years back, when they first hit the market. It was an OK gun, I had previous experience with AMT having purchased a Hardballer which was very disappointing for me, I got rid of it quickly, and the Automag II went after a few months. I did use it to take a coyote while we were out deer hunting the year I purchased it, and it did a nice job on the animal, Nice clean kill and collected a $40 bounty for the animal when we got home from the hunt. I eventually traded the AM II for an original Colt AR-15 with collapsible stock, the guy wanted my fish finder and the pistol in trade, back then I thought it a wonderful deal. Wish I had kept the AR, but my doctor talked me out of it but I got a nice price out of it for the time, now, of course I could have got 4 times the money I suppose for the AR, probably would never get to trade an old fish finder an the little automag II for the AR either. Ah those were the days.

I have an earlish Automag II ... They require a good quality ammo to cycle correctly, but man is it a neat pistol. I love the thing! Always have... I've had access to this thing since I was a wee one, and inherited it over time, as one does with guns and family who owns guns. Truly, even the lowly 22 mag (most notoriously unreliable) can be quite reliable when shooting a quality cartridge, as mentioned previously. 22 mag is pretty easy to get too, wherever. Not as crazy as the other models, though it does have a nice sound and muzzle flash, not much in the way of a kick... it's fun and easy for any average chap to shoot. Again, I love it! This video made me get it out, tear it down, clean it while watching... and now I want to go shooting, lol.

A buddy had one in .30 Carbine, it was awesome! Had a great fireball everytime you fired it, but it was deafeningly loud, it would make my ears ring even with muffs. He didn't seem to have too many problems with the .30carb over the year's, but he did have one in .22mag that was quite the "jam-o-mag".

In 1985 I stopped at the AMT plant to see if I could get spare magazines for my AMT DAO45, the nice young lady at the desk went in the back and came out with two, and gave them to me. An interesting company. I think the 1990's bankruptcy was on purpose in order to leave CA and its legal persecutions behind.

The III in.30 carbine is one of the most fun guns to shoot. I've never seen a good shooter not finish a mag or two in it unimpressed. It's just awesome.

Years ago when I was into handgun silhouette target shooting and handgun hunting I knew people who had the Auto Mag in 44 AMT, and a but later a couple of people who had the AutoMag in 45 Win Mag where I got to shooting them. I also saw a guy shoot one of the pistols in the very rare 9mm. At the time, I owned and regularly shot several single shot rifle caliber handguns, 44 magnum revolvers and several 10 mm handguns. As far as I remember, the original Auto Mag was an attractive pistol and as someone else commented here, had very exotic ammunition, where it was a virtual necessity to handload the rounds from modified .308 or 7.62 NATO cases. Later in the handguns life, some ammo was made in Mexico, but it was of questionable quality. I thought it was an attractive gun, and even though it seemed to shoot with more authority than revolvers in 44 Magnum, it was more comfortable than the later Auto Mag as Ian described the one here. The AutoMag in 45 Win Mag on the other hand was NOT as pleasant to shoot, with very snappy recoil, was not as reliable and to my experience just a functional equivalent to a 44 Mag. There was a real difference in grip angles between the Auto Mag and the later AutoMag - the one in 44 Auto Mag has a grip angle almost like a Luger, where the one Ian presented had a similar grip angle to a 45 Colt Auto. And then there was that grip size! It was huge and really didn’t contribute to comfortable shooting at all. I shot a lot of magnum handguns back then and a lot of 10mm, which never gave me any problems with recoil or comfortable shooting. An interesting aside, I was trying to buy my own Auto Mag when one if the later Dirty Harry movies came out where he was depicted shooting an Auto Mag pistol and before I could arrange to purchase what was a very expensive handgun, the price tripled or quadrupled virtually overnight. It was somewhat funny to see the replication of the Smith and Wesson craze that the first Dirty Harry movie created where people paid real premiums to obtain one of the handguns, shot it ONE time and never again. I wonder are there still some Auto Mags in “collections” somewhere which have only been shot a handful of times.

I love this Channel so much

If you ever come across an AMT 45 backup you should do a video on them, because they are very forgotten a lot of people see mine and get confused and wonder what it is. It's been in my family since the 80s my father carried it as a backup ankle gun for about 20 years and then I continued carrying it as an ankle gun at work for another 5 years. They're extremely reliable but very odd. A compact 45 with no safety and extremely heavy trigger to compensate for the safety. Very interesting gun to say the least.

Ian: talks about a very interesting gun Me, watching over his shoulder: „Are those Dutch‘s revolvers?“

Imagine carrying one of these IWB and hobbling around all day like a pirate.

This one is recoil operated. Model lll is gas and recoil assisted. This last model was also available in 9MM Winchester Magnum. Great memories and great video.

My grandfather had an mid 90s Automag 2 in 22 mag, it was a great pistol but the muzzle flash from it was on par with a flak 40. I can only imagine the fireball that comes out of a 45 win mag

I have a AMT Automag 2 that I bought in 1982 it shoots great and never fails to turn heads at the range

this gun reminds me of alucards guns from hellsing

These were Holy Grail material in many European countries, because of the caliber. By law, the barrel diameter of a legal sports firearm cannot exceed 12.2mm, better known as your basic .45ACP caliber. That means unlike the .50AE, this .45WinMag is legal to own and yes, ammunition is silly expensive but all ammo over here is, so everyone not .22LR handloads anyway so that's not an objection here. I knew two enthusiasts who ordered this gun at what would now be US$ 2500,- to 3000,- Both got refunded: not deliverable. I have never seen this mystical weapon IRL, just pictures in magazines and now RU-vid videos. This is a unicorn for many Europeans.

Issue I had was with the magazine, bullets would catch on the front of the mag, a little work with a rat tail file and buffing wheel fixed it, just had to lower and round the front of the magazine. Also had Automag marked IAI, Irwindale Arms Inc.

On the other end of the spectrum AMT produced the very compact, all steel.380 "backup" which was a favorite of law enforcement in its day. Despite its size, recoil was quite manageable due to weight. Sights were rudimentary,but at intended distances, capable of cutting out the ace of spades (7 yards I believe)

anyone else digging that spherical rear end of the slide?

Great video.My father has the .22mag. and .30 carbine variants. The carbine is a beast but also quite fun to shoot.

That spring is a beast... For a good reason. She has some kick

Had the .22 Magnum version with 6” barrel. Beautiful, well made gun. The magazine was horrible because if I loaded it and left it overnight it wouldn’t feed. Pure junk and the replacement mags back in the late 80’s cost $40!

When I was doing a lot of fox shooting on the whistle and spotlight in 1996-97, I was 'this' close to dropping a deposit on a AMT 10/22 clone in 22 Magnum. Then Port Arthur happened. Ended up with a M77 MkII in 223 instead. Good rifle and had more legs, but never quite ticked my boxes.

AMT Automag III , had it for 40 years, love it, shoots great, 40 yd. pistol shots common.👍👍

I was under the impression AMT went through several owners, Galena being the last. I have a Hardballer with an A prefix. The B and C prefixes supposedly denoted under different owners

wouldnt it be much more ergonomic to just put the magazine in front of the grip? bring back the broomhandle mauser in magnum chamberings.

I have a 89 automag 3 30 carbine that my grandfather gave me to this day it is my most favorite pistol to shoot that fireball is awesome

.45 Autobruise

Hey Ian. I have a gold cup style AMT 1911. I've had it forever. Since the 80's. They are great guns. I've packed it all over the place in a holster or saddlebag. Its really tough. Just a great gun to use.

I always wanted one of those, but never got around to buying one.

I was working for a custom ammo reloader back in the time when AMT was in Irwindale and Harry Sanford and My Boss were trying to work out how to Make 44 Auto Mag brass it was a very hard since the cases had to made from 7.62x51mm mil surp brass the thickness of the case walls was all over the spectrum so each case had to be hand reamed in a reloading die custom made by RCBS or on a very expensive lathe machine operation This was before Starline Brass was in business When Winchester starting making 45 Win Mag brass that was what lead to this gun I have shot the 22 mag and 30 carbine AMTs both were very accurate. This gun was a hand full to to shoot but not worse than a 357 in a airweight S&W J frame

RIG made a grease specific for stainless steel semi autos back in the 1980s & 1990s which greatly reduced the galling issues. I had good experiences with AMT ...... but it was with the Hardballer. In my experience the Hardballer jammed all the time until you got rid of the AMT magazine and got Pachmayer 1911 magazines (or new or near new USGI magazines). With quality magazines it worked great but with worn magazines it was troublesome. Tight tolerances & I think the recoil impulse was a little slower because of weight and materials which made it less tolerant of slop in magazines.

I have owned an AMT Hardballer, and An Automag II in 22 magnum. The Hardballer had a real problem, the screw for the rear sight adjust was to long and protruded into the firing pin hole. When I shot it, the pin would stick and the retainer would fall out, then when the slide went forward the firing pin would fly out in my face! I managed to file it down enough to work but as a duty weapon it was just not reliable enough for me, I moved back to my favorite old Army M1911A1 which served me for many years. The .22 mag was neat, I took a coyote with it when out deer hunting in North Dakota one year, but I never really loved the gun, one day I drug her along to a gun show and managed to get a used Colt AR-15 in trade, had to throw in an old fish finder on the deal, but the little AR-15 carbine with sliding stock served me on the PD for many years, I sold it for moving money after I became disabled. Sure wish I had that back now...

i have a AM III. bought new back in the day.. love it.

I had one of those! I loved it, I wish I would have kept it; right along with my Automag 3!

i wanted one of these so bad when i was a kid. the thought of a 22mag auto pistol was super cool to me.

Yay! I suggested the Automag in an email back in January.

I have one of those , it’s .45 win mag with a longer barrel that extends out of the slide. The serial number is actually my great grandpas name . It’s fun to shoot

I've got a .22 magnum AutoMag II ... Actually really like it, somewhat due to it's history with me... but a lot due to how it shoots. Of course this is AMT as well, and quite decent. You simply have to shoot quality rounds is all... shoot low power loads, or cheapies... and it'll jam or misfire or both... just give you misc issues in shooting. Shoot quality carts, and it'll do perfectly find all day long. 22mag is cheap too, so the automag II is like, the best of the series. For plinking that is.

AMT also “became” IAI they made a 10mm 1911 stainless with stretched levers adjustable sights and a 7 1/2” barrel. The long slide Javelina. Fantastic deer slayer!! Got mine in 90 with the relief cutout in the slide have never had an issue with it. It shoots my 155 and 180 grain reload XTPs like a laser. I do use the Delta Elite mags and Hogue grips. Reload smart & reload safe!

Gun Jesus reviewed my pistol!!!! I love mine. Cycles best with 260gn projectiles at 1100fps (blue dot powder) through the visually superior 8 inch barrel. The commercial rounds are made for single shot hunting pistols and way to hot for an auto pistol (2000fps!). Very accurate and if grasped firmly, 0 malfunctions. Is a 100yd pistol all day and it will one hole a whole mag at 25yds.

I recently had a great score at a local pawn shop, got me an Automag II and Automag III. The 22mag has been real quirky, have tried 8 kinds of ammunition through a few different magazines and can't get through a full mag without a malfunction of some sort. The 30 carbine on the other hand, has been a beast and it might just be my favorite handgun. Great video.

Friend had the Auto Mag 44, it was fun to shoot and as reliable as a new Kimber in .45.

Mentioning the Desert Eagle, I honestly believe that the reason it was successful when other automags failed is because it is available in two common revolver cartridges. That, and the fact that caliber changes between available chamberings takes a few seconds.

Nice, I got the same gun (Automag IV from galena industries) never thought I'd see another one turn up. Only difference is mine has a ported slide.

A friend had the AM2...22 win mag. Fun to shoot, very loud and it was very picky on ammo...but fun to shoot.

I dream of owning a tool room in Los Angeles. DMG Mori 5-axis, Mill Turn, A Bridgeport and Colchester lathe. Loads of tools, seat of Creo and CATIA and hypermill...

I bought an auto mag in 22magnum from a friend. He warned me it never ran well but i wanted it anyway because its cool. I had it for like 2 years before i sold it and bought a keltec PMR for my 22 magnum needs. I never got thru an entire magizine without some kind of issue and it was never consistent either. Sometimes it would fail to feed, other times it didnt want to extract. I thought the problem had to be the magazine itself and I only had one, so i spent over 200 bucks getting 2 more for it and it didnt make a difference. One of the 2 mags i bought would drop the floor plate randomly and let out all the ammo. I sold it for half what i paid my buddy and I was happy to see it go. I warned the buyer but they wanted it for display. I still have both extra 22wmr mags. Buyer didnt have any need for them so they sit in my safe and remind me to buy more mainstream guns in the future 😂 That same buddy has since bought another auto mag in 44magnum. I guess he wasn't done being burned. Ive seen it fail to feed quite a few times. Classic case of 50% of the time it works every time 😂 Im sure not all of them are bad but the 2 I've shot were. However both were great guns when running. Very light recoil for a .44 and the .22 barely even recoiled at all.

Who’s seen demo ranch shoot his 30 carbine. That thing is cool as hell and has a major fireball.

These reviews are so iconic,, like a mantra to watch. Here in holland owning a gunn is hard but i can watch these calming vids for hours: thanks 🙏🏼

"peen-etched" sounds painful

I have one. Pre galena. She likes to gag on the first and last round of a clip. When working correctly it is a hoss.. mad dragon breath. Ammo is expensive, but available. Thanks for another informative vid Ian..

"Excuse me while I whip this thing out..."

Looks like the long slide 45 that Schwarzenegger used in the original Terminator it's cool the way Ian explained it to us otherwise you might have had a misconception about its origin or relative relevance

I have a similar AMT long slide 45acp it's awesome for target shooting. Great video thanks for sharing

The "Sudden Impact" reference at the beginning made me laugh.

I actually have wanted one in 30 carbine. I have seen them for sale from time to time and not too pricey either. Great video.

I just got an Automag V in .50AE. Beautiful gun.

I own a few of these amt's, my favorite are the 22 mag & 30 carbine pistols...

What a gorgeous gun

Perhaps this is one of the most used gun model in most games.. because it's a handgun ,has long & intimating build ,and looks cool & quite elegant

I had an AMT Hardballer, it came from the factory with an over-length screw in the adjustable site. When I shot her, the firing pin would stick long enough for the retainer to fly out and then the firing pin would fly back in my face. The fix, of course was to file down that screw, but I was disappointed in the gun she never did perform as well as my old M1911A1. Then on a whim I purchased an automag II in .22 mag, that was a different story, the gun ran like a top but the damn ammo was to costly to have any fun with her. I traded her off for an AR-15 compact model with the pony on the side, that gun and a fish finder got me the AR, this was back before the ban and the super-rise in the cost of AR's.

reminds me of a game i used to play back in 2011, it was called "operation 7" and that was the most used pistol.

So glad you reviewed this

Thank you for being honest about the unpleasantness and cost of shooting most magnum handguns. I inherited a .44 S&W with a four inch barrel, and I honestly dread shooting that beast. The only thing I use it for is messing with cocky, inexperienced shooters: I'll take it out, loaded with .44 specials, a nice, easy load that lets me hit what I'm aiming at without fearful anticipation of the recoil a regular magnum round would have, and I'll shoot six accurate rounds down range. Then I load it with regular magnum rounds and hand it to whichever boastful fool I'm out with. Half the time, they don't even fire six rounds and no one ever wants to go again.

I love the look of these huge pistols, they remind me of Robocop and those ridiculously long yet slick cars of the 70s.

Ian. You simply have the very best Firearms channel on RU-vid! And, arguably, you represent one of the best History channels!

>be me >make a new gun design >get bankrupt >go broke >years later gun appear in a video on RU-vid getting roasted

Arcadia Machine and Tool. Wow, that's old school.

I purchased an Automag II in the late ‘80’s. First time I took it to the range, it caused a bit of a stir. The muzzle flash and blast were far greater than any other gun I owned. Every head in the place turned to my station when I fired it. It was awesome but had major extraction issues. I later learned that these guns are extremely finicky about the brand of ammunition used. When functioning properly, it’s a hoot to shoot.

Welcome back everyone to alucard s similar gun showcase and it’s a blast (pun intended)

Damn, I love Automags...

Had a mdl III in .30 carbine, bought unfired, after @ 50 rounds disconnecter (really long) warped in slide. Was told that steel was too soft, to absorb recoil of .30 carb. Now it's a dust collector.