[BugShooter]

I've been wanting a 22mag since I sold mine several years ago.

Just saw a semi-auto pistol on GunBroker and have never heard of it before.

What can anyone tell me about it?

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

That would be the Automag II as made by Arcadia Machine & Tool in Irwindale, CA. , I believe. This company has had quite a few issues over the years and changed hands several times. Ruger either threatened lawsuits or actually went forward with the process because of the similarities between this guns design and that of the Ruger Mark II.
Galena Industries bought out AMT around 1998 and now, all the pistols that Galena manufactured have void warranties. Parts would probably be a nightmare to find as few of these pistols were manufactured.If it were me I would walk, no, run, away from that one.

~Later,

 

[BugShooter]

that's the one. Since posting my question I've read a bit and it seems "hit or miss" ... some really like their pistol, others feel like theirs was a lemon.

Hate those kinds of reviews when I am interested in the gun.

Your advice sounds reasonable for such a pistol.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but I would hate to see good green money go toward a headache. I'm not aware of any semi-auto pistols using the .22 magnum. Maybe the Ruger Charger does, but I'm not sure. Good luck in your search.

~Later,

 

[BugShooter]

Excel Arms has a 22mag. Looking into its reviews now. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

BugShooter,

I forgot about this one. If you get the time, go to Kel-Tec's web-site. They sell a model PMR-30 in .22 magnum. This pistol has a 30 (yes, thirty) round staggered magazine in .22 magnum. Would be very interesting to test

~Later,

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Sorry to be so late in replying but I LOVE my AMT and it is the only one of my dozens of guns of which I would say that. When I first got it about five years ago, I tried out every brand and type of ammo I could find and it functioned flawlessly with all except the crappy Winchester Dynapoint which didn't have enough power to cycle the action. I mounted a Burris Fastfire tubeless red dot over the original rear sight location and with that I can hold honest one inch groups at 25 yards using ammo it likes. I've settled on the Fiocchi 40 grain as being the best all round compromise of ballistics and accuracy and it is also one of the few brands which offers a soft point as well as the hollow point. It's light and flat to carry, just an excellent field and woods roaming gun. Not beautiful, the frame looks like it came out of the mold with no finishing at all but that is easy to overlook considering it's other attributes. Mine is an Irwindale gun if that matters.
The Excel Arms at 54 ounces is a huge ungainly thing, and the Kel-Tec is a who knows what piece of plastic held togather with dry wall screws and both are totally unknown items. Some people seem to think the 30 shot magazine is a big selling point but I can't see any possible use for it outside of Hollywood.
By the way, the AMT is back in production (again) by High Standard.
http://shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?p=522235#post522235

 

[au2183]

I have an AMT Automag in 22 mag also. It's a great gun IMO. Fits the hand well and shoots great, plenty accurate enough for hunting anyway. I think it's about the best sidearm to carry when I'm hunting. More power than a 22, yet still inexpensive to shoot and fun to plink with. What's not to like?

 

[M1894]

I bought one of the earlier 4" barreled ones when they first came out, and it would not eject the CCI cases. All other ammo fired and ejected just fine. When I contacted the manufacturer, I was told that the gun was designed around Winchester ammo, and that the CCI cases were too soft and swelled into the retarding dimples in the chamber and would not let go. I used a little jewelers rouge on a tight fitting patch and spun it in the chamber with an electric drill for a few seconds. that seemed to take the sharp edges off of the retarding dimples, and now it will fire any ammo that I want to feed it.

Now that Hi Standard is manufacturing it again, I see no reason not to purchase one.

They feel great in the hand, and are natural pointers in my case.

My CCW is also a AMT Back Up DAO in .357 Sig. While on the P.D. I started out carrying a .380 Back Up Single action, for back up and later on switched to the .40 S&W Back Up DAO, which has the capability of using both .40 S&W and .357 Sig with nothing more than a barrel change. So as you can see I do trust the AMT designes.