AMT Automag III .30 Carbine? What do you know about them?

[WardenWolf]

This beast of a handgun caught my eye, the Automag III in .30 Carbine. I know the .30 Carbine is fairly similar in performance to the later .357 Magnum round, but the thought of a semi-automatic pistol chambered in it is just too evil.

I'm curious as to what people know and think about these guns?

 

[General Geoff]

Two words: MUZZLE FLASH.

 

[Mad Magyar]

I have a lust for one that comes & goes. If I ever saw one at a gun show or shop; I'd probably purchase it. The closest I came was a fella in Albuquerque that had one, but no magazine..... I like to see, examine what I buy and don't prefer internet sales. Evidently, you spotted one...Good luck...

 

[WardenWolf]

Sadly, I cannot afford one just yet, but I'm interested in peoples' opinions and experience in case I do wind up with enough money in the future.

 

[herohog]

I have an AutoMag III in 9mm Winchester Magnum (9x29). Great gun. A ball to shoot. Gets 1,400 fps with a 126 grain bullet.

 

[Nate Diggler]

Like was said before: HUGE MUZZLE FLASH Try shooting one at night and you'll light up the woods pretty good.

My uncle had one for a while... it was fairly accurate, recoil was manageable, but not a carry gun due to its size... a novelty piece.

 

[WardenWolf]

Ooh, fireballs.

Yeah, sounds like something I want to pick up when I can afford it. Youtube does a good job convincing me. =)

 

[rich636]

I've shot a few mags through the .30 carbine version. It functioned fine and the recoil wasn't very bad at all. I shot it mid day so I can't tell you anything about the muzzle flash.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Just that I want one.

 

[M39SKY]

AMT III in .30 Carbine is one of my most wanted handguns since having fired one some years ago (I don't own one). You would get the, "What the...?" from the next few cubicles in in-door gun ranges as it makes BOOM, not bang. Muzzle flash is HUGE but the gun is easy to shoot and quite controllable because of the heft and long barrel/slide. I remember that my friend's gun had to be taken to a gunsmith as something broke due to dry-firing (excessive?).
It would definitely be a good partner to an M1 Carbine. Or, an excuse to get an M1 Carbine.

 

[Boba Fett]

Will be made again

AMT went out of business sadly, another company will be manufacturing AMT firearms.

High Standard. Not to be confused with the crap from High Point.

High Standard is already selling some and plans to sell the entire line of AMT.

I plan on getting an AutoMag III in 30 carbine and a AutoMag II Modified in 22 RF Magnum.

I called High Standard to find out when they will make the 30 carbine AutoMag III and they said that with their current military contracts, they are not putting as much effort into getting the AMT pistols out. They will eventually, but military comes first (as it should).

So there you go...another set of firearms that will set me back a few thousand someday

 

[WardenWolf]

I was aware they were out of business, but that really didn't concern me. Way I figure, a quality firearm in good condition will last me a long time.

I expect to be inheriting an M1 Carbine some time within the next couple of years, so it would make a good matchup.

 

[X-Rap]

I think the AMTs were put together pretty well, just make sure you have a bunch of mags. I bet that is the week point in the gun (just on availability)
I have a .30 carbine in a Ruger SA and it will flat mess up your hearing, double up on the ear protection. I can't really explain the sound on open ears

 

[auberg]

Many years ago I had one of these. They are solidly built and pretty accurate. The term "hand cannon" fits for this pistol. It does throw a huge muzzle flash, and will put a smile on your face. A lot of fun.

I have no idea what they sell for now, but as I remember they were about $400 in the early 90's. I believe that was the time frame I had mine.

Good Luck.

 

[Eightball]

I know a little--such as that these things are basically your all-original, all-American jam-o-matic version 1.0, from all I've heard.

 

[WardenWolf]

From what I've heard and seen, they're reliable enough. Of course, the .30 Carbine round is very similar to .45 ACP in overall design. The same principles apply: not all .30 Carbine ammo will work reliably in all .30 Carbine firearms. If your ammo is slightly out of spec in how deep the bullet is seated or how long the overall round is, it's going to have problems.

 

[arcticap]

I have one that I don't shoot very much but it functions surprising well and never jammed or had a stoppage.
And I found a bunch of mag.'s on eBay back when I wanted them.
I just saw a new factory mag. for sale at a gunshow last month.
I didn't need it, but they're findable.
I just wasn't very happy with the AMT's accuracy. I found some rounds online with lighter weight bullets to try but I never did buy any.

I also have an Automag II .22 Mag. and it functions great and also has excellent accuracy.
I'm sure that some AMT's have function problems, but certainly not all.

On the other hand, when I had a new Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine, I had one of the reportedly few where the tapered .30 carbine round would keep backing out of the chamber which would cause a jam by preventing the cylinder from rotating. That would never have been acceptable for any kind of reliable self-defense weapon, so that was one gun that I ditched at a loss.

So make that +2 for AMT and -2 for Ruger (Since now I have another Ruger revolver that needs to go back to the factory for a cylinder fitting problem).

I'll bet that the Taurus Raging Thirty revolver with moon clips is much more reliable than the Blackhawk, even though they say that a moon clip filled with .30 carbine ammo is like loading strings of spaghetti into the cylinder.

 

[herohog]

I know a little--such as that these things are basically your all-original, all-American jam-o-matic version 1.0, from all I've heard.

From what you have heard? How many have you owned or shot? Mine have been flawless and I have owned and shot 3.

 

[Eightball]

How many have you owned or shot? Mine have been flawless and I have owned and shot 3.

Me personally? Seen a couple at a gun show. My coworker worked at an FFL and sold several, said they had to serialize mags to the firearm so that they would fit and/or feed correctly. People who bought them didn't seem to enjoy them all that much, either, so I'm going off of his words.

 

[herohog]

I really have to question the "serialized mags" as mine have all worked fine swapping magazines back and forth and buying mags without issue. In fact, I found out that the .45 WinMag magazine worked just fine in my 9mm WinMag!