Shooting the Automag .22 WMR

[Drakejake]

This pistol seems to require good recoil resistance in order to cycle properly. My friend had some jams caused by insufficiently stiff arms and wrists. Once these were reinforced a bit, the jams stopped. The last round of the mag (no. 9) frequently did not feed all the way in. Perhaps the mag springs are a little weak or the mag needs to be cleaned and lubed. Some of the mags I used needed to be hit pretty hard into the grip in order to fully engage the butt mag latch. The sights are first rate. The rear site is fully adjustable. The front sight has a highly visible red insert which lines up well with the notch on the rear sight and its white insert. I cannot judge accuracy from this one outing. I will try the pistol from a bench rest next time. The single action trigger is mediocre, not nearly as good as the triggers on my two Smith and Wesson 2206's, but usable nevertheless. The grip is comfortable to hold and with the six inch barrel, balance is good. There is almost no recoil so that a second shot doesn't require much adjusment to get back on target. Disassembly and reassembly revolve around the slide stop, which is somewhat difficult to get out and then back in. I used PMC Predator ammo. No misfires but the pistol had a lot of dirt after firing perhaps 60-70 rounds. The manufacturer rcommended that only Winchester ammo be used and I will try some on the next test. Both kinds of ammo are soft, hollow point, not the FMJ which would probably be least likely to jam. All in all, a promising start with an unusual pistol which has gotten mixed reviews over the years.

Drakejake

 

[Black Snowman]

My post on fixing an AutoMag II with light strike issues might be interesting to you. It's here.

When they run they're really fun guns to shoot. Because of it's issues my friend picked his up for a song, I'm glad I was able to get it working for him.

IIRC the ammo recomendation was do to how dirty other brands were for powder residue. Most brands should work OK now.

 

[Kamicosmos]

My Automag II (the one Black Snowman mentioned in the above post) seems to like Winchester Super X best. It also performed all right with CCI rounds.
When I first got my gun, it would misfeed often. I had bought 3 new mags for it, and they all had problems feeding. I had to work over the lips and the followers a bit to get it to feed better. The original factory mag feeds okay, but it's follower is rather worn, and doesn't always lock the slide back.

Also, keep in mind that the .22 Mag case is a long skinny thing, and it has to be lined up just right to feed correctly. I recon mine will always have the occasional jam simply because of that.

As far as accuracy goes, mine does all right with Winchester ammo. I'd say 2 inch 8 round groups at 10 yards offhand. I've never benched the gun, so it could be more accurate, I don't know.

Does yours spit in your face? I have to wear shooting glasses over my normal glasses cause that thing spits powder residue right in my face! Mine also likes very little lubrication. In fact, I got some Shooter's Choice Grease to lube it with. Just a little on the slide rails. If you use much oil, that too gets thrown in your face.

They are fun guns when they run though. Very fast action, easy to shoot fast. And the things sound like a Magnum going off! Their loud report along with their funky looks always makes people ask about it. I'm glad mine is running again so I can take it to the range more often.

(Thanks again Black Snowman for fixing it!)

 

[Drakejake]

Kamicosmos, I did not notice any powder or oil in my face. I do wear safety glasses, of course. I tend to over oil firearms. I took several of the mags apart and was surprised to see that they employ a round coil spring (moving in its own tube) rather than the more usual rectangular spring. The mags seem to work pretty well although they do not seem to hold the rounds very steady or at a very good angle. The smaller the round the more precise must be the raltionship between mag lips, the bottom of the case, and the slide. If something is slightly off, the slide will not strip the round from the mag and jam it into the chamber. I enjoyed shooting this pistol and am hopeful that reliability will be decent. Since the Automag will be used for fun at the range, not for self-defense, absolute reliability, while desirable, isn't essential.

Drakejake