AMT .380 Backup

[Shuz]

I just bought an AMT 380 Backup at a gun show. I'd like some comments on the proper care and feeding of this little pocket pistol. Thanks,
Shuz

[bobthenailer]

I have 2 that i bought years ago when they were orgionaly OMC backup , both have well over 1000 rounds from each , there reliable though , ive shot mostley cast through them and have changed the recoil springs at least once in that time . there not much fun to shoot much over 25 rounds from in a row, but can be done ! you will feel it in your hand where the backstrap meets the web of your hand between your thumb on forfinger.

[Poygan]

I owned one in the past. Mine was the most useless pistol I've ever owned and I've owned quite a few! It would fail to feed with every thing I tried to feed it, including factory ammo (needed the brass). The process to take it apart must have been designed by the federal government. It used a relatively ineffective round and it was heavier than most boat anchors. It was given to me and was over priced....

[Reg]

Have carried and used one for years now. About all you would expect for a small pocket pistol. Has never failed to function with both factory and numerous handloads. The 380 isn't a .22 short nor is it a .44 Mag. Nor should one expect the .380 to be either.
Accuracy is good enough for a across the table gun but you wouldn't want to shoot a target match with it.
Have never had any parts issues it just seems to work well requiring minimum care and I would call it a good little pocket pistol and being stainless steel it has the plus of not being one you would have to keep up on the finish.
If I didn't have one, I would gladly buy one.

:drinks:

[imashooter2]

Mine is reliable. I agree they're heavy for their size and that take down is tedious. I use the "nickel in the slot to hold the slide open" cleaning method 99.732% of the time.

Shuz, if you can't find a manual on line, I might be able to scan mine to PDF for you.

[bravokilo]

http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm


BK

[azrednek]

I had a single action AMT 380 Backup. I took it to the range one day and discovered the trigger was missing. I have absolutely no idea where it went and the pistol sat in my vault for years in hopes the trigger would show up or a replacement would be for sale. Never found the lost trigger or was I able to find a replacement. I eventually horse traded it away as a parts gun. The young guy that took it had another and claimed he could make another trigger.

The AMT was once confiscated by the Phoenix Police. Took me apx 6 months to get it back. The first time I took it to the range after leaving the PD's property room is when I discovered the trigger gone. Possibly while the cops had it, it may have been dropped and the trigger fell out.

I had a few hundred rounds through it and never recall a single jam. I had no problem hitting center mass at 15 yards max. I never put any of my own handloads through it. I carried it with a discontinued brand, named Super-Vel. I never got the 5 or 6 rds of the Super-Vel I had left from the cops.

I knew a young guy that was shot with one. He survived minus a lung. His parents filed a lawsuit against AMT only to find out the manufacture had gone belly-up and they didn't get anything other than a bill from their attorney. He was shot by his friend during a drinking session believing the gun was unloaded after removing the mag.

[Bullwolf]

I used to have a neighbor who owned a old single action 380 backup. He carried it quite a bit (with FMJ ball ammo) and shot it quite frequently. To be fair though he was always more interested in my wife's .380 Grendel.

The old Grendel was quite similar to the modern Kel Tech P-3AT .380 and 9mm P11's as they were made by the same individual.

Anyways, the bottom of the slide on his AMT .380 backup had galled on the frame pretty badly for him. I remember in the early 90's ordering some parts for the thing from Numrich, and replacing the slide, and some other parts of the gun for him so it would keep functioning. As far as I know he may still pack the thing today.

Would I own one? Probably not.

I briefly owned a double action AMT 45 backup. It was remarkably unreliable, and suffered from poor feeding problems that didn't seem to improve with a light feed ramp and throat and polish job. It was also hard to get a decent shooting grip on, and the accuracy was quite poor, even for a belly gun.

It seemed like absolutely nothing could be done to the gun that would make it function 100% of the time with straight factory hardball.

I unloaded the 45 AMT backup on a friend who knew of it's poor reliability, but who still thought the concept of the gun was a great idea. He was as hooked on the idea of the gun, as I had been. A holdout gun that's unreliable, is next to worthless in my opinion. I had long since lost any faith in the idea of the 45 backup ever functioning reliably. He still seemed to think that the AMT 45 backup could be turned into a decent carry piece.

I have since gotten over the idea of a small reliable DAO 45 auto pistol and moved more towards a revolver for that role.

I'm not saying there is no such thing as a reliable compact semi-auto pistol. If I had to have a pistol to fill that role today, I would probably go with an ugly little compact Glock.

I find that I prefer the overall size, feel, and reliability of a wheel gun, for a small compact carry gun. That's just my personal preference though, and my opinion.

Opinions are like arseholes, after all everybody has one.


- Bullwolf

[Shuz]

Folks--Thanks for the replies! I was able to find a manual posted on the net, as well as a pictoral takedown, but thanks for the offers.
I still love my Ruger LCP, but bought this gun, at a decent price, hoping my wife would prefer it's lighter trigger. She does, but says it's too heavy a gun for her to pack!
I'm somewhat concerned about parts availability.
Any comments on that?

[imashooter2]

Parts availability? There aren't any.

[bobthenailer]

in the 1970s when they came out they were HI Tech for the 380 type firearm smaller and lighter than any 380 at that time .

[NoZombies]

I had one of the DA models for a time, and it would feed literally anything I could fit in the magazine, including long seated wadcutters and empty brass.

That said, a friend had one that wouldn't reliably feed RN FMJ ammo.

Parts: Good luck!

[leadman]

I have an OMC that I carry. Recently bought 2 aftermarket magazines for it, springs are very light and had one fail to feed. Have to do some more inspecting then maybe replace the mag springs.
Only bullet I have had problems feeding is the XTP. Did to do some more work there. Cast boolits, both commercial and my cast work great.
Many years ago I actually killed a jack rabbit at over 25 yards. Very unlucky wabbit!

I have disassembled mine in years, but do keep it clean and oiled.

[Shuz]

This gun really seems accurate, more so than the other .380's I've tried. Yesterday I shot a 2.14" 5 shot group off hand at 20 yds! 3 in the ten ring and two next to each other in the nine ring. Load was 2.4g NM-04 and the Lee 102 RN, CCI 500 primers.

[imashooter2]

That is pretty impressive considering what passes for sights on the old AMT.

[Rick Hodges]

I have an old OMC model .380 Backup and 4 factory magazines, 2 with spurs and two flat based. It has been very reliable with FMJ and my hot reloads with 90 gr. Sierra HP's. The sights are god awful small but I could hit a 8x5" piece of stationary paper at 25 yds. 20 times in a row with no problems. I carried it for what it was intended for a number of years. I have put a few thousand rds. through it without any signs of wear and no stoppages or broken parts.

The gaulling problem is common with all stainless on stainless weapons. Proper lubrication is the answer.

[trench]

I have only shot one, and it was amazingly accurate with WW Silvertip jhp's. When you consider that no match load developement has ever been done for the 380, and those terrible little sights, the 1", 5 shot groups that I was getting, at 10 yds, was astounding!