AMT Automag II problems

[ksfowler166]

I have a AMT Automag II (22 Mag) that I acquired from my grandfather. I have not shot it much, why will become obvious but I like the Automag II. It just gives me fits with ammunition. I am not the first my grandfather sent it off to AMT which replied that the gun would jam with Federal or CCI but would work with Winchester. Well you can guess what ammo he was using. Yup Federal and CCI. So I sent the gun to a local gunsmith who polished the feed ramp and he said that the gun work with Winchester. That day I think, this was before rimfire became an extinct species, I went and bought a pack of Win. 55gr Dynopoints. They help some, it turned the gun from a true single shot to were it would fire a couple rounds before jamming (failure to eject and or to feed). As a consequence I have not shot the gun in a couple of years.

So I was wondering if there were any other Automag II owners on here who could give me some suggestions of what ammo to use? Either Winchester or other branDs other than Federal/CCi.

[knifemaker]

The failure to eject may be caused by lower velocity 22lr ammo. I would try to locate several different brands of high velocity 22lr ammo and try and see which works. I know, heck of a time trying to locate 22lr ammo. As for the feeding, sometimes using copper plated ammo will help in the feeding problem over plain lead boolits. Next time it jams on feeding, take the time to closely examine the jam and try to determine what is causing it. Could be the feed angle, sharp edge on the chamber mouth. Or could be a magazine problem that allows the boolit to come out at too high or too low of an angle to feed into the chamber. If possible take GOOD photos of the jam and post them here for examination in hopes someone can help you with the problem.

[dubber123]

Contact Bullshop here on the forum. I think he had one and had it running well.

[725]

Polish the chamber, slick up all the points of friction, and use a good slippery grease on all the areas of movement contact. It's a great little pistol once you work out the reliability issue. Ammo sensitive, too.

[Mohillbilly]

I use Win ammo 40 grain , and it works well in my Automag II .

[mold maker]

I guess I got lucky, in that I've never had a problem with mine. I'm pretty sure the last ammo was Rem Thunderbolt.

[dtknowles]

Mine ran best with the Win ammo with real jacketed bullets not the plated ones. It would not shoot groups under 2 inches at 25 yards so I sold it. I could not see the point in a High Velocity pistol that was not pin point accurate.

Tim

[Mk42gunner]

I don't have one, nor do I ever remember shooting one. But IIRC those were built when the only 22WMR loads had 40 gr bullets.

I would start with a box or two of 40 grain WW FMJ and JHP before I tried any of the more modern loads with different weight bullets.

Robert

[Tackleberry41]

A friend has one, it has always given fits about ammo. Rimmed ammo is going to give issues in an auto loader. Hes tried this or that some works better than others. And right now a bit hard to be choosey with supply the way it is. Usually first thing you say is try different mags, not easy to find for those guns tho.

They make a fun range gun, but not reliable enough for other more serious uses.

[Groo]

Groo here
Clean chamber well. Lube with good oil.
Use winchester 40gr or CCI 40 gr of fresh manufactur.
And understand , like most autos - you must find the load that they like/ not what you like.

[WALLNUTT]

I got one when they first came out,fit my hand perfect. Mine wouldn't run at all even after trading in ammo per manufaturers. I sent it back and when it came back it would run perfect with Win 40gr FMJ only. If you call 4" groups at 17yds acceptable. I traded it even at a gun show for my Ruger#3 in 30-40 Krag. Best deal I ever made.

[dtknowles]

I got one when they first came out,fit my hand perfect. Mine wouldn't run at all even after trading in ammo per manufaturers. I sent it back and when it came back it would run perfect with Win 40gr FMJ only. If you call 4" groups at 17yds acceptable. I traded it even at a gun show for my Ruger#3 in 30-40 Krag. Best deal I ever made.

I don't think I did that good when I got rid of mine, same accuracy problem, not quite that bad. I am glad it is gone, it was a waste of good ammo.

Tim

[LUBEDUDE]

I use Win ammo 40 grain , and it works well in my Automag II .

This is what works in my brother's also.

[cold1]

A friend of mine had the AMT longslide in 30 carbine. He could shoot it all day but when I grabbed it, it would jam everytime. Stovepipes and failure to feed. I could never shoot more than one round at a time in it. He would take it out of my hands and proceed to clear the jam and then empty the mag. It boiled down to my grip and wrist. My wrist werent stiff enough to get that gun to work properly. (no jokes about limp wristed :D)

Even though his wasnt the automag II, you may want to expeirment with different grips and locking your wrists. I did manage to be able to shoot that 30 carbine but it took alot of different grip tries.

[pakinmd]

I just bought an Automag II. I find that my biggest problem, causing FTF, is that the mag catch may not hold the mag in the right place. If the floorplate moves forward by a mm, then the catch grabs the sheet metal of the mag instead of the floorplate and the mag sits "too low". The round doesn't actually line up with the feed ramp. I just ordered new floor plates and new floorplate retainers and if anyone is interested, I will tell how things work out.
Paul

[376Steyr]

Slightly on topic: A friend bought a Marlin 22 Mag autoloader rifle, asked me to check it out for him. I tried three different types of ammo, and only one would feed and eject reliably. I suspect that is the nature of the breed. If it was my 22 Automag, I'd try it with multiple kinds of ammo before I started tinkering with it.

[Tackleberry41]

Guy I knew had one, it was always picky about ammo. Only thing it did work somewhat decently with, is Winchester. With 22mag availability, its pretty hard to be picky about ammo.

[country gent]

You might try a very light polish on the sharp edges of the chamber and feed ramp also lightly polish the edges of the feed lips on the mags, don't remove any real metal just polish the surface. I would use a pencil eraser and flitz or simichrome. Some times a rough surface just slows things down to much

[murf205]

A friend of mine had the AMT longslide in 30 carbine. He could shoot it all day but when I grabbed it, it would jam everytime. Stovepipes and failure to feed. I could never shoot more than one round at a time in it. He would take it out of my hands and proceed to clear the jam and then empty the mag. It boiled down to my grip and wrist. My wrist werent stiff enough to get that gun to work properly. (no jokes about limp wristed :D)

Even though his wasnt the automag II, you may want to expeirment with different grips and locking your wrists. I did manage to be able to shoot that 30 carbine but it took alot of different grip tries.

I had a friend who had a 40 cal Ruger P series gun and he had the same problem. It would stovepipe, fail to feed, you name it. He was getting pretty disgusted and ask if I could figure it out. It never failed to run like a watch when I shot about 1/2 box of ammo through it. I told him to "get ahold of that $%#@ gun" and he never had a minutes problem since. BTW he is about 6'5" and weighs about 290lbs, so no limp wrist jokes for him:-) So, it is worth a try especially with Win ammo. Would be nice if that fixed your problem, cheap fixes like this are rare.