A.M.T. Backup?

L

Longshot

New member
I'd like some recommendations/feedback on this line of pistols. Our search feature seems to be down for a bit, so I'd appreciate comments from the board.

In particular:

Does anyone own, or has anyone fired, the .45 or the 9mm?

What's the retail price (if they are still in business)?

Anybody have a link to their website (if they are still in business)? I can't seem to locate it.


Thanks,

Longshot.
 
I have and shoot an AMT .45 DOA Backup. Mine works fine, I've never had a bobble with it. The trigger pull is very heavy and there is little that can be done to reduce it. The pistol is heavy and really needs a holster for carry, not really a pocket pistol however I have carried mine in my right front pants pocket at times.

AMT's quality control was/is spotty at times and either the pistols will work or they will not. They have been good in making sure that the guns do work by either replacing the bad one with a new onew (wearing the same serial number) or fixing the problem(s).

AMT was bought out and I can't remember the new company's name. To tell the truth, I have not seen an ad for their pistols in a while so they can be out of business.
 
At least before the buyout AMT made low quality handguns. I had a brief experience with a DOA .380 ACP backup and the only thing good about it was that it was in fact small. The trigger pull was very heavy, which didn't bother me, but it started to misfire the first time I took it to the range and, as I went through the first (and only) hundred rounds with the gun it misfired more and more frequently. I took it back to Franklin's (near Athens, GA) and they gave me credit towards my next purchase - a Glock 26! Larger, and much more expensive than the AMT, but a great gun I still have and carry. Maybe AMT's new owners will turn that line of handguns around.
 
I have a Backup in .45 ACP. To date I am just short of 600 rounds through it, all problem free. The ammunition fired was of Black Hills Ammunition manufacture, 230 gr. bullets in either FMJ re-manufactured or new Gold Dot. While the trigger pull was and is heavy, I think it is part of the function of the small size of the gun and the need to control recoil forces thru spring resistance.

The quality of manufacture is good, as the company is under new management by folks who work pretty hard to insure a quality product leaves their plant. I have looked at one of their 1911 models and it was nicely fit and finished.

http://www.galenaindustries.com/

Kilroy...
...was here
 
I have a 45acp AMT backup.

At one time I carried it as one of my CCW pieces.
The line of pistols is still being made as noted above.

As noted earlier the pistol has a very long and heavy trigger pull.

It holds 5 rds +1 in the chamber.
It is not condusive to quick mag changes due to the catch at the base of the grip which engages the base of the mag.

If you have a good mag, the gun is reliable.

As a 45, it is a thumper. You will not want to stand at the range and pour 50-100 rds through it. You can, but it beats on you, as a small pistol with a big bullet might.

It is a close quarter defensive pistol, probably suited for its name "backup". I carried mine not as a back up, but when the occasion for the 1911 was just to big to carry.

At about 22 oz (empty) it is not an overly light gun.
However it is not too heavy either. It is slender, and you can put it in a IWB holster, and you hardly know its there. It is stainless so I don't worry about sweat.

Accuracy is a ? I have paced off 15 yds and put three shots in a 50 cent piece. However, I can spend the rest of the night trying to put three of them on a pie plate. Rarely succeeding. Its the recoil and the trigger pull, that are not condusive to precise accuracy. It has no external sights, but instead has a "U" grove. For 7 yds and in, it is just fine. Don't go to Camp Perry with it though.

Dealer cost is somewhere around $210.. I think.

I am an AMT fan, mostly because of my experience with their Hardballer 1911. Great Value & Quality for an American Stainless 1911 clone.

The backup design has been around for many years, and honestly the advantages it once had, small compact and concealable as a backup, have been overtaken by competition and technology.

Its ok for what it is.

Would I buy another one? Probably not. I would buy a pocket 32 Keltec, Berretta, etc. for real backup concealability, and use a Glock model 30 for routine concealed carry. I have neither currently.

It pains me to say that because I am a 1911 fan and actually carry a Paraordnance P-12.

My 45 ACP backup gets pulled into service only on rare occasion.

If you were in Metro Detroit, I would let you try mine out.
Good luck.
 
Gee, I'm in the minority here :eek: but...
I had an AMT 45backup... I HATED IT :mad:
I hated it because it ejected brass directly into my forehead HARD!:mad:
I hated it because every time I fired it was like someone was pounding on my entire body with a sledgehammer!:mad:
I hated it because the trigger pull was SO eavy that my wife couldn't pull the trigger and I couldn't aim worth a DARN with it:mad:
I hated it bacause it was as INACCURATE as a slingshot!:mad:
I hated it because it was heavier than my bowling ball:mad:,
but most of all, I hated it because it locked closed on an empty chamber once, and never opened again!!!:mad:

I won't bore you with the aweful Customer Service, since they've been bought out, but it was BAD!

Anyway, for the size and weight, I personally would prefer the Kahr MK9 or MK40 over anything in the AMT line... But of course, they cost twice as much.

Take care, good luck!!! :D
 
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