AUTAUGA ARMS .32 FEEDBACK

A

alamo

New member
I bought an autauga arms .32 recently ($300.00 New! most places charged $400+). All of the articles I read about it were favorable, some problems when it first came out like the guardian but have been corrected. i have only put 75 rounds thru it so far (silvertip & fed. hydra-shok) but there were no problems. i liked it better than the guardian because it is slightly lighter, lighter trigger pull (10-12 lbs.)and magazine release button is more secure.
What has been the experience of other owners with this gun?
 
See the other topic on Seecamp vs Guardian, but there is absolutely no comparison when you consider the amazing Kel-Tec P-32 which only weighs 6.6 oz! Trigger pull only 5 lbs!
Total width (thinth) only 0.75 inches! And the longish 2.69 inch barrel not only maximizes velocity and sighting radius, it keeps the muzzle a little farther from your fingers. If the ultra-concealable black color doesn't float your boat, visit ktog-org and follow the enthusiast's links to wild color options.
Don't forget the pocket clip instead of a holster.
The Autauga looked like a quality gun, as did the Guardian, but the Kel-Tec instantly redefined the spitwad! ;)

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Teach a non-shooter to shoot. Educate a voter.
 
I actually do have a kel-tec 32 & i do like it very much. I also purchased it recently ($250) and have put 100 rounds thru it (fmj, silvertip & hydra-shok) so far, no problems at all. my wife carries it in her purse. i called the company and the 10 round magazine will be availble in march - check out their web site.
the p32 doesn't fit well in my preferred carry spot (back pocket) due to its length so i use the autauga. was going to get another one as a back-up until a dealer told me some of his customers have had problems with all makes of kel-tec guns the past 6-7 months including the p32. i'm not sure what to make of this, you hear different things from different people. anybody had any p32 problems on a recently (6-7 months) purchased gun?
 
I have an Autauga. The only problems I found with it were (1) being a Seecamp clone, it only likes Silvertips; (2) the trigger guard wore through the skin on my finger until I smoothed and rounded the squared edge on the guard; (3) the mag release is awful -- in a terrible place and hard to activate. On the plus side, it is well made, comes with two magazines, and it has sights and will shoot pretty good 7-yard groups. So far, it's been reliable, although it's not the kind of gun you put many rounds through. It has a much better trigger than the Guardians I tried.
 
To Alamo: My new P-32 (purchased in 12/99) indeed had major problems with extraction failures my first time at the range. Sent it back to Kel-Tec. Still waiting for its return. I hope they can straighten it out, otherwise I foresee a major battle trying to return it to the dealer, who's made it clear it's Kel-Tec's problem and mine, but definitely not his!
 
I have the Autauga Mk II and got my son one for Christmas. It will handle any hollowpoint ir magsafes, I prefer the Speer Gold Dot or Federal HydraShok to the Silvertip. I also happen to like the mag catch, you probably won't be doing speed reloads anyway, and the release they use won't accidentally activate in your pocket.
 
Hey Alamo, what do you think of your Autauga now that you have had it for a while?

Frank
 
I used to work for Autauga. The mag release is made to be hard to release so it isn't inadvertantly knocked off. Reloads are not usually a factor with pocket guns. The heel type release is pushed a lot when carried in the back pocket.

I have put over one thousand rounds through one of mine with no problems. It hurts my hands a little.

FYI - Autauga is out of the handgun business so you have a collector's piece.

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1* James Yeager
M.C.L.M.M.
Tactical Response
http://jump.to/defense
 
Tactical Response - what's the story on Autauga? I spoke to them almost 2 months ago when there web site stopped working. the receptionist said that someone had bought the company and they were restructuring the product line. i asked if they were still going to produce the .32 & she said yes. I guess that has changed, do you know why?
I bought a 2nd one as a back-up, haven't fired it yet. I have only put the usual 200 rounds of break-in rounds thru my first one (no problems at all) so I don't have any updated feedback. I carry it daily, I don't really plan to shoot it much, maybe a couple of times/year for familiarization. I still like it a lot, the finish is very durable. It does pick up a lot of lint & dust over time in my back pocket so I clean it every 3 months.
 
My friend Rusty Rossey purchased Autauga Arms from the former owner Will VonGall (really nice guys). VonGall sold it because of the HUD lawsuits in which Autauga was named. Rusty was going to sell the inventory of MKIIs and warranty all of them but produce no more. Autauga was primarily a Sniper rifle manufacturer and Rusty was going to concentrate on them after the purchase.

I haven't been able to break one but I have some spare parts if anyone neeeds some.

I will try to contact Rusty to get an update.

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1* James Yeager
M.C.L.M.M.
Tactical Response
http://jump.to/defense
 
Alamo - stick the second one in a safe place and let it appreciate. My advice is to not shoot it. It *may* be a collectors peice in a few years..

Giz
 
Tactical Response - thanks for the info., i want to get some spare parts just in case. i will call autauga on tuesday to see what they have. i was thinking of getting magazine springs, recoil springs, extractor, firing pin & firing pin spring. can you think of anything else i'd need? although probably rare, what usually breaks when they do?
i will keep the 2nd one to cannibalize if absolutely necessary but i'd much rather have the parts to fix anything that may break on my original one.
by the way, doesn't some other company actually make the gun? on the side of the pistol it says "Production CNC, Carrollton, GA" maybe someone else will start marketing it.
 
almost forgot - gizmo - good advice, will do.
for anyone in the austin, texas area where i live, heritage firearms has some in stock for $299.00 (as of 5-27-00) - i was there today.
tactical response - let me know what you find out, i will post a response tuesday when i call about parts. i may need to check with you on a few spares if i can't get them thru autauga. i appreciate your help.
 
tactical response - i spoke to jessica, the receptionist today. she is supposed to send my some magazine springs, both recoil springs, a firing pin, firing pin spring, extractor and extractor springs. she says the will keep parts in stock for warranty work.
said they ordered 4,000 MKII's from the facility that makes them & won't be ordering anymore. i wonder about that, my two are serial number 14xx which were bought in 12/99 & 2/00.
anyway, can you think of any other parts i should get?
i shot it again this weekend. flawless with 50 rounds of silvertip and 7 rounds of federal hydra-shok. what do you carry in yours?
 
I have been trying to get a technical spec sheet on the Autauga MKII but have been unable to find one. The Autauga Arms web site is all but down. http://www.autaugaarms.com/ . The toll free number, and fax number do not work. The direct number has a voice mail, but doesn't identify itself as to what company they are.

Meanwhile, CDNN Investments, Inc. is selling a large inventory of these for $199 each ($70 below dealer cost), but they have no technical sheet they can fax me. I also imagine that if I buy one of these, future parts are out of the question unless my gunsmith can make them himself.

Can someone post the technical specs on this pistol? i.e. dimensions, weight, trigger pull, etc..?

Thanks,
 
This is an old thread! I'm a little short on time now but I'll give you more details & specs later - it may be tomorrow. Autauga Arms is now Autauga Rifle, they still warranty the guns & have parts. I've got 2 of them, great little gun.
 
Mine is not a good story, so if you are thinking of buying here it is(warning-Long!) :(

- Bought brand new one off Gentleman on GunsAmerica for $240 delivered. This was in late July, before CDNN was blowing them out (now I know why they are blowing them out). Wanted something very small to carry in Texas heat when other guns just wouldn't work.
- First time I shot it, using Fiocchi .32ACP SJHP and Hornady XTPs, got numerous Failures-to-feed with the SJHP, due to their catching on feed ramp. Accuracy was good at 3 yds, so-so at 7 yds. XTPs seemed to work ok.
- Experienced some "fail to go bang" when I pulled the trigger. Trigger seemed to be slipping
- Got it home, tried to disassemble and the #$## manual is wrong, never having been updated for MKII version. Take down hole is on other side from described in manual. Cleaned it up, lubed it up and got it ready for second range session.
- Got some Winchester Silvertips. Took it to the range. Silvertips keyholed. Failed to go bang 25% of the time. Obvious trigger bar is slipping. I tell myself, okay, this ones going back for repairs, my first pistol EVER to require repairs.
- Now my dealer that I bought it from never bothered to tell me that Autauga was out of business. Perhaps he didn't know.
- I packed it up and paid $35 frickin dollars to send it UPS to the address listed in the owners manual. After waiting a week, I called the number from the website (yes, it was still up and there was no indication that they were out of business.
- Finally got a phone call back from one "Rusty" and we had a long conversation. Seems Autauga Arms is out of business, but he works for Autauga Rifles and is doing "warranty" work for Autauga pistols in his spare time since they gave him all the spare parts and such. He would not agree to refund my shipping, but agreed to fix it and send it back at his expense. He told me that they'd had about 50% problems with the trigger bar slippage and said they had new parts and he could fix it. He also said that Silvertips have caused problems and that he only recommends Speer Gold Dots. He's had my pistol for over two months and the last time I heard from him was about a month ago.
- I left him a message and sent him an email (Yes, he did provide me his private email address) yesterday. I told him if I didn't have my gun back by next Wed (the 21st), that I would report the gun stolen and let the ATF handle it.

My advice: Don't buy an Autauga MKII unless you want it strictly for a collector's item, or you are a good gunsmith and don't mind fixing it's problems if you have them. If I ever get mine back, and it doesn't go bang 100% of the time, then it goes in the "Well, you got screwed on that deal" file.:mad:
 
Extremist,

Sorry to hear about your problems. Let us know how things turn out. You say that you called a number on their website & it was still up. Their website was http://www.autaugaarms.com and it was taken off over a year ago. What site are you looking at? Also curious as to what your serial number is, both of mine are 14XX.

My experience has been the opposite. My first Autauga has been 100% reliable and I bought a 2nd which has been 100% also. I have shot only Silvertips and Gold Dots as you are supposed to use hollowpoint only & they recommend Gold Dots as Extremist said. I have run across about 8-9 other Autauga owners who have reported no problems with theirs. Someone on Glock Talk not long ago thought they had a trigger bar problem, when he fired it he said he had 2 failures to fire but it fired upon restriking, he thought it might be the trigger bar but didn't check the primers of the rounds that didn't fire. These happened in his first 100 rounds, so I would be curious to know how it performs after the first 200 rounds which is the usual break-in period for a new gun.

I last talked to Rusty back in June, I needed a new follower for an extra magazine that I bought at a gun shop, he sent it right away free of charge. I also got some spare parts from him not long after I bought the 2 guns. I e-mailed him about 3 months ago to confirm something I read on another forum. He was negotiating with another manufacturer (not sure which one) to sell the Autauga design & the target date for production was 1/02. Will have to ask him what is the latest news is on this development. I'm sure they won't be selling for $199 though! Since there is apparently a fix for the trigger bar problem, that would be incorporated in any new production.

3,200 of these guns were made. Here are the specs on it:

Length: 4 3/8"
Height: 3 1/4"
Width: 7/8"
Weight: 12 ounces (unloaded, about 2 ounces less than the Guardian)
Weight loaded: 13 1/2 ounces
Trigger pull: 8 lbs.
6+1
Comes with 2 magazines and a snap cap

The finish is extremely durable, I carry mine in the Texas heat and have had no problems.
I carry mine most every day in an R.J. Hedley rear pocket holster. He doesn't advertise Autauga holsters on his site but he does make them.
 
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