Peter M. Eick
New member
And I thought the whole purpose of the 25ACP was to convince reloaders we were hamfisted and had no patience.
Now back to the beloved 44 Auto Mag.
Now back to the beloved 44 Auto Mag.
What killed the Automag?
- Thread starter GaryED50
- Start date
I don't have a .25, but I do have a .32ACP, and I do reload for it. If I had a .25, I would reload for it. But, that's just me...I like reloading..
Perhaps that is why I wasn't put off by the fact that the Auto Mag didn't have (any significant) supply of factory ammo available.
I've come across information that says that CDM produced 1,000,000 rounds of ammo, and 600,000 empty brass. I've never seen a figure on how much ammo Norma made, but all accounts say it was considerably less than the Mexican produced ammo.
A Million rounds sounds like a lot, and, in one place, it is a lot. But that's 20,000 boxes, and spread around the country (or the world, some Auto Mags were apparently sold outside the US) its not much ammo at all.
My information suggests somewhere around 5,000 guns were made during the production years, others have said the number is about double that. I don't know, but if we take the lower number, that still works out to only 4 boxes of ammo made for each gun in overall production totals, and I know from personal experience that many Auto Mag purchasers only ever got a box or two of factory stuff, if that, while others laid in quantities of the ammo during the short time it was commercially available.
My first Auto Mag (private sale) came with over a dozen boxes of CDM ammo and 3 or 4 boxes of the same, fired. My second Auto Mag (bought through a gun shop) came with none. My third (bought through the same shop) came with one box of Jurras ammo (CDM brass with a different bullet) with 4 rounds fired.
Besides the expense, the lack of a market demand, the mechanical quirks of the mechanism, and reliability issues, I think what kept the Auto Mag from lasting long enough to survive those handicaps was the fact that for most people who got them, there simply was little or no ammo, unless they made it themselves.
There is one additional thing I have thought of that I'm sure had an effect, and that was/is a reverse snobbery kind of thing. Any time there is a discussion about magnum autopistols there are always people who give reasons why one should not own one. No need. Too heavy. Too Expensive. Not Reliable. etc., etc.,etc.
People have made much of the Auto Mag being unreliable, and I will admit they are .."quirky". But so are some other guns, especially when there isn't a long established standard for the ammo. The Auto Mag was, essentially, an experimental design, firing an experimental round, and yet people measured it against long established action designs with decades or generations of use.
In some ways the Auto Mag is like the first generation of jet engines. Cutting edge design and manufacturing techniques, and when they run right, they deliver more than piston engines. But they don't always run right. Or run long enough. Or the new jet has a higher top speed, but lower acceleration than the prop plane...things like that.
The next generation of jets was better in a number of ways, and so the next generation of magnum auto pistols was too. The Desert Eagle does some things much differently than the Auto Mag, and has proven better at surviving as a commercial product as well as being a better gun in some ways.
Being able to use commonly available calibers (even though one cannot use ALL the loads in those calibers) I think has been a huge advantage for the Desert Eagle. Probably the real reason (besides Hollywood & video games) that the Desert Eagle has stayed in production.
Perhaps that is why I wasn't put off by the fact that the Auto Mag didn't have (any significant) supply of factory ammo available.
I've come across information that says that CDM produced 1,000,000 rounds of ammo, and 600,000 empty brass. I've never seen a figure on how much ammo Norma made, but all accounts say it was considerably less than the Mexican produced ammo.
A Million rounds sounds like a lot, and, in one place, it is a lot. But that's 20,000 boxes, and spread around the country (or the world, some Auto Mags were apparently sold outside the US) its not much ammo at all.
My information suggests somewhere around 5,000 guns were made during the production years, others have said the number is about double that. I don't know, but if we take the lower number, that still works out to only 4 boxes of ammo made for each gun in overall production totals, and I know from personal experience that many Auto Mag purchasers only ever got a box or two of factory stuff, if that, while others laid in quantities of the ammo during the short time it was commercially available.
My first Auto Mag (private sale) came with over a dozen boxes of CDM ammo and 3 or 4 boxes of the same, fired. My second Auto Mag (bought through a gun shop) came with none. My third (bought through the same shop) came with one box of Jurras ammo (CDM brass with a different bullet) with 4 rounds fired.
Besides the expense, the lack of a market demand, the mechanical quirks of the mechanism, and reliability issues, I think what kept the Auto Mag from lasting long enough to survive those handicaps was the fact that for most people who got them, there simply was little or no ammo, unless they made it themselves.
There is one additional thing I have thought of that I'm sure had an effect, and that was/is a reverse snobbery kind of thing. Any time there is a discussion about magnum autopistols there are always people who give reasons why one should not own one. No need. Too heavy. Too Expensive. Not Reliable. etc., etc.,etc.
People have made much of the Auto Mag being unreliable, and I will admit they are .."quirky". But so are some other guns, especially when there isn't a long established standard for the ammo. The Auto Mag was, essentially, an experimental design, firing an experimental round, and yet people measured it against long established action designs with decades or generations of use.
In some ways the Auto Mag is like the first generation of jet engines. Cutting edge design and manufacturing techniques, and when they run right, they deliver more than piston engines. But they don't always run right. Or run long enough. Or the new jet has a higher top speed, but lower acceleration than the prop plane...things like that.
The next generation of jets was better in a number of ways, and so the next generation of magnum auto pistols was too. The Desert Eagle does some things much differently than the Auto Mag, and has proven better at surviving as a commercial product as well as being a better gun in some ways.
Being able to use commonly available calibers (even though one cannot use ALL the loads in those calibers) I think has been a huge advantage for the Desert Eagle. Probably the real reason (besides Hollywood & video games) that the Desert Eagle has stayed in production.