AMT

[winsted]

Do any of you have the AMT semi auto, its just like a Ruger only better. If you find one grab it they have millet sights, target trigger, are grooved for scope, and shoot great the only thing bad on them is the clip but thats ok Ruger clips fit just fine.(10 rounders) The only ones I have ever found are stainless bull barrel. Even though they don't make them any more(Ruger sued them and they had to quit making them) My friend sent his back to get reworked, they rebuilt the entire gun and he only paid for shipping now thats service. They said his gun must have fired hundreds of thousands of rounds and the barrel was still great. The browning varmit is also a really good shooter. What 22's do you guys like? I was stupid and sold my s&w 41 before they became worth big bucks.

[cbear]

I thought most AMTs were a 1911 design. Which one infringed on Ruger?

[Moonclip]

AMT cloned the MKII pistol and the 10/22 rifle and was sued by Ruger. I never understood how that took place as doesn't a patent run out after 25 years?

I rarely see these guns for sale. I'd buy one for cheap but I've had bad luck with AMT firearms.

[jjk308]

May have been a trademark or copyright suit, based on the looks, not the patented workings.

[The Celt]

Some years back a patent expired 17 years after the date of issue. More recently, the law was changed to allow a patent to expire 21 years from the date of (filing) the application with the U.S. Patent Office. A patent (contrary to what one sometimes hears or reads) is NOT renewable. A copyright or trademark is a different beast and is generally renewable. A patent can be considered "abandoned" before the expiration date if the assignee (owner of the patent) does not pay a periodic "maintenance" fee. Patent laws in England and foreign countries can vary considerably from U.S. laws.

I'm not an attorney, although I have several patents and have done a considerable amount of patent writing. You have to learn something!

[winsted]

The AMT was called the lightning and was such a perfect copy that clips, grips and just about everything else would fit. Its a great little gun and out shoots most target Rugers and I have found them from a high of 400. for one still new in box to about 200 for a used and scratched one.

[MG-70]

I remember them very well. I've read over at rimfirecentral.com that the AMTs MKII copies often had feeding problems.

Some of my favorite .22 handguns include a Ruger MKII Target, a S&W 17, and a Bersa Firestorm. I wish I could cite the Browning Buckmark as well but I haven't managed to get the barrel screw off of mine yet for a thorough cleaning prior to shooting (have tried WD40, Liquid Wrench, a heat gun, and torque to no avail).

[Krag]

In my younger (and foolish) days I purhcased two AMT .45 pistols and was extremely dissatisfied with both. I always tell anyone who asks to avoid the brand.

[winsted]

They had problems with the 45's and the little backups. The Ruger copies were great except for the mags, we dumped them and used ruger mags. The Ruger copy is the only AMTs I can recommend.

[winsted]

to MG70 The Brownings are great shooters at least the big barrel I have is I use a 1" paster
at 35 yds (off the bench) and they stay inside it.

[Moonclip]

I have a new to me Buckmark and have been pleased with it. How do companies get to clone the Colt 1911 pattern then among others? So I guess I can't clone say a perfect copy of the mini 14 w/o using the Ruger name or images then? The gun has been around since the mid 1970's

[The Celt]

I bought an AMT .45 auto sometime in the 70's. It had problems reliably chambering even hardball. I sent it back and they claimed they had to rechamber the barrel due to a tight chamber. When I got it back it still didn't work. At the time, I was beginning to learn how to do my own work on firearms and discovered that a little extractor and feed ramp work solved the problem. I still own it and it is one of my favorite "full-size" .45 autos. It just wasn't quite finished when it came out of the factory.

It is my understanding that AMT always had quality control issues; if you got a good gun you spoke highly of AMT, if you got a bad gun - well .......

[sigshr]

I bought my AMT Hardballer in 1978, still have it. When I first got it shot way low, sent
the slide back, don't know what they did, fine ever since. Used it to shoot IPSC in 1979-1980, regularly outshot people with customized guns. Fit and finish are fine. I have no
complaints.

[shovel76]

Have an AMT hardballer longslide .45.S/S,great pistol!

[RaceBannon]

I've had an AMT Hardballer since 1978 and its a great pistol. Over the years I've had adjustable sights installed and a minor trigger job done. It's still a tight accurate pistol. AMTs were pretty much hit and miss as far as quality control goes. I feel fortunate that I had a hit!

[mrbullets]

There's a reason AMT is out of business folks. As profit margins declined so did quality, not to mention the legal issues. I have used their .380acp, 9mm and .45 autos. Nothing exciting or original in design except for the .380 Backup. Some of their guns are great and others much less so. Latter year production Back-ups nearly fell apart as they were taken from NIB.

They made a good effort and the hardballers + standard .45s did well for awhile. I don't know what finally did them in but it seems axiomatic as a company starts to fail quality suffers & they get a bad rep. Ala' High Standard, Plainfield Machine, Universal, Iver Johnson, Ithaca, et al.

Their early stuff was certainly OK, but as they got desparate quality declined to the level of Wyoming Arms/Parker Brothers.

[Lyman1903]

i have an 8" Lightening that i received new in 1984,
fantastic pistol, tho a bit heavy w/ the long bull barrel,

iirc, at one time they offered 'conversion kits', as in you could buy a different barreled reciever, for any length of barrel, and swap your bolt and grip assy,

[JB]

I also know friends who've owned the AMT and complained of failure to feed problems.

[NavyOgre]

Thought I'd bring this post back up. I have an AUTOMAG V (.50AE) that I love and have been thinking about getting a HARDBALLER .45 that I found at a local shop for $400 (would prefer the LONGSLIDE but can't find one).

Any comments?

[The Great Billdildoe]

I'd sure like to find another 30 carbine AMT pistol...they are a hoot to shoot !.

[The Great Billdildoe]

I remember on thinking about it a couple friends 20 + years ago bought brand new 22 mag AMT pistols and had a alot of problems with feeding and trigger work out of th ebox. Both got sent back and returned to work quite OK with them.

[30378wby]

I hated my 22 automag from the moment I shot it and it was inaccurate to the time I spent fighting to take it apart for clean up. Sold it for $200 less than I bought it for and was glad to get that.