AMT AutoMag II
Encyclopedia
The AMT AutoMag II is one of four autoloading handguns chambered in .22 WMR, the others being the rare Grendel P30
, the Excel Arms Accelerator Pistol, and the newest Kel-Tec PMR-30
.
was a California-based gun manufacturer that was sued out of existence back in 1999. The city of Newark, New Jersey
sued AMT along with 28 other manufacturers and distributors in June of that year, following a lawsuit filed by the state of California filed in May. Faced with mounting legal costs, AMT went out of business shortly thereafter. Recently, the Crusader Group Gun Company, Inc. of Houston, Texas, acquired the brand from Galena Industries and is marketing it with their line of High Standard firearms.
cartridge develops a late peak pressure. This can cause the case mouth to expand and jam in the chamber when fired from a handgun. AMT overcame this issue by drilling 18 holes at 90 degrees to the chamber. A sleeve was then welded over the chamber; providing a tiny amount of clearance for the excess gas to escape from the first set of holes on back to the second set, thereby relieving the pressure enough to prevent the case from sticking.
The stainless steel slide has a large cutout over the barrel, similar to the Beretta M9
, to facilitate better cooling and ejection of the spent brass casing (more likely it is simply to reduce the moving mass of the slide to allow for the blow-back operation). The stainless steel construction throughout makes rust a non-issue.
Grendel P30
The Grendel P30 is a semi-automatic pistol chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire. Designed by George Kellgren, it uses a 30-round Zytel magazine and was available with a 5 or 8 inch barrel. A carbine version was also offered...
, the Excel Arms Accelerator Pistol, and the newest Kel-Tec PMR-30
Kel-Tec PMR-30
The PMR-30 is a full-size semi-automatic pistol being developed by Kel-Tec and is expected to be available sometime in 2011. It has a single action trigger pull of and a manual safety device. It is chambered in .22 Magnum and the factory shipped magazine will have a capacity of 30 rounds...
.
History
Arcadia Machine and ToolArcadia Machine and Tool
Arcadia Machine & Tool, commonly abbreviated to AMT, was a firearms manufacturer from Irwindale, California. The company produced several weapons, often clones of existing firearms. Plagued by quality and reliability problems, the company went bankrupt and the assets and trademark were acquired by...
was a California-based gun manufacturer that was sued out of existence back in 1999. The city of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
sued AMT along with 28 other manufacturers and distributors in June of that year, following a lawsuit filed by the state of California filed in May. Faced with mounting legal costs, AMT went out of business shortly thereafter. Recently, the Crusader Group Gun Company, Inc. of Houston, Texas, acquired the brand from Galena Industries and is marketing it with their line of High Standard firearms.
Designing the AutoMag
There were a number of engineering challenges to overcome in designing an autoloading .22 WMR handgun. Not the least of which are extraction problems. The extraction problems stem from the fact that the slow burning rifle powder of the .22 WMR.22 WMR
The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, more commonly called .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, or simply .22 Mag, is a rimfire rifle cartridge...
cartridge develops a late peak pressure. This can cause the case mouth to expand and jam in the chamber when fired from a handgun. AMT overcame this issue by drilling 18 holes at 90 degrees to the chamber. A sleeve was then welded over the chamber; providing a tiny amount of clearance for the excess gas to escape from the first set of holes on back to the second set, thereby relieving the pressure enough to prevent the case from sticking.
The stainless steel slide has a large cutout over the barrel, similar to the Beretta M9
M9 Pistol
The Beretta M9, formally Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is a 9×19mm Parabellum pistol of the United States military adopted in 1985. It is essentially a military specification Beretta 92F, later the 92FS....
, to facilitate better cooling and ejection of the spent brass casing (more likely it is simply to reduce the moving mass of the slide to allow for the blow-back operation). The stainless steel construction throughout makes rust a non-issue.
See also
- AMT AutoMag IIIAMT AutoMag IIIThe Automag III is a single action semi-automatic handgun, designed by Harry Sanford, creator of the first Automag. The Automag III does not actually fire a magnum cartridge, but is chambered for the .30 Carbine cartridge originally designed for the World War II era M1 carbine...
- AMT AutoMag IVAMT AutoMag IVThe AMT Automag IV is a large, single action semi-automatic handgun. It was created by Harry Sanford, who invented the original Automag. This model fires the .45 Winchester Magnum round; it was chambered for a time in 10mm iAi Magnum. It has a 7 shot magazine and is, like all of the AMT guns, made...
- AMT AutoMag VAMT AutoMag VThe AMT Automag V is a large single action semi-automatic pistol made by Arcadia Machine and Tool . The weapon was created by Harry Sanford, who also invented the original .44 AutoMag pistol...