What is this little pistol?

How old is that ad? For $12.95 I would buy it then figure out the maker. I do not know the make.

The pistol pictured is an AMT Backup with the DAO trigger. Sort of an old school pocket gun before pocket guns were the rage. They were made in 380, 45ACP and a few other calibers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMT_Backup

Beat me to it...it's a DAO version of the AMT Back-Up. I think they made them in .380 ACP, 9mm., .45 ACP, and even in .38 Super! Believe they were all stainless steel construction and were kind of on the heavy side for a pocket size auto. They also were saddled with a very heavy DAO trigger and pretty much non-existent sights.

Some will disagree, I think the AMT in .380 at least for me was an excellent small hideout gun for the day.

barnetmill

Some will disagree, I think the AMT in .380 at least for me was an excellent small hideout gun for the day.

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I wouldn't disagree with you as I had a few of them years ago. But overall quality could be hit or miss with them, triggers always seemed to be on the heavy side, and they really could have used some decent sights. For their size though, in a .380,they really couldn't be beat, that is until Colt came out with their Mustang. I sold my last AMT Back-Up to have enough money to get a Mustang and have been very happy with my choice!

The AMT Backup was a tough gun to love. I owned a backup 380 with the single action trigger which means it had a grip safety and a thumb lever safety. It fed FMJ ammo just fine but would stovepipe on almost every HP I tried. And taking it apart wasn't easy. When I purged myself of anything 380, this was one of the first guns to go.

I think the fellow that worked graveyard shift at the beach resort hotel next door in the late '70s may have been carrying an AMT Backup.

One night (probably 3-4am) when things outside had gotten "odd", he & I ran into each other while making quick external perimeter checks.

He told me that he had a new pistol that had him a bit stumped. I told him to come over after the 7-to-3s got settled.

Later, in the office, he emptied it, handed it to me and asked me how to field-strip it for cleaning. I could not discover The Trick to it. I told him that all I could figure was that he might have to remove some pins to breakdown that pup. I gave him the name of a fellow at, IIRC, Atlantic & Pacific Arms (the guy trying to talk me into buying a .45acp Ingram+specialty Suppressor) who might know the secret.

Never heard from him again ...

My wife has a .380 Backup and I have a .45. My .45 feeds and shoots reloaded SWCs just fine but its trigger is a bear.
Her .380 SA does fine with some hollow points.

I don't like DAO pistols even though I have a few.

GBExpat said:

Later, in the office, he emptied it, handed it to me and asked me how to field-strip it for cleaning. I could not discover The Trick to it. I told him that all I could figure was that he might have to remove some pins to breakdown that pup. I gave him the name of a fellow at, IIRC, Atlantic & Pacific Arms (the guy trying to talk me into buying a .45acp Ingram+specialty Suppressor) who might know the secret.

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Very hard to take apart. My standard cleaning was to take out the firing pin housing to clean and have easier access to the chamber and fixed barrel. The housing is held in with a single transverse pin and friction. After taking out the pin, I would lock the slide to the rear by using a nickel or dime in the hammer channel inside the rear of the slide, since there is no slide stop lever. Then I would stick a wooden spoon with a wide handle up the magazine well to knock out the firing pin housing from below. The first time anyone field strips one of these, they will appreciate a tool less take down on things like Glocks and nearly every other pistol.

MedWheeler said:

Anyone recognize the gun in this ad? It looks like it might be a neat little pocket shooter. I remember reading of a line of pocket .22s that bore different girls' names, perhaps the names of its creator's daughters. Is this one of them?

View attachment 915182

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You were thinking of Wilkinson Arms. He made a pair of pocket pistols named "Linda" and "Sherry."

herrwalther said:

... The housing is held in with a single transverse pin and friction. After taking out the pin, I would lock the slide to the rear by using a nickel or dime in the hammer channel inside the rear of the slide, since there is no slide stop lever. Then I would stick a wooden spoon with a wide handle up the magazine well to knock out the firing pin housing from below. ...

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Thank you for the description. What a PITA!

bannockburn said:

barnetmill


I wouldn't disagree with you as I had a few of them years ago. But overall quality could be hit or miss with them, triggers always seemed to be on the heavy side, and they really could have used some decent sights. For their size though, in a .380,they really couldn't be beat, that is until Colt came out with their Mustang. I sold my last AMT Back-Up to have enough money to get a Mustang and have been very happy with my choice!
View attachment 915334

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While my double action ,380 AMT really did not have sights, I was able easily hit pepper poppers and such at combat ranges. I did kill a couple snakes also with mine. I have only one of these and mine was reliable and IIRC I only use FMJ in mine. I believe FMJ to be the best ammo for the .380, but then people have written pages on that subject.
To field strip it a pin must be driven out. I usually cleaned it with out taking it apart.