44 auto mag makes a return

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Japle said:
I have a TDE in .44AMP made in late 1972. After cleaning up the burrs and doing the necessary polishing, it runs 100% with my loads. I also have a 10 1/2" .357AMP barrel - it takes all of 5 seconds to swap calibers.
The .44 looks scary, but it's a pussycat to shoot. Oddly enough. it puts 180, 240 and 265gr loads into the same tight group at 50 yds.
Favorite loads are the 180gr at 1890fps in the .44 and the 150gr at 1990fps in the .357.
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That’s a lot of fps for a 44
 
Archibald Stanton said:
That’s a lot of fps for a 44
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With my old 8 1/2" .44AMP barrel, I got 2090fps with that 180gr Sierra load (32.0 gr WW296), 1640 with the 240gr Hornady and 1510 with the 265gr Hornady. My current 6 1/2" .44 loses some velocity. Actual chronoed velocity is 1888fps with the 180 Sierra.
I shot a Black Hills deer with the 265 gr load facing me head-on. The bullet went through chest-to-butt with no expansion (the bullet was designed for the .444 Marlin and at 1500 fps it wouldn't expand on the sidewalk) and killed the deer in his tracks.
I seem to recall Lee Jurras getting over 1900fps with his 180 gr SuperVel ammo in a SuperBlackhawk. He shot a bunch of African plains game with that load.
 
Japle said:
With my old 8 1/2" .44AMP barrel, I got 2090fps with that 180gr Sierra load (32.0 gr WW296), 1640 with the 240gr Hornady and 1510 with the 265gr Hornady. My current 6 1/2" .44 loses some velocity. Actual chronoed velocity is 1888fps with the 180 Sierra.
I shot a Black Hills deer with the 265 gr load facing me head-on. The bullet went through chest-to-butt with no expansion (the bullet was designed for the .444 Marlin and at 1500 fps it wouldn't expand on the sidewalk) and killed the deer in his tracks.
I seem to recall Lee Jurras getting over 1900fps with his 180 gr SuperVel ammo in a SuperBlackhawk. He shot a bunch of African plains game with that load.
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Still crazy numbers. I could see it with the super Blackhawk. Closest I have is the super redhawk but it’s the Alaskan so 2” barrel. It can take anything made for any .44 but is still limited in velocity. It’s my favorite .44 that’s not a rifle and a lot of stuff I have put in there, I would not dare to put in my other .44 mag revolvers
 
I like it! $4k is out of my price range though.

I have never shot an Automag but I know that the semi auto action on my light weight Desert Eagle L5 takes all of the sting out of .44mag and .50ae cartridges. They are much more pleasant to shoot than my DanWesson 744. I have no clue if the Automag is the same in absorbing the initial shock of the recoil then spreading it over a longer period of time so you get more of a push than a sharp crack.

Edit: The videos I just watched of the new AutoMag and the old AutoMags look like the 44amp is packing a lot more power than todays average .44 mag. This is kind of inline with what Japel was saying above about his 44amp rounds.

Hmmm... the .308 based 44amp must have a fair bit less volume than a .44mag case due to the thickness of the rifle case. If you put the same powder in a 44amp and a .44mag I would expect the 44amp to be considerably hotter???
 
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I really wanted one of these when I was a kid. I remember them from the Dirty Harry movie, and Mack Bolan (the executioner) carried one in the books- he was even on the cover of the books holding it. I also remember reading about them once long ago in a gun magazine that was in a barber shop. I had a CO2 Crossman bb pistol with the same profile, and a man I know in NC has 5 of them from his personal collection on display in his shop.
 
MikeInOr said:
I like it! $4k is out of my price range though.

I have never shot an Automag but I know that the semi auto action on my light weight Desert Eagle L5 takes all of the sting out of .44mag and .50ae cartridges. They are much more pleasant to shoot than my DanWesson 744. I have no clue if the Automag is the same in absorbing the initial shock of the recoil then spreading it over a longer period of time so you get more of a push than a sharp crack.

Edit: The videos I just watched of the new AutoMag and the old AutoMags look like the 44amp is packing a lot more power than todays average .44 mag. This is kind of inline with what Japel was saying above about his 44amp rounds.

Hmmm... the .308 based 44amp must have a fair bit less volume than a .44mag case due to the thickness of the rifle case. If you put the same powder in a 44amp and a .44mag I would expect the 44amp to be considerably hotter???
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Originally they were scared to push the amp to max magnum levels but it looks like that is not the case anymore,

The inside volume is probably going to be so close to similar that it will not matter. The .44 amp has a slightly longer and wider case but it seats the exact same bullet as the .44 magnum so the inside diameter is going to be the same at least at the neck but it originally did taper down slightly at the bottom of the case. I can’t think volume will be much different. While you can still cut down .308 cartridges, Starline makes a specific .44 amp case. Current standard specs do allow for a higher psi on the amp than the magnum although reloading pushes all of that out the window.

One potential issue that I can see is a 308 uses large rifle primer and Starline calls for large pistol for their .44 amp brass. I've used both in rifle cases and the pistol primer is slightly shorter so if it is seated all the way down, sometimes the firing pin will not strike it (depending on the rifle). I have no idea what the pin on the new AutoMags will be like. You can seat the pistol primer flush if you are careful and this has always worked for me but it does take more time. Rifle primers are also a little thicker but that has never been an issue for me. None of this matters if you reload a lot and I am assuming anyone who buys this gun will reload it. I could only see it being an issue with primer shortages or if you are trying to fine tune the pressure down to the nth degree.

44 mag max standard pressure is 36,000 psi, 44 amp is 40,000 (amp psi info came from AutoMag directly). I know some of the available .44 mag +P will come out around 40,000 and I'm sure some of the Buffalo Bore stuff will.


44 Auto-Mag has a case length of 1.298”

.44 Rem Mag …………….,,……………. 1.285”

.44 Auto -Mag base diameter of .470”

44 Rem Mag …………………,, .457”

.44 Auto-Mag has a neck diameter of .457”

.44 Rem Mag …………………………… .456”

74C7E1BB-7E3C-48B6-A429-1EC37E9F00A6.jpeg
 
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Patocazador said:
I only paid $400 for mine when they first came out which is probably the same as $4000 is now with inflation going nuts.
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Yeah, inflation is killing everything. The problem is with all these new "gun fans," buying everything (and probably never shooting any of it) along with the ever-present thoughtfulness of Uncle Joe snooping around, gun manufacturers and ammo companies know they can get double and triple what they used to be able to get for the same products and I doubt we will ever get back to 2018 pricing, much less pre-Obama pricing.
 
redcon1 said:
It allegedly jammed so bad that Clint threw it into the ocean and a diver had to retrieve it. More than once according to this source. Seems out of character for Clint though.
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That's interesting. I'm not sure why they would have a guy build them one instead of just using a factory one as Auto Mag has always claimed that the movie used one of their guns. I think he added the barrel which was longer than the production models. It's also odd that it would jam since they should have been using lower pressure blanks. I haven't watched the movie in so long that I can't remember if he tries to rapidfire it enough to have a really nasty jam. I think the gun had been out of production for a few years (and the company out of business) by the time the movie came out so it makes sense as the manufacturing support would not have been there.
 
redcon1 said:
It allegedly jammed so bad that Clint threw it into the ocean and a diver had to retrieve it. More than once according to this source. Seems out of character for Clint though.
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I don’t believe it…… unless it was in the script and then left on the editing room floor. Here’s why:

Clint is known in Hollywood as “one take Clint”. He is famous for coming in under budget for his films. He would not waste that kind of time and money. And he did direct Sudden Impact.

And the comment is wrong about that AutoMag being built by a retired gun designer, unless she is referring to the gun being Manufactured by Harry Sanford, of Automag.

I know the guy that set that Automag up for Clint. He wasn’t retired, and not a gun designer. He is/was a master weapon smith.
 
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