AMT .45 ACP Backup?
- Thread starter Rustynuts
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Rusty, I owned one several years ago. I cannot recommend it. I LOVED the compactness, as it existed long before the current generation of small-sized big-bores. But it just wasn't made very well. I wouldn't expect it to cycle hollow-points and I wouldn't expect it to hold up for you. Sorry.
wally
Member
I've got one, it filled a niche in its day. Better choices exist now. QA/QC was spotty but I got a good one. If buying used, I's pass unless I could shoot it first to make sure it worked. Mine had no trouble with JHP and would feed an empty case -- which I used to do to practice draw and fire with wax bullets (flash hole drilled out case sized and primed and then cookie cut into a slab of canning wax). The wax plug was accurate to a car length or so and punched a hole in cardboard target.
--wally.
--wally.
Heavy gritty long trigger, usually only feeds hardball, but a neat pistol.
MustangHowie
Member
I like mine. It has never given me any problems and feeds any ammo. I carry in my pocket and almost forget it is there. Trigger pull is long but not as stiff as others I have shot. It is small for a 45 so it does push in your hand pretty good but it does stay on target. Not really for range use or long distance, but is very accurate for short distance. The sights are just a groove down the full length of the slide so it does take some practice for fast sighting. Overall no complaints. I have had mine for a while I think I paid around $250 for mine. They are no longer made so parts may be hard to find but I have seen parts on Ebay.
Still being made today...
http://www.highstandard.com/
http://www.highstandard.com/
SouthpawShootr
Member
That's an extraordinarily good trigger weight for the AMT .45 Backup DAOs. Par for the course was somewhere between 18 and 25!
I have one. It took several boxes over a number of range sessions to master the trigger. Face it, the sights, if they can be called that, are rudimentary at best. Anybody who places the target any more than 25 feet away is going to be asking for disappointment. I feel confident I could hit my target at 15 feet on demand.
I see Kimber's RCP is back in production. This is a very nice ultracompact. Only downside is that it's a single action.
I still wish for a company that would not only bring the .45 Backup into production, but fix the shortcomings. The design holds much promise. Execution was flawed.
IIRC correctly the mainspring had to be as heavy as it was b/c the designers were counting on the extra stiff spring to to help keep the breech closed long enough for pressures to drop into the safe range. The recoil spring is heavy, but they chose to use a combination of these two in order to help the lockup.
Incidentally, last time I looked (late last year, I think) some replacement parts were available at Brownells, courtesy of High Standard.
Like FXWG said, they are making new ones. They may be doing a better job on QC, but the sights are still the same. I have a AMT Backup in 40S&W that feeds everything I put in it and has never jammed sinced I polished the ramp and adjusted the mag lips. (Very good steel in the factory mags. Very hard to adjust, but once they are adjusted, they stay that way.) I think little things like that, which were not done at the factory gave these guns a bad name with some. I bought the 40 used for 175$ out the door. I could have picked up a 38super at the same time for the same price. I wish I had. The last one I bought was in 45acp and I got it for $125 out the door. I really like these guns and the 40 is my primary carry most of the time. I use Corbon Powerball ammo.
I like the size and the fact that they are DAO (no levers or such to hang up un your pocket) and have a hidden hammer just in case a double strike is needed on a FTF. I also like the heavy trigger on a pocket gun. It is the safety on a gun without a safety lever. Within 20 to 30 feet, whoever is on the business end is going to be in a lot of trouble in a big hurry.
These guns were approved by the DEA as deep cover guns back in the day, so they can definitely be made to function. It is actually a very simple and robust desgin. Very nice.
Roll Tide
I like the size and the fact that they are DAO (no levers or such to hang up un your pocket) and have a hidden hammer just in case a double strike is needed on a FTF. I also like the heavy trigger on a pocket gun. It is the safety on a gun without a safety lever. Within 20 to 30 feet, whoever is on the business end is going to be in a lot of trouble in a big hurry.
These guns were approved by the DEA as deep cover guns back in the day, so they can definitely be made to function. It is actually a very simple and robust desgin. Very nice.
Roll Tide
Stevie-Ray
Member
I wouldn't get anything with AMT on it's side. Well, maybe an Automag, but then only to see what I could get for it.
Zen21Tao
Member
I owned a .45acp AMT backup that I used as my daily pocket gun. Here are my thoughts on it:
Slim (single stack) design.
When I first went looking for a pocket pistol I found out very quickly from handling guns like the Para Warthog that if I wanted the power of a .45acp I would have to have a single stack automatic or small frame revolver. A double stack made for such a large round was just too bulky and printed badly. The slim single stack design of the AMT Backup fit this niche perfectly.
Weight:
Yes, it was heavy but that helped it absorbing recoil. The recoil was stiff but thanks to the weight it was manageable for follow-up shots. The only real drawback to its weight was that it wasn’t as comfortable as other pocket guns in light shorts (which is often the summer dress code here in Florida) or dress pants. In jeans (long pants and shorts) the weight wasn’t much of an issue.
Trigger Pull
It also had a very stiff trigger pull. I found this to be an advantage if I needed to just toss it in a pocket without a pocket holster to run a quick errand. The long stiff trigger pull greatly decrease the changes of a ND if some other object in the pants pocket hit the trigger. Most of the time I carried in a pocket holster so this wasn’t an issue. Also, a long trigger pull mean less chance of an AD in a adrenaline packed situation where you may not even notice yourself applying weight to a trigger.
Accuracy
As said, this gun isn’t the most accurate piece in the world. However, I believe that if you are in a SHTF situation what you need most is accuracy with a few feet. This peace will definitely fit that bill.
Big, big pullets
I am a big fan of hitting an assailant with at least a .40S&W. I don’t want to argue the effectiveness of 9mm vs. anything else; I am just saying that I am not a 9mm fan. Until I found my current carry piece (my Kahr PM40) the .45 AMT Backup was the biggest bullet I could find in the smallest package.
Price
Since Kahr has come out with the PM and KM models in .40 and now .45acp, price is perhaps the biggest issue. About a year and a half ago I sold my AMT and Taurus M850 .38spl (which was my lighter weight alternative to my AMT of hot light shorts days) and bought a Kahr PM40. They had just come out and I found it for around $680 (which was a really good price then). Now they can be found for around $100 less then that. I have found the Kahr to be a great carry gun. For anyone that doesn’t like Kahr of have the extra $200 - $350 to spend, I would definitely recommend an AMT in the $350 - $400 range an AMT Backup may be worth the investment.
Slim (single stack) design.
When I first went looking for a pocket pistol I found out very quickly from handling guns like the Para Warthog that if I wanted the power of a .45acp I would have to have a single stack automatic or small frame revolver. A double stack made for such a large round was just too bulky and printed badly. The slim single stack design of the AMT Backup fit this niche perfectly.
Weight:
Yes, it was heavy but that helped it absorbing recoil. The recoil was stiff but thanks to the weight it was manageable for follow-up shots. The only real drawback to its weight was that it wasn’t as comfortable as other pocket guns in light shorts (which is often the summer dress code here in Florida) or dress pants. In jeans (long pants and shorts) the weight wasn’t much of an issue.
Trigger Pull
It also had a very stiff trigger pull. I found this to be an advantage if I needed to just toss it in a pocket without a pocket holster to run a quick errand. The long stiff trigger pull greatly decrease the changes of a ND if some other object in the pants pocket hit the trigger. Most of the time I carried in a pocket holster so this wasn’t an issue. Also, a long trigger pull mean less chance of an AD in a adrenaline packed situation where you may not even notice yourself applying weight to a trigger.
Accuracy
As said, this gun isn’t the most accurate piece in the world. However, I believe that if you are in a SHTF situation what you need most is accuracy with a few feet. This peace will definitely fit that bill.
Big, big pullets
I am a big fan of hitting an assailant with at least a .40S&W. I don’t want to argue the effectiveness of 9mm vs. anything else; I am just saying that I am not a 9mm fan. Until I found my current carry piece (my Kahr PM40) the .45 AMT Backup was the biggest bullet I could find in the smallest package.
Price
Since Kahr has come out with the PM and KM models in .40 and now .45acp, price is perhaps the biggest issue. About a year and a half ago I sold my AMT and Taurus M850 .38spl (which was my lighter weight alternative to my AMT of hot light shorts days) and bought a Kahr PM40. They had just come out and I found it for around $680 (which was a really good price then). Now they can be found for around $100 less then that. I have found the Kahr to be a great carry gun. For anyone that doesn’t like Kahr of have the extra $200 - $350 to spend, I would definitely recommend an AMT in the $350 - $400 range an AMT Backup may be worth the investment.
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