Sabah Alev
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I've fallen in love with the AMT hardballer, and i was wondering if any of you owned one? goggle doesn't help me all to well.
much thanks
much thanks
AMT hardballers
- Thread starter Sabah Alev
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Zach S
Member
Every guy has had a girlfriend that wasn't right, but the guy just couldnt see that no matter what his friends told him. I hate to be the guy telling you that your pick sucks, however:
AMTs were bad for galling, some locked up so tight that you had to beat the pistol apart with a hammer.
My AMT was boring reliable with 230grain FMJ and decent 7 round mags, however not very accurate, probably due to the increadibly loose slide to frame fit. The rear sight constantly came loose. The trigger pull sucked. It was picky with mags and non FMJ ammo. The mag release was drilled about .050" too low, my sear pin was drilled off center. Tooling marks throughout the whole gun. The grip safety didnt work, an OTC 1911 trigger wont fit it.
AMT changed hands several times and I think it finally went broke, so you'd have no warranty.
That said, I enjoy shooting my AMT and do so on a regular basis. However, there isnt much left of the pistol I paid $200 for (frame and trigger). I lost a sear pin, so I got the one out of my AMT. Same with the rest of the pins I think. I lost the parts that were held in by the pins. I used the grip bushings on another pistol, and gave what .45 slide parts I had away for the price of shipping. I told the guy ten bucks would cover shipping, he sent 15, it actually cost $7.50. Even though I was very descriptive and totally honest about the condtion of the parts I had, I still felt a little guilty about taking money for those parts.
I couldnt get rid of it since it was my first gun, and I hated having a bare frame laying around, so I sank more money into it and had it rebuilt with a new pin set and take-off parts with a few new ones threw in. Its a dedicated host for a Ciener conversion.
My advice, get a stainless Mil Spec Springer. Or a RIA. Or a Llama. Heck of a lot more gun.
AMTs were bad for galling, some locked up so tight that you had to beat the pistol apart with a hammer.
My AMT was boring reliable with 230grain FMJ and decent 7 round mags, however not very accurate, probably due to the increadibly loose slide to frame fit. The rear sight constantly came loose. The trigger pull sucked. It was picky with mags and non FMJ ammo. The mag release was drilled about .050" too low, my sear pin was drilled off center. Tooling marks throughout the whole gun. The grip safety didnt work, an OTC 1911 trigger wont fit it.
AMT changed hands several times and I think it finally went broke, so you'd have no warranty.
That said, I enjoy shooting my AMT and do so on a regular basis. However, there isnt much left of the pistol I paid $200 for (frame and trigger). I lost a sear pin, so I got the one out of my AMT. Same with the rest of the pins I think. I lost the parts that were held in by the pins. I used the grip bushings on another pistol, and gave what .45 slide parts I had away for the price of shipping. I told the guy ten bucks would cover shipping, he sent 15, it actually cost $7.50. Even though I was very descriptive and totally honest about the condtion of the parts I had, I still felt a little guilty about taking money for those parts.
I couldnt get rid of it since it was my first gun, and I hated having a bare frame laying around, so I sank more money into it and had it rebuilt with a new pin set and take-off parts with a few new ones threw in. Its a dedicated host for a Ciener conversion.
My advice, get a stainless Mil Spec Springer. Or a RIA. Or a Llama. Heck of a lot more gun.
snorko
Member
I had an AMT in the early 1990's as did a friend of mine. They wee accurate and fun to shoot. However, between the two of us we had three slam fires over the course of a couple months, i.e. insert mag, drop slide, BANG. Sold them with buyer knowledge.
Not saying all are this way, maybe just our two, but remember the rules!
Not saying all are this way, maybe just our two, but remember the rules!
Jim Watson
Member
I know of two in this area bought when they were in production in the 1970s. They were roughly made of strong materials. One stood up to a documented 6000 rounds of what would now be rated +P or +P+ with no signs of wear except a little burnishing of the coarse factory finish on the rails. One owner was kind of an advanced tinkerer, the other a senior toolroom machinist, and they both had their hands full making the guns run right.
There are a lot of stainless steel 1911 clones on the market these days, and nearly any one of them would be a better choice than a Hardballer.
There are a lot of stainless steel 1911 clones on the market these days, and nearly any one of them would be a better choice than a Hardballer.
Mainsail
Member
I bought a Longslide Hardballer in the mid 80s because I liked the way it looked. I used to sit in the barraks with wads of NeverDul shining the slide until it looked like a mirror. I didn’t shoot it much, but I don’t recall any major incidents with it until….
I was down at Altus AFB Oklahoma in 1987 for flight training and a friend in the class with me expressed some concern because he’d never fired a handgun before. I took him out to a deserted area and showed him the AMT; I told him all about it. Just before beginning to shoot I realized I hadn’t shown him the thumb safety, so I flipped it up, pointed it downrange, and said, “This is the safety, it won’t fire with the safety on.” With that I pulled the trigger. BANG! I guess nobody ever told the gun about the safety because it fired, shearing off the thumb safety and sending it to Mexico. Thankfully neither of us was hurt other than the ringing in our ears.
I took the gun to a dealer in Lawton (where I would later buy my Glock 17) and he took it apart. It turned out that he was an authorized AMT repair station. He told me that all the internal parts were just barely within specs, but all were at the lower ends of their proper specs and the combination allowed the gun to fire with the safety on. He called AMT on a Wednesday afternoon and they had all new parts to him in the Thursday mail. He rebuilt the gun and it worked properly after that. I later had the barrel throated and polished and it was a reliable gun. Like an idiot I sold it a few years after that to fun a Franchi SAS12 (not the SPAS 12) which, like an idiot I sold to fund something else.
I was down at Altus AFB Oklahoma in 1987 for flight training and a friend in the class with me expressed some concern because he’d never fired a handgun before. I took him out to a deserted area and showed him the AMT; I told him all about it. Just before beginning to shoot I realized I hadn’t shown him the thumb safety, so I flipped it up, pointed it downrange, and said, “This is the safety, it won’t fire with the safety on.” With that I pulled the trigger. BANG! I guess nobody ever told the gun about the safety because it fired, shearing off the thumb safety and sending it to Mexico. Thankfully neither of us was hurt other than the ringing in our ears.
I took the gun to a dealer in Lawton (where I would later buy my Glock 17) and he took it apart. It turned out that he was an authorized AMT repair station. He told me that all the internal parts were just barely within specs, but all were at the lower ends of their proper specs and the combination allowed the gun to fire with the safety on. He called AMT on a Wednesday afternoon and they had all new parts to him in the Thursday mail. He rebuilt the gun and it worked properly after that. I later had the barrel throated and polished and it was a reliable gun. Like an idiot I sold it a few years after that to fun a Franchi SAS12 (not the SPAS 12) which, like an idiot I sold to fund something else.
wally
Member
As with all things AMT and other out of business makers, if you can shoot it first to be sure it works, could be a find, if not, most likely you are getting someone else's problems.
--wally.
--wally.
herohog
Member
While not exactly a longslide, it is an AMT with a long slide.
AMT AutoMag III in 9mm Winchester Magnum! (9x29)
It has been flawless (handloads only as ammo is all but impossible to find and, when ya CAN find it, it's $5.00 a shot!)
AMT AutoMag III in 9mm Winchester Magnum! (9x29)
It has been flawless (handloads only as ammo is all but impossible to find and, when ya CAN find it, it's $5.00 a shot!)
bannockburn
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Sabah Alev
I worked on a friends Hardballer quite a bit, and I was amazed by how nearly every internal part looked like some sort of cheap, poorly made casting. Absolutely no evidence of any hand-fitting, polishing, deburring, or for that matter, quality control, when it came to the assembly of this pistol. It was as if the assembler was given all the components in a box, allowed to toss them in the gun, put it back in the box for delivery, and then start on the next one. The most amazing thing about this gun was that it was able to function at all, and then only with hardball (hence the name, although a few more colorful names come to mind); which might be forgiven if it was even partially accurate; which it wasn't.
Trust me, eventually you'll get over this stainless paramour, move on to something more worthy of your affection, and you'll be a better person for it.
I worked on a friends Hardballer quite a bit, and I was amazed by how nearly every internal part looked like some sort of cheap, poorly made casting. Absolutely no evidence of any hand-fitting, polishing, deburring, or for that matter, quality control, when it came to the assembly of this pistol. It was as if the assembler was given all the components in a box, allowed to toss them in the gun, put it back in the box for delivery, and then start on the next one. The most amazing thing about this gun was that it was able to function at all, and then only with hardball (hence the name, although a few more colorful names come to mind); which might be forgiven if it was even partially accurate; which it wasn't.
Trust me, eventually you'll get over this stainless paramour, move on to something more worthy of your affection, and you'll be a better person for it.
JN01
Member
I purchased a Hardballer in the early 80s. Complete piece of junk. Would fire a round and only partially extract the empty case, requiring me to put a dowel down the barrel and pound it out with a mallet.
herohog
Member
Man, I must be lucky! I have had 2 AutoMag IIIs in 9mm WinMag and a IV in .45 WinMag that have been 100% and will shoot hollow-points of every available weight without issue!
Stevie-Ray
Member
I'm probably the most vocal of the AMT bashers, as mine was a Govt. model that simply was never right. Accurate when it shot, but that was maybe 4 or 5 rounds max. I sent it back to AMT when they were still in Covina, and it came back to me better. (Only one failure per mag rather than 2+) If I had a lot of money at the time I would have been bullheaded and made it perfect, but it just wasn't worth the effort then. They have been junk in my opinion, since my experience and those of friends of mine. Sorry, but nothing good to say.
The line in movies that sickens me most comes from The Terminator, when the gun store owner hands Arnold a AMT Hardballer longslide with a laser on top, and says, "That's a good gun." Makes me wanna puke.
The line in movies that sickens me most comes from The Terminator, when the gun store owner hands Arnold a AMT Hardballer longslide with a laser on top, and says, "That's a good gun." Makes me wanna puke.
LawofThirds
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- Apr 19, 2008
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If you're falling in love with the gun because it's the gun that was used in the hitman game series, then you're not the only one. I have a close friend who has no real interest in pistols except for those guns, simply because of that game series.
If you're just looking for the look, you're far better off buying a GI or Mil-spec stainless gov't model 1911a1 by springfield and putting on a pair of american classic Pachymayr grips.
AMT hardballers are in the majority badly put together pistols, especially the older ones. Occasionally someone will have one that they absolutely love and that will feed everything from full metal jacket to carrot sticks and baby mice.
And what was the last time you heard a movie make a good gun suggestion?
If you're just looking for the look, you're far better off buying a GI or Mil-spec stainless gov't model 1911a1 by springfield and putting on a pair of american classic Pachymayr grips.
AMT hardballers are in the majority badly put together pistols, especially the older ones. Occasionally someone will have one that they absolutely love and that will feed everything from full metal jacket to carrot sticks and baby mice.
And what was the last time you heard a movie make a good gun suggestion?
MCgunner
Member
I won't go that far, but it wasn't one of my better handguns. It got ripped off and I got a Ruger P90 with the insurance money and don't miss it a bit. It had extraction problems out of the box, had a new extractor fitted for it. I got it to feed a cast 200 grain SWC by seating it out until it was touching the rifling. The thing was rather OAL sensitive. I had the thing ported and polished, no improvement, still ball only. I had an Auto Ordinance 1911 I got used about this time and resold, would feed nothing, but ball, either.
Those two guns convinced me not to play with 1911s unless I could afford a 2500 dollar gun. Cheap ones are not a bargain. Bad thing was, the AMT wasn't all THAT cheap!
Had a friend with a AMT Javelina 10mm. Nothing he tried would make that thing feed without jams. POS from day one. he had the polish/throat thing done, too, waste of money and time. I wouldn't recommend anything made by AMT, personally.
MCgunner
Member
Yeah.....
It was pretty accurate, though, 2-2.5" at 25 off a rest and was 100 percent as long as you stuck to ball.....AFTER I spent a bunch of money on it. All in all, my Ruger P90DC is everything that stupid Hardballer wasn't.
It was pretty accurate, though, 2-2.5" at 25 off a rest and was 100 percent as long as you stuck to ball.....AFTER I spent a bunch of money on it.
All in all, my Ruger P90DC is everything that stupid Hardballer wasn't.Sabah Alev
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it seems there is a great deal of horrible things about this handgun...here is a better question, is it possible to replace the guts and whatnot to make a fully functional firearm?
Beagle-zebub
Member
I think the Longslide Hardballer is the ".45 longslide with laser sight" that der Cali-Fuhrer wields in the first Terminator movie. Other than that, I don't know that it has much going for it.
LawofThirds
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If you're looking for a long slide, several other companies do one, I know springfield will do a wicked 6" V 16 comped 1911 and caspian and sti/sv make 6" slides.
I had one in the late '90s, one of the best .45's I owned. Too bad I didnt know it at the time. I traded it for a .357 Desert Eagle. Now I dont have either. Thats the life of a gun collector...some come, some go, but the feeling to "change up" always stays constant.
Sabah Alev
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it is also the main handguns agent 47 uses in the hitman games and movies
TimboKhan
Member
I suppose anything is possible, but I would think that to do so would be far more expensive than it's worth, particularly so given that the resale value would likely never approach the cost of the modifications. Honestly dude, I can't help but think that you have fallen in love with an image that has no particular basis in reality, which is OK given that I have often wanted a battlesuit like Master Chief's and a Gryphon to transport me about.
Frank Barnes stated in Cartridges of the World that even AMT Hardballer barrels were made from castings! (This was pointed out in a sidebar under his discussion of the wildcat .45 Super.)
Unless it was about the only handgun I could get, I'd definitely have to say "No thanks" to the Hardballer!
Unless it was about the only handgun I could get, I'd definitely have to say "No thanks" to the Hardballer!
AMT
I'd pass on the standard 5" hard baller unless you can get it cheap,$200-$300. It can be made to shoot reliably but may take some tinkering to do so. What you want is the Long-slide, heck it's what your lady wishes you had. It is the only .45 my girlfriend will shoot, the extra length/weight helps tame recoil and the extended sight radius makes her look like a bullseye champion.
I'd pass on the standard 5" hard baller unless you can get it cheap,$200-$300. It can be made to shoot reliably but may take some tinkering to do so. What you want is the Long-slide, heck it's what your lady wishes you had. It is the only .45 my girlfriend will shoot, the extra length/weight helps tame recoil and the extended sight radius makes her look like a bullseye champion.
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Zach S
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I seem to recall them being Para P14s in the movie.
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