Revolver Ocelot
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what are your thoughts on the amt hardballer, is it worth the money or a piece of crap?
hardballer
- Thread starter Revolver Ocelot
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hexidismal
Member
To be perfectly fair, I have never owned or fired one. I have heard a great many complaints of it being an infamous jam-o-matic. Purely based on word of mouth I would have my doubts. On the other hand you can only take word of mouth with a grain of salt.
cloudcroft
Member
I have owned one and it was the best shooting 1911 I have ever had (I could hit better with it than any other).
Problem with AMT products?
"They make good guns...they just don't finish them."
-- John D.
What I mean is you'll probably need to deburr/polish a new AMT gun before it becomes truly reliable. Also, some parts may/may not be interchangeable with milspec/Colt parts.
I replaced the OEM AMT hammer/sear with an Austin Belhert hammer/sear assembly (it had a very unusual hammer notch). It was definitely worth the price.
In all, the AMT turned out to be a great gun, but took some work and a few higher-quality parts in my case.
-- John D.
Problem with AMT products?
"They make good guns...they just don't finish them."
-- John D.
What I mean is you'll probably need to deburr/polish a new AMT gun before it becomes truly reliable. Also, some parts may/may not be interchangeable with milspec/Colt parts.
I replaced the OEM AMT hammer/sear with an Austin Belhert hammer/sear assembly (it had a very unusual hammer notch). It was definitely worth the price.
In all, the AMT turned out to be a great gun, but took some work and a few higher-quality parts in my case.
-- John D.
I had one for a while back in '83. It was a good gun to shoot but the trigger stopped dropping the hammer one day. The gunsmith said the main spring was soft and the others poor too so he replaced them with Colt springs. The gun worked well after that but I never trusted it much. Traded it in a direct swap for a Nickled Colt Python to a guy who "always wanted a stainless .45". I think I got the better end of the deal.
wally
Member
IF you can try it before you buy it and be sure its one that works, I'd say get it if the price is right. If you can't try it first, I'd pass unless you are potentially looking for a project.
I'd give this advice for all AMT guns. One out of my three was a project.
--wally.
I'd give this advice for all AMT guns. One out of my three was a project.
--wally.
SouthpawShootr
Member
Whether or not it's worth the money depends on what the money is. AMT has a long and storied reputation for lax QC. The comment that they never quite finished their guns is also valid. If we're talking about a gun in excellent mechanical condition for $250, then I'd have to say yeah, it's worth the money. Even if it became necessary to swap out a bunch of parts, then you'll be left with a decent gun for far less than a Kimber for instance.
JN01
Member
Had a Hardballer in the mid 80s. It would fire one round, extract the empty half-way and jam up so tight it required using a mallet to beat on a dowel placed down the bore to unlock it. Sent it back to the factory a couple times and got it back with the same results.
Got rid of it.
Sure looked pretty though.
Got rid of it.
Sure looked pretty though.
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