Error creating thumbnail: File missing Join our Discord!
If you have been locked out of your account you can request a password reset here.

AMC Auto Mag Pistol

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
Revision as of 20:36, 7 March 2022 by Wuzh (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

History

The .44 Auto Mag Pistol has a long and strange history. The .44 Auto Mag round, also known as the .44 AMP (Auto Mag Pistol), was invented in 1958 by Harry Sanford. Following more than a decade of development by Harry Sanford and Max Gera, a pistol that chambered the round was developed in 1969, the Auto Mag Pistol. The original company producing the weapon, the Auto Mag Company (AM or AMC), had a shaky start due to the gun's over-engineered qualities and unrealistically low pricing, causing the company to lose over $1000 for each gun sold, eventually leading to bankruptcy after just two years of production.

Following the bankruptcy of the original company, American firearm cartridge designer Lee Jurras and the holding company TDE acquired the remnants of Auto Mag's production in 1974 and began a new round of production. The pistol was still difficult to keep in production, and the company changed logos and hands several times. Ultimately, all initial production of the weapon stopped in 1982. Until recently, the design had been reverse engineered several times and sold under a few other names.

In 2015, Patrick Henry III purchased all remaining assets, including the name, trademark, and all rights to AutoMag Ltd. Corp. from Harry Sanford's son, Walter. Development of an improved design began, utilizing over 50 years of experience and issues identification from both new and original engineers and end-users, and employing the latest in firearms production technology. After several production issues, the first commercially available model of the Auto Mag since 1982, an initial 77 "Founder's Edition" pistols with an 8.5" barrel, began shipping in 2020 at a price point of $3,995.00 each. The "Classic Edition" model, in both 6.5" and 8.5" barreled variants, is currently in production and available for $3,495.00 and $3,795.00, respectively.

The twelve iterations of the company are:

  • AM, Pasadena, California (Made in Pasadena, Calif.)
  • TDE, North Hollywood, California (Made in El Monte, Calif.) There was never a North Hollywood factory.
  • TDE, El Monte, California (Made in El Monte, Calif.)
  • TDE, El Monte, California, High Standard (Made in El Monte, Calif.)
  • TDE, El Monte, California, Lee Jurras (Made in El Monte, Calif.) Most custom work by Lee Jurras
  • TDE, El Monte, California, Kent Lomont (Made in El Monte, Calif.) Custom work by Kent Lomont
  • TDE / OMC, El Monte, California (Made in El Monte, Calif.)
  • AMT, Covina, California (Receivers made in Covina, Calif. and guns assembled in Irwindale, Calif.)
  • AMC, Covina, California (Receivers made in Covina, Calif. and guns assembled in Irwindale, Calif.)
  • AM, Irwindale, California (Made in Irwindale, Calif.)
  • AM, Sturgis, South Dakota (Some made in Hesperia, Calif. and some were made in Sturgis, SD)
  • AM, Loris, South Carolina (Auto Mag Ltd. Co., made in Loris, SC. Initial pre-production models produced by Excel Arms for Auto Mag, Ltd. Co. in Bullhead City, AZ)

The version most commonly seen (at least in chains of U.S. 'used gun' commerce) is the AMT Auto Mag, which is the 8th incarnation of the weapon (built in Covina, CA and assembled in Irwindale, CA). The Auto Mag Pistol was given a brief bit of glory when it was featured in the 1983 Clint Eastwood Movie Sudden Impact, but that didn't revive any attempts to bring the gun back into full-scale production until 2015.

AMT (Arcadia Machine and Tool), founded by Harry Sanford, tried to resurrect the Auto Mag name in their AMT Automag Pistol Series, though their designs had little to do with the original Auto Mag Pistol.

Specifications

Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Auto Mag Pistol - .44 AMP
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Auto Mag Pistol - .44 AMP
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Auto Mag Pistol, Founder's Edition (#70 of 77) w-8.5" Barrel, .44 AMP, 2021 production
  • Type: Pistol
  • Caliber:
    • Production: .44 AMP (Auto Magnum Pistol), .357 AMP, .41 JMP (Jurras Magnum Pistol), .300 AMP , .30 LMP (Lomont Magnum Pistol), .25 LMP, .22 LMP, .22 WMR, .30 Carbine, .45 Winchester Magnum, .50 AE
    • Experimental: .475 Auto Mag, .45 ACP, .45 ACP Magnum, .40 KMP (Kincel Magnum Pistol), 8mm KMP
  • Capacity: 7-round magazine
  • Fire Modes: Semi-automatic - short recoil operated, rotary bolt

The AMC .44 AutoMag pistol and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
Scared to Death John Stinson Ted Lonergan 1981
Sudden Impact Clint Eastwood Harry Callahan Fitted with wooden grips 1983
The Intruder Various gang members 1986
Beverly Hills Cop II One of the robbery crew 1987
Malone (1987) Burt Reynolds Richard Malone 1987
In the Line of Duty III: Force of the Dragon Stephan Berwick Underground Gunsmith 1988
Hardware The deputy security guard 1990
Hackers Robotic arm fitted with pistol 1995
Crying Freeman Masaya Katô Ryuji Hanada blued 1995

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note / Episode Air Date
T.J. Hooker Robert Dryer Walt Duggan "S4e06 - Target Hooker" Nov 17, 1984
Miami Vice - Season 2 Ted Nugent Charlie Basset "S2e13 - Definitely Miami" Jan 10, 1986

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony "Pistol .44" 2008
Hitman: Absolution 2012
State of Decay "Automag" added in Breakdown DLC 2013
Rainbow Six Siege ".44 Mag Semi-Auto" Scoped added in Operation Wind Bastion (2018) 2015
Mafia III 2016
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Krivosk-XS Scoped Lost Legacy only 2016
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard ".44 Mag" 2017

Anime

Title Character Note Date
Patlabor: The Movie Kanuka Clancy 1989
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Yakuza thug 2004
Phantom: The Animation Ein 2004
Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed "Beginning" (E08) 2008
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom Ein 2009

See Also