Getting the AMP to function reliably
Printed From: AMT Guns information
Category: Auto Mag Pistol
Forum Name: Pet loads
Forum Description: Shooters loads and results.
URL: http://www.amtguns.info/forum_posts.asp?TID=1294
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 1:04am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Getting the AMP to function reliably
Posted By: bigbrowndog
Subject: Getting the AMP to function reliably
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2012 at 8:37pm
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OK, with 200gr xtp's I started at 27grs w296 I have progressed to 29grs, I still cannot get the bolt to lock back on a empty mag. Accuracy is great, some old data that I have found shows 30-32grs of w296 to be OK for the AMP, the data is from Jurras/Nonte articles, the major manuf. load manuals show 27grs to be max. So I want to make sure that 30-32grs is OK to go with. It's not like I don't trust the data I just want to make sure there are no editorial typos, and I don't want to damage the gun needlessly. Thanks for the help Trapr |
Replies:
Posted By: Gerry
Date Posted: 19 Nov 2012 at 12:14am
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Trapr/Dog
Go to Ian's AMY webiste, he has posted some reloading data from old Horandy and Sierra manuals.
For what it's worth, mine works fine in the range you are using : WW296 26-28 grs.
Good Luck
Gerry
MI
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Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 19 Nov 2012 at 1:04am
| AMY???? |
Posted By: paul v.
Date Posted: 19 Nov 2012 at 1:53am
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BIGBROWNDOG,
My Pasadena doesn't stop hiccupping until @ 30g-31g H110(296),Starline brass,200g XTP,CCI 350. Work up slowly, stiff-arm that bad boy and let her rip.
paul v.
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Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 19 Nov 2012 at 2:17am
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Good enuf, I ain't skeered. Just don't want to break my new toy. I went back and looked at all the old original data I have and some of LEJ's pressure info, so I'll Bump up to 29.5 and 30grs and let'er buck. Accuracy has been everything I've heard and read about. On a side note, two of my mags have small cracks, does anyone repair them or are they trash?? Trapr |
Posted By: paul v.
Date Posted: 19 Nov 2012 at 2:49am
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Quite a few years ago I had one of my mags (original stainless) TIG welded I believe. If they are stainless they might be able to be repaired. I can't recall(CRS) at the moment who I had do the work, but they did a decent job without warping anything. I'll dig around in my stuff to see if I still have a receipt. I'll get back to you.
Paul v.
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Posted By: silvermane_1
Date Posted: 20 Nov 2012 at 3:34am
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bigbrowndog AMY is a typo, he ment Ian's AMT page. |
Posted By: paul v.
Date Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 1:10am
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BIGBROWN D I'm finally getting back to you on your cracked magazines. I had my mag. repaired in 2003 by "Cylinder-Slide.com". The person I communicated with was Ralph. The charge for repairing one magazine (mine,floorplate broke off the body) was around $20.00 + shipping with a 2 week turnaround. I hope this helps you & whoever else might need repairs to 44amp. magazines.PAUL V.
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Posted By: jurras
Date Posted: 04 Dec 2012 at 5:42pm
| The first step in loading for the AM is to differiniate between a gun malfunction and or a insufficient load. Takes some trial and error, no set rules. Headspace, proper lube , smooth feed ramp, are a few things to consider. FWIW |
Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2012 at 1:56am
Well you sure said a mouthful Lee,,,
That was the exact problem I had with my first AM. It would not cycle reliably and I tried a bunch or loads (different bullets and powders and loads) and got no where as I did not know the gun was actually broken.
The top "ear" was broken on the rear of the bolt and the piece was floating in the cocking piece and probably jamming the action.
Some lessons cost more than others,,,,
Heed LEJ's words of wisdom, he speaks volumes about such matters. Not sure I agree with his guidance on adult beverages, but I'm willing to buy a couple bottles and discuss the matter during a "sampling" session.
 GH ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
jurras wrote:Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2012 at 9:15pm
| Well I got the gun to lock back at 30.5gr W296 and 200XTP, velocity was 1750fps. after the third round at that charge I encountered way more friction to pull the bolt back than normal, so I stopped, until further investigation could take place at a more suitable location than the range. I figured something broke!!! When I got the gun apart everything was there, intact, except for the #30 widgets for the trigger bar pin, however it doesn't seem like that should have caused the tremendous amount of friction. There also does not seem to be any unusual wear or gouging or anything that would cause the friction.I thought perhaps one of the recoil springs had broken and was dragging inside the frame, but they are intact and I disassembled the gun and ran the cocking piece back and forth without the bolt attached and and rods and springs attached and have little to no friction.The barrel assm, slides smoothly in the frame.The bolt is intact, and shows little to no wear as it slides inside the frame ring.with the bolt attached to the cocking piece, there seems to be a bit more friction as the bolt cams on the retaining/camming pin??? but nothing that comes close to the friction that occurs with the gun completely assembled.An example of the friction produced is that the bolt can be held open when released slowly!!! the gun is lubed with FP-10 |
Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 06 Dec 2012 at 10:13pm
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OK, back again..... the bolt seems to sit slightly cocked on the cam pin, so that it only makes contact at 2 of its surfaces, top right edge and bottom left edge of the pin and bolt camming cutout, as opposed to sitting square and making full contact along its bearing surfaces. However these surfaces do not show galling, wear, or gouging that would stop the bolt from being seated into the barrel. The gun is idle until I can get the necessary pins modded by Maynard arms, but any ideas or knowledge would be greatly appreciated. thanks Trapr
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Posted By: Auto Mag
Date Posted: 07 Dec 2012 at 1:31am
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Check to see if anything is bent, recoil rods - bolt - frame ring.
Either way send it to Brian for an evaluation.
Good Luck
GH ------------- Who was that masked man,,, |
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2013 at 7:16pm
Posted By: Andrew
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2013 at 7:20pm
| Bigbrowndog, what was the outcome of the friction issue? Was it a bent back bolt guide ring? Curious to know - one of my AM's slamfired after the sear spring came out of the slot - fired before lockup and made a real mess of the bolt ring. |
Posted By: AutoMagyar
Date Posted: 14 Feb 2013 at 2:00am
I have one mag that is a rebuild project that has a small crack also. It depends on if it actually currently affects the functioning of the mag in your gun, whether you want to bother having it welded up or not. If you're not concerned about the aesthetics of the crack, (as in, you don't mind seeing it), as long as it hasn't spread enough yet to affect it's function, you have another option. To simply stop the crack from spreading any farther, you can use a small, fine drill bit, and put a tiny hole, just slightly larger than than thickness of the crack at the end (or ends?) of the crack. Make sure you drill through and remove the fine sharp end of the crack. The round hole, which you should deburr and smooth after you drill it, will relieve the stress at the sharp end of the crack, and should stop it from propagating any further. It's a quick, cheap fix, if you can live with the small crack, and it hasn't caused any real problem yet. I was going to try to get my mag welded up too until a gunsmith in my local club suggested this. This extra mag of mine is a minor project I've had on the backburner, and now I just need to get a follower and pin to complete the rebuild of it. (I know Wolff sells the springs). Sometimes I think I should have just bought a new Triple K mag to try out. Cheers. ------------- "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?" |
Posted By: Travis Morgan
Date Posted: 08 Apr 2013 at 6:01am
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I noticed a similar issue with my gun. When I first got it, it was near impossible to cock and when you did manage to get it to move it was almost a gritty drag feel to it. I looked over the bolt guide pin slot and thought it had too sharp of an edge on the two sides that contacted the pin. I did very carefully stone/lap in these edges and it did improve cocking about 30% (compared to what it was like before as well as other guns). The gun didn't have very many rounds thru it, so I'm assuming it will be a work in progress. The other day I had it out at the range and the gun cycled just fine, but still a brute to cock. I got it home for cleaning and noticed something that I had overlooked before. On the bottom of the bolt, where the hammer rides, it looked like there were a few scratches that ran the length of stroke - almost a slight galling if you looked up close at it. You may want to check this area on your gun also. I know on some of the "tuned" guns, the top of the hammers are slightly rounded off and polished - (factory new ones didn't) This particular gun of mine also has a slight hick-up with the safety as well, where I have to manually bring the hammer further back in order to get the safety to engage - it's not much, but it freaks me out to be sticking my thumb behind the cocking piece, messing with the hammer on a loaded chamber  When I get around to it #1 - I will round off the top of the hammer and polish #2 - I will carefully stone the scratch on the bottom of the bolt and buff to finish I also noticed that this gun has the larger diameter recoil rods. I thought maybe the problem might be in this area, but everything seems to be 100% with springs, rods and bores. Its gotta be that hammer! How are you making out? |
Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 12 Oct 2013 at 5:01pm
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Its been awhile sinc ethe last update, I noticed a clip missing when I disassembled it and so sent the parts to Brian for his cap screw upgrade, got busy with other things and just recently put everything back together.
I did some polishing on the underside of the bolt,polished the hammer surfaces, and then fired it again low and behold the bolt will now lock back with 29grs of W296, which it didn't earlier so YES, less friction is a good thing.
The AMP is sighted in and ready for hunting, as an aside. Trying to find a good holster for an outdated gun is tough, however Grassburr leather out of Texas did a great job on a chest rig the holster is from their Huckleberry line, and is very well made and reasonable as far as custom leather goes. They were local and so being able to take my gun to them was a big help. If someone can tell me how to post a pic on the forum I'll get one posted.
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Posted By: jurras
Date Posted: 13 Oct 2013 at 4:59am
| Funny how everything works when all mating parts are polished, Have I mentioned that? |
Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2013 at 11:09pm
Lee, I don't ever recall you saying that before ,
as an update I have a 150# porker that has succumbed to the AMP. Looking forward to adding to the list.
Trapr
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Posted By: jurras
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2013 at 2:01am
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Well Bigdog I hope you do add to the list. I have written so much about tuning AM's that I've forgotten all the articles, or assisted other writers wanting to write about them. Have written numerous tune up points in the AM Newsletters, as well as Kent L. has done for me. If you do not have all copies of the newsletters there are people here on the site that sell copies, the originals have become quite pricey. Cheers, keep shooting. |
Posted By: AutoMagyar
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2013 at 12:34am
Being North of the border, that's a totally alien game species to me. I know wild boars and such are quite popular down south, and someday I look forward to taking a trip down there, hopefully with my AMP, to partake of that great tradition. In the meantime, I'm curious to know just a smidgeon about how you go about getting a pig, boar, peccaries, or whatever you have down there and refer to them as. Once you track them and get to know their territory and habits, what method do you hunt them by? Driving, stalking, stand hunting? And what typical range do you get a shot at them from? Do you use calls, bait, etc.? I'm not looking for a long description of the technique or your secrets, just a quick rundown of the general scheme of things. I did get a laugh of out the Nuge and his Aporkalypse video from the helicopter a while ago. Good ol' Uncle Ted. Saw him in concert a few times in his heyday when I was in high school back in the day, when Free For All and then Cat Scratch Fever were new albums. Heh, heh. Cheers. ------------- "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?" |
Posted By: jurras
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2013 at 4:47am
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All those species you named are ifferent animals, al require a different approach. A good Mast season can help. Wild pigs are all over an usually are just domestic gone feral. Different parts of the country require different approaches. First timers should contact a good guide service in that area you would like to hunt. The helo approach is where they have caused considerable damage to crops, irrigation systems etc. FWIW dept. |
Posted By: bigbrowndog
Date Posted: 25 Oct 2013 at 8:28pm
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Mr Jurras is correct, what we broadly refer to as "wild Boar" is typically feral animals. I am unaware of any "true" wild boar in the US, that was not brought over from other parts of the world. that said, feral pig is every bit as fun to hunt as true wild boar, I grew up in Europe running the woods and forests of Germany and Austria so I have some firsthand knowledge. I also run a destructive animal abatement company, as a second job. I have contracts with large ranches and farms, and have worked with the National Park service as well as municipalities to assist in their problems with Feral pig, and destructive canine issues. spot and stalk, still hunting, and sit and wait over bait are all viable methods. there are many guides and ranches that would be happy to book a hunt for you if you desire, and you can pretty much use any legal method you desire. Lee, I'm just happy to have the gun running, I am very pleased with the accuracy, but am a bit concerned about the longevity as I've read somewhere that some crucial and expensive or hard to find parts will only last 1000 or so rounds. Granted that can be a long time and many many years, but since the history of my particular gun is unknown (Pasadena A00264) it is a bit disconcerting to think that it might become a paperweight or safe queen at any time. In the mean time, I'll keep the front sight on fur and enjoy it. Thank you for your help. Trapr |
Posted By: jurras
Date Posted: 26 Oct 2013 at 3:39am
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Big Dog, the Pasadena will have more good parts w/455 Carpenter steel. Yes any gun is subject to breaking parts. But like you say it could be many rounds and many years of good hunting. I had about 5 years of Africa, Alaska, and North American with 50 CUP pressure loads. Kent Lomont wrote an article saying how many rounds it took to break each and every working part on the AM. What he failed to mention was that most of the loads he used ran 65K CUP, he lost more primer pockets than parts. Oh well, use it as you see fit. But if you make it a safe Queen, you will be missing out on a lot of good shooting. Keep shooting and good luck. P.S. the AM is not the holy Grail. Shoot till a major part breaks then make it a safe queen. Cheers |