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Elmer Keith’s 44 Auto Mag for sale

Printed From: AMT Guns information
Category: Auto Mag Pistol
Forum Name: Message Board
Forum Description: Message Board
URL: http://www.amtguns.info/forum_posts.asp?TID=3045
Printed Date: 27 Mar 2026 at 1:11am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.06 - https://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: Elmer Keith’s 44 Auto Mag for sale
Posted By: Mtn_Eagle
Subject: Elmer Keith’s 44 Auto Mag for sale
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 5:31am
Interesting. 

https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/pistols/auto-mag-pistols/elmer-keith-s-44-auto-mag-amp-provenance-box-more-99-.cfm?gun_id=103414904" rel="nofollow - https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/pistols/auto-mag-pistols/elmer-keith-s-44-auto-mag-amp-provenance-box-more-99-.cfm?gun_id=103414904



Replies:
Posted By: Rumore
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 4:49am
If Elmer sold the gun to Jimmy Alcorn, why is the check from Wade Kelley?

Tony



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Run it up, until you blow it up, then back it down a bit.


Posted By: BEEMER1
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 8:59pm
Quote from the ad:

" Positively the coolest Auto Mag available this decade for the advanced collector!"

REALLY?    I guess I don't agree.      Smile  


Posted By: golden24
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 3:35pm
Handshake !

" Positively the coolest Auto Mag available this decade for the advanced collector!"

REALLY?    I guess I don't agree.      Smile  
[/QUOTE]


Posted By: edkel1
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2026 at 8:38am
" Positively the coolest Auto Mag available this decade for the advanced collector!"
Personally I would pass but, I don't get it ????? what's the big deal here


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" Right turn Clyde "


Posted By: golden24
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2026 at 10:54am
Just my own thoughts.
We can all have our own ideas on what something might be worth, could even be very
well in flatted & that's okay.
It's just someones personal opinion of an item, someone might what it to be worth
25K or only $1200 ..........  Wacko

Just like our DNA, there are no two of us the same.


Posted By: Mark F
Date Posted: 17 Jan 2026 at 2:38pm
I love that it is mag-na-ported like we did back in the daySmile


Posted By: XP001
Date Posted: 17 Jan 2026 at 10:59pm
Buy the story! So many holes in that ad, no firm doc just a lot of guess to fill the holes as wanted.
Nice firearm as all Auto Mags are.


Posted By: Dances with AutoMags
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2026 at 10:49pm

Celebrity Guns

 

So, an Auto Mag once owned by Elmer Keith is offered for sale.  Beyond the value of the gun by itself, what additional value is justified because of the celebrity who owned it ?

I am not questioning that he was not a celebrity or if he really owned it or not.  I am questioning as to where there is a demand, or a market for celebrity guns.  I have never heard of an individual who collects celebrity guns.  Is Mr. Keith's AM worth more than Buddy Hackett's AM ? 

 I would think that an AM that was owned by a person with a very close association to the invention of the AM may command a higher price than one with just a celebrity or a movie association.  Unfortunately Harry Sanford made groups of frames with his initials on them many times.  His initials were part of the serial numbers on these frames.  He did this when he was in need of money and they sold very quickly.  I have said before that Harry didn't have a personal gun, he had a factory full of them.

The factory guys were infamous in miss-marking guns and barrels so they could be sold for a higher price.  There are reports of more recent miss-marking with questionable letters.

I knew a guy who collected Walther's.  He owned a Walther that was once owned by Goebbels'.  He didn't own any other "celebrity" guns.  So I return to my original question, where is the market for these guns ? 

 There is no denying that a celebrity gun has a higher value than a production gun. Where is the market beyond one who would pay extra just for the bragging rights.  A limited market at best.  Not an easy sell.

Just saying,,,,,,Bruce Stark



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An armed society is a polite society.


Posted By: Mtn_Eagle
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2026 at 12:17am

Wildey Moore’s gun came with a certificate of authenticity but went close to the lower estimate at RIA in 2024. Strange that it is missing part of the gas system. 



Posted By: Mark F
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2026 at 1:56pm
Bruce,
I agree completely. I remember shipping my barrel out to have it mag-na-ported; were any sold with that included?

Thanks.

Mark


Posted By: BEEMER1
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2026 at 2:30pm
Originally posted by Mark F Mark F wrote:

Bruce,
I agree completely. I remember shipping my barrel out to have it mag-na-ported; were any sold with that included?

Thanks.

Mark

Just about every custom 44 AMP that Jurras sold was Magna-Ported as were many 357's.

Lomont also was a big proponent for Magna-Porting the 44's.  Most all of his 44 barrels were ported except for the really long ones.


Posted By: Mark F
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2026 at 3:17pm
Thanks for the quick reply. I remember something along those lines but as I get older, I forget more.


Posted By: Luc V.
Date Posted: 19 Jan 2026 at 5:17pm
Originally posted by Mark F Mark F wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. I remember something along those lines but as I get older, I forget more.

Nothing to worry about, we all do...
 I keep thinking about a good saying: "The older I get, the better I was".


Posted By: Rocketthon
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2026 at 6:12pm
When my friend bought his from Harry at the gun show in Rapid City back in the day he had the choice of Magna porting or straight barrel, he chose the Magna port.  Buying from Harry is about as close to a factory offering as you can get.

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When you are up to your neck in alligators it is hard to remember your original intention was to drain the swamp


Posted By: Dances with AutoMags
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2026 at 9:31pm
Hi Mark.
The "Custom Model 100" guns were all Mag-Na-Ported as far as I know.  It has been said that Mag-Na-Port did this for free for Lee as a promotion of the process.   Besides the grips and the markings, only the Mag-Na-Porting was custom.  These guns were built by the factory and were not tuned by Lee or Kent.  Many were drop shipped from the factory and the case, etc., was sent later.  
Some people forget about the 11 .44AMP's and the 11 .357AMP's with 8.5-inch barrels. They were also "Custom Model 100" guns from LEJ-80 to LEJ-90.
It has been said that if a barrel has been Mag-Na-Ported it has less barrel rise while shooting.  If it was not done by a distributer or the factory, the collectability has been compromised.  Cry
Bruce


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An armed society is a polite society.


Posted By: golden24
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2026 at 10:01pm


Beer  !


The "Custom Model 100" guns were all Mag-Na-Ported as far as I know.  It has been said that Mag-Na-Port did this for free for Lee as a promotion of the process.   Besides the grips and the markings, only the Mag-Na-Porting was custom.  These guns were built by the factory and were not tuned by Lee or Kent.  Many were drop shipped from the factory and the case, etc., was sent later.  
Some people forget about the 11 .44AMP's and the 11 .357AMP's with 8.5-inch barrels. They were also "Custom Model 100" guns from LEJ-80 to LEJ-90.
It has been said that if a barrel has been Mag-Na-Ported it has less barrel rise while shooting.  If it was not done by a distributer or the factory, the collectability has been compromised.  Cry
Bruce
[/QUOTE]


Posted By: Rocketthon
Date Posted: 24 Jan 2026 at 10:27pm
Another one we shot with also had an Automag, un-magna ported, and I have shot both at the same time.  Would put the ported gun in my left hand as it did reduce the recoil and especially the muzzle rise.  Pulling 2 triggers together is an experience to remember.

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When you are up to your neck in alligators it is hard to remember your original intention was to drain the swamp


Posted By: AMT addict
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2026 at 4:14pm
Bruce, I sure hope that you are working on putting together a book of all of your knowledge of the auto mag.


Posted By: Dances with AutoMags
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2026 at 1:05am

An autographed copy of the book, "Auto Mag the Pasadena Days" is $45 which includes USPS Priority Mail shipping to anywhere in the USA.  Also  APO's and FPO's.

Please send payment to my Pay-Pal account number  bestark@ix.netcom.com

Please make sure I receive your address as Pay-Pal does not always provide it. 

Thank you.........Bruce Stark.........(818)-988-5478


A second book is still in the works.....Bruce



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An armed society is a polite society.


Posted By: Rocketthon
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2026 at 1:09am
I would go with a second volume "The Story Continues"

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When you are up to your neck in alligators it is hard to remember your original intention was to drain the swamp


Posted By: AMT addict
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2026 at 6:01pm
Yes, I have the 1st book. Hoping for either where it left off or just a total history from the beginning to current. All the facts of production numbers, all the locations of production. All the different markings they went through. Info on all the Lee, Kent, Brian and others that produced barrels and accessories. And of course pictures of rare ones. Honestly, I wish there was a book (The History of Harry Sanford and His Gun Legacy) that not only told the story of how Auto Mag Corp and AMT/IAI/OMC/TDE played out, but also had production numbers. Wouldn't be great if you could look up your serial number and see what location it was produced at and the year it was made. Probably an impossible task to put together such a thing.    


Posted By: KMP
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2026 at 9:50pm

Bruce, if you do a second book, you got to title it "Harry's the one in the Hat" (inside joke Wink )

Originally posted by Dances with AutoMags Dances with AutoMags wrote:

An autographed copy of the book, "Auto Mag the Pasadena Days" is $45 which includes USPS Priority Mail shipping to anywhere in the USA.  Also  APO's and FPO's.

Please send payment to my Pay-Pal account number  bestark@ix.netcom.com

Please make sure I receive your address as Pay-Pal does not always provide it. 

Thank you.........Bruce Stark.........(818)-988-5478


A second book is still in the works.....Bruce



Posted By: Dances with AutoMags
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2026 at 12:31am
That's a great story Eric.  This story is included in the next book, in the "stories" section.
I am going to use a title that you suggested.

   AUTO MAG GUIDE
The book is written but I have to finish the page lay-outs and the picture placing.  I work on it a few hours every week.
Bruce





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An armed society is a polite society.


Posted By: RangerJim
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2026 at 2:52am
Can’t wait Bruce. Put me down for a copy!


Posted By: Graydog
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2026 at 10:11pm
Me too.


Posted By: Mark F
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2026 at 1:44am
Me too Bruce


Posted By: golden24
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2026 at 3:28am
Beer Beer !


Posted By: TankMan
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2026 at 2:56pm
Perhaps my AM pistols will be worth something extra one day when I become famous..

Why take a chance on missing out, buy mine now for $30k each ($32k for the 8 1/2" example)  and you can say you bought them before I became famous!

Jerry



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