AMT BACK UP 380 ACP

Hello everyone, I'm a new member here, glad to be joining HuntingNut forums.

I recently inherited a bunch of short and long guns from my father.
This was one that he used to carry in the small of the back in and inside the pants Uncle Mike’s number 10 holster.
He was mostly a revolver man, and this is the only semi-automatic pistol that I knew him to own. I would like to know more about this piece as I haven’t seen it in any catalogue.

I do remember shooting it in the country house where we had a range of sorts, when I was ten years old.

The legend in the slide is a little confusing for me, as I grew up hearing my father call all common pistol calibers ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).
This one is marked as “CAL 380 9mm KURZ”
The name is "BackUp" made in Irwindale, CALIF.
It has a circle on the slide's left side and on the frame's right side with the letters AMT.
The frame is marked with Irwindale, CA, and the slide on the right is marked Stainless MADE IN USA.




The pistol takes five cartridges in the magazine. One of the magazines (I have three) has a little finger extension.
The magazine catch is at the bottom of the grip (European style). I have seen the same catch in .25 caliber Browning pistols.
This one has a long grip safety and an internal hammer. The sights are quite small, but their visibility had been enhanced with some white compound that looks like liquid paper (or white-out).

The pistol was fully loaded with one in the chamber and five Winchester ball ammo in the magazine. The one in the chamber was also Winchester, but a silvertip with a big hollow point. The absence of more silvertips in the magazine tells me that my father probably didn’t trust the silvertips with their mini-flying ashtray hole to operate properly from the magazine.

The pistol fits tight in the inside-pants holster. There is another holster for it in chamois leather, which seems to have been used a lot.
The pistol is in great shape, properly lubricated and with a clean barrel. Tt seems that for disassembly, it is necessary to remove a roll pin that captures the breech block. This breech block houses a firing pin and also in top. The extractor, the high back of the slide, gives me the idea of a hammer inside the pistol to strike the firing pin in the breech block.
I am curious to know more about this pistol as I don’t have any idea for how many years he owned it nor how old is. Also, was this a piece for export from Europe (because the 9 mm and Kurz printed on the slide)?

Sincerely,
Pharaohawk

Pharaohawk...Check on www.gunbroker.com On the left side bar scroll down to "semi-auto pistols. Click on it. When it opens, type in the search AMT...

Ooh...And welcome to this fine sight. The people on here will do what ever to try to answer your questions. Including the word "kurtz" is German for "short" I believe. I know one thing..If I'm wrong I WILL hear about it...Pull up a stump, grab a beer, sit a spell and join in...

A 9mm Kurz is the same as the .380 ACP.

As you are new to the AMT guns.

The AMT line of guns is all stainless steel, slide and frame. Drop by the local hardware store and get yourself a tube of white lithium grease or any other synthetic grease for that matter. Use the synthetic grease to lube the frame rails and slide grooves, all bearing points. AMT guns are bad to gaul if not properly lubed with a synthetic lubricant.

Welcome, join right in, good to have you with us.
Ed

Where'd he go? I know he posted the same on another web site, but where'd he go??

I once had a AMT Backup .380...it never cycled well. Glad I got rid of it.

i have the same fire arm im kinda new to this type of gun so i was woundering does this gun have a safety?

Welcome to this fine site...And yes...The AMT .380 Backup has a safety. Go to www.gunbroker.com and follow my instructions in my above post for Pharaohawk...You will find the "safety" on the left side just behind the trigger...

Then grab a beer and pull up a stump and join right in...

I had an AMT Hardballer for a while.
I never had a problem at the Range with it, but by just the way that it was manufactured, I wouldn't have used it for protection.
I just wouldn't trust an AMT that much.

For just over a couple hundred bucks, you can buy a fine Keltec, or the new Ruger .380.

I have a Keltec PF9 that I carry, and I think that I paid around $269.00 for it.


Eric

This had nothing to do with this post, but like I told Dimitri in a PM, I want to get ahead of Mike while he is sleeping.

I'm tired and want to hit the sack, and this puts me at 985--one up on sleeping Mike--SHHH don't wake him

Night all!!!

Eric

I haven't tried any AMT handguns but I did buy an AMT copy of the Ruger 10/22 once. Nice looking rifle and it shot groups 0.5" wide at 50 yards. Unfortunately those groups were also about 6" tall. I tinkered with bedding, etc and finally sent the rifle back to AMT. When I got it back it didn't shoot any better so I got rid of it.

(Take that Eric!!)

AMT American Machine and Tooling

Stainless Steel (as per SwampFox's post) is best lubed with a synthetic or semi-synthetic. Break Free is the most popular in our area for any SS or polymer.

The 380 AMT was innovative for its time. Some of them functioned reasonably well, but, time has moved on. If a specific handgun is functional, then its service life is still good.