Clint Eastwood had a similar miserable experience with his Automag while filming _Sudden Impact._ His gun kept malfunctioning (I imagine it would be worse firing and cycling blanks), and he got so mad he kept yeeting it at full force during the outtakes. In the movie’s finale at the pier, he threw it right into the ocean in a fit of rage and the studio had to hire divers to retrieve the gun.
Glad you mentioned that. While I didn't know that part of the story, I did know- he did NOT use an Automag in "Dirty Harry" (that would be a S&W model 29), he used the Automag in "Sudden Impact". My family had an original Pasadena model Automag. As other's said - maintenance, reliability, etc made it less appealing than the guns we traded it for.
Glad you mentioned that. While I didn't know that part of the story, I did know- he did NOT use an Automag in "Dirty Harry" (that would be a S&W model 29), he used the Automag in "Sudden Impact". My family had an original Pasadena model Automag. As other's said - maintenance, reliability, etc made it less appealing than the guns we traded it for.
I had the good fortune to own a 44 AutoMag for a short time. I found that they are VERY maintenance intensive. With good maintenance, they will cycle nicely. They ARE a handful, and very tough to find ammo for.
I had an automag in the past and found the same as you. They require a ton or maintenance and tender loving care. I also had to find an ammo that the gun liked and as you know there is not a lot to choose from
My dad had one of these new and it jammed all the damn time. Don't get me wrong, he loved the gun and had it until the day he passed but it was not reliable nor would you want to be a cop and have to hope it fires when needed to do so. Great video. It brought back some memories of my dad cursing and shooting in our backyard range when I was a kid.
Yeah, it’s got a kind of WW2 service pistol look, sort of like a Luger. Just needs a big scope a funny looking flash hider and some random useless bits on the upper.
Not 100% sure, but...I think Boba Fett used one with greeblies attached as some sort of heavy blaster pistol in S2 of "The Mandalorian". The episode on Tython, where he just WRECKS a couple of stormtroopers squads.
The 44 Auto Mag requires thorough lubrication with an oil or grease specially formulated for stainless steel. You should either use Firepower FP-10 oil, or Rig stainless steel grease. My two Auto Mags run perfectly unless I limp-wrist them. It’s impossible to tell for sure, but it sure seems like you are running yours practically dry. And thereby inviting malfunctions.
Forgotten Weapons video 3 years ago mentioned lubrication issues with the original pistols. Might be better to produce replicas in more conventional materials.
As he was having the problems, I was thinking that someone might still know how to get them to function properly. Guns are similar to bicycles. Each one has the subtle details you must learn to get the best out of them.
The biggest issue with recoil-operated pistols and shotguns is definitely that if you let it move too much, it might short-stroke. Interestingly, there is one gun that was designed to be fired exactly this way, the AN-94, it's a gun in a gun and in another virtual gun, the user, in that there should be movement in all 3 of these for it to have the claim-to-fame burst accuracy. This was a deliberate design, so that when you aren't steady on your feet and do not have a good stance, the dispersion of the hyperburst would not be lowered. Instead, when the gun slides back in your shoulder in a more relaxed stance, the shot dispersion gets considerably tighter. Very clever design, and amazing Nikonov managed to pull it off, since there are so many variables, yet this really did work, this might even be mostly because of the cetrifugal chambers in the muzzle device, which stabilize and normalize the movement in multiple directions. But in real-life combat scenarios, some of the considerably much more simple designs work practically as well, so it's not a seriously needed gun, and there is one odd failure, if the 2nd round in the burst is an empty case or has some other issue, the gun might jam in a way that's impossible to clear fast, as seen in Larry Vickers 2st video on the gun and this purposeful demo they did on the russian Kalashnikov channel. Also, the info that the gun was designed for lower-trained soldiers is false, the whole trials were for firearms which could have better shot dispersion from an unstable stance, such as "running & gunning" or crouching. In prone with gun on the ground, a very stable position, the AN-94 actually has considerably worse dispersion than the AK-74. Basically, the less the gun slides back, the less accurate the hyperburst is and vice versa. I doubt someone read this far, but I hope those that did found out something interesting from this ;)
I was going to buy this gun back in the 90s. The dealer himself talked me out of it. Once I got internet, it was one of the first guns I researched. So glad I never got one.
@@connormclernon26 Yes, he was. He talked me out of a few guns that would have been costly mistakes. His name was Frank viccaro. He has long since passed on, rest his wise soul.
In 1969 after high school I spent the summer working for Harry Sanford Firearms in Pasadena where the prototype Automag was being developed. It was a very finicky weapon from the very beginning. It required a special lubricant to keep the stainless steel parts from galling. My brother-in-law worked several years for them after the Automag went into production at a couple of different locations under a couple of different owners.
I almost bought one from Arroyo Arms close to your factory. The price of the boomer, specialized ammo & what you could buy instead turned me off. But, what a fascinating Gun I believe a company on S. Carolina is making new ones w/o the quirks but w/ the same ammo$$$$ Why not use .44 Special?
No you didn’t. Because that was me. I hand-milled every receiver and turned every barrel. Used to use the heat from my crotch to melt lead for bullets, and my breath would Parkerize the finish.
Years back, my gun friend saw the dirty harry movie and went on and on about how the gun was garbage because his dad bought it, and they used it and hated it too. But he caught SO much flack about "oh you don't know guns and this and that" because he hated on a famous gun. See, he was right again. Thanks for the review DR.
I think I remember reading an article back in the day that when some gunsmiths attempted to fix the issues with the gun they had to redesign most of the receiver and slide to get it to cycle better
@@Hyper_Fox06 It depends. From what I heard, the early Automags, when they were made in Pasadena, were the most reliable, as they were low production, hand fitted guns, but Harry Sanford's original company folded after a few years, as they were losing over a grand per gun in 1974(!). Total production was under 3000, and today they're the most desirable of the various iterations of the Automag.
@@machinist7230 I shot an "original" version, back in '72--the owner cut down .308 brass to make cartridges for it. That thing was a BEAST, in my 16 year old hands! lol
Fun fact: Sudden Impact, the film Callahan uses the AutoMag in, actually had divers standing by during the climax, because Eastwood kept getting frustrated with the pistol's refusal to properly function and throwing it in the ocean.
I have a AMT 22mag Automag. Brand new, it ran just fine. After about 2--300 rounds,,not so good. Lots of stovepipes, misfires, no matter the ammo. I completely went thru it and blueprinted the thing. Ordered parts directly from AMT, when you could. Fixing the draggy slide, the shit trigger, ect. After all my work, it ran alot better and still does to this day, with any 22 mag ammo. The biggest problem was the finish on the gliding surfaces of the slide, where metal to metal meets. It was horrible. Mobile 1 Red Synthetic was the grease that held the best, with no metal smearing on the slide.
What you're seeing with that AutoMag is exactly what they were known for, and the main reason that three different companies that tried to produce them went bankrupt. A fourth is currently working on trying to iron the bugs out using modern manufacturing processes and metallurgy... but they've BEEN trying for about four of five years now and they still don't have pistols on the market. Sadly, much like the Bren Ten, the original AutoMag just seems to be such a flawed design that it can't be fixed. And this one time, I REALLY wish someone would prove me wrong, because those are both firearms that I would dearly LOVE to get my hands on an updated, reliable version of.
I've seen 1 of them that performed flawlessly. A local gunsmith had a range where he would rent guns and an Automag was one of them. Matt's gun sounds rough and raspy. The gun I remember was smooth.
I saw one at a shooting range that ran perfect 5/5 magazines. The range gunsmith prided himself on it and said it was a really technical process: specific powder weights, brands of brass/primer, ogive angle of the bullet, etc.
A buddy of mine bought one many years ago. We shot it for several months. What we found was that it must be kept spotlessly clean and well lubricated. Even doing that it was very finicky about ammo. Then sometimes it would jam no matter what you did. He sold it pretty quickly.
I'll bet there are only about 5 of these in existence. Everybody sees this in a gun store, buys it, hates it and sells it back for the next person to buy. Who gets rich? The gun store.
This gun has an "accelerator" lever on it which pushes the receiver away from the frame & barrel after the bullet leaves the muzzle. Such a funky design.
More specifically it's a short recoil operated rotating bolt system, which has an accelerator level, but it's not accelerator lever delayed like some rifles
There's a reason why these Automag pistols never caught on: Getting them to fire reliably was always a problem. When you have such a big cartridge, the recoil system for it needs to be specially made to handle it and also, the magazines have the cartridges angled more than usual, making them harder to feed. 50AE was made better by using a shorter cartridge and needing less angle to feed. The 70s were full of shooters wanting rifle cartridges in pistols and creating these things
The 44 AMP is a straight-walled, rimless case. The magazines don't need to be angled. (The mag would need to be angled if the case was rimmed, semi-rimmed, or tapered)
First of all he should max load 5 rounds in the magazine and second of all it’s a stainless steel gun, use stainless steel lube and the gun should run. Is nobody watching forgotten weapons?!
"so what you have to ask yourself is, do you feel lucky punk? well do ya?" "considering your gun jams on average every 2nd round.... yea ill take my chances"
To me the first one you shot, the S&W .44 mag revolver Model 26 with the 6 1/2 inch barrel (they did use an 8 3/8 barrel for some shots, but the 6" was the main one) will always be the "true" Dirty Harry gun. If I remember correctly, the .44 automag was only used in Sudden Impact. I owned a 6" model 29 for years and LOVED it. Although, in order to make it more comfortable to shoot, I added Pachmayr grips and at the range I usually shot .44 special instead of magnum rounds. Shooting for an hour with magnum rounds and the standard wooden grip could definitely give your hand a workout!
He was still Dirty Harry, it just wasn't an Automag in the film by that name. But yeah..i'll take a Model 29, anytime..muchas reliable, accurate & plenty strong.
As I recall from right after they made that “Dirty Harry” movie, they had 3 of those pistols on the set. Two were working units and the third was a dummy for times when they simply needed to film it in the holster and such. It wasn’t long until they also had to have a gunsmith standing by to make repairs on the two “working” units. They had a hard time keeping one of them firing. I would hope that by today they have straightened out the problems. It seems like there were a lot of guide rods getting bent.
There may have been 2 working models . I recall they were especially made for the movie out of replacement parts . They were serial number Clint 1 and Clint 2. My old Seria loading manual shows the 44 mag out of a long barrel about 50 to 100 FPS faster and a few more grains of powder than for the 44 Automag. Not sure if any commercial rounds were made, but you could make the cases out of a 30/06 or 308 rifle case. In all the years I have only seen 2 at the gun shows. First was about 1975 or so. Not sure if it was new or used, but the asking price was either $ 1300 or $ 1500 .
@@bigbird5754 Textbook case of "awesome but impractical." Looks cool, sounds cool, bonus points for the fireball flash adding some "pizzazz" to the situation. But it clearly kicks like a mule making accurate follow up shots difficult, and to describe the weapon as "tempermental" is a bit of an understatement...
Friend of mine owned one of the old ones, said he could tear it apart, pull the springs to half again their normal length, it would cycle 2 magazines then start jamming again. He ended up trading it on something else.
Actually, they are making new automags again, they redesigned a ton of things like the mags to address the jamming issues, make it easier to pull the bolt back, plus a lot of new CNC process control to tighten it up. Everything you pointed out about the old automags has been refined. From what I have been hearing the new ones are a lot better
It makes sense. Better use of alloys, polymers, and CNC fighter tolerances would make this firearm formidable in a close quarter. As in if you want the creeper who is entering your window to leave it....perhaps a bit more energetically than when he entered it. Good news to hear that such beast weapons are back.
Harry Sanford's Iconic .44 Automag is one of the most elegant firearms ever made, It looks sexy and streamlined compared to a Desert Eagle, and is lighter weight. I have had the opportunity to shoot both and hands down the Automag was my favorite. The owner of the Automag, had replaced the springs had a gunsmith polish the chamber, and other parts of the gun. He had some actual original ammo, and reloaded for it. We fired over 100 rounds and never experienced any malfunctions. He said he used a slower burning pistol powder in his reloads. We got some pretty massive fireballs as it was overcast. Shooting that Automag, was an awesome experience. Very highly recommended gun!
Owned a .44 Automag for many years ( wish I'd kept it ! ) most every malf I experienced was due to ammo. The gun absolutely required full power loads, and most of the commercial ammo for sale at the time just wasn't up to snuff. Much was imported from Mexico and the recoil varied considerably from round to round. Carefully handloaded rounds were very reliable, although admittedly not perfect.
I had both .357 and .44. I made my own brass from .308 using RCBS dies. They didn’t like ball powder but ran very well on flake powders. Regret selling it.
Matt: *picks up a recovered just fired bullet* "ow, that's really hot!" Also Matt: *picks up a recovered just fired bullet* "ow, that's really hot!" Every. Single. Time.
Brings back happy memories... I used to shoot pistols here in the UK until 1989 when they were banned. Since then, of course, gun crime has continued to rise inexorably. Who'd have thought eh?
Man that pistol reminds me of a .22 rifle I bought for my wife several years ago. So many jams and fail to feeds and light strikes and just horrible, dangerous, utterly terrifying gun... First time out we loaded three magazines, thirty rounds, and didn't have one round work right. I benched it, meaning to return it and get her a different brand, and forgot about it for a few years for various reasons. I found it again about two months ago, tore it apart and deep cleaned it and slightly filed down and opened up the magazine feed lips. Took it out to my range last month and ran fifty rounds through it flawlessly. I even felt safe enough to let a child on the range with us fire off a magazine when he asked. I'd suggest deep cleaning that one and check the mag feed lips. That said, the comments section has a general consensus that these pistols were known for those problems, so you may have a very expensive paper weight on your hands... I hope not. I'd enjoy seeing more of this pistol.
@@salimcahuas1412 I can't remember honestly, and I lent it to my dad because his old 22 isnt sighting in for some reason and he's got a squirrel problem. I know it was the cheapest one at Walmart at the time. Maybe a Savage or a Mossberg or whatever company makes the little Cricket rifles, since those are the only brands I know Walmart still sells.
@@michellewilt4479 I was gonna ask if it was my Remington Apache 77. I had the same problems, gave it a good deep clean, problems went away. Well, some of the problems went away. Finding extended mags that fit well is still difficult, but how many of those do I need for a .22 anyway?
@@atlucas1 I haven't even tried extended mags in it. I'll leave that stuff up to the wife once we get it back from dad. It's her rifle, I just wanted to make sure it was safe to use. But if she does want extended mags, assuming we can find some, I'm gonna test them for safe operation and have her do any adjustments needed to make em safe. She's gotta learn this stuff too.
I fell in love with the look of the gun when I was 12, wanted one so bad growing up; i was saddened to find out what an unreliable POS it really was. it is super expensive to get one and the ammo is not cheap
@@Indigenous51 There's a video out there with a person that represents a business that re released Is this weapon. 44 magnum automag. If you look around RUclips, there's a good chance you'll find it. I'll also look for it as I probably saved it I'll get back to you in A-day or so.
I was remotely associated with AMT when they were still in operation, in Irwindale, CA. and while they were good guys their guns very commonly did not operate out of the box. One time I got 3 of their 22 Automags and none of them would cycle reliably first time out. It was just a matter of a little smoothing out the rough edges and polishing here and there and they all ended up working great. The 22 used a rimmed 22 magnum round. Super fun. Lots of noise, lots of flash and no kick. People at the indoor range stopped shooting and came to my booth to see what I was shooting. The 44 Automag might well be more complicated than the 22's I had but, it would be worth taking it to a gunsmith and let him figure out why it is hanging up.
A co-worker had a 22 mag Automag that refused to run...so I volunteered to look at it for him. The whole problem was in the hammer spring being too long...it was binding when the hammer was pushed beyond the full cock during cycling. Trimmed the spring a little and the thing ran like a clock. The 44 Automag could be made reliable if you played with it I'm sure it's just the variables of springs (that are now ancient and no doubt need replacing) and perhaps a little feed lip tweaking. I know, I know....you 'shouldn't' have to play with a gun to make it work...but sometimes you DO! What would you rather have.....a working gun or one that jams constantly that you bitch about? Even brand new some guns need a little 'adjustment' to make them run with whatever ammo you decide to run them with...I consider it normal and not a big deal.
Sad that the Auto Mag 3 isn't in production anymore, that 30 cal looks to be the most reliable gun Matt got from them and its certainly the funniest to watch him shoot. Wish I could own one myself for some extreme fireball goodness.
@@recoilrob324 I was wondering whether through age and use the springs needed replacing, I guess with feed issues probably a bad mag spring too? I do wonder if Matt gave the thing a good clean to begin with, he isn't known for upkeep on his weapons.
@@pixiniarts Anytime you buy a used gun...especially one that's getting on 30+ years old (man...where do the years go?) it's never a bad idea to put in fresh springs. Sometimes it's amazing how much longer and stiffer the new ones will be! With the .44 not reliably going fully into battery I'd suspect the recoil springs for sure and then check the mag to make certain that it's presenting the round at the proper angle for feeding. Looked like they were nose down too much which also could be the bullet nose shape coming into play...some guns just don't like certain nose shapes for feeding, though often this can be worked around with mag lip adjustments. Who knows...the previous owner/s might even have the mag spring in backwards which isn't lifting the follower correctly. Don't ever take anything off the table with used equipment....people can do some really dumb things. (I'm guilty of it too)
I bought a walker like one Clint Eastwood carried in "The outlaw Josey Wales" bad ass mother is all got to say. Plenty of Comanches braves and Mexican soldiers fell to the hands of an American soldier welding an 1847 Colt Walker
Everyone knows that he secretly loves Hi-Point; he just keeps dramatically insisting over and over he doesn't to appease the haters. It's like that old saw of young girls insisting that all those boys are stupid and annoying and gross and she would *never* want anything to do with any of them.
The weapon you see here is not the same weapon Mr. Eastwood used in the film. Even back in the 80's you could take a double action and make it a 'hair trigger' and it could fire as fast as an automatic. This is what I did with my GP 100 in the .357 which is why I never invested in a Coonan .357; I still regret not trying one. The original weapon not only jammed a lot, but couldn't handle the pressures the cartridges went up to so basically, it was dangerous to have hot loads. This weapon seems little better.
It would be number one for me, as well. I owned one, shot it at a quarry once a month at 400 yard (yes, it was accurate), but the gun jammed all the time and broke parts every outing.
@@jedpeeler4199 Why would you want a rapid fire .44 magnum anyway? That is an incredibly punishing round to fire. The Impact energy is incredible! I still have my Ruger Single Action .44 blued pistol and will never sell it. You can use it against Alaskan Bears and Moose. I prefer my .454 Casull myself .
Honestly, its been on there. I've known since the '90s it was horribly unreliable. It is still cool, but not something you'd ever want to shoot for anything serious.
Charles Bronson used one of those in one of the Death Wish movies too. It's obvious that pistol is too tight, it needs to be thoroughly broken in, probably needs 1000 rounds through it, I would put polishing compound on all the contact areas, sit in the couch and just constantly work the action for a few hours while I watched TV, then thoroughly clean it and heavily lube it leaving it wet with lube then fire it some more and make sure to not limp wrist it.
It’s probably only fired once and then fully cleaned several times during each take(then again, maybe blanks aren’t powerful enough to cleanly cycle the firearm, but I’m sure they are dirty enough to fully foul up the operating system)!!!!!
I seem to remember that while shooting Sudden Impact they had to hire a diver in one of the shoot-out scenes. The Automag was so unreliable that Clint Eastwood got frustrated and threw it into the harbour they were filming next to. Every time he threw it away, the diver would retrieve the gun from the water so they could continue shooting the scene.
Correct. The Blank Adapted gun Ser. # Clint2 was so notoriously unreliable, it was tossed by Mr Eastwood several times into the bay. The live fire pistol Ser. # Clint1was more reliable, however it too had feeding issues. Both pistols were built from spare parts that were in Harry Sanford's basement workshop according to an interview that If I am remembering correctly was published in Guns & Ammo Magazine about 7 months after the films release. The Director of the film kept the blank adapted gun, the live fire gun however was given to Mr Eastwood. It's unknown if it is still in his possession.
I'm not sure how this gun works but I know when I bought my Desert Eagle, I had a MAJOR problem with jams that was resolved by replacing the recoil springs.
My father purchased an original 44 Automag in the early 70's when I was just becoming a teenager, when he bought it he also ordered the reloading dies with it, a good friend of his would reload his rounds for him, I remember going to the range with him and he never had any problems with it jamming or failing but after about ten years he did have to get the magazine worked on as the bottom of it broke out from the spring pressure. That was the only issue I can recall him having with it. What a beast it was to see that flame come out the barrel in broad daylight. I never did get to shot it. by the time i was big enough he had passed on and the gun was sold to a gun dealer.
Don’t know if the amp round is loaded more than the mag, but being that the chamber is sealed in the automag vs the cylinder in the revolver, it could generate more energy in the automag even with the same load.
a lot of commercial magnum loadings have been toned down with time to boot. less liability and more comfortable = more boxes sold. also most modern magnums (.357 and .44) have much shorter barrels and smaller frames, so it makes sense.
Even in a Short Rifle (Mare’s Leg w/normal Buttstock) some .44Mag isn’t fun sometimes. I have 305gr Grizzly Bear Rounds that give me a nice Bruise. It isn’t fun having a Brass Plate on a sharp snappy Round.
Probably because of no loss of power. The revolver has a giant gap and needs to shove a bullet down a barrel. While the autoloader is sealed in the the barrel. No doubt they could be +p too.
I had a North Hollywood 180 for a few years, they are finicky but if kept clean and tight it worked well. I also reloaded my own ammo for it cutting and reaming 308 cases. The best part of an automag is not the performance but just fact that you have one.
Almost 50 years ago I went to a convention in Las Vegas with my late brother-in-law Herb Patron, right after he retired from the military. It was interesting to say the least. One of the high points was getting to meet Lee Jurras at his booth at the show. A real class gentleman and even then becoming a legend alongside his peers like Jeff Cooper, Rex Applegate, Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan. He had several Automags there, in .44 AMP, .357 and .41 calibers. They looked pretty impressive, but after firing the .357 and .41 caliber versions the issues became readily noticeable, just as you found out. But it was still a good-looking weapon. Both Massad Ayoob and Ross Seyfried had the same opinion as yours. Even before Dirty Harry used it had been a popular weapon in films and novels. A pistol in the same vein was the Wildey .45 Win-Mag pistol. It slightly resembled the Automag but was based on the 1911 frame and fired very high-pressure rounds. There was also a .475 Wildey Mag version. It also went to the movies in one of Charles Bronson's last Death Wish movies I never got to fire one unfortunately. I think they are still being manufactured today.
From what I understand, the jamming problem was a result of early stainless steel firearm technology. They had galling problems with the particular alloy they used on the slide and frame contact point possibly being too soft.
Stainless against stainless is a real problem. It will gall. If you want a permanent fastener just use a stainless nut on a stainless bolt. You essentially get a rivet. You'll never be able to remove the nut. We learned that the hard way in some Aerospace applications back in the 90s.
@@unafflictedgaming, stainless is OK for work knives primarily because of its resistance to corrosion. There are plenty of high carbon steel alloys, that will hold a sharper edge for a longer time. I have some stainless Katanas made by the Valor knife company from the 1980s. I imagine a real Samuri sword would cut right through them, or at least bend them.
@@mattcolver1, stainless like aluminum, loses its resistance to corrosion when not exposed to oxygen. In fact stainless will rot out much faster than carbon steel under certain circumstances. For instance, take your stainless blackpowder hunting rifle and throw it in the closet after shooting it without cleaning. It will be a basket case the next hunting season.
I own 2 of these pistols and yes, they are "jam-o-matics". Some guys can get theirs to run reasonably well with well-tested reloads. Interestingly, the pistol was originally developed for hunting, but if I were in bear country, I'd want a reliable rifle next to my side instead.
@@vxy357 Deagle would not be ideal for bear country. Low capacity and high recoil/weight. You want something with high ROF and good penetration to actually get through the bear's pelt, hide, fat and muscle and hit something vital.
@@pewpewreview5043 Apologies, I should have been more clear. I meant compared to .40/.45 caliber double stacked magazines. Frankly, I wouldn't want a revolver at all. I'd much prefer a longarm of some sort. But if I had to have a pistol, I'd want something with good ROF and manageable recoil (I am operating under the assumption that the bear is close enough that disengaging is not an option, meaning its probably managed to sneak up on me or we blundered across one another and for some reason I can't retreat, meaning it's probably bearing down on me already, if you will pardon the very bad pun). So I'm operating from an assumption that I have seconds at most and do not have time to be trying to re-center after the deagle kicks, since a combination of adrenaline and, let's face it, common human reaction of "something fully capable of killing me in the time it takes to blink is about to test that theory" is probably screwing with my aim (yet another reason I would far prefer a shotgun or semi auto rifle.)
My friend hunted down a 44 Automag after we watched Clint Eastwood's new movie. After getting some custom ammo we took it down to our local indoor pistol range. That gun made the steel plate backstop at the range flex. The guys running the range enjoyed the shooting session but told us to never bring the gun back to their range.
I heard once that while filming Dirty Harry they had to keep a diver on set because Clint Eastwood kept chucking the Automag into the water every time it jammed, which was apparently a lot lol
The Widley and the Automag are two different firearms. The Widley has a gas systems that have to be tuned to each load. The Auto Mag is a short recoil operated action with a rotary bolt. The Widley is a far superior firearm and was in Death Wish 3.
@@tsarbomba1 What's crazier is that Bronson brought that handgun to the UK because of the filming of Death Wish 3 which was shot in London. Back in the day, handguns were still legal there (won't go into the whole muzzleloading, long barrel, etc stuff that is still legal), but it's still bringing your own personal firearm to another country just because you wanted it in the film.
I have one and they're VERY sensitive to hot ammo/reloads, you need to go by the book according to cartridge specs, not only to maintain proper feeding, but to also keep from possibly damaging the gun, because it's more delicate than modern semi-autos.
I Completely Agree! They work well with Correctly loaded ammunition, Not the super-hot handloads. I also remember that they run better when very well lubricated. If you use a light stainless steel grease on the bolt and LSA on the rails, springs and guiderods; that seems to work. I don't have one anymore. A gentleman with plenty of money came along who wanted mine a lot more than I did! If you want a easy to maintain reliable automatic, this ain't it. If you are willing to work on your loading and 'Prep' the gun before you go shooting, it IS Pretty Cool! You gotta remember that Harry Sanford came up with this thing in the early 1970s and there was no standard loading for it. Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
@@JohnDoe-pv2iu I was going to say just that, is it dry or does it need to be greased to the hilt, sure it's finicky but some firearms have afew variables to be taken into account. I've an old semi auto Brno rifle that will cycle two or three brands & types of ammo all day long but will not work with alot, if it's clean it's accuracy and cycling isn't the best but greased up and dirty it's no problem at all.
@@skittles074 I can relate. Some guns are ammo finicky. I have found the older the weapon the more lubrication they need. A Springfield or Mauser likes grease. Garands like grease and oil. 1911s need oil and Glocks run great pretty much dry... Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
@@JohnDoe-pv2iu Yes! LSA is what the guys used and Aero Shell 7 grease. The original ammo worked well. And- Thats all I know, and seen from the thrilling days of yester year.
I had an original 44 Automag and it did take quite a bit of experimenting to get the loads 'dialed in' before it would run right. Once I found the right load, it ran beautifully.
First things first. The automag used 308 Shell's cut down to 44 mag specs. Eventually they did have some head stamped 44 Auto mag. And as I remembered, they are a most sensitive, you do have to use a fairly slow burning powder if possible. A little bit of Teflon grease in the right places might help a lot, and check the spring tension on your magazine Springs. Those guns could definitely be temperamental but I have seen them that run flawlessly with the right ammo and proper lubrication.
Yes, the mags were a big part of the feed/jam issue. The new ones are supposed to be dialed in for the new pistols as well as better clearances, consistent CNC machining, etc.
Well said 44 hawk I had a 180 Pasadena model you had to be very careful of the load I used 22 grns of slow burning powder large cci rifle primer and a 44 semi hollow point full jacket head lightly crimped I never had one malfunction with this load . The only thing that bugged me was the mag used to drop out with the recoil but I got by that by holding my hand on th mag at the bottom was my fave gun ever if you owned one you were a privilege person to have one
Had one of these a few years ago. Being a 300 lb guy, I had very few issues. My smaller friends had way more issues with cycling. This is one automatic that is really susceptible to limp-wristing. It was a fun toy... But not one with any practical use.
When I hear "Dirty Harry gun", I think of a S&W model 29. I didn't know about that semi-auto, but I haven't seen a Dirty Harry movie since the 1970s and I was rather young at the time. BTW, a friend of mine died of cancer a few years ago and bequeathed to me his M29. I will say that it is a beautiful gun. It is almost too pretty to shoot.
I had a model 19 when I first went to Alaska....fella let me know it was a pretty good bear gun if you could get it in the bears mouth. Right after that, I traded it for a model 29 in stainless. Awesome pistol....all that's behind me now, I keep a club by the bed..it is way safer. -Veteran '66-68
@@rogeranderson8763 A model 29 in stainless was actually the model 629. Don't know if S&W still does this but any handgun model that was stainless steel always began with a '6'. I had a six inch model 629 in the late 1980's and it was a beautiful revolver. My favorite caliber was .357 Magnum and I too had a model 19 as well as it's stainless cousin, the model 66, which was the exact same gun made in stainless steel. I preferred stainless handguns because they were easy to care for and living in south Florida on the Atlantic ocean made sense because stainless handguns held up much better in a saltwater environment.
I've had an automag .44 since 1982. It's a cool discussion piece...I much prefer my automag III. but if you do a little internal polishing and lube the crap out of it, it will run.
From what I've learned, the original Automag round is a cut down .308 rifle round for >44 magnum hence the heavier recoil, large fireball etc. It's also the reason for the difficulty in cycling i think. Reloading tolerances effect the consistency in cycling in the finicky "little" hand howitzer. Although the new Automag out of Loris SC may be built a little different......
I saw this gun at a gun store in the early 90's. The guy at the counter explained to me that the gun was just a " movie gun" and not good for practical purposes. Long story short, he said it was a good looking piece of garbage. From what I see here, he wasn't lying.
Give it time! I have two of the original 44 Auto Mags and I had similar issues when the gun was new but as time passed and the more I shot them they became a reliable pistols. One of them did seem to take about another month that the other to stop giving me trouble. My biggest complaint was at the time getting ammo was next to impossible, I had my ammo made by a friend who reloaded, the other was the kick after 20 or 30 rounds my wrist was like spaghetti. Every now and then I would get a really hot round that felt like it was going to take my hand off at the wrist! I stopped shooting them because after they stopped making them they became rare and sought after. Now that they are remaking them I fear the prices of the originals are going to plummet.
@@applejuice9468 because it is, but it is still his valid experience and would be pretty one sided to ignore opinions that rival yours especially when they have legitimate experience with the object in question.
@@joshjones5172 Thanks Josh, I have been shooting and collecting guns long before Matt was born! Matt is actually only 1 year older than my son. I was 16 when I got my first rifle in 1975 by the time I was in my early 20s I had a large collection and I was attending in shooting competitions all over the US. I also had my FFL since the early 80s just recently let it go.
What you miss in the movie during the long winded speals about removing finger prints and heads, is Clint franticly fingerblasting the automag to get it ready to fire the next round.
@@ulyssesdelamora3856 I go to the gym 3 days a week, bc I really don’t have time to go that many times because of my job. I don’t live in my mother and fathers basement. I came on here to make a silly joke, not to be harassed by some loser who doesn’t have a job, and is so fat that he needs to go to the gym five days a week
@@omittedfour15 what’s next, you call him dog water? you sure are doing the world so much good by recycling the weakest insults. go back to your bench press and weep.
That's an example of the common, "Semi-Semi-Auto". For the record, I've never heard of an Automag that worked. When I was young, I used to help my dad make .44 Automag cases out of .308 Blank spent cases he had bought a drum of surplus from the National Guard. I would cut off the cases in a cut die, he'd trim them in a trim die. I don't remember if he had to fireform them or what, but he'd sell the cases to people dumb enough to buy an Automag. We also had a Wildey in .45 Win Mag. I remember as I cut myself trying to disassemble it once.
Ah yes, like one AR pistol of mine that seems to utterly hate certain brands of .223 but cycles perfectly with my hand loads (that aren't even that hot to begin with, go figure.)
Hey Matt I've got a question can you make homemade body armour out of sandpaper? I've tried it with crossbow bolts and about 10 layers could stop them but in the UK it's not so easy to do test like this with guns.
You can make the ammunition by cutting .308 Winchester brass down and fire forming the first shot of each piece of brass to take the taper out of the case. If you use military brass you'll need to reem the case mouths because the GI brass is so thick. It's labor intensive but is a lot cheaper than buying commercial ammunition.
My dad owned one. You had to load it hot to make it run. We used cut down .308 Winchester cases and used rifle primers with it and after chronogragphing it showed speeds of 1650 fps with 240 JSP's. He also had the .357 Automag. He did have to do a lot of work to get it to run well. The 357 Automag was hitting speeds of 2000 fps + with 158's.
4:30 Another difference is that the .44Mag revolver has a ported barrel, which cuts down on recoil and muzzle flip. Plus, a revolver inherently leaks gases in the cylinder gap, so you don't get the full effect of the powder.
It blows my mind just how much those ported barrels make a difference on some newer revolvers! Bought my Dad a .357 Magnum Taurus Tracker and it doesn't have much more recoil than a 9mm with hot loads. Feels like a completely different gun/caliber compared to my Black Hawk in the same barrel length.
My daughter had the unfortunate chance to experience this! We were at the range, she was shooting her heritage rough rider .22lr and for some reason, had the idea to put her hand next to the gap between the cylinder and barrel. I couldn't move fast enough before she pulled the trigger. But she learned that wasn't a good idea and at least it was only a 22
@@justindye9443 Yeah - the Mythbusters did a segment on this, where they made up a thumb surrogate and stuck it next to the barrel gap of a revolver (don't recall the cartridge, but think it was a .357Mag) When fired, it mangled the thumb surrogate pretty thoroughly. Couldn't find the Mythbusters segment easily, but here's Jerry Miculek using a hot dog on a pencil to demonstrate the same thing: ruclips.net/video/t6vMkk8VYzc/видео.html&ab_channel=JerryMiculek-ProShooter
@@HDramboDwango Some do, some don't, varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and which barrel option you order. There's a company here in SE Michigan (Mag-na-port) that uses electrostatic discharge machining to cut ports in barrels that don't already have them - they're little trapezoidal slots in the top of the barrel at the muzzle, about the size and shape of a micro-USB connector.
Matt, it's always interesting watching you with all these exotic guns- I do admit I get jealous of you- but I'd love to see you get range time with something pure and simple like a Colt SAA just for the Zen of it. That being said, another very cool video.
My favorite part of this video is that it starts off showing the ARs for like $2-3k and talking about how expensive they are, then he busts out the Automag, which brand new is like $3500 haha
@@somecsguy9824 You need a license/permit from Feds or the Army to buy a bolt action rifle 22LR. The license costs you 2k, the 22LR 2,7k. A Taurus G2c 9mm(cheapest one) 4k. Here we have ammo limit per registration (600 for each gun), 3 guns limit. Oh, all you can buy in Brazil its 22LR, 380ACP, 40SW, 45ACP, 38SPL, 357MAG, 32ACP and shotgun rounds. Nothing above 1620 joules rifled barrel. Things are bad here hahahahaha
"Well this is a .44 auto mag and if used correctly, it can remove the finger prints" Now all we gotta do is have Matt get the wildy magnum from death wish
I've always been suspect of any pistol that requires it's own proprietary ammo, but even the Desert Eagles were unreliable shooting standard rimmed cartridges. Some cartridges are just set up best for use in revolvers.
I was told years ago that the .44 Automag has incredible variation in quality. One might work perfectly every time and another might fail to feed every other round.
I had a .44 AutoMag back in the 80's. I can't remember the manufacturer for certain, TDE comes to mind for some reason. The design was used by several manufactures back then. The design wasn't great. No matter what loads I ran in it, the feed jams continued. The cases were trimmed down .308's to .44 mag case height essentially. I got into hand loading because of that gun. Started loading some hot rounds. Blowing holes into the back of the range. The bolt pin cracked shortly thereafter and it spent about a year at the gunsmiths. As soon as I got it back I sold it.
@@h3llb1lly889 true but I meant from a lot of the other content creators. It can be a lot of information and that’s it. While Matt doesn’t review guns in a typical fashion he makes some crazy content and does the most. But you are right shooting in general is fun and interesting
Clint Eastwood had a similar miserable experience with his Automag while filming _Sudden Impact._ His gun kept malfunctioning (I imagine it would be worse firing and cycling blanks), and he got so mad he kept yeeting it at full force during the outtakes. In the movie’s finale at the pier, he threw it right into the ocean in a fit of rage and the studio had to hire divers to retrieve the gun.
Crazy, how do you know these things
:))))
Such a Clint thing to do.
Glad you mentioned that. While I didn't know that part of the story, I did know- he did NOT use an Automag in "Dirty Harry" (that would be a S&W model 29), he used the Automag in "Sudden Impact". My family had an original Pasadena model Automag. As other's said - maintenance, reliability, etc made it less appealing than the guns we traded it for.
Glad you mentioned that. While I didn't know that part of the story, I did know- he did NOT use an Automag in "Dirty Harry" (that would be a S&W model 29), he used the Automag in "Sudden Impact". My family had an original Pasadena model Automag. As other's said - maintenance, reliability, etc made it less appealing than the guns we traded it for.
I had the good fortune to own a 44 AutoMag for a short time. I found that they are VERY maintenance intensive. With good maintenance, they will cycle nicely. They ARE a handful, and very tough to find ammo for.
My friend wildie is coming.
I had an automag in the past and found the same as you. They require a ton or maintenance and tender loving care. I also had to find an ammo that the gun liked and as you know there is not a lot to choose from
@@adamlewellen5081 that is the last name of the guy who made the gun he is from brookfeild ct!!@
@@johnlorusso1835
Wildey is a different gun from an Auto Mag.
Trim down 308
“Do you feel lucky, punk?”
*sees it’s the automag
“Yeah, kinda..”
Made my day! Thank you buddy!
hahaha
I gots to know
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂
My dad had one of these new and it jammed all the damn time. Don't get me wrong, he loved the gun and had it until the day he passed but it was not reliable nor would you want to be a cop and have to hope it fires when needed to do so. Great video. It brought back some memories of my dad cursing and shooting in our backyard range when I was a kid.
Real Facts: The 44 Auto Mag is easily the most contemporary firearm that aesthetically fits in Star Wars, without being a KelTec product.
Literally the coolest gun
Keltecs are so ugly, but function over form always wins fights
What about the Whitney Wolverine?
Yeah, it’s got a kind of WW2 service pistol look, sort of like a Luger. Just needs a big scope a funny looking flash hider and some random useless bits on the upper.
Not 100% sure, but...I think Boba Fett used one with greeblies attached as some sort of heavy blaster pistol in S2 of "The Mandalorian". The episode on Tython, where he just WRECKS a couple of stormtroopers squads.
The 44 Auto Mag requires thorough lubrication with an oil or grease specially formulated for stainless steel. You should either use Firepower FP-10 oil, or Rig stainless steel grease. My two Auto Mags run perfectly unless I limp-wrist them. It’s impossible to tell for sure, but it sure seems like you are running yours practically dry. And thereby inviting malfunctions.
Forgotten Weapons video 3 years ago mentioned lubrication issues with the original pistols.
Might be better to produce replicas in more conventional materials.
As he was having the problems, I was thinking that someone might still know how to get them to function properly. Guns are similar to bicycles. Each one has the subtle details you must learn to get the best out of them.
this man barely owns a gun thats sighted in and you expect him to nurse something high maintaince never gonna happen.
The biggest issue with recoil-operated pistols and shotguns is definitely that if you let it move too much, it might short-stroke.
Interestingly, there is one gun that was designed to be fired exactly this way, the AN-94, it's a gun in a gun and in another virtual gun, the user, in that there should be movement in all 3 of these for it to have the claim-to-fame burst accuracy. This was a deliberate design, so that when you aren't steady on your feet and do not have a good stance, the dispersion of the hyperburst would not be lowered.
Instead, when the gun slides back in your shoulder in a more relaxed stance, the shot dispersion gets considerably tighter. Very clever design, and amazing Nikonov managed to pull it off, since there are so many variables, yet this really did work, this might even be mostly because of the cetrifugal chambers in the muzzle device, which stabilize and normalize the movement in multiple directions.
But in real-life combat scenarios, some of the considerably much more simple designs work practically as well, so it's not a seriously needed gun, and there is one odd failure, if the 2nd round in the burst is an empty case or has some other issue, the gun might jam in a way that's impossible to clear fast, as seen in Larry Vickers 2st video on the gun and this purposeful demo they did on the russian Kalashnikov channel.
Also, the info that the gun was designed for lower-trained soldiers is false, the whole trials were for firearms which could have better shot dispersion from an unstable stance, such as "running & gunning" or crouching. In prone with gun on the ground, a very stable position, the AN-94 actually has considerably worse dispersion than the AK-74. Basically, the less the gun slides back, the less accurate the hyperburst is and vice versa. I doubt someone read this far, but I hope those that did found out something interesting from this ;)
That's exactly what I was thinking. But this is the Demolitia. They should know that, right? A can of WD-40 goes a long way.
I was going to buy this gun back in the 90s. The dealer himself talked me out of it. Once I got internet, it was one of the first guns I researched. So glad I never got one.
That’s a good dealer if they chose not to sell you a POS that they knew was a POS
@@connormclernon26 Yes, he was. He talked me out of a few guns that would have been costly mistakes. His name was Frank viccaro. He has long since passed on, rest his wise soul.
Shame too because its a cool looking gun
@@johnsmith-sy2jg
Maybe he just didn't trust you with guns 😂
Not reliable
In 1969 after high school I spent the summer working for Harry Sanford Firearms in Pasadena where the prototype Automag was being developed. It was a very finicky weapon from the very beginning. It required a special lubricant to keep the stainless steel parts from galling. My brother-in-law worked several years for them after the Automag went into production at a couple of different locations under a couple of different owners.
I almost bought one from Arroyo Arms close to your factory. The price of the boomer, specialized ammo & what you could buy instead turned me off. But, what a fascinating Gun
I believe a company on S. Carolina is making new ones w/o the quirks but w/ the same ammo$$$$
Why not use .44 Special?
No you didn’t. Because that was me. I hand-milled every receiver and turned every barrel. Used to use the heat from my crotch to melt lead for bullets, and my breath would Parkerize the finish.
Years back, my gun friend saw the dirty harry movie and went on and on about how the gun was garbage because his dad bought it, and they used it and hated it too.
But he caught SO much flack about "oh you don't know guns and this and that" because he hated on a famous gun.
See, he was right again. Thanks for the review DR.
It's not actually that bad. It's got some rough edges and needs polished. Should work fine after that
I think I remember reading an article back in the day that when some gunsmiths attempted to fix the issues with the gun they had to redesign most of the receiver and slide to get it to cycle better
@@Hyper_Fox06 It depends. From what I heard, the early Automags, when they were made in Pasadena, were the most reliable, as they were low production, hand fitted guns, but Harry Sanford's original company folded after a few years, as they were losing over a grand per gun in 1974(!). Total production was under 3000, and today they're the most desirable of the various iterations of the Automag.
@@machinist7230 yeah that would make a world of difference, but like you said costs would be higher having skilled gunsmiths hand crafting the guns
@@machinist7230 I shot an "original" version, back in '72--the owner cut down .308 brass to make cartridges for it. That thing was a BEAST, in my 16 year old hands! lol
Fun fact: Sudden Impact, the film Callahan uses the AutoMag in, actually had divers standing by during the climax, because Eastwood kept getting frustrated with the pistol's refusal to properly function and throwing it in the ocean.
That is unacceptable
thats the most hollywoood Diva trash ive ever heard.
Nice info. Sounds like Calahan wanted his model 29 back.
@@keithv3767 I know I would. The model 29 looks cooler to me than the AutoMag
@@wishuhadmyname Same. And it doesn’t jam. A 44 pistol should not look like a giant Ruger Mark II.
That's the coolest semi-automatic bolt-action gun I've ever seen.
Google ruger mkiii hunter
hehehe
Fully semi bolt-action
something about that statement doesnt sound right
🤣
I have a AMT 22mag Automag. Brand new, it ran just fine. After about 2--300 rounds,,not so good. Lots of stovepipes, misfires, no matter the ammo. I completely went thru it and blueprinted the thing. Ordered parts directly from AMT, when you could. Fixing the draggy slide, the shit trigger, ect. After all my work, it ran alot better and still does to this day, with any 22 mag ammo. The biggest problem was the finish on the gliding surfaces of the slide, where metal to metal meets. It was horrible. Mobile 1 Red Synthetic was the grease that held the best, with no metal smearing on the slide.
What you're seeing with that AutoMag is exactly what they were known for, and the main reason that three different companies that tried to produce them went bankrupt. A fourth is currently working on trying to iron the bugs out using modern manufacturing processes and metallurgy... but they've BEEN trying for about four of five years now and they still don't have pistols on the market. Sadly, much like the Bren Ten, the original AutoMag just seems to be such a flawed design that it can't be fixed.
And this one time, I REALLY wish someone would prove me wrong, because those are both firearms that I would dearly LOVE to get my hands on an updated, reliable version of.
I've seen 1 of them that performed flawlessly. A local gunsmith had a range where he would rent guns and an Automag was one of them. Matt's gun sounds rough and raspy. The gun I remember was smooth.
I’m surprised there isn’t a different design chambering that Round. I kinda like that 1911 looking one.
How ironic it is that the best .44 magnum autoloader is still the Desert Eagle.
Thanks for the background info on the gun. I didn't know that and appreciate those bits of knowledge. 👍✌
I saw one at a shooting range that ran perfect 5/5 magazines. The range gunsmith prided himself on it and said it was a really technical process: specific powder weights, brands of brass/primer, ogive angle of the bullet, etc.
A buddy of mine bought one many years ago. We shot it for several months. What we found was that it must be kept spotlessly clean and well lubricated. Even doing that it was very finicky about ammo. Then sometimes it would jam no matter what you did. He sold it pretty quickly.
worst gun I ever had.
Must use original loads from Mexico, and use Break Free only. Nothing else. Loading ruins the experience.
Maybe he was using the wrong ammo
I'll bet there are only about 5 of these in existence. Everybody sees this in a gun store, buys it, hates it and sells it back for the next person to buy. Who gets rich? The gun store.
That's what I was thinking - run that pig wet.
This gun has an "accelerator" lever on it which pushes the receiver away from the frame & barrel after the bullet leaves the muzzle. Such a funky design.
Thats really weird but interesting
True, funky hold on the handgun too.
More specifically it's a short recoil operated rotating bolt system, which has an accelerator level, but it's not accelerator lever delayed like some rifles
Precisely how the M2 .50 cal operates it also has an accelerator
Does it come in the 40 Whatt range?
Dirty Harry's iconic handgun - Smith & Wesson Model 29.
There's a reason why these Automag pistols never caught on:
Getting them to fire reliably was always a problem. When you have such a big cartridge, the recoil system for it needs to be specially made to handle it and also, the magazines have the cartridges angled more than usual, making them harder to feed.
50AE was made better by using a shorter cartridge and needing less angle to feed.
The 70s were full of shooters wanting rifle cartridges in pistols and creating these things
Was the time to be alive.
The 44 AMP is a straight-walled, rimless case.
The magazines don't need to be angled. (The mag would need to be angled if the case was rimmed, semi-rimmed, or tapered)
The Auto Mag was produced and developed AT the same time. The company rushed them to production while at the same time trying to develop them.
First of all he should max load 5 rounds in the magazine and second of all it’s a stainless steel gun, use stainless steel lube and the gun should run. Is nobody watching forgotten weapons?!
The .50AE Desert Eagle gets around relying on the recoil energy by adopting a gas system typically found in rifles. It's pretty darn crazy.
"so what you have to ask yourself is, do you feel lucky punk? well do ya?"
"considering your gun jams on average every 2nd round.... yea ill take my chances"
🤣🤣🤣
He was using a S&W model 29 revolver when that line was said.
@@DwendeleA joke doesn´t have to be accurate all the time, right ?
@@Dwendele Some people have a sense of humor. You, only a sense.
@@Orcinus1967 that might be both a compliment and an insult
I hear Clint Eastwood threw his Automag off the pier in Dirty Harry. Had to get a diver to retrieve it. Too many jams. Great video Matt, neat pistol.
He didn’t have the auto mag in Dirty Harry tho, he had a 44 mag revolver. He had the auto mag in the 4th film Sudden Impact 👍
To me the first one you shot, the S&W .44 mag revolver Model 26 with the 6 1/2 inch barrel (they did use an 8 3/8 barrel for some shots, but the 6" was the main one) will always be the "true" Dirty Harry gun. If I remember correctly, the .44 automag was only used in Sudden Impact. I owned a 6" model 29 for years and LOVED it. Although, in order to make it more comfortable to shoot, I added Pachmayr grips and at the range I usually shot .44 special instead of magnum rounds. Shooting for an hour with magnum rounds and the standard wooden grip could definitely give your hand a workout!
Love my Model 29, but a hundred rounds with the stock wooden grip is just a thrashing on the finger under the trigger guard by the time you're done.
I think I'll stick with my model 19 .357...
Since Of The Lambs.
The amount of times “gees” and “golee” comes out of Matt’s mouth directly correlates with the power of the cartridge lol
1.21 gigawatts of golleeeeee!
O[
Hanging out with Scott from Kentucky Ballistics is rubbing off
@@dwightschrute491 my dad just said that 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@andyreid7274 lmao! Right? 🤣
So does that make it a, sortof-sometimes-semi-auto?
Semi semi slide action, semi semi automatic.
bolt action pistol lol
@@snacktical genuinely made me laugh lol
Semi auto single shot.
Quarter-auto
IMO, the AutoMag may be "a" Dirty Harry gun, but it is not "the" Dirty Harry gun. That honor goes to the S&W Model 29.
😅
@@BangtidyVideos interested in good old movies and guns. Just looking Death wish 3 by the way
CORRECT
He was still Dirty Harry, it just wasn't an Automag in the film by that name.
But yeah..i'll take a Model 29, anytime..muchas reliable, accurate & plenty strong.
I was sxtremely confused until this comment - cuz I thought the same.
Automag III .30 carbine, Irwindale mfr., polished feed ramp, FMJ hardball ammo only, no softpoint ammo. Feeds & runs flawlessly.
I love this pistol !
Blackhawk is cooler
As I recall from right after they made that “Dirty Harry” movie, they had 3 of those pistols on the set. Two were working units and the third was a dummy for times when they simply needed to film it in the holster and such. It wasn’t long until they also had to have a gunsmith standing by to make repairs on the two “working” units. They had a hard time keeping one of them firing. I would hope that by today they have straightened out the problems. It seems like there were a lot of guide rods getting bent.
There may have been 2 working models . I recall they were especially made for the movie out of replacement parts . They were serial number Clint 1 and Clint 2. My old Seria loading manual shows the 44 mag out of a long barrel about 50 to 100 FPS faster and a few more grains of powder than for the 44 Automag. Not sure if any commercial rounds were made, but you could make the cases out of a 30/06 or 308 rifle case. In all the years I have only seen 2 at the gun shows. First was about 1975 or so. Not sure if it was new or used, but the asking price was either $ 1300 or $ 1500 .
They were well known for jamming!
@@bigbird5754 Textbook case of "awesome but impractical." Looks cool, sounds cool, bonus points for the fireball flash adding some "pizzazz" to the situation. But it clearly kicks like a mule making accurate follow up shots difficult, and to describe the weapon as "tempermental" is a bit of an understatement...
Friend of mine owned one of the old ones, said he could tear it apart, pull the springs to half again their normal length, it would cycle 2 magazines then start jamming again. He ended up trading it on something else.
@@andrewgause6971 To be fair if you hit anything in the North American continent with the round you're not going to need a follow up shot.
Actually, they are making new automags again, they redesigned a ton of things like the mags to address the jamming issues, make it easier to pull the bolt back, plus a lot of new CNC process control to tighten it up. Everything you pointed out about the old automags has been refined. From what I have been hearing the new ones are a lot better
It makes sense. Better use of alloys, polymers, and CNC fighter tolerances would make this firearm formidable in a close quarter.
As in if you want the creeper who is entering your window to leave it....perhaps a bit more energetically than when he entered it. Good news to hear that such beast weapons are back.
Edit: Tighter not fighter, damn google. Be safe out there, mama Susan be bringing the hammer down on "toy commercials".
Dan//// Last I heard they scrapped them because of the Cost and Still Being UNRELIABLE!!!!!!
@@ezrabrooks12 Nope. Website is still active as well.
@@tsarbomba1 I was actually on the phone with one of their employees about an hour ago, they are very much in business.
The jam is an added safety to keep you from breaking your wrist rapid firing 😂😂
Nah Matt just bought the bolt action version
Harry Sanford's Iconic .44 Automag is one of the most elegant firearms ever made, It looks sexy and streamlined compared to a Desert Eagle, and is lighter weight. I have had the opportunity to shoot both and hands down the Automag was my favorite. The owner of the Automag, had replaced the springs had a gunsmith polish the chamber, and other parts of the gun. He had some actual original ammo, and reloaded for it. We fired over 100 rounds and never experienced any malfunctions. He said he used a slower burning pistol powder in his reloads. We got some pretty massive fireballs as it was overcast. Shooting that Automag, was an awesome experience. Very highly recommended gun!
Owned a .44 Automag for many years ( wish I'd kept it ! ) most every malf I experienced was due to ammo. The gun absolutely required full power loads, and most of the commercial ammo for sale at the time just wasn't up to snuff. Much was imported from Mexico and the recoil varied considerably from round to round. Carefully handloaded rounds were very reliable, although admittedly not perfect.
I was scrolling down looking for the guy who had got one to shoot.
You can make your own with a lathe and a reloading press. .44 AMP brass is just cut down .308 brass
I had both .357 and .44. I made my own brass from .308 using RCBS dies. They didn’t like ball powder but ran very well on flake powders. Regret selling it.
It's definitely a gun for guys that know how to reload.
its way better than desert pigeon
Matt: *picks up a recovered just fired bullet* "ow, that's really hot!"
Also Matt: *picks up a recovered just fired bullet* "ow, that's really hot!"
Every. Single. Time.
Scott on Kentucky Ballistics does it too. 😂
I love how even after all these years, he still picked up the round and is surprised it is HOT.
Was just thinking that lmao
They're not always THAT hot. they're always at minimum warm though.
I think he's on a mission to find one round that isn't blistering hot after he fires it to call it a miracle..😂🤣😂
This is the same Dude who bought a Taurus .44 magnum. His choices are suspect.
Alzheimers setting in ?
Brings back happy memories... I used to shoot pistols here in the UK until 1989 when they were banned. Since then, of course, gun crime has continued to rise inexorably. Who'd have thought eh?
Man that pistol reminds me of a .22 rifle I bought for my wife several years ago. So many jams and fail to feeds and light strikes and just horrible, dangerous, utterly terrifying gun... First time out we loaded three magazines, thirty rounds, and didn't have one round work right. I benched it, meaning to return it and get her a different brand, and forgot about it for a few years for various reasons. I found it again about two months ago, tore it apart and deep cleaned it and slightly filed down and opened up the magazine feed lips. Took it out to my range last month and ran fifty rounds through it flawlessly. I even felt safe enough to let a child on the range with us fire off a magazine when he asked. I'd suggest deep cleaning that one and check the mag feed lips. That said, the comments section has a general consensus that these pistols were known for those problems, so you may have a very expensive paper weight on your hands... I hope not. I'd enjoy seeing more of this pistol.
Any chance you can give the name so we can avoid the rifle, or buy it in case we like really crap guns?
@@salimcahuas1412 I can't remember honestly, and I lent it to my dad because his old 22 isnt sighting in for some reason and he's got a squirrel problem. I know it was the cheapest one at Walmart at the time. Maybe a Savage or a Mossberg or whatever company makes the little Cricket rifles, since those are the only brands I know Walmart still sells.
@@michellewilt4479 I was gonna ask if it was my Remington Apache 77. I had the same problems, gave it a good deep clean, problems went away.
Well, some of the problems went away. Finding extended mags that fit well is still difficult, but how many of those do I need for a .22 anyway?
@@michellewilt4479 Keystone sporting arms makes the cricket single shot. Just to let you know.
@@atlucas1 I haven't even tried extended mags in it. I'll leave that stuff up to the wife once we get it back from dad. It's her rifle, I just wanted to make sure it was safe to use. But if she does want extended mags, assuming we can find some, I'm gonna test them for safe operation and have her do any adjustments needed to make em safe. She's gotta learn this stuff too.
I wonder how often he cleans out his safes, and is like "oh ya! I forgot I had this one..." ????
Probably quite commonly really, he owns a ton of guns
Everyday
Probably occasionally finds an entire safe of guns that he forgot about lol
I don't think he ever cleans out his safes
Only Hickok does that
I fell in love with the look of the gun when I was 12, wanted one so bad growing up; i was saddened to find out what an unreliable POS it really was. it is super expensive to get one and the ammo is not cheap
The weapon in this video has been almost totally redesigned. This weapon IS NOT the weapon that Mr. Eastwood had.
@@Dbusdriver71 More information required.
@@Indigenous51 There's a video out there with a person that represents a business that re released Is this weapon. 44 magnum automag. If you look around RUclips, there's a good chance you'll find it. I'll also look for it as I probably saved it I'll get back to you in A-day or so.
@@Indigenous51 On RUclips, if you put in 44 magnum auto mag the 1st video should be it should be the 44 automatic is back.. Look at that video.
Literally same man
Visually as a kid the automag 44 was my absolute favorite handgun.
I was remotely associated with AMT when they were still in operation, in Irwindale, CA. and while they were good guys their guns very commonly did not operate out of the box. One time I got 3 of their 22 Automags and none of them would cycle reliably first time out. It was just a matter of a little smoothing out the rough edges and polishing here and there and they all ended up working great. The 22 used a rimmed 22 magnum round. Super fun. Lots of noise, lots of flash and no kick. People at the indoor range stopped shooting and came to my booth to see what I was shooting. The 44 Automag might well be more complicated than the 22's I had but, it would be worth taking it to a gunsmith and let him figure out why it is hanging up.
A co-worker had a 22 mag Automag that refused to run...so I volunteered to look at it for him. The whole problem was in the hammer spring being too long...it was binding when the hammer was pushed beyond the full cock during cycling. Trimmed the spring a little and the thing ran like a clock. The 44 Automag could be made reliable if you played with it I'm sure it's just the variables of springs (that are now ancient and no doubt need replacing) and perhaps a little feed lip tweaking. I know, I know....you 'shouldn't' have to play with a gun to make it work...but sometimes you DO! What would you rather have.....a working gun or one that jams constantly that you bitch about? Even brand new some guns need a little 'adjustment' to make them run with whatever ammo you decide to run them with...I consider it normal and not a big deal.
Have one too, love shooting it.
Sad that the Auto Mag 3 isn't in production anymore, that 30 cal looks to be the most reliable gun Matt got from them and its certainly the funniest to watch him shoot. Wish I could own one myself for some extreme fireball goodness.
@@recoilrob324 I was wondering whether through age and use the springs needed replacing, I guess with feed issues probably a bad mag spring too?
I do wonder if Matt gave the thing a good clean to begin with, he isn't known for upkeep on his weapons.
@@pixiniarts Anytime you buy a used gun...especially one that's getting on 30+ years old (man...where do the years go?) it's never a bad idea to put in fresh springs. Sometimes it's amazing how much longer and stiffer the new ones will be! With the .44 not reliably going fully into battery I'd suspect the recoil springs for sure and then check the mag to make certain that it's presenting the round at the proper angle for feeding. Looked like they were nose down too much which also could be the bullet nose shape coming into play...some guns just don't like certain nose shapes for feeding, though often this can be worked around with mag lip adjustments. Who knows...the previous owner/s might even have the mag spring in backwards which isn't lifting the follower correctly. Don't ever take anything off the table with used equipment....people can do some really dumb things. (I'm guilty of it too)
Dirty Harry was talking about the shooters finger prints being removed, from all the adjusting and cleaning the gun needed
Or maybe powder burn😅
As a Resident Evil fan, my first thought when I saw this was the Magnum in RE7 and how heartbreaking it was when I missed a shot.
you just gave me an emotional flashback
I bought a walker like one Clint Eastwood carried in "The outlaw Josey Wales" bad ass mother is all got to say. Plenty of Comanches braves and Mexican soldiers fell to the hands of an American soldier welding an 1847 Colt Walker
Matt, you’re more than just the guns, you’re also the reason I got into guns. Keep being awesome.
ditto
Same here man
@@萌え-l5d reported
Saaame
Also
You heard it from Matt himself, the automag makes his least favorite gun, means he likes the Highpoints more
And the zip 22
Actually he said they make his favorite one, but also the worst.
Everyone knows that he secretly loves Hi-Point; he just keeps dramatically insisting over and over he doesn't to appease the haters. It's like that old saw of young girls insisting that all those boys are stupid and annoying and gross and she would *never* want anything to do with any of them.
This gun needs to start appearing on "worst guns/guns to not buy" lists
The weapon you see here is not the same weapon Mr. Eastwood used in the film. Even back in the 80's you could take a double action and make it a 'hair trigger' and it could fire as fast as an automatic. This is what I did with my GP 100 in the .357 which is why I never invested in a Coonan .357; I still regret not trying one. The original weapon not only jammed a lot, but couldn't handle the pressures the cartridges went up to so basically, it was dangerous to have hot loads. This weapon seems little better.
It would be number one for me, as well. I owned one, shot it at a quarry once a month at 400 yard (yes, it was accurate), but the gun jammed all the time and broke parts every outing.
@@jedpeeler4199 Why would you want a rapid fire .44 magnum anyway? That is an incredibly punishing round to fire. The Impact energy is incredible! I still have my Ruger Single Action .44 blued pistol and will never sell it. You can use it against Alaskan Bears and Moose. I prefer my .454 Casull myself .
And on "best guns in games" because the dev team increase the ability of the gun in-game.
Honestly, its been on there. I've known since the '90s it was horribly unreliable. It is still cool, but not something you'd ever want to shoot for anything serious.
Charles Bronson used one of those in one of the Death Wish movies too. It's obvious that pistol is too tight, it needs to be thoroughly broken in, probably needs 1000 rounds through it, I would put polishing compound on all the contact areas, sit in the couch and just constantly work the action for a few hours while I watched TV, then thoroughly clean it and heavily lube it leaving it wet with lube then fire it some more and make sure to not limp wrist it.
Only Dirty Harry can pull off this gun I guess.
you probably didn’t even know who Dirty Harry was before this
It’s probably only fired once and then fully cleaned several times during each take(then again, maybe blanks aren’t powerful enough to cleanly cycle the firearm, but I’m sure they are dirty enough to fully foul up the operating system)!!!!!
@@Godzillaforlyfe2 your mom needs to teach you manners young one. Don't waste your energy on plebs
Bruh
And Ethan Winters from Resident Evil 8
I seem to remember that while shooting Sudden Impact they had to hire a diver in one of the shoot-out scenes. The Automag was so unreliable that Clint Eastwood got frustrated and threw it into the harbour they were filming next to. Every time he threw it away, the diver would retrieve the gun from the water so they could continue shooting the scene.
haha, That's Clint
Correct. The Blank Adapted gun Ser. # Clint2 was so notoriously unreliable, it was tossed by Mr Eastwood several times into the bay. The live fire pistol Ser. # Clint1was more reliable, however it too had feeding issues.
Both pistols were built from spare parts that were in Harry Sanford's basement workshop according to an interview that If I am remembering correctly was published in Guns & Ammo Magazine about 7 months after the films release.
The Director of the film kept the blank adapted gun, the live fire gun however was given to Mr Eastwood. It's unknown if it is still in his possession.
@@greylocke100. Very cool history except Clint starred and Directed that one.
@@greylocke100 I'd like to think he'd keep it as a paperweight and impromptu thrown weapon.
Was Paul Kersey's Wildey Magnum more reliable?
"A man's got to know his limitations, and mine is getting this thing to cycle"
This is perfect.
I'm not sure how this gun works but I know when I bought my Desert Eagle, I had a MAJOR problem with jams that was resolved by replacing the recoil springs.
Now you know why Clint Eastwood asked him if he felt lucky? He was anticipating 50/50 odds the gun would jam 🤣
Revolvers rarely jam. Only way they would is using incorrect ammo or poor maintenance I would believe.
Why doesn’t this comment have more likes?
I was rolling dead after reading 😂
he never said that in the movie where he got one
_"Au Revoir, Shosanna!"_
Lol!!!
Matt, if you had to choose the Automag or a Hi- point to carry for the next 6 months, which would it be?
hi point cause its more reliable
Automag cuz when you throw it has more momentum
@@jeroldpickard947 only marginally more I think. have you seen the Hi-points?
That’s easy, I’d take the Automag to shoot Myself because I wouldn’t leg a bullet out of a Hi-Point enter my poop hole.
Automag -- "if it doesn't work you can always hit them with it".
My God, just keep it away from Baldwin
Lmafo
lol
lololololololololololol
If Baldwin had this gun, it likely would have jammed and not killed anyone.
Just ran across your comment. It made my day.
My father purchased an original 44 Automag in the early 70's when I was just becoming a teenager, when he bought it he also ordered the reloading dies with it, a good friend of his would reload his rounds for him, I remember going to the range with him and he never had any problems with it jamming or failing but after about ten years he did have to get the magazine worked on as the bottom of it broke out from the spring pressure. That was the only issue I can recall him having with it. What a beast it was to see that flame come out the barrel in broad daylight. I never did get to shot it. by the time i was big enough he had passed on and the gun was sold to a gun dealer.
Don’t know if the amp round is loaded more than the mag, but being that the chamber is sealed in the automag vs the cylinder in the revolver, it could generate more energy in the automag even with the same load.
a lot of commercial magnum loadings have been toned down with time to boot. less liability and more comfortable = more boxes sold. also most modern magnums (.357 and .44) have much shorter barrels and smaller frames, so it makes sense.
Those 44 AMP rounds seem to be as hot as a 44 Mag loaded to rifle spec, fun in a lever-action rifle but simply masochistic in a revolver.
Even in a Short Rifle (Mare’s Leg w/normal Buttstock) some .44Mag isn’t fun sometimes. I have 305gr Grizzly Bear Rounds that give me a nice Bruise. It isn’t fun having a Brass Plate on a sharp snappy Round.
Probably because of no loss of power. The revolver has a giant gap and needs to shove a bullet down a barrel. While the autoloader is sealed in the the barrel. No doubt they could be +p too.
@@Len_M. What's a Grizzly Bear round?
That's cuz .44 Amp is literally the 44 mag rifle round cut down to fit the .44 auto mag. Very bizarre round that I would not wanna get punched by
@@kevinholes99 what would it do if it hit someone or some thing?
I had a North Hollywood 180 for a few years, they are finicky but if kept clean and tight it worked well. I also reloaded my own ammo for it cutting and reaming 308 cases. The best part of an automag is not the performance but just fact that you have one.
@theperson nextdoor what does the need to say this to him tell you about yourself?
@theperson nextdoor Nope my need to point it out to you was to defend a person who did nothing wrong. Urs was out of malice. Ez clap when I fap.
@theperson nextdoor rolled in smoked
@@AnyLongSkinsNah
What does the fact that you can’t even properly spell “rolled and smoked” tell you about yourself?
Almost 50 years ago I went to a convention in Las Vegas with my late brother-in-law Herb Patron, right after he retired from the military. It was interesting to say the least. One of the high points was getting to meet Lee Jurras at his booth at the show. A real class gentleman and even then becoming a legend alongside his peers like Jeff Cooper, Rex Applegate, Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan. He had several Automags there, in .44 AMP, .357 and .41 calibers. They looked pretty impressive, but after firing the .357 and .41 caliber versions the issues became readily noticeable, just as you found out. But it was still a good-looking weapon. Both Massad Ayoob and Ross Seyfried had the same opinion as yours. Even before Dirty Harry used it had been a popular weapon in films and novels. A pistol in the same vein was the Wildey .45 Win-Mag pistol. It slightly resembled the Automag but was based on the 1911 frame and fired very high-pressure rounds. There was also a .475 Wildey Mag version. It also went to the movies in one of Charles Bronson's last Death Wish movies I never got to fire one unfortunately. I think they are still being manufactured today.
From what I understand, the jamming problem was a result of early stainless steel firearm technology. They had galling problems with the particular alloy they used on the slide and frame contact point possibly being too soft.
Stainless against stainless is a real problem. It will gall. If you want a permanent fastener just use a stainless nut on a stainless bolt. You essentially get a rivet.
You'll never be able to remove the nut. We learned that the hard way in some Aerospace applications back in the 90s.
yeah I'm a sword guy. I've seen stainless steel under stress lol stupid design decision for sure.
especially then when stainless was no where near todays super steels ( some are stainless) aus10 sv35n etc
@@unafflictedgaming, stainless is OK for work knives primarily because of its resistance to corrosion. There are plenty of high carbon steel alloys, that will hold a sharper edge for a longer time. I have some stainless Katanas made by the Valor knife company from the 1980s. I imagine a real Samuri sword would cut right through them, or at least bend them.
@@mattcolver1, stainless like aluminum, loses its resistance to corrosion when not exposed to oxygen. In fact stainless will rot out much faster than carbon steel under certain circumstances. For instance, take your stainless blackpowder hunting rifle and throw it in the closet after shooting it without cleaning. It will be a basket case the next hunting season.
I own 2 of these pistols and yes, they are "jam-o-matics". Some guys can get theirs to run reasonably well with well-tested reloads. Interestingly, the pistol was originally developed for hunting, but if I were in bear country, I'd want a reliable rifle next to my side instead.
I'd rather have a Wildey, Desert Eagle or a Freedom Arms 454 Casull by my side.
My Ruger 44 mag revolver , ( 6 or 7 inch barrel, I think) seems like it would be enough for bear? Never had to deal with one. What do you think?
@@vxy357 Deagle would not be ideal for bear country. Low capacity and high recoil/weight. You want something with high ROF and good penetration to actually get through the bear's pelt, hide, fat and muscle and hit something vital.
@@andrewgause6971 Low capacity compared to what? The Desert Eagle in 50AE magazine has a 7 round capacity, which is more than a standard revolver.
@@pewpewreview5043 Apologies, I should have been more clear. I meant compared to .40/.45 caliber double stacked magazines. Frankly, I wouldn't want a revolver at all. I'd much prefer a longarm of some sort. But if I had to have a pistol, I'd want something with good ROF and manageable recoil (I am operating under the assumption that the bear is close enough that disengaging is not an option, meaning its probably managed to sneak up on me or we blundered across one another and for some reason I can't retreat, meaning it's probably bearing down on me already, if you will pardon the very bad pun). So I'm operating from an assumption that I have seconds at most and do not have time to be trying to re-center after the deagle kicks, since a combination of adrenaline and, let's face it, common human reaction of "something fully capable of killing me in the time it takes to blink is about to test that theory" is probably screwing with my aim (yet another reason I would far prefer a shotgun or semi auto rifle.)
"Those are some hot rounds!" *sweating intensifies remembering kentucky ballistics expirience with "hot rounds"
My friend hunted down a 44 Automag after we watched Clint Eastwood's new movie. After getting some custom ammo we took it down to our local indoor pistol range. That gun made the steel plate backstop at the range flex. The guys running the range enjoyed the shooting session but told us to never bring the gun back to their range.
I heard once that while filming Dirty Harry they had to keep a diver on set because Clint Eastwood kept chucking the Automag into the water every time it jammed, which was apparently a lot lol
Actors for real are so spoiled wtf Clint lol
@@conformistbastard9842 Spoiled? More like he knew the gun was junk. From what I can see in this video, they should throw them all in the ocean
@@spacecowboy_1962 but he needed a diver to come in because he liked to throw it into the pool of all places. Spoiled.
@@conformistbastard9842 what tf are you saying brooo, u know the diver was paid right? and i think u don't even get the meaning of "spoiled"
@@inaki.arambarri sure.
The Widley and the Automag are two different firearms. The Widley has a gas systems that have to be tuned to each load. The Auto Mag is a short recoil operated action with a rotary bolt. The Widley is a far superior firearm and was in Death Wish 3.
What I came here to say. Toss that Automag piece of shit and buy a Wildey in .475M
The Wildey that Bronson used in Death Wish 3 was his personal firearm.
@@tsarbomba1 What's crazier is that Bronson brought that handgun to the UK because of the filming of Death Wish 3 which was shot in London. Back in the day, handguns were still legal there (won't go into the whole muzzleloading, long barrel, etc stuff that is still legal), but it's still bringing your own personal firearm to another country just because you wanted it in the film.
Thanks for pointing that out, I always thought that was the same gun.
The Wildey doesn’t work either 😆 The couple I’ve seen have both been jam-o-matics.
I have one and they're VERY sensitive to hot ammo/reloads, you need to go by the book according to cartridge specs, not only to maintain proper feeding, but to also keep from possibly damaging the gun, because it's more delicate than modern semi-autos.
I Completely Agree! They work well with Correctly loaded ammunition, Not the super-hot handloads.
I also remember that they run better when very well lubricated. If you use a light stainless steel grease on the bolt and LSA on the rails, springs and guiderods; that seems to work. I don't have one anymore. A gentleman with plenty of money came along who wanted mine a lot more than I did!
If you want a easy to maintain reliable automatic, this ain't it. If you are willing to work on your loading and 'Prep' the gun before you go shooting, it IS Pretty Cool! You gotta remember that Harry Sanford came up with this thing in the early 1970s and there was no standard loading for it.
Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
@@JohnDoe-pv2iu I was going to say just that, is it dry or does it need to be greased to the hilt, sure it's finicky but some firearms have afew variables to be taken into account.
I've an old semi auto Brno rifle that will cycle two or three brands & types of ammo all day long but will not work with alot, if it's clean it's accuracy and cycling isn't the best but greased up and dirty it's no problem at all.
@@skittles074 I can relate. Some guns are ammo finicky. I have found the older the weapon the more lubrication they need. A Springfield or Mauser likes grease. Garands like grease and oil. 1911s need oil and Glocks run great pretty much dry...
Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
@@JohnDoe-pv2iu Yes! LSA is what the guys used and Aero Shell 7 grease. The original ammo worked well. And- Thats all I know, and seen from the thrilling days of yester year.
4:19 his face says it all.
Matt definitely needs to get the .475 Wildey from Death Wish 3. Really similar gun to this, but with an even hotter cartridge.
I thought the same thing lol
Brb gonna go get some ice cream.
Synth music plays
@@shadowfirekarp lmao, unassumingly walks with his expensive camera in front of the creeps, just waiting to get an opportunity to shoot one of them.
Serious wait list for that, been on my list for years but never plopped the thousands down on it. Someday.
"Heeey, that's my caaah!"
I had an original 44 Automag and it did take quite a bit of experimenting to get the loads 'dialed in' before it would run right. Once I found the right load, it ran beautifully.
First things first. The automag used 308 Shell's cut down to 44 mag specs. Eventually they did have some head stamped 44 Auto mag.
And as I remembered, they are a most sensitive, you do have to use a fairly slow burning powder if possible.
A little bit of Teflon grease in the right places might help a lot, and check the spring tension on your magazine Springs.
Those guns could definitely be temperamental but I have seen them that run flawlessly with the right ammo and proper lubrication.
Yes, the mags were a big part of the feed/jam issue. The new ones are supposed to be dialed in for the new pistols as well as better clearances, consistent CNC machining, etc.
Well said 44 hawk I had a 180 Pasadena model you had to be very careful of the load I used 22 grns of slow burning powder large cci rifle primer and a 44 semi hollow point full jacket head lightly crimped I never had one malfunction with this load . The only thing that bugged me was the mag used to drop out with the recoil but I got by that by holding my hand on th mag at the bottom was my fave gun ever if you owned one you were a privilege person to have one
I really don't think this fella is sure about what exactly he has or how to properly feed it.
Blah, Blah, Blah. Just buy a quality firearm. Life could be so simple.
Not .308 shells. .30-06 brass. Cut down. Nice try.
Had one of these a few years ago. Being a 300 lb guy, I had very few issues. My smaller friends had way more issues with cycling. This is one automatic that is really susceptible to limp-wristing. It was a fun toy... But not one with any practical use.
When I hear "Dirty Harry gun", I think of a S&W model 29. I didn't know about that semi-auto, but I haven't seen a Dirty Harry movie since the 1970s and I was rather young at the time. BTW, a friend of mine died of cancer a few years ago and bequeathed to me his M29. I will say that it is a beautiful gun. It is almost too pretty to shoot.
Almost
Sorry for your loss
Yes indeed, the S&W model 29 is a beautiful revolver.
I understand why it was a back up weapon in one of the more forgetable films
this one is from the movie Sudden Impact
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 It's always gonna be the true Dirty Harry's gun.
I had a model 19 when I first went to Alaska....fella let me know it was a pretty good bear gun if you could get it in the bears mouth. Right after that, I traded it for a model 29 in stainless. Awesome pistol....all that's behind me now, I keep a club by the bed..it is way safer.
-Veteran '66-68
@@rogeranderson8763 Ruger Super Blackhawk from a relative in Alaska... The 44 Mag is an insane piece of firepower...
@@rogeranderson8763 A model 29 in stainless was actually the model 629. Don't know if S&W still does this but any handgun model that was stainless steel always began with a '6'. I had a six inch model 629 in the late 1980's and it was a beautiful revolver. My favorite caliber was .357 Magnum and I too had a model 19 as well as it's stainless cousin, the model 66, which was the exact same gun made in stainless steel. I preferred stainless handguns because they were easy to care for and living in south Florida on the Atlantic ocean made sense because stainless handguns held up much better in a saltwater environment.
Exactly right! The S&W Model 29 has a 5 year wait list!
@@jehjeh37111 I found a model 29(-3) on a visit to my favorite gun shop. Couldn't not by it. Not a -2, but the next best thing.
I've had an automag .44 since 1982. It's a cool discussion piece...I much prefer my automag III. but if you do a little internal polishing and lube the crap out of it, it will run.
From what I've learned, the original Automag round is a cut down .308 rifle round for >44 magnum hence the heavier recoil, large fireball etc. It's also the reason for the difficulty in cycling i think. Reloading tolerances effect the consistency in cycling in the finicky "little" hand howitzer. Although the new Automag out of Loris SC may be built a little different......
I saw this gun at a gun store in the early 90's. The guy at the counter explained to me that the gun was just a " movie gun" and not good for practical purposes. Long story short, he said it was a good looking piece of garbage. From what I see here, he wasn't lying.
From what I have heard a lot of it problems come from the materials it made from . Stainless steel goals really badly
@@linusterrell3834 it whats
@@tacomas9602 goals, you know, like scores? Kidding..
Pretty sure he means galls.
The galling issue is resolved by using the proper lubricants.
Stainless deforms easy, high friction plus it galls if not of propee hardness. It acts like cooper and flows if too soft.
@@ljubomirculibrk4097 seems like a Terrible material for a firearm.
Give it time! I have two of the original 44 Auto Mags and I had similar issues when the gun was new but as time passed and the more I shot them they became a reliable pistols. One of them did seem to take about another month that the other to stop giving me trouble. My biggest complaint was at the time getting ammo was next to impossible, I had my ammo made by a friend who reloaded, the other was the kick after 20 or 30 rounds my wrist was like spaghetti. Every now and then I would get a really hot round that felt like it was going to take my hand off at the wrist! I stopped shooting them because after they stopped making them they became rare and sought after. Now that they are remaking them I fear the prices of the originals are going to plummet.
This seems purely anecdotal
@@applejuice9468 because it is, but it is still his valid experience and would be pretty one sided to ignore opinions that rival yours especially when they have legitimate experience with the object in question.
@@joshjones5172 Thanks Josh, I have been shooting and collecting guns long before Matt was born! Matt is actually only 1 year older than my son. I was 16 when I got my first rifle in 1975 by the time I was in my early 20s I had a large collection and I was attending in shooting competitions all over the US. I also had my FFL since the early 80s just recently let it go.
I've never seen a gun more deserving of having actual grease zerks than this gun!
LOL!
It also looks a lot like the .475 Wildey Magnum from Death Wish 2
What you miss in the movie during the long winded speals about removing finger prints and heads, is Clint franticly fingerblasting the automag to get it ready to fire the next round.
You know after all these years of watching Matt I'm starting to think he has a warehouse full of nothing but mannequins
Shhhh...we mind our business about that.
@@Learn.The.Hardway Just don't tell Mere. 🤫
That's what I would do if I were 25 again.
@@johnkru1295 I'm not sure how to respond to that
@@bentheninjaboo We're just gonna mind our business with that as well...
One of these turned up at a local gun show.
I was regretting all these years I didn't buy it.
Thanks!
While I have no interest at all in an automag, I sincerely appreciate you making the video. It was definitely entertaining.
The intro was amazing
I had to ruin everyone’s day, sorry, saw the 69 had to turn it to 70!
@@omittedfour15 funny number funny 😐
@@ulyssesdelamora3856 I don’t think you got the joke
@@ulyssesdelamora3856 I go to the gym 3 days a week, bc I really don’t have time to go that many times because of my job. I don’t live in my mother and fathers basement. I came on here to make a silly joke, not to be harassed by some loser who doesn’t have a job, and is so fat that he needs to go to the gym five days a week
@@omittedfour15 what’s next, you call him dog water? you sure are doing the world so much good by recycling the weakest insults. go back to your bench press and weep.
That's an example of the common, "Semi-Semi-Auto". For the record, I've never heard of an Automag that worked. When I was young, I used to help my dad make .44 Automag cases out of .308 Blank spent cases he had bought a drum of surplus from the National Guard. I would cut off the cases in a cut die, he'd trim them in a trim die. I don't remember if he had to fireform them or what, but he'd sell the cases to people dumb enough to buy an Automag. We also had a Wildey in .45 Win Mag. I remember as I cut myself trying to disassemble it once.
Ah yes, like one AR pistol of mine that seems to utterly hate certain brands of .223 but cycles perfectly with my hand loads (that aren't even that hot to begin with, go figure.)
@@zerrodefex Have you tried all the usual fixes? Buffer, etc…
wook
Sounds like you had a cool childhood. Learning skills like that at such an early age is awesome.
there's "semi-automatic", and then there's guns that are "sometimes automatic".
Hey Matt I've got a question can you make homemade body armour out of sandpaper? I've tried it with crossbow bolts and about 10 layers could stop them but in the UK it's not so easy to do test like this with guns.
@@萌え-l5d Ma'am that doesn't answer the question
@@ThePlatinumMatt it’s a bot.
'can you' or 'should you'?
Technically could work with high grit
Actually that sounds like a good idea
You can make the ammunition by cutting .308 Winchester brass down and fire forming the first shot of each piece of brass to take the taper out of the case. If you use military brass you'll need to reem the case mouths because the GI brass is so thick. It's labor intensive but is a lot cheaper than buying commercial ammunition.
My dad owned one. You had to load it hot to make it run. We used cut down .308 Winchester cases and used rifle primers with it and after chronogragphing it showed speeds of 1650 fps with 240 JSP's. He also had the .357 Automag. He did have to do a lot of work to get it to run well. The 357 Automag was hitting speeds of 2000 fps + with 158's.
1,450 ft-lbs @ 1,650fps
1,403 ft-lbs @ 2,000fps
That is a lot.
Automag jams multiple times: "Great pistol. Still love it."
Hi-Point jams once:
"Garbage gun. Yucky."
Lol
Maybe hi-point should come out with an auto mag lol
@@jasonledford6153 They have a 10mm carbine. No need for the pussy 44.
4:30 Another difference is that the .44Mag revolver has a ported barrel, which cuts down on recoil and muzzle flip. Plus, a revolver inherently leaks gases in the cylinder gap, so you don't get the full effect of the powder.
It blows my mind just how much those ported barrels make a difference on some newer revolvers! Bought my Dad a .357 Magnum Taurus Tracker and it doesn't have much more recoil than a 9mm with hot loads. Feels like a completely different gun/caliber compared to my Black Hawk in the same barrel length.
My daughter had the unfortunate chance to experience this! We were at the range, she was shooting her heritage rough rider .22lr and for some reason, had the idea to put her hand next to the gap between the cylinder and barrel. I couldn't move fast enough before she pulled the trigger. But she learned that wasn't a good idea and at least it was only a 22
@@justindye9443 Yeah - the Mythbusters did a segment on this, where they made up a thumb surrogate and stuck it next to the barrel gap of a revolver (don't recall the cartridge, but think it was a .357Mag) When fired, it mangled the thumb surrogate pretty thoroughly.
Couldn't find the Mythbusters segment easily, but here's Jerry Miculek using a hot dog on a pencil to demonstrate the same thing: ruclips.net/video/t6vMkk8VYzc/видео.html&ab_channel=JerryMiculek-ProShooter
The Model 29 I had, had no ports that I can recall.
@@HDramboDwango Some do, some don't, varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and which barrel option you order. There's a company here in SE Michigan (Mag-na-port) that uses electrostatic discharge machining to cut ports in barrels that don't already have them - they're little trapezoidal slots in the top of the barrel at the muzzle, about the size and shape of a micro-USB connector.
Matt, it's always interesting watching you with all these exotic guns- I do admit I get jealous of you- but I'd love to see you get range time with something pure and simple like a Colt SAA just for the Zen of it. That being said, another very cool video.
My favorite part of this video is that it starts off showing the ARs for like $2-3k and talking about how expensive they are, then he busts out the Automag, which brand new is like $3500 haha
try It here in Brazil, a normal pistol for home defense costs around 6-7k
@@mastermagicsuper in the US you can get a cheap working gun for $100-$300
@@mastermagicsuper You can get a Taurus from brazil for 300$ here 😂
@@mastermagicsuper That's crazy. Do you need a permit to buy one too? If so, how much does it cost to get that?
@@somecsguy9824 You need a license/permit from Feds or the Army to buy a bolt action rifle 22LR. The license costs you 2k, the 22LR 2,7k. A Taurus G2c 9mm(cheapest one) 4k. Here we have ammo limit per registration (600 for each gun), 3 guns limit. Oh, all you can buy in Brazil its 22LR, 380ACP, 40SW, 45ACP, 38SPL, 357MAG, 32ACP and shotgun rounds. Nothing above 1620 joules rifled barrel. Things are bad here hahahahaha
"Well this is a .44 auto mag and if used correctly, it can remove the finger prints"
Now all we gotta do is have Matt get the wildy magnum from death wish
Which is back in production as I understand...
All the Death Wish movies were so good, some of the best of all time in my book. Clints westerns are the best!!!
I have a Wildey built in Chesire, CT. All original gun with 2 extra mags. Awesome gun!!
A good man always knows his limitations
. . and remember bugs gotta eat too.
"I have no limitations" - Thomas Shelby
i guess he's no good man
or he's just a legend in his own mind
I've always been suspect of any pistol that requires it's own proprietary ammo, but even the Desert Eagles were unreliable shooting standard rimmed cartridges. Some cartridges are just set up best for use in revolvers.
Yeah I've come to the rule of thumb that if it looks big and too good to be true in movies, it is.
Cool video on dirty Harry’s gun.
I was told years ago that the .44 Automag has incredible variation in quality. One might work perfectly every time and another might fail to feed every other round.
I just finished watching AK guy and 5 minutes later Matt drops one 🙌
This is one of the coolest looking guns ever to me, right up there with the wildey from deathwish 3
The gun looked great, but it jammed constantly, had to be handloaded, using cut down and expanded 30-06 cartridges, and parts were fragile.
I had a .44 AutoMag back in the 80's. I can't remember the manufacturer for certain, TDE comes to mind for some reason. The design was used by several manufactures back then. The design wasn't great. No matter what loads I ran in it, the feed jams continued. The cases were trimmed down .308's to .44 mag case height essentially. I got into hand loading because of that gun. Started loading some hot rounds. Blowing holes into the back of the range. The bolt pin cracked shortly thereafter and it spent about a year at the gunsmiths. As soon as I got it back I sold it.
AMT was never known for their quality control and reliable operation. Cool yes quality not so much!
like kel tec!
I love this channel, it’s not just guns and reviews. Matt makes shooting fun and interesting
but, shooting IS fun and interesting...
I love you, bro ❤
At least Matt isn't a drama queen, like some gun tubers. I only watch Matt and Scott, because there not gun drama queens.
@@h3llb1lly889 true but I meant from a lot of the other content creators. It can be a lot of information and that’s it. While Matt doesn’t review guns in a typical fashion he makes some crazy content and does the most. But you are right shooting in general is fun and interesting