AutoMag (pistol)

Auto Mag
.44 AutoMag with standard 6.5 in (170 mm) vent rib barrel and custom Duane Short grips.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	first: Max Gera
Designed	1969 to 1971
Manufacturer	Auto Mag Corporation
Unit cost	first: $217.50
Produced	1971 to 1982
Specifications
Weight	57 oz (3 lb 9 oz) (1.62 kg)
Length	11.5 inches
Barrel length	6.5 inches
Cartridge	.44 AMP
Action	short recoil
Feed system	7-round single-column box magazine
Sights	Adjustable target sights

The .44 Auto Mag pistol (AMP) is a large caliber semi-automatic pistol. It was designed between 1966 and 1971 by the Auto Mag Corporation to make a a semi-automatic pistol chambered in .44 Magnum.

The pistol's reputation and looks have made it popular in cinema and novels and several versions are listed as "Curios and Relics" by the BATFE.

The short-recoil operated Auto Mag pistol featured a rotary bolt with locking lugs located at the front similar to the M-16/AR-15 rifle. The Auto Mag is a heavy pistol designed to give handgun owners .44 Magnum power in a semi-automatic pistol. The .44 Auto Mag was designed to shoot .429 inch, 240 grain bullets at about the same velocity as the .44 Magnum revolver.

In 1970, Auto Mag Corporation president Harry Sanford opened a factory in Pasadena, California. The first gun was shipped on August 8, 1971, and the factory declared bankruptcy on May 3, 1972, after making fewer than 3000 guns. The company opened and closed several times from 1973 through 1982 under several different names. Namely TDE (Trade Deed Estates), OMC, Thomas Oil Company, High Standard, and AMT (Arcadia Machine & Tool). An additional 6,000 guns were produced and sold during this period for a total of about 9,000. Harry Sanford continued to sell spare parts and died in 1996. Walter Sanford, the son of Harry Sanford, continued to sell the remaining parts through automagparts.com. Production guns were made in .44 AMP. Experimental pistols were made in .45 ACP, .30 AMP,.357 AMP and .41 JMP. Except for the .45 ACP guns, changing calibers required only the additional barrel and cartridges. The same frame, magazine and bolt could be used on both.

Auto Mag Corporation was short-lived for several reasons. The design team, headed by Mark Lovendale, took the Auto Mag pistol from a flawed marginally functional chrome-moly steel prototype designed by Max Gera to a less complicated and more reliable stainless steel pistol. Max Gera disagreed with Harry Sanford about how the company should proceed and left the company. Additionally the new design team was convinced the Auto Mag pistol was not ready for production and could not be produced at a profit. The design team believed that even with the correct finished design, the wholesale price of the gun had to be greatly increased or the company would go bankrupt. The design team was unable to convince Sanford, and they all resigned. The pistol was then rushed into production by a group that were not concerned with the gun making a profit but only that it got into production immediately. This led to expensive manufacturing processes, and later Pasadena guns were not fitted well as there was a constant push to get the product delivered.