I just got my new grips.  I think the pistol looks great. So I snapped a picture for myself and thought I share the photos.

Damn Pain that is one of my  grail guns.  I read a lot of Mack Nolan back in the day.  I had almost put those thoughts behind me.  Thanks a lot!!!  All kidding aside, that is one sexy beast.

Nice.

Drool

Nice!  Sudden Impact-nice

Thank you. Found it in a local shop last year. Doesn't seem to be fired too much. You need to reload for it as no one makes ammo for it anymore. The ammo could be made out of 308 cases, or reloaded from original brass. I fired it a few times at a couple different outings and got the sights zeroed. It's an accurate pistol, but the last time I shot it, it seemed to be a bit finicky. I wanted to film the shooting of it on my video camera to try and capture the flash. The thing really bellows flame. So I brought it out last week and it was pretty cold out. I used new ammo (made 40 years ago / the original automag brand). The ammo costs $200 bucks a box. I fired a few with this ammo and the flame is awesome! Looking down the sights you see the fireball everytime, but I only caught it once on camera. You do see 1 fireball out of the 6 or 7 that I fired. In all honesty I don't shoot it that much, as the parts are bad assed expensive if you break it.

Anyway here is the video I made, the gun was acting like the ammo was too long for the chamber, as I was getting a dead trigger, weird as it doesn't do that with my reloads. The gun is a collectible piece and it's not known for stellar reliability, so I captured that on film. enjoy

The AUTOMAG is a beautiful weapon.

Many years ago I was on a casting factory tour.  The manager and I started talking about guns.  He introduced me to his dad, the owner, and I spent the next hour bullshitting with this old timer.  He talked about the Automag project he worked on.  He lit up when I knew exactly what he was talking about.

Nice vid about an old forgotten handgun.

Very nice El Monte!  Who did the wood?

The original ammo should NOT be fired.  It was made in Mexico and when they made the loads they loaded them to the 45ACP specs.  This was due to lack of communication between CDM and Auto Mag.  The reliability is horrible with this ammo.  This was one of the "issues" with it that everyone thought the gun was a piece of junk.  Good loads, loaded properly, will cycle it reliably without any problems.  The CDM ammo is considered collectors ammo.

Also, I would suggest you do not shoot Corbon through it either.  Corbon is considered to be loaded "hot".  You can probably put a few rounds through it for the fun-factor, just make sure everything is tight on the gun.  The hot loads can damage the gun if fired too much.  Norma is another round that is considered "hot".

Keep the recoil rods tight!  Check them after every few rounds.  If they loosen while you are shooting you can destroy the gun.  FP-10 lube is your best friend for this gun!

If you ever want to sell it please keep me In mind.  

Do you remember the name of the person you talked with?

A  8 week back ordered pair of Eagle grips. The grips were very nicely made and fit like a glove.

In the video it seemed that the ammo was too long for the chamber. Or the chamber was short or the chamber dirty. When I shoot my reloads I don't have issues like I did the other day with a dead trigger. If if I pressed on the rear of the bolt, the cartridge still would not fire. I unload, dryfire and it's fine.

Maybe ammo or something else. I'm not experienced enough of the automag to say for sure what the problem was.

In addition to the dead trigger issue, I also was getting a magazine issue at the same shooting event. I proved it was the magazine because the follower was not pressing home the cartridge all the time.

Even though the shooting video wasn't the best action, for me the gun is still fun to shoot. It looks nice with the wood also.


Edit:
I extracted a few frames from that short video. That bad boy flashes great!

The eagle grips are nice.

You mention that it appeared the ammo was too long?  Were these reloads or the original CDM ammo?  If it is the reloads that appear to be too long, what is the head stamp on them?  

Definitely check and make sure your recoil rods are tight.  From what you are describing it almost sounds like it is not cycling and the bolt is not locking into place for the next shot.  Hence why you have to push the cocking piece into place and the dead-trigger issue (because the bolt isn't into proper firing position).  If the bolt is not locking into place properly you could severely damage the gun and/or the bolt.  If one of the lugs breaks on the bolt you have very few options.  None of them are cheap.

Then again, with these things it could be a number of issues.  Anything from the recoil rods being bent or they are dragging, to the moving surfaces need to be polished.  It could also be that this was one of the last ones put together when Auto Mag went out of business.  This is when they were grabbing every thing they could and throwing a gun together to sell and make a few extra bucks.  The whole history and story of Auto Mag is just bizarre.

IMHO these things are about 98% awesome to take out and start shooting with good reloads.  The other 2% are all the finicky stuff that you have to do to them to make them more reliable when shooting them.  Then there is the fear of knowing that if you forget something you could destroy it and then it becomes a very expensive broken paper weight.

As for it not pushing the next round up... sounds like the magazine spring is weak.

My offer still stands if you get tired of "fighting" with it.  

Take care.

Very nice!

Jesus, I'm SO jealous!!

I'm so old I've been loving this pistol since 1980 when I started reading The Executioner series ( ). The newbies here had to wait for Dirty Harry to introduce them!

Mack BOLAN (not Nolan!!)

I off again from work the next two weeks (shut down) so I really should try that pistol again. Try the other mag with "my" reloads and see if it runs better. That old beast kicks like a mule.....

E.T.A.   I stand corrected.  You are right.  I don't know how I missed that.

DROOOOOL! The whole front of my shirt is wet!

DO WANT! BADLY!

This is as close as I am likely to get to a Mack Bolan, aka The Executioner, weapon. I am not likely to find a Automag in my price range so I guess this will do.

I was gonna post mine, but yours is nicer.

 

.44 Auto Mag is one of my top 3 Grail Pistols!

That is one of the most informative videos I've seen posted by anyone, great pistol ! I think I had a blue plastic toy one as a kid, when I saw Sudden Impact I realized it actually was based on a real handgun.

Thank you.

Ten years in the find (and affording)  I now have a 44AMP!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ezdsvFZzZV8[/youtube]