AMT BACK UP 380 ACP

Hello everyone, I'm a new member here, glad to be joining AR15 forums.

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

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

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

http://www.freeimghosting.com/images/farohhawk/p1196079522164.jpg


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

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

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

Sincerely,
Pharaohawk

Welcome Pharaohawk27,

Best you repost this in one of the pistol forums.  This thread will get buried within 1 hour and never been seen again here in the GD forum.

CMOS

they were a OK little pistol could be ammo finicky and a bit on the fragile side but if it works it will make a great little pistol

as for age not sure of the exact years but i think they were made late 80s early 90s

Quoted: I am curious to know more about this pistol as I don’t have any idea for how many years he owned it nor how old is. Also, was this a piece for export from Europe (because the 9 mm and Kurz printed on the slide)? Sincerely, Pharaohawk

Not an Euro export.  

9mm Kurz is an altenate name for the .380.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.380_ACP

I had one in the mid 70's. Great little gun for a .380. High quality and very reliable. It is a point and shoot gun. Effective at handshaking distances. I carried mine mostly in a hollowed out dictionary.