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AMT 45 Backup Check. (117d)
 
AMT 45 Backup Check. (117d) Quantity in Basket: None
Code: AMT_117d
Price: $68.00
Shipping Weight: 0.20 pounds
 
Select SOLID color ($10). Natural Ivory is no extra cost. For pearl effects, use PEARL option instead (Ivory = default)

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Translucent/Pearl ($16 option). Do NOT select both SOLID and PEARL. (Pearl over-rides solid color choice)

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Add a medallion ($14/pr):
Optional note:
Are you sending a tracing?:
YES! I want to assure proper size/shape. Tombstone is responsible for fit to tracing. Tracing will show hole pattern. **************************************
NO. I will be responsible if I choose the wrong size grip. I will measure my gun and compare to the listed specs. If I order a grip that is the wrong size or shape, I agree that it is NOT returnable. *****************************************************
I already mailed a tracing BEFORE I placed this order.
 
Quantity:
 
AMT 45 Backup w/white pearl grips AMT 45 Backup w/white pearl grips

This is a checkered grip. It may look smooth in the images, but that is because the checkering is very closely spaced. It doesn't look as good in pearl as a smooth version. If you want pearl, and want a smooth version, do NOT order this particular grip! It is an exact copy of the factory grip with fine checkering.

The AMT (Arcadia Machine & Tool) .45 Backup uses very thin grips with flat backs, secured by two short screws per panel (which are not furnished by Tombstone but come with the gun, and may be ordered from High Standard at this time). In order to make the gun work with the new grips, you will need to use a Dremel or other rotary bit tool and lightly relieve a depression in the right hand grip, back side, just over the area where the trigger return spring and linkage sits. You can tell when you have enough area and depth removed because the trigger will reliably reset. If you don't have enough of a depression to clear the little hairpin spring, the trigger can be pulled but it won't come back to ready position again. This is easy to do but take it slow because the grips are thin, and don't require much of a depression.

Another thing to look at is the hole depth versus grip thickness. The little screws that come with the gun are very short. You may need to stretch a piece of 320 grit abrasive paper on a flat piece of wood (tape or glue it down) and rub the back of the grip over this by moving the grip in circles, to reduce the thickness just enough so a few threads of the screw engage the hole in the frame. It may not be necessary, but keep this in mind in case the screws don't seem to reach the holes!

    Grip Dimensions:
  • Hole Centers = 2.15 inches
  • Overall height = 2.9 inches
  • Width across base = 1.67 inches
  • Width across top = 2.18 inches
  • Approximate grip thickness = 0.15 inches
A final point is that the hole position might vary just a tad. The precision of the gun is usually good, but... all it takes is a very slight tolerance in the hole position, and the grip screw holes might not quite align. With a longer screw and thicker grip, this wouldn't cause a problem because there would be enough leverage to get a thread or two engaged and then torque the grip into alignment, but these tiny, short screws have to be right on...you don't want to reef on them or you'll damage the end threads. Therefore, if you get one screw in the grip and can see that the other hole is even slightly off, remove the grip and use a small round file to gently elongate the holes, with half the distance required in each hole, so that the screw will be able to go in straight. The amount of oval that would be required is so small that it won't hurt a thing, but it can make installation a great deal quicker and easier, and save the starting threads on your screws.

Copper pearl Gold pearl Ivory Aged Ivory On a personal note: Shooting the AMT 45 Backup can be done with more accuracy if you practice bringing the 10-12 pound trigger pull just short of firing, and find a sort of "plateau" in the pull, just before the hammer releases. It isn't difficult to keep the sights in the target zone if you are not fighting that hard pull at the same time. I found it was a reasonably accurate gun for its size, once I taught myself to aim and bring the heavy trigger to a point where it was easy to hold, then refine the aim while gently increasing the pressure until the hammer falls. This sort of artificially created "two-stage" trigger pull is somewhat tiring, so I limit my practice sessions to not more than 25 or 30 rounds at a time.

Some shooters have told me that the .45 Backup is just too hard to shoot because of the recoil, but it is a fairly heavy pistol. I can't agree with that assessment: for me, the recoil is just what you might expect from the .45 ACP in any moderately small handgun -- stiff but not painful or hard to control.

If you think a 10-12 pound trigger pull is too heavy, you would be right except that once you get it pulled back to that staging point, it only takes a minor amount of additional effort to coax the release. It's almost as if the sear is acting like a "set trigger", even though getting it set may jerk the point of aim around somewhat. My wife, who has a hard time pulling the slide back on a Sig 220 or most other centerfire autos, has no problem at all with the trigger pull on the AMT...and she likes the .45 ACP in almost any gun. Consider that the gun has no other safety. You carry it with a round in the chamber. With a hammer, not a striker, the only way to make the firing pin hit the primer is to cock the hammer spring and then let the hammer fall. With a DAO pistol, that's what the long hard trigger pull does. It is, in fact, the safety. This gun will fire with the magazine removed, so it is very important to cycle the slide any time the magazine is removed, extracting the round in the chamber. If you just assume there is ALWAYS a round in the chamber, unless you are looking through the chamber and seeing daylight from the muzzle, then this is a very safe gun for someone who hasn't much time for practice. No controls to worry about. Just aim and pull, hold, refine the aim, and finish pulling. I wouldn't recommend it over a full size gun or a revolver, if space wasn't an issue. But for a compact if somewhat heavy defense pistol, it works.

Of course, I don't shoot rapid fire bullseye matches with the gun! But outside of the longer time to get back on target and the hard pull to operate the double-action-only mechanism, I wouldn't be worried about anything except running out of time and only getting four shots in the black. I have no doubt that in slow-fire, with plenty of time for nursing that second stage of the trigger release, the scores wouldn't be any more embarrassing than my usual shooting!

However, I did find that handloads can be problematic with the little pistol. Some of my target loads, which work fine in a number of full-size 1911 pistols or 1955 S&W .45 ACP revolvers, jammed the little gun by not quite chambering. The gun was difficult for me to clear, and couldn't be taken apart to clear because the slide had to be retracted to bring it into a take-down position. The slide wouldn't budge. I finally took a chance, kept it pointed downrange, and tapped the rear of the slide with a plastic mallet to force it closed, then fired the "stuck" round to clear it. The problem is that the case wasn't properly full-length sized. I also had trouble with soft point bullets feeding into the top of the barrel and distorting, then stopping the gun. But in spite of those issues, the gun has always been reliable with FMJ government or factory ammo, or with handloads that are full length sized and loaded with a bullet having the same profile as the GI round, without too much exposed lead at the tip. I'd feel comfortable relying on it to work with standard FMJ factory loads or the equivalent.


Related Item(s)
Code Name Price Availability  
AMT_4c AMT .380 Backup Check. (4c) $68.00  
AMT_4d AMT .380 Backup smooth (4d) $68.00  
AMT_104b AMT 45 Backup, contoured (104b) $68.00  
AMT_104e AMT 45 Backup, smooth, thin (104e) $68.00  

Dave Corbin
Stock items (medallions, screws, specials) usually ship within 10 days.
I can't promise a specific ship date, as it will vary with circumstances.
Depending on the time of year and number of orders pending, average time to finish a grip order is 30 to 90 days. That's average, not a guarentee. They are all individually made to your specific order.

If you do not have time to wait then you may want to consider not ordering. I can only produce quality grips if I take the time necessary to finish your order

Be SURE to read the TERMS of SALE page, so you KNOW what you are getting.



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