|
California handguns Discuss your favorite California handgun technical and related questions here. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
||||
|
||||
AMT Hardballer value
My father has sent a list of his guns to his 3 sons, me included. We are to pick the guns we want when he is gone. One on the list is an unfired, new in the box, AMT Hardballer .45 ACP. Not the longslide, just std length barrel. He said that it has some fancy engraving on the slide.
Can anyone tell me how common these Hardballers are and how they compare in value to something like a new SA govt model? I am NOT interested in selling, just curious about value. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
It depends on the engraving and if it was factory
I have one I paid 800 for, but it was done up to look like the gun from the game hitman I've seen them for less but it really depends on the gun |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
It will be a solid addition, the hardballer was very popular, and in demand in its time.
I don't know the collector price of a mint unfired, in the box, but for the right buyer it should fetch a pretty penny.
__________________
"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions." --James Madison 'Letter to Edmund Pendleton', 1792 |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Those had galling problems, if it's unfired, keep it that way.
__________________
L.A. County Mailed to LASD Hall of Justice: 6/27/2022 received:6/28 Check cashed: 8/22/2022 Livescan: 4/22/2023 DOJ 4/22 FBI 4/23 Firearms 4/26 Call for interview: 5/24/2023 Interview: 5/31/2023 PTT: 8/21/23 Training submitted 8/27/23 Call for pickup 10/12/23 Pickup: 11/8/23 |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
some did ^^ mine has not, the right lube helps that
__________________
Quote:
|
#7
|
||||
|
||||
I bought mine used for $500. I'm the third owner, works great except that I had to loctite down the screws for the adjustable rear sight since the recoil would undue the screw and I would find myself shooting far left.
__________________
Quote:
|
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
So you got the Hitman Hardballer eh? I recall seeing that in the WTS forum a couple of years ago. Post some pics!
__________________
Quote:
|
#10
|
||||
|
||||
Irwindale I believe. I never knew that dad had this gun until now. Serial number is A000xx.
This will be a safe queen and not a shooter. This was on a garage sale and a friend of his got the other one, they were consecutive numbered. |
#11
|
||||
|
||||
400 to 600 bucks tops. The trigger pull on it is probably close to 9 lbs. Have the trigger pull reduced, shoot it and have fun with it. They wont go up in value and are not collectors.
__________________
Don't take refuge in the false security of consensus. What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. Nothing worse than an overrated F*** and an underrated S*** iF it'S nOt an aCt of goD, iT's a ConSpirAcy. If it can be measured, it can be optimized. "What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." Chris Hitchens |
#12
|
||||
|
||||
AMT's are most definitely collectors. I know a few guys that have the whole Automag/Hardballer set and its sweet to see the whole collection.
If its unfired, keep the thing and take care of it! |
#13
|
||||
|
||||
wow! nice serial number!!!! mine is a08xxx El monte
__________________
Quote:
|
#14
|
||||
|
||||
A000xx serial number
So am I interpreting the serial number correctly when I say that this gun was the xxth (as in under 100) Hardballer made by AMT? Does a production number in the double digits increase value? |
#15
|
||||
|
||||
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=168215405 new in the box sn: a02027
__________________
Quote:
|
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Must be worth more than it was new. I talked to a guy last year who was selling a long slide Hardballer. It had been shot a ton, but the owner would not take one penny less than $1,000. Guess he is still trying to find a buyer.
|
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
The AMT's are essentially a stainless Government Model with some Gold Cup refinements, but aren't equal to Colt's or other current better (Kimber, Springer, etc) quality 1911 platform pistols. They are decent "builder" pieces within the limitations of the given example - some are better than others - but the basic frame/slide assembly is suitable for installation of better quality parts. I can't give you a good price estimate, as my experience with them has made me suspect of individual pieces, and to me, knowing that they're more a project than a finished product, wouldn't pay more than $500.00 for any example. A less informed individual may pay more, but ymmv.
__________________
The way some gunshop clerks spout off, you'd think that they invented gunpowder and the repeating rifle, and sat on the Supreme Court as well. ___________________________________________ "An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." - Jeff Cooper Check my current auctions on Gunbroker - user name bigbasscat - see what left California before Roberti-Roos |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Very optimistic - the last longslide I purchased around 5 years ago, I paid $400.00
__________________
The way some gunshop clerks spout off, you'd think that they invented gunpowder and the repeating rifle, and sat on the Supreme Court as well. ___________________________________________ "An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." - Jeff Cooper Check my current auctions on Gunbroker - user name bigbasscat - see what left California before Roberti-Roos |
#20
|
||||
|
||||
Not really..
Quote:
Stainless .45 and the Hype was running at Full Steam. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectations. The rear site (allen wrench screws) kept flying off; I could never get it to RUN 100%. The finish was rough, it had casting marks and an imperfect finish. (not like today's stainless). I sold it for $500 later. I wouldn't buy another one.
__________________
May the Bridges I burn light the way. Life Is Not About Waiting For The Storm To Pass - Its About Learning To Dance In The Rain. Fewer people are killed with all rifles each year (323 in 2011) than with shotguns (356), hammers and clubs (496), and hands and feet (728). |
#21
|
||||
|
||||
The Hardballer's big claim to fame was that they were the first all stainless 1911 on the market...folks were willing to over look the fact that they didn't always run. All of AMT's (or whatever name they were using in their lifetime) were all stainless...that is what set the company apart.
You have to remember that this was a time when it wasn't uncommon to immediately take a gun from the store to the gunsmith of your choice to make it reliable for carry
__________________
...because the journey is the worthier part...The Shepherd's Tale |
#25
|
||||
|
||||
I carried one for 4 years and it had some teething problems. Bad OEM mag.
I traded the mag away and sent the pistol back twice. IIRC the failures were barrel, feed ramp and mag related. Surprise 1911 The AMT manual suggested using lithium based grease on the slide and barrel/bushing/frame. I didn't do that and the slide/frame showed some galling. Used the grease and it was fine. Once it settled in it ran great with ball ammo of all kinds. My carry ammo was Winchester Silver tip HP. Those ran 100% too. Ended up selling it about 10 yrs ago. I don't miss it. I think my RIA Tactical is a better pistol out of the box. Yeah old threads come back to life.... It happens.
__________________
"Find out just what the people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass -- “I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.” – Frederick Douglass -- |
#28
|
||||
|
||||
Holy necro thread batman
__________________
I support peace through superior firepower. "Para ser libre, un hombre debe tener tres cosas, la tierra, una educacion y un fusil. Siempre un fusil ! (To be free, a man must have three things; land, an education and a rifle. Always a rifle)" -Emiliano Zapata. |
#33
|
|||
|
|||
It is nice to see someone interested (even lately) in these guns.
Just so you all know, mine is not much of a factory gun. In 1992 I bought an AMT Hardballer .45 ACP (Covina) with 2 factory stainless mags (rounded followers: someone had installed a rubber mag floorplate bumper on one of them) with Pachmayr grips for $150 outside of a gunshow in Alaska from a private security guard. (Covina pistols had a rep for soft steel.) I took it home and, using standard safety checks, with the pistol cocked and locked (empty chamber and mag), a press of the trigger with the grip safety engaged dropped both the thumb safety and the hammer. I completely disassembled the pistol and after a prolonged parts inspection, found a bent sear pin. So, I ordered blued carbon steel replacement parts: sear pin, hammer pin, extended thumb safety, extractor, disconnector, and hammer strut. The original sear/hammer fit looked good (4.5# trigger pull) so I left them as is. I have always liked the extended mag release, especially with the thicker grips, but I have long fingers and it worked better than the standard length mag release on a Colt 1911 .45. Reassembled the pistol with the new parts and it functioned well, but only with hardball (duh). I then throated the barrel per Jerry Kuhnhausen's instructions in his Colt 1911 .45 "bible", leaving plenty of steel to fully support the cartridge case forward of the rim. After that it fed/shot any manner of HP ammo. It does like to be run wet with gun oil, but I have not used grease on the frame rails and have no galling. Back then I had an older NRA instructor friend who had a bone-stock LNIB Arcadia model with walnut grips (that he was very proud of) that would only handle hardball ammo, and then not so well. He liked to shoot one-handed so maybe he was limp-wristing it. I shot mine with 2 hands and it functioned flawlessly with the throated barrel. After that range session I never saw his Hardballer again. It has been my primary SD/HD/CC/truck gun for 25 years, and I am 65. I have some medical problems and can no longer wear a belt for a holster (suspenders only) so I installed the Clip-Draw to tuck inside my pants at the 4 o'clock position right next to the suspender clip. It works very well for me, but other young pups can't fathom using it. I am by no means an AMT historian/expert, but I have never seen a Hardballer marked El Monte. IIRC, the first pistols were Arcadia marked models with a serial number prefix A. The Covina marked models had a serial number prefix B. I don't know about any Irwindale models as by then I think AMT was renamed IAI (Irwindale Arms Incorporated). Correct me if I am wrong, please. I had a friend 20 years ago that had a used AMT Longslide and it ran great with no modifications. Other than for target shooting, I could never see the need for one. A niche gun. My Covina model is S/N B26009, as one can maybe see from the photo. On the left side it has an idiot scratch from a previous owner which I managed to get rid of 95% of it with #0000 steel wool. It is still there but one has to really look for it. If you have one and feel the need to clean it up, be aware that the slide markings are only laser-etched (or similar) and even #0000 steel wool will quickly eliminate any trace of those. For a working gun like mine, it is a moot point. For someone wanting it as a collector item, be careful, espescially NIB or LNIB. Sorry to be so long winded. Jim |
#35
|
||||
|
||||
Same here . It's definitely different and gets looks when at the range or anyone who's into guns sees it .
|
#38
|
||||
|
||||
Necropost I approve of. For some reason I love the old AMT's, even though a lot of them sucked. I had a II and a III that were both great. Shouldn't have sold them.
|
#39
|
|||
|
|||
Here's an El Monte marked Longslide. I bought this one new in 1980. It needed some tuning on the extractor and I had my gunsmith throat the barrel while he was at it. I was getting some vertical stringing and also installed a Dwyer Group Gripper that tightened up the hood and lug engagement in the slide. Otherwise, no problems and no galling. I used the lithium based grease as recommended. It was mostly fired with a target load using an H&G No. 68 cast bullet and Unique and is quite accurate. Good luck finding a Longslide model now at a bargain price.
It's a hard gun to photograph with the polished slide flats and lens distortion making that long slide look slightly bent ! Last edited by Walter Rego; 12-06-2018 at 5:11 AM.. |
#40
|
||||
|
||||
Tell me about it. I paid about 1300 for mine a couple of years ago and just paid for it without hesitation, because I had not seen one in a while and always wanted one. One of the previous comments about the guy wanting 1000 and it being a joke, is all to real now.
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|