An aristocrat from Pasadena. Gun for Harry Callahan
Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan (still from the movie "Dirty Harry 4. Sudden Impact")
In the hand of the movie hero, specially made for filming the movie Auto Mag with an 8,5-inch barrel chambered for a blank cartridge
- I know what you are thinking now. Did he fire six times or only five? Honestly, in this turmoil, I myself lost count. But let's start with the fact that this is a 44-caliber Magnum, the most lethal revolver ever, and it can blow your head off cleanly ...
(Dirty Harry, 1971)
(Dirty Harry, 1971)
- Oh, Mother of God! Where did you take it?
- Yes, I dabbled a little. You have to get used to it ...
... Magnum automatic 44 caliber. It uses three hundred.
("Dirty Harry 4. Sudden Impact", 1983)
- Yes, I dabbled a little. You have to get used to it ...
... Magnum automatic 44 caliber. It uses three hundred.
("Dirty Harry 4. Sudden Impact", 1983)
Gun for Harry Callahan
Since 1955, the title of the most powerful example of a hand-held firearm weapons deservedly carried a six-shot M29 revolver in .44 Magnum manufactured by Smith & Wesson. The latter, thanks to its unrivaled power at that time and impressive appearance, also became popular in popular culture. In particular, the 29th made his debut in the cult action movie of 1971 - the famous "Dirty Harry" with Clint Eastwood, which significantly contributed to the increase in the army of fans of Magnum 44. The film, which determined the appearance of the genre for a decade ahead and spawned four sequels, became a kind of hymn to the weapon of justice caliber .44 Magnum.
Two favorites of Dirty Harry - Auto Mag and S&W M29 (photo www.coltforum.com)
For a long time, it was believed that automatic pistols were not capable, in principle, of "holding" large calibers like "magnums" - this was the exclusive prerogative of large revolvers.
Gun enthusiasts Harry Sanford and Max Gera were able to refute this misconception by creating a super-powerful pistol AMP (Auto Mag Pistol), which became a real competitor to hunting revolvers in .44 Magnum caliber. Their joint research and development lasted for about two years. And by the end of 1969, the design of the pistol had acquired a complete solution. It was possible to start producing it.
Photo of the first Auto Mag prototype in the advertising brochure
The device of the weapon was in many ways unusual, due to the use of a very powerful cartridge, previously not used in automatic pistols. Reliable locking of the barrel bore when fired was provided by a rotary bolt (Benet and Mercier scheme) with six radial lugs, which, when rolling, engaged the stops inside the cylindrical receiver with the barrel screwed into it in front.
Both externally and structurally, the bolt is similar to the bolt of the M16 / AR15 rifles. The bolt was turned by means of the interaction of the shaped groove with the transverse pin, as in the AR-15 rifle. The only difference is that here the figured groove is made in the bolt itself, and the pin is installed in the ring of the pistol frame. In the AR-15 rifle, a shaped groove is made in the bolt carrier, and the transverse pin is fixed in the bolt itself. Typical, as for American weapons, was the use of a spring-loaded ejector located on the shutter mirror. The AR-15 shutter has a similar ejector device.
Rotary shutter: Auto Mag (left) and AR15 (right). Find the differences. Photo collage of the author
Receiver lugs. Photo by the author
A serious problem in the development of the design of the pistol was the issue of synchronizing the movement of the shutter in the receiver. When locking the barrel, it was necessary to ensure the start of rotation of the bolt exactly at the moment when its lugs go beyond the stops in the receiver. Therefore, a small coil spring was mounted in the shank to force the valve to rotate. That allowed to solve the problem of synchronization.
I must say that Max Gera himself was not happy with this decision and considered it temporary. But, as they say, there is nothing more permanent than temporary.
With this spring, the Auto Mag was produced for 11 years from 1971 to 1982. Moreover, the updated Auto Mag Model D (Classic and Founders Edition), which was revived again in January 2018, had a similar bolt-action synchronization device with the same “temporary” coil spring.
The barrel locking problem has been resolved. But this had to be paid for by the application of considerable effort when manually pulling the shutter back. The spring worked well for locking the barrel, but it was not at all helpful in unlocking it.
Auto Mag shutter, rear view. You can see the same "temporary" spring for forced rotation of the shutter. Photo by the author
The pistol automatics operated according to the barrel recoil scheme with a short stroke, in contrast to the gas evacuation system, as in the Wildey and Desert Eagle classmates that appeared much later.
Under the action of a recoil impulse, the barrel with the receiver and the bolt coupled to it were displaced back by 10 mm. Then the barrel stopped, and the bolt continued to move, while simultaneously turning around its longitudinal axis. Due to the peculiarities of the bolt design, its mass was insufficient to overcome the force of the two return springs when rolling back after a shot and completely complete the pistol reloading cycle. Therefore, the Auto Mag was equipped with a recoil lever, mounted on the bottom left of the receiver. It transmitted to the bolt an additional recoil impulse from the barrel with the receiver.
Auto Mag breech - a through shaped groove deprived the breech of the bulk. Photo by the author
Shutter recoil accelerator. Photo by the author
A similar solution with a rollback accelerator was previously used in the Finnish Lahty L-35. Photo by the author
Two return springs were located in cylindrical tides in the upper part of the pistol frame parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrel (as in the German Walther P.38 and its modifications P1, P4, P5). Both springs are connected by rods-rods with a shank, which serves to manually retract the valve back.
Two return springs in cylindrical lugs at the top of the Auto Mag frame. Photo by the author
Two return springs in a Walther P38 pistol frame. Photo by the author
For ease of grip with fingers, deep grooves are made on the sides of the shank.
Grooved bolt shank grips. Photo by the author
The slide delay was arranged in a peculiar way.
There were two ways to leave the shutter open - manually and automatically when the cartridges were used up when firing.
In the first case, when the shutter was manually retracted and the magazine was removed, it was necessary to press up on the lever above the left grip cover with a finger.
In the second case, after the last cartridge has been fired, the magazine feeder presses up on the slide stop lever with its finger. As a result, the shutter stops in the open position.
You can also remove the bolt from the stopper and close it in two ways. First, you need to either take out the empty magazine (at the end of the shooting), or insert the loaded one with cartridges (to continue shooting). Then you need to slightly pull the bolt back and release, like, for example, Browning 1910 or Walther PP / PPK.
The shutter is held by the shutter delay in the rear position. The fuse with its cam touches the protrusion of the slide delay lever (in the photo of the MMG shutter). Photo by the author
Or simply push the safety lever down. In the first case, the slide stop is lowered down by the action of the spring. In the second, the fuse with its cam presses down on the protrusion of the slide stop lever.
An attempt to close the bolt in the traditional way for most modern pistols by pushing down on the slide stop lever above the left grip pad will be unsuccessful. The size of the lever is too small for the shooter to overcome the forces of the two return springs by pressing one finger of his hand.
The pistol is on the safety catch (the flag is turned up). Photo by the author
The fuse itself is located on the left side of the frame, like the Colt M1911. The pistol can be put on safety and with the trigger cocked. To do this, manually squeeze the trigger down and turn the fuse box up. The trigger is locked. In this case, the tooth of the safety lever on the right side of the gun frame enters the recess in the shank and locks the bolt.
It should be noted that on the first prototypes the fuse had a different device and did not lock the shutter, because there was no fuse lever on the right side of the frame.
Safety lever tooth on the right side of the frame. Photo by the author
The firing mechanism is hammer, single action. The double-action trigger option was not considered when developing the design of the pistol, given the length of the cartridge used. The handle turned out to be so wide that when firing self-cocking shooters of average build could hardly reach the trigger with their index finger. For the same reason, the option of a magazine with a two-row arrangement of cartridges was immediately excluded. The magazine is a box-shaped, single-row, with a capacity of 7 rounds, located in the pistol grip.
Auto Mag store. Photo by the author
The trigger travel is adjusted using two screws - on the front side of the trigger and on top of the frame. The magazine release button is located traditionally in the American style - on the handle on the left in front of the trigger guard.
Adjusting screw on the Auto Mag trigger. Photo by the author
Sights consisted of a fixed front sight and an adjustable sight. Two micrometric screws provided the input of lateral corrections and height adjustment of the sight.
Adjustable Millet sight on the Auto Mag receiver. Photo by the author
The design of the pistol made it quite easy to replace the barrel. To do this, it was necessary to take the bolt back and put it on the bolt delay. Then turn the flag above the trigger guard forward and down (in this, the initial stage of disassembly is very similar to the procedure for disassembling pistols P08 and P38). The barrel with the receiver as a single unit was easily removed from the frame by moving forward. Instead, it was possible to install a barrel of a different length or caliber (the overall length and diameter of the sleeve for .357АМР and .44АМР cartridges were the same).
Partial disassembly of Auto Mag Walther and P.38. The similarities are obvious. Photo by the author
The Auto Mag's appearance and ergonomics were very similar to the High Standard pistol. The tilt angle of the handle exactly matched the tilt of the Colt M1911 handle - according to Max Gera, Harry Sanford insisted on this.
The weapon was very complex, both constructively and technologically, which required increased attention and skill at all stages of the production process. Mechanical processing and stainless steel were widely used. The frame itself was manufactured by precision injection molding, and its surfaces were minimally machined, which was almost a revolutionary decision at that time. The serial number of the pistol was printed only on the frame at the bottom of the grip, as in the Spanish Star B.
Auto Mag frame - mold parting line visible. Photo by the author
The weight of the pistol reached almost 1,62 kg (57 ounces). With a 6,5-inch barrel (165,1 mm), the length of the pistol from the muzzle to the spur of the trigger was 11,5 inches (292,1 mm).
Overall, the pistol was, figuratively speaking, a hair shorter and about two ounces heavier than its direct competitor, the S&W Model 29 caliber .44 Magnum six-round revolver with a 6,5-inch barrel. But the newcomer had better controllability, a larger aiming line, had two more rounds of ammunition (7 + 1), faster reloading and softer recoil. Jeff Cooper, a renowned weapons expert, was able to test the first prototypes of the AutoMag first-hand and stated that the pistol was completely controllable when fired.
In the March 1970 issue of Guns & Ammo in an article on the Auto Mag pistol, a comparative table of the technical characteristics of the Smith & Wesson M29 revolver and its newly-minted prototype competitor was provided. So to speak, data from the primary source:
The Auto Mag was not designed from the ground up. It used ideas previously embodied in a number of well-known weapon systems. And first of all, the influence of these samples can be traced (which, without hiding, the developers themselves spoke about):
1. Lahty L35 (accelerator).
2. AR15 (rotary shutter).
3. Colt M1911A1 (handle tilt).
4. Hi Standard Model HD Military (general design).
5. Walther P38 (disassembly-assembly order, two return springs).
6. Colt Python .357 Magnum (ventilated barrel strip).
Auto Mag inspirations: AR15, Colt Python, Walther P38, M1911A1, Lahty L35. Photo by the author
By and large, Auto Mag was constructively a compilation of units, parts and solutions previously used in the above samples. That does not in the least detract from the merits of the creators of the pistol.
В stories weapons such cases are not uncommon. The Koutzky brothers did not create the same CZ-75 from scratch either. And, in general, they did not use new ideas when creating it. But the design of the 75, incorporating part of the Belgian Browning FN-HP, and part of the Swiss SIG-210, turned out to be so successful that it served as a role model for many manufacturers of modern pistols.
The Auto Mag device ultimately turned out to be so individual and unlike the layout of any pistol in the world that it set it apart in the general "table of ranks" of short-barreled automatic weapons. Its laconic, well-recognizable and, I would say, elegant design, allows, in my opinion, to put it on a par with such a legend as P.08 Parabellum.
Figuratively speaking, this is a .44 Magnum Luger. He is as easily recognizable as his German counterpart at the beginning of the last century. Its design, like the design of the 08th, was no longer repeated by any pistol in the world. "Zero eighth" gave the world the 9x19 Luger cartridge, which became the standard for firearms, Auto Mag - stainless steel as a weapon.
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