Used Auto Mag pistols now sell for much more. The pistols originally retailed for $217.50 in the 1970s. One analysis claimed that the Auto Mag Corporation lost more than $1,000 on each pistol each pistol sold wholesale for around $170. Under-pricing of the Auto Mag pistol made ultimate success impossible. Unfortunately the expensive manufacturing processes and materials, and need for many parts to be produced by sub-contractors made the gun unprofitable resulting in bankruptcy of the original company. The pistol was then refined by the remaining staff, and put into production. The design team was unable to convince Sanford, and they all resigned. The design team believed that even with the correct finished design, the wholesale price of the pistol had to be greatly increased or the company would go bankrupt. The new design team was convinced the Auto Mag pistol was not ready for production and could not be produced at a profit. The Gera version was crude and unfinished when left the company. The design team, headed by Mark Lovendale, took the AutoMag pistol from a fully functional machined chrome-moly steel prototype designed by Harry Sanford & Max Gera and created a more refined version manufactured in stainless steel. Īuto Mag Corporation was short-lived for several reasons. Changing calibers usually required only exchanging the barrel – the frame, magazine and bolt could be used with all calibers except. His son Walter continued to sell the remaining parts online through. Sanford continued to sell spare parts until his death in 1996. Īn additional 6,000 pistols were produced and sold during this period for a total of about 9,000. The company opened and closed several times from 1973 through 1982 under several different names: TDE (Trade Deed Estates), OMC, Thomas Oil Company, High Standard, and AMT ( Arcadia Machine & Tool). The first pistol was shipped on August 8, 1971, and the factory declared bankruptcy on May 3, 1972, after making fewer than 3,000 pistols. In 1970, Auto Mag Corporation president Harry Sanford opened a factory in Pasadena, California. 429-inch, 240-grain bullets at about the same velocity as the. 44 Magnum power in a semi-automatic pistol. The Auto Mag is a modest weight pistol designed to give handgun owners. The short-recoil operated Auto Mag pistol featured a rotary bolt with locking lugs located at the front similar to the M16/ AR-15 rifle.

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