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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Not a single DW at the gun show today-- I should have just walked out...but NOOOoooo..... I had to buy something.
So I found this old AMT Hardballer with 20 years of dust and hardened grease/oil on it... And old brain that I have, I kind of overpaid ($570). But, the price wasn't that bad. It came with the original magazine.
I pulled it completely apart, scrubbed it with a can of carb cleaner, lubed it up and slapped it all back together. Then I took those black Hogue grips that came on the RZ-10 and moved them to the AMT.
Now it looks nicer and functions smooth. Only problem is that it catches on half cock. If you go straight back from decock to full cock it works fine. But if you go to half cock and let off--it wedges in place and won't go to full cock without excessive force. I believe the half cock notch it too deep. Project for another day...
Too late to take pics, but I may hit the range in the morning to see how it shoots--I'll take some pics then.
SHOOT
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Sounds like another fixer upper! Hope it funtions as it should at the range!
Waiting for the 
!
February 11, 2010
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Have'nt heard anyone mention a Hardballer in a long while 
Is it a Longslide model ?
-Blacktop
April 8, 2011
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Cool, long slide would be nice! I have a 22 automag, you might need it to get you AMT collection going!
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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I miss my little 22 Automag, it was a fun gun...as long as it liked the ammo it was being fed.
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Well, it is cold this morning, so I tihnk I'll wait a few hours to hit the range... but here's a quick pic. Cleaned up really nice.
SHOOT
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Well, She's a keeper ... Still has the half cock issue, but runs just fine. I guess I just won't use the half cock until I figure it out.
She's a little dirty now....
SHOOT
April 8, 2011
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Looks pretty nice! I cant imagine what you would use the half cock notch for anyway. For safety it needs to be empty or cocked and locked.
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Dang Shoot! You gonna make me search for other stuff! I didn't make the gun show today (about 60 miles away) thought instead I would get honey do's and must do's. Did stop off at the Gander Mt, I just had too! At least the story i am sticking to!
Nice looking Shoot! 
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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$570 for a Stainless, adjustable sight 1911 is a real good price, the half-cock problem not withstanding. I was interested to find out that the AMT Hardballer was the first all stainless "1911 pattern" pistol. There are some parts not entirely consistent with a traditional 1911, hence the "1911 pattern" notation.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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I always wanted one when I was a kid-- I've seen a few of them over the years, but the timing was never right.
Inside LOOKS like a 1911--I'm not sure of the actual differences. Guys at 1911 forum think the trigger pretravel may be the problem with the half cock--I will find out soon enough...
SHOOT
April 25, 2008
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I had one of those Hardballers. Picked it up on Gunbroker for $400. It was a good gun and the adjustable rear sight would go all the way out to 150 meters. (yes, I HAD to shoot it on silhouette targets.) Just sold it to a friend, since I REALLY want a DW 1911 someday.
The Savantist
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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I'm going to use this one as the basis for my continued 1911 gunsmith training... I'm a ok 1911 guy, but maybe I'll be better after I spend some time working on this one.
I think I'll take some time and give it a 1911 "Average Joe" tune-up. I'd like to see what kind of simple improvements it will make.
Since the AMT is not a true 1911, parts upgrades will probably not happen--gonna stick to stock parts.
SHOOT
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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One of the first (of many) guns I ever gave my son was a Taurus PT 1911. He still has it and at least one Kimber (and God knows what else) have come and gone. The PT 1911 is his toy, plaything, etc in the 1911 world, and he is constantly trying out new and interesting stuff with it.
I still say the Hardballer is a fun 1911, that's a nice one to have.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Well, the half cock issue was on my mind this morning 
....
So... Apart she came and out came the polishing stones. I gave it the true average Joe polishing and lubing.
What a difference ... just by polishing off all the black phosphate coating on the internals really smoothed it up. It also gave me enough clearance to clear up 99% of the half cock problem. You can just barely feel it grab now--I figure a few hundred rounds may do the final trick.
I can also hear the trigger reset properly now. Before it would reset, but you never heard the "click".
I now have a smooth functioning 1911 that I'm going to aboslutely shoot a ton of rounds through with no worries
SHOOT
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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SHOOTIST357 said:
I can also hear the trigger reset properly now. Before it would reset, but you never heard the "click".
Was that due to it being dirty & gunky inside, or was it just in need of some "Shoot finesse"?
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Charger Fan said:
SHOOTIST357 said:
I can also hear the trigger reset properly now. Before it would reset, but you never heard the "click".
Was that due to it being dirty & gunky inside, or was it just in need of some "Shoot finesse"?
No, it was the Finesse part. It worked much better after initial cleaning, but failed a few common checks. The light polishing made all the difference in the action working "properly". I'm going ot go back in one more time and take off a little more of the disconnector ears. Then it should be perfect.
I was reading that many high end 1911's will fail a few common checks, including a few DW's.
SHOOT
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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I hate to say it, but I think the 1911 bug is back 
... I forgot how much fun they can be, even if ammo is kinda expensive.
Way back when even reloading 45 got expensive, I sold all my 1911's to fund 9mm projects. Now I find myself being drawn back into the 1911 45 world. I've bought 3 in the last few months and have a lot of rounds through them--time to start reloading again.
Maybe I'll find me a beater DW1911 for a new project. My goal has been to find a PM9 for a price I can afford, but no luck...
SHOOT
September 10, 2010
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Nice looking AMT. I've got a 380 Backup that I'm happy with. People either love or hate AMT. One of the problems with their being a pioneer with stainless automatics was the slide and frame galling. Stainless has a tendancy to do that. I think the solution was to heat treat the frames and slides to a different hardness to prevent it. If you keep the slide rails well lubed it shouldn't be an issue.
Always wanted a 45 auto longslide with laser sighting after seeing Terminator.
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