Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

OMC .380 Back Up

86FLST
Where can I find an owner's manual and info like when and why they switched to AMT and who to contact now days if I ever need parts?
0

Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • rufe-snow
    AMT has been out of business since the 90's. This outfit in Texas is making the Back Up's.

    http://www.highstandard.com/

    Don't know if the parts are interchangeable with the OMC model you have? I had one of the OMC's many years ago. It was made of "soft" stainless steel investment castings. It was a total POS, I couldn't get through more then a couple of magazines without it jambing. Unless your's is a lot more reliable than the one I had, it's a piss poor personal protection handgun.
    0
  • partisan
    AMT should never have been in business!!! The .380 acp Backup was a piece of junk!!! You need to get rid of it and get a reliable .380.
    0
  • He Dog
    Without editorial comment, Steve's pages has the AMT version of the owner's manual you can download: http://stevespages.com/page7.htm
    0
  • CraigTee
    quote:Originally posted by 86FLST
    Where can I find an owner's manual and info like when and why they switched to AMT and who to contact now days if I ever need parts?


    I bought one of these back in the late 70's and still have it. I must have purchased it shortly after OMC sold the molds to AMT (which is the story I've read and the one on Wiki). I remember the gunshop owner telling me a story about OMC losing their license to ship fire arms because they had shipped out some loaded ones. (Take that story for what it's worth... gunshop chatter [:)] )

    Ennywaze, my Back Up says OMC, the box says OMC, yet the "manual" (two single loose pages of info) say AMT on them. Drop me an email if you still need a 380 "manual" for the single action with the 45 style grip safety.

    I've probably put 10-15 boxes through mine over the years and can't recall ever having a problem with it. It just chambers and fires anything I load it up with. Can't say why so many people hate this little gun so much (other than the take down of course! [:D] ) I DID read a post from one guy who stated the OMC versions seemed to be higher quality than the AMT versions... but again, take that for what it's worth...

    Take care!
    Craig
    0
  • partisan
    The reason I claimed the AMT .380 to be a piece of junk is because it is a piece of JUNK!!!!! I'm a 20 year NRA pistol instructor, and at the time (late 1970's) I bought the AMT I was working as a deputy sheriff and purchased this gun as a "backup" to my duty weapon. This gun would NEVER fire more than 2 or 3 rounds without a jam. I tried new mags, various ammo, and it still jammed. I sent this back to AMT 3 separate times for repair. It came back each time after about 3 months and had the same problems! I even told them what I was using the gun for thinking that would help. Didn't help one iota!! Therefore I can and will always claim the AMT .380 to be the worst gun I have ever owned and fired!!!!
    0
  • CraigTee
    heh-heh... ok then... [:)]

    It kinda doesn't seem fair to pass judgement on the entire line based upon one's experience with a single weapon.

    I too am a retired Deputy Sheriff who also carried an OMC 380 Back Up SA in my right front pocket for a LOT of years. Although I never put "thousands of rounds" through it, I have put at least a few hundred rounds (of whatever was cheap at the time) through it over the years without any problems and a couple of boxes of silvertips with no problems.

    So, in defense of the Back Up, I must state:
    "There was AT LEAST ONE good 'Back Up' manufactured"
    [:D]

    I know there's a LOT of people who have owned and hated this little pistol, but there are also many who have owned them and liked them. So, they can't ALL be bad.

    Given the asking prices I've seen on these lately, I think there's many better choices out there today than there was in the late 70's.

    But, my real reason for posting a follow up was to offer a temporary URL "manual" for an early "AMT" 380 Back Up, SA, with the back of grip safety. It's only two pages:

    http://members.peak.org/~craigis/AMT_Back_Up_Manual/AMT1.gif
    and
    http://members.peak.org/~craigis/AMT_Back_Up_Manual/AMT2.gif

    They're formatted for printing, not viewing.
    They will print out full size as-is on any 300 DPI printer.

    BTW: also wanted to thank us55840 for the manufacturer history on the "AMT" Back Up.

    Enjoy
    Craig
    0
  • partisan
    CRAIGTEE; Here's my way of thinking on the AMT.380. If there are NEW shooters out there that want a .380acp they need to know my info. Since there are now plenty of small 380's that are excellent guns, why would a long time shooter let a newbie buy a pistol that MAY or MAYNOT be the worst piece of junk ever made???
    0
  • CraigTee
    Partisan: Point taken my friend and I'm really sorry that you had such a lousy experience with ANY weapon. An experience like that definately tends to put a sour taste in one's mouth for the manufacturer.

    us55840: Dood... I wanna hang out with you!
    Fun stuff! Thanks again! [:)]

    Best wishes to ALL
    (now the test: to see if I can squeeze this in under the "10 posts then LOCK" rule! :)
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity