The AMT Hardballer is a series of pistols that are part of the 1911 platform (based on the

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

M1911 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...

) made by Arcadia Machine & Tool (AMT) from 1977 to 2002. The Hardballer was the first entirely stainless steel 1911 pattern pistol. Other features included adjustable rear sights and a lengthened

grip safety Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling. Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes suc ...

Overview

The Hardballer derives its name from round-nose hardball G.I. ammunition (solid 230 grain Full Metal Jacketed bullets). This is the round the pistol was designed to shoot. The Hardballer series of pistols all share a brushed stainless steel finish and a wide target style trigger with adjustable trigger stop. The later Galena-made pistols have an elongated "beavertail" grip safety and a beveled magazine well.

Variants

* AMT Hardballer: an all stainless steel version of the Colt Gold Cup, fitted with Micro rear sights. * AMT Combat Government: was developed as a sports pistol but in 1978 AMT marketed the Combat Government, an M1911 clone with fixed sights for police departments. Since 1985, this model has been called the Government with the term "Combat" omitted. * AMT Longslide: a version with an extended barrel, introduced in 1980. It has the same qualities as the Hardballer but with slide and barrel lengthened by . * AMT Skipper: a compact version of the Hardballer introduced in 1980. It features a barrel. In 1984, the Skipper disappeared from AMT's range. * AMT Commando: originally offered by AMT then improved and reintroduced in 2000 (this date in question) under the Galena Industries brand. The original AMT Commando was a barreled version and did not have a loaded chamber indicator nor beavertail grip safety. The improved Commando is a compact model of the Government with a barrel but retaining the frame of the Government model. It is chambered in .40 S&W and has an 8-round magazine capacity. * AMT Accelerator: a Galena-made Longslide chambered for the

.400 Corbon The .400 Corbon is an automatic pistol cartridge developed by Cor-Bon in 1997. It was created to mimic the ballistics of the 10 mm Auto cartridge in a .45 ACP form factor. It is essentially a .45 ACP case, necked down to .40 caliber with a 2 ...

cartridge featuring a barrel and an elongated beavertail. * AMT Javelina: a Longslide variant chambered in the

10mm Auto The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...

caliber with an 8-round capacity magazine.

In popular culture

A longslide version of the Hardballer with a top-mounted helium-neon laser sight was used by Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator character in the 1984 film, '' The Terminator''.

References

External links

AMT Hardballer Owners manuals

Ian's AMT Information site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardballer, Amt .45 ACP semi-automatic pistols 1911 platform AMT semi-automatic pistols Short recoil firearms Semi-automatic pistols of the United States