AMT LIGHTNING PISTOL .22
Bandit
identical to a Ruger MKII. I have a chance to pick opne up for around
$190 and am seriously thinking about it. Are they reliable?
Accurate? Are the parts interchangable with Ruger? Any input
appreciated...
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200...@gmail.com
> ...
i like it its a ruger clone they also made a 10/22 clone as well and
it was true stainless
sta...@prolynx.com
# Anyone have any experience with the AMT Lightning .22 Pistol? Looks
# identical to a Ruger MKII. I have a chance to pick opne up for around
# $190 and am seriously thinking about it. Are they reliable?
# Accurate? Are the parts interchangable with Ruger? Any input
# appreciated...
#
It was the gun that killed AMT, IIRC. Ruger sued their ass off. I've
got the 10/22 clone, workmanship isn't quite up to Ruger standards on
that so parts interchangeability might be iffy. You might want to try
it out on a range for accuracy before plunking down the price, AMT
barrels were sometimes a little short on Q.C. Reliability is an
individual thing and will vary with the brand of ammo and the state of
the magazine lips. As far as I know, Ruger Mk II mags will fit. The
price doesn't seem too bad depending on barrel length. Just don't
expect target-grade accuracy or trigger pull out of it. Try before
you buy, if you can.
Stan
Gandalf
wrote:
> ...
I shot one some years back. The fit and finish wasn't up to Ruger
standards, and the trigger was a little grittier than a Ruger .22 (never
famous for light or really smooth triggers, out of the box, IMHO).
But it shot fairly well. I was using CCI MiniMags, which is, for me at
least, has been one of the best .22LR ammo for semiautos; short of
really premium ammunition.
So I can't speak to ammunition reliability.
My personal opinion would be to go with a Ruger, as they are about
bomb-proof; if a PITA to field strip. I put at least 25,000 rounds
through one, mostly CCI MiniMags, which shot as well as some match-grade
ammunition. Had about 6 failures to feed or extract that whole time,
mostly due to letting the pistol get too dirty.
My vote, from personal experience, would be to buy a Ruger; they have
been making them for about 40 years now(?) and they have a good
reputation.
AMT is a much smaller company, and has had some really pretty poor
quality pistols from time to time; depending on who's watching quality
control.
Anyone else have more experience than I do?
Otherwise, do more research.
I can say you will have a harder time getting your money out the AMT,
compared to a Ruger.
I kept mine for about 5 years and traded it for more than I paid for it!
(But I got mine at a really, really good price, from a friend who had an
FFL, and needed to make some transactions; he sold it to me at his
actual cost.)
But it would be hard to find a stainless Ruger at that price, to be
sure.
Rubaiyat of Omar Bradley
# buy a Ruger; they have
# been making them for about 40 years now(?)
Nope, they have been around for 58 years! The 22 pistol was Ruger's
first product, starting in 1949.
Time flies...
John Cowart
jc
wrote:
#On Jul 5, 9:00 pm, Bandit <jhughe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
## Anyone have any experience with the AMT Lightning .22 Pistol? Looks
## identical to a Ruger MKII. I have a chance to pick opne up for around
## $190 and am seriously thinking about it. Are they reliable?
## Accurate? Are the parts interchangable with Ruger? Any input
## appreciated...
##
#It was the gun that killed AMT, IIRC. Ruger sued their ass off. I've
#got the 10/22 clone, workmanship isn't quite up to Ruger standards on
#that so parts interchangeability might be iffy. You might want to try
#it out on a range for accuracy before plunking down the price, AMT
#barrels were sometimes a little short on Q.C. Reliability is an
#individual thing and will vary with the brand of ammo and the state of
#the magazine lips. As far as I know, Ruger Mk II mags will fit. The
#price doesn't seem too bad depending on barrel length. Just don't
#expect target-grade accuracy or trigger pull out of it. Try before
#you buy, if you can.
#
#Stan
My AMT is as well fit and finished as any Ruger I've ever
seen and came from the factory with a Clark trigger. And
yes, Ruger mags (along with all the other parts) will fit
perfectly, it is an exact copy. My AMT will also shoot
circles around any similar Ruger (mine has a 6" bull
barrel). Perhaps I got lucky but I bought it because of
others I'd tried that did the same thing. It still does so
and I expect it to continue long after I'm gone. That said,
your advice to try before you buy is certainly sound.
I can not, by any means, say the same thing about my
Mini-Auto Mag... it came with the last 2" of the barrel not
rifled! AMT went belly up just after I bought it. Of the
five AMT Backup's I've owned, they all worked well after a
bit of tinkering. Fortunately, I like to tinker.
AMT also made a duplicate of the 10/22, which they called
the 25/22 (it came standard with a 25 round mag). The most
wonderful thing about it was the receiver was stainless, as
was the rest of the gun. As of now, it's decorated with a
A&B bull barrel, Revolution stock, Volquartson trigger kit
and Leupold 6-18x40 scope. It shoots .200 regularly (10
shots at 25 yards) and so far my best has been a .137".
Definitely fun stuff, I wish they were still around.
Cheers,
jc
jc
<crk...@hotmail.com> wrote:
#My AMT is as well fit and finished as any Ruger I've ever
#seen and came from the factory with a Clark trigger. And
#yes, Ruger mags (along with all the other parts) will fit
#perfectly, it is an exact copy. My AMT will also shoot
#circles around any similar Ruger (mine has a 6" bull
#barrel). Perhaps I got lucky but I bought it because of
#others I'd tried that did the same thing. It still does so
#and I expect it to continue long after I'm gone. That said,
#your advice to try before you buy is certainly sound.
#
#I can not, by any means, say the same thing about my
#Mini-Auto Mag... it came with the last 2" of the barrel not
#rifled! AMT went belly up just after I bought it. Of the
#five AMT Backup's I've owned, they all worked well after a
#bit of tinkering. Fortunately, I like to tinker.
#
#AMT also made a duplicate of the 10/22, which they called
#the 25/22 (it came standard with a 25 round mag). The most
#wonderful thing about it was the receiver was stainless, as
#was the rest of the gun. As of now, it's decorated with a
#A&B bull barrel, Revolution stock, Volquartson trigger kit
#and Leupold 6-18x40 scope. It shoots .200 regularly (10
#shots at 25 yards) and so far my best has been a .137".
#Definitely fun stuff, I wish they were still around.
#Cheers,
#jc
I should also add that this is not in any way a rant against
Ruger. I own more of them than any other firearm and I
believe their customer service is the best there is. In
addition, I bought my AMT's relatively early (except for the
Mini Auto Mag), when their QC was apparently better than it
was in later years.
I wrote to Ruger before I purchased the AMT, asking if they
were going to bring out a stainless version of the Mk II and
received a rely that said they had no intention of doing so,
that the manufacturing processes were simply too difficult
to overcome. I still have that letter, somewhere.
Being a huge fan of stainless guns, I bought the AMT pistol
and rifle. Funny thing is, they said exactly the same thing
about the Mini-14 - "never going to happen" they said. I
have that letter, too. That is what prompted me to get my
first AR. I eventually did get a stainless Mini-14 but the
Colt had spoiled me so badly that I got rid of it soon
afterwards.
R.M.R.
30 Carbine to be my M1's companion. While it looked like a well built
gun it turned out to be one of those you always remember you never
should of bought. A true jam-o-matic besides the slide catch broke
twice. One time in particular I tried firing a mags worth, "jam"
stove pipe, "jam" not in battery, "jam" double feed, frustrated as I
was I locked the slide back and as I placed it on the bench the slide
with no help from me slammed home and chambered a live round
perfectly,go figure. Since then I am a little gun shy about anything
that has AMT scrolled on it's slide. I do believe they could of made a
good firearm if one hand wasn't fighting off their creditors while one
foot was always in bankruptcy court. Why they turned up the heat by
messing with Ruger's design is anyones guess. That was beyond bad
management...
Ray,
(Si vis pacem
para bellum) U.S.A.
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RONSERESURPLUS
# Anyone have any experience with the AMT Lightning .22 Pistol? Looks
# identical to a Ruger MKII. I have a chance to pick opne up for around
# $190 and am seriously thinking about it. Are they reliable?
# Accurate? Are the parts interchangable with Ruger? Any input
# appreciated...
#
Hello
I've owned a few of the AMT 45's, they were on back in the day! Not
a bad Price, but some were roughly made! I handled a amt copy of the
10/22, about the same! I never owned a 22 Pistol version copy, but
knew a guy and his wife that had one, they loved it, paid a reasonable
cost for it and AMT never prohibited you from buying parts yta needed
Like Ruger did! AMT never sided with the feds on the magazine Ban as
well? I guess it's a matter of what this one looks like and yes, not
100% parts will interchange! mags, amny other parts will, It's up to
you if thats worth the risk? Ruger, while not my favorite company does
do customer repairs well and almost always free, just don't ask them
about parts or high capacity mags? LOL YOU call man, check it out well
and think about it?
RON L