place on the handle. It has a steel pin inside the nylon tip for strength. From Brownells, and absolutely essential.
10. A good set of drift punches will prevent a lot of marred pins. These, from Brownells, are made by Mayhew. The tapered punches at the right are for starting pins, the others for pushing them through. Two sizes are available-4 inches or 6 inches.
11. These punches by Mayhew are designed specifically for roll pins and have a projection at the center of the tip to fit the hollow center of a roll pin, driving it out without deformation of the ends. From Brownells.
12. Some of the necessary tools are easily made in the shop. These non-marring drift punches were made from three sizes of welder’s brazing rod.
13. In automatic pistols, the most frequent need for a split-end screwdriver, or two-point wrench, occurs with certain magazine catch buttons. The ones shown were made by cutting away the center of old screwdriver blades, then thinning the points to fit the job. They may be a bit on the crude side but they work!
Magazine Disassembly
In regards to takedown, most magazines fall into two general categories distinguished by fixed or removable floorplates. An example of the fixed type is the magazine of the 45-caliber 1911 military pistol. Most of the currently-made pistols, especially in the larger calibers, have magazines with removable floorplates.
Fixed Floorplate Type:
1. With a nylon-tipped punch or some other nonmarring tool, depress the magazine follower to about the halfway point, and insert a small screwdriver through one of the counter holes and between the follower and the spring.
2. With the spring trapped beneath the screwdriver, the follower can usually be shaken out and removed from the top of the magazine. If the follower is tight, it may be necessary to insert another small tool through one of the other counter holes and lever it upward to free it.
3. Hold a heavy shop cloth over the top of the magazine to catch the spring and remove the screwdriver from the counter hole. CAUTION: The spring is under tension, so be sure the cloth gives enough padding to prevent injury. Remove the spring from the top of the magazine.
Most fixed-floorplate magazines can be completely disassembled, as the floorplate is usually held in place either by cross-pins, or by staking the lower edge of the magazine shell into grooves or recesses. But, even when removal is done by a careful professional, some damage is inevitable. It’s best to leave the fixed-type floorplates in place.
Removable Floorplate Type:
4. The removable floorplate is usually locked in place by an internal lockplate with a button at the center which protrudes through a hole in the floorplate.
5. Depress the button with a brass punch or some other non-marring tool and slide the floorplate toward the front of the magazine, but not more than half-way.
6. Restrain the lockplate against the tension of the magazine spring, and slide the floorplate off toward the front. Caution:Be sure to keep the lockplate under control, as the spring can send it quite a distance if released suddenly.
7. Release the spring tension slowly, and remove the lockplate, spring, and follower from the bottom of the magazine.
Other Magazines:
8. In some magazines, such as the Parabellum (Luger) shown, the floorplate is a shaped endpiece retained by one or more cross-pins. When these are drifted out, the endpiece can be removed and the spring taken out from the bottom of the magazine. The follower is then moved down until the follower button aligns with its opening in the side track. The button is then lifted out toward the side and the follower removed from the bottom.
9. Some magazines with sliding removable floorplates have different retaining methods. The Russian Tokarev, shown on the left, has an internal lockplate with a release tab near the front of the plate. This is pushed inward, in the same way as the button on the usual type. The Mauser 1910 (right) has a slot in the left edge of the floorplate for the angled tip of the magazine spring. The tip of the spring is pushed upward to clear the slot and the floorplate is slid off toward the front.
AMT Back-Up
| Data: | AMT Back-Up |
| Origin: | United States |
| Manufacturer: | AMT, Inc. |
| El Monte, California | |
| Cartridge: | 380 ACP |
| Magazine capacity: | 5 rounds |
| Over-all length: | 5 inches |
| Height: | 4 inches |
| Barrel length: |
2 |
| Weight: |
17 ounces
|
