Anyone want a Wildey or Automag? I saw them in a TN pawnshop....

W

woad_yurt

New member
Note: I have no vested interest in these. I just thought that someone here may be looking for one.

Today, while making a quick stop at a local pawn shop just to see what they had, I saw an engraved Wildey in .45 Win. Mag. and an Automag Model 180 chambered for 44 AMP.

The Wildey was $2499 and the Automag, $2399. The engraving on the Wildey looked like it was factory stuff, judging from pictures I looked at online before posting this. Neither came with extra mags, case, etc, just the gun and a mag. Both looked like they were in primo condition.

I don't know much about either of these but I know that they're uncommon and costly. If anyone's interested, the phone number is 931-647-7535. Cindy showed 'em to me and, since they get commissions, asked me if I'd tell folks to ask for her.

Anyway, have a good day, folks!
 
H

HisSoldier

New member
I think it's pretty common for engraved guns to have been unfired since new. As normal, I'd love to have either one, I have no idea why.

Also as normal, I can't afford either of them. I love the rotary bolt gas operated concept of the Wildey, I take it that it's similar to the Desert Eagle action?
 
M

Martowski

New member
That sure beats the heck out of the normal lineup of beat up Mossberg 500's and Sears Roebuck pump guns I usually find in pawn shops.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Like these?
026.jpg


I already have some, and got them for a lot less than the price wanted by the shop you mention. Thanks anyway.:D

It is common, when you do find these guns, to find them with no accenssories. Its uncommon to find the boxes, and extremely rare to find any with spare mags. Most often when you find these guns in shops these days, its because someone inherited it, and put it up for sale.

FYI, the rotary bolt gas operation of the Wildey is similar to the Desert Eagle only in general principle, but vastly different in execution. The gas system on the Wildey is adjustable, and easily done. The gas system on the DE is quite different, and fixed. There is no adjustment possible.

The Auto Mag also uses a rotary bolt, but is recoil operated.

I have Auto Mags, a Wildey, Desert Eagle, LAR Grizzly and a Coonan. If you have any questions about these beasts, just ask.
 
C

Charlie98

New member
The Auto Mag also uses a rotary bolt, but is recoil operated
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, the AutoMag uses sort of a short recoil design (like a Browning Auto-5) with the addition of a rotary bolt... something like that, anyway.

About 20 years ago I got to handle a .44 AM at a gun shop, this one was not very nice and the outside finish was very rough.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Wildeys are unique. Mine is .45 Win Mag. They are an interesting blend of features, and sometimes I have to wonder why they did precisely what they did.

The gun is a DA automatic. The safety drops the hammer. The magazine has a heel type release. These guns are clearly not intended for duty or combat use, yet they are DA.

Trigger pull is not bad, in either mode. One of the most interesting things about the Wildey is the gas adjustment system. One simply turns the nut by hand, it has click stops for each setting. You can adjust the gun for any power level of ammo, from plinker to full magnum loads.

The grip is large, and feels very "round" to me, almost like a cylinder, but that is just my impression, yours could be quite different.

The Wildey is very large, and heavy feeling (and it is actually heavy), but feels a bit lighter in the hand than my .44 Mag Desert Eagle. Recoil with full power loads is authoratative, but much less than a comparable revolver, due to the weight and gas operation of the gun. And yes, they are very accurate, more so than any Colt/Browning tilt barrel service auto.

And they have excellent adjustable sights, as well.
 
H

hartlock

Moderator
Back in 1976, my cousin and I were dealing the AutoMag pistols. I
bought a .357 automag for myself, to hunt deer with. I believe the
.357's were the best of the Automag calibers, as the .44's would
break off one of the little ears on the back of the bolt, eventually.
I never saw this happen with the .357's. The Automags also had
an accellerator to kick the bolt back, to ensure the bolt went
all the way to the rear, as the springs in those things were strong.
I killed 12 whitetail deer with my .357 Automag over the period of
4 years, and then, like an idiot, traded it off for some non-remembered
revolver. :) By the way, I paid 375.00 back in 1976 for mine.
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Hartlock, you got a deal, even back then. In 1973 I saw a .357 AMP in a local shop for $395, which was $100 more than the list price of a S&W M29 at the time ($283.50). I watched that gun sit there, and increace in price over a couple of years until 1975, when I left the area. Never could afford it.

In 1976, I saw two (on the other side of the country), one .357 and one .44 with prices of $695 & $795m respectively.

In 1980, I saw a .44 for $995, and couldn't afford that either.

Then Sudden Impact came out. And the price really took off.

Found an 8.5" .44AMP in 1983 for $1500. Took out a loan. It was nearly twenty years later I found a 6.5" .44AMP for sale (the standard gun) also for $1500. And a couple years after that, a 7.5" .357AMP, also for $1500.

Saw an ad in the Giant Nickel just two weeks ago, .44AMP, case, dies, and some ammo, asking price $3200!:eek: While I could have (just) managed that, I decided to pass. They are great guns, which, sadly never stayed in production long enough to get all the bugs worked out.

Also, the original loading data was SMOKIN HOT! They claimed, and were getting 1600fps with a 240gr .44 bullet from a 6.5" gun! These loads break the guns, (either the bolt ears, as you noted, or, more usually, the bolt rotation pin) often somewhere between 500 and 1,000 rnds. The .357s would usually go about twice that before breaking the bolt rotation pin.

If you load the .44 down a bit (to around 1300fps), you usually don't have much trouble.

I have collected examples of all the "original" magnum autos, Auto Mag (.357 & .44AMP), Wildey (.45 WM), Desert Eagle (.357 & .44 Mag), LAR Grizzly (.45WM) and Coonan(.357 Mag).

The Auto Mag is still my favorite for looks, trigger, and feel, With the Grizzly being second best to me. The Desert Eagle is the worst of the bunch for grip feel, trigger, and sights, and the Coonan, being just very slightly larger than a 1911 isn't really in the same class as the "big bores".

Where the Auto Mag suffers is reliability. Accurate as a bolt action rifle, or nearly so, but very...finiciky. Still, nothing comes close for sheer looks, or ahead of its time engineering.
 
H

hartlock

Moderator
Amen, 44 AMP, Amen! Im glad I got to own one, hunt with
it, and shoot it, ALOT! Harry Sanford once remarked in a
magazine interview, that he should have tied a 100 dollar
bill to the barrel of each Automag, as that was just about
what they were losing on each pistol! :)
 
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