Larry Grossman on the history of the .44 Auto Mag pistol (VIDEO)

By Ben Philippi

Larry Grossman has spent over 40 years working on the .44 Auto Mag, the gun made famous in the 1983 Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact. After being out of production for 25 years, it’s back this year.
Guns.com caught up with Grossman at SHOT Show 2018 in Las Vegas. He recounted the early days of the Auto Mag when, in 1971, inventor Harry Sanford struggled to produce and sell the gun that was manufactured at the AMT factory in Pasadena, California. Even though it had a unique design and slick lines, and was in demand, it struggled to turn a profit. Grossman attributed this to the gun costing too much to produce and not selling for enough.
During the entire run of the Auto Mag from 1971 to 1982, less than 9,000 guns were produced. The last gun was assembled in 1982. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until 1983 that the gun became famous. Clint Eastwood caught wind of the pistol and met with the designers. He was so smitten with the Auto Mag, that he wanted to make a film with it. A year later, Eastwood had a script, and the Auto Mag was featured in the fourth Dirty Harry film Sudden Impact.
Just as Harry Callahan

Source: Guns.com