38 1911s chambered in .38 AMU

There were a couple of Colt 38 1911s on gunbroker for under $700 that had me wondering.  The barrel hoods were stamped with Colt .38 AMU
I've seen 1911s in 38spl, and .38 Super, but I haven't seen them in 38 AMU before.
The .38spl 1911's are usually over $2000, and .38supers are all over the place--and not really my taste.

So what's the deal with .38 AMU?

Rob,

The .38 AMU was a 50's development of the Army Marksmanship Unit to address feeding and extraction problems with the .38 Special in 1911 wad guns. Basically, it's a 38 Special case with the rim turned down and an extractor groove cut in. Colt was contracted by the government to provide conversion kits with barrels and magazines and also delivered a small lot of complete guns - collector's items today.

Walt Jackson
Bull Shooters