The Colt Ace .22LR is an attractive product of a competitive brand but seems to retain the respect of those who appreciate fine arms. Just wondering if there are any owners of such an handgun here and your opinion of its quality and accuracy? Input appreciated.

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

I had an ACE back in the day (another one I should have kept) and if memory serves me right you had to keep it clean for function and accuracy was average. The "floating chamber" was the keep it clean part and it did impart a bit of "movement" when it worked to simulate recoil. As with all quality fire arms that are no longer made the desire to own goes up. The Colt Pony on the gun adds it's own value of course.

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Stay safe people!

They are highly prized if you find one of the pre-war Aces. The earlier "ACE" did not have the floating chamber. The later pre-war and WWII versions (called the "Service ACE") had the barrel with a floating chamber.

Many, many years ago I was on the Navy ROTC rifle team at Ohio State. On occasion, the Marine Gunny who ran the team would unlock the arms storage room and hand out Service Model ACEs to the rifle shooters to go a hundred rounds after rifle practice was finished. The recoil of the Service ACE does simulate that of the .45, and I could shoot a pretty good group at 50 feet with one. Firing maybe several thousand rounds through a Service ACE at that period of my life was my entire experience with one. A nice time. I could shoot all I wanted and didn't have to buy any ammunition. I do remember that the ACE was a little tricky to disassemble and re-assemble.

Which is more desirable the floating or the non floating barrel chamber if there is one better?

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

I love colt revolvers, unfortunately they quit making them before I could get one.

Pricey little autos that i've never had a chance to own.
The folks that do have them are proud of them.
Especially the pre-war versions.
At today's prices it doesn't look good for me to buy one
either.
Good luck on your hunt.


Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

My dad gave me a Service Model Ace before he died. It dates to 1939.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The last Service ACE I saw at a gun show (a few years back) had a $3K price tag on it.

DWalt, how did the "non-floating chamber" early Ace pistols you mention manage to get the extractor / ejection process performing with .22 velocity?

Like you, the last one I saw for sale was three grand plus, and I am fairly certain it was re-blue .

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wanna do right-- not right now

IIRC, the Ace had a lightened slide and a weaker recoil spring.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

If my crystal ball had been working, I should have gotten one from the brief reintroduction in the late '70s . But I didn't, and the ACEs are priced out of my pocketbook now.

Instead I have one of the Colt branded .22lr 1911. Doesn't have the recoil, but does have full interchangable of sights, controls and fire control.

If my gun was any indication it is just as well that you missed the 70s version Ace. It would load itself up so badly with debris from firing that within less than 50 rounds the floating chamber was no longer floating and it was not sufficiently accurate to interest even a very basic target shooter like me. I remember having a devil of a time soaking and cleaning, etc., so in due time the Ace went its separate way and was replaced with a Model 41. The Ace was "quickly forgotten." Money wasted, in my view, at a time when I had very little to waste. I thought it a terrible product.

I own a Service Ace, bought it in the mid 70's as a training companion for my Colt Gold cup that I shot for years in bullseye. I had it on the range a few weeks ago during an annual pig roast / 22 pistol shoot that I attend every year. Very few there had ever seen one.
For me it served it's purpose well, replicated my GC during practice sessions, with a fraction of the cost back when I bought 5000 rds of WW super x 22 rf in a case. Over a period of years I shot close to 50,000 rds through the Ace, and 40 some years later I am still shooting it.
To address the OP's questions, quality wise it matches my GC for fit,finish,etc. Side by side the two are a handsome brace of pistols.
Accuracy was acceptable, I shoot better groups with my Ruger MK I ( which is one of the most accurate pistols I own), and my S&W 41 and a couple of my Hi standards. But as I said before it gave me a almost identical practice gun at a fraction of the cost.
It is however a "special needs" gun. As M29 relates above, due to the floating chamber, carbon and fouling concerns, it requires a lot of detailed cleaning. I had better luck than he did with number of rounds fired before a detailed cleaning, but at some point functioning would be reduced and then it was off to the cleaning bench.

I had a Series 70 Colt conversion with the floating chamber. Accuracy was good, but like he said, fifty rounds of any brand or configuration made it difficult to clean and impaired function. I tried everything anyone suggested to no avail. It was lots of fun, however. Bottom line? More fun than aggravation.

I have a small collection of 1911 pistols and have a '70s Service Model Ace in like new condition to go with my '70 series Gold Cup. Just a novelty that a 1911 collector should have.
For serious .22 LR shooting I have a Ruger MKII Target with 5" Bull Barrel, that cost 20% of the Ace.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

My feelings are the floating chamber conversions that seemed to foul so badly in the 70s, fare much better these days with the much improved "dry" type lubricants,along with the teflon type.

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wanna do right-- not right now

The previous answer is correct. The pre war ACE had a much lightened slide made by machining away any superfluous metal and reduction of wall thicknesses, in addition to using the weakest possible slide springs. Even so, the action was not particularly reliable. Customer acceptance was low because of this, and only about 11,000 ACE pistols were made between 1931-41 at which time the ACE was discontinued. The Service Model ACE was marketed first in late 1937 and dropped in 1944, only about 13,000 having been made. Colt figured that a .45 to .22 conversion unit for the Government Model would sell better than the Service Ace. There was also a "Reverse" .22 to .45 conversion made by Colt for the Service ACE, namely a .45 barrel and slide for the ACE frame. It didn't last long.

Not too difficult to understand the high prices asked for the pre-war ACEs and Service ACEs. There aren't many of them around.

From the replies I have gathered that there were floating and non floating chambers but have not understood which was the most desirable. There were pre War Ace Models and Service Ace Models and its not clear to me which would be the one to pursue. My tendencies lean toward the more elderly versions of most all brands. Is there one design that's superior to the other? I do appreciate your replies and input regarding the Colt Ace!

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

More desirable to whom? To someone who wished to shoot it, the Service Ace would be more desirable than the ACE. To a Colt collector (assuming equivalent condition), the early ACE would likely be more attractive, as it is a little scarcer. While I have no way of knowing, I would assume the early ACEs would be more expensive. The real experts on these would be found on the Colt Forum, somewhat similar to the S&W Forum, but devoted mainly to Colts. You might inquire there for a more informed opinion.

I had one in the early 80's it was a little bugger to put in my Colt Gold cup. Some idjet offered me more money than I thought it was worth. Was going to buy another, never found one...

It di shoot well but like several mentioned it was not the most accurate 22.

The Ace that I'm asking about is the dedicated .22LR ACE and not the conversion kit. If my memory serves me correctly there is no floating chamber and has a 4 digit serial number, was told it is from 1936. Would this be the least collectable and the Service ACE be the most collectable being its military connection if condition is very similar? Should have mentioned this before but was not aware of all the differences until all of you shared your information and thanks for all the responses!

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Sam
S&WHF 333 S&WCA 2198

It would depend on the price.Is it reasonable?
Pre war colts are my favorite,not that I can afford em!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have owned and shot Ceiner units in the Colt 1911 and Beretta 92/96 models and frankly I think these are more reliable then anything else factory or otherwise.
Jim

If it's from 1936, it would be the ACE, not the Service ACE, as the Service ACE did not appear until late 1937. That would be substantiated by its lack of the floating chamber. The Service ACEs also had a two-letter SN prefix, but I don't remember what the letters were. You really need to get on the Colt forum if you want the best collectibility information about the ACE line.