Rising ammo costs have caused some shooters to switch to .22 LR for training purposes and save the more expensive centerfire ammo for “special occasions.” Sure, there’s no replacing full-power loads with lesser rimfire cartridges, but it’s a great way to get in more practice and build muscle memory. In short, this will easily transfer over to bigger guns.
If you think this concept is new, you’d be wrong. The perfect example of this concept is the Colt Ace semi-automatic pistol from 1931 that’s being offered in the September Collection of Collector’s Elite Auctions.
Externally, this Colt Ace is a full-size 1911A1 style pistol. Internally, things are a bit different. Instead of firing .45 ACP cartridges, it is designed to fire .22 LR cartridges. Whereas the regular 1911A1 magazine holds seven rounds of .45 ACP, the Ace magazine holds 10 rounds of .22 LR. When the model was introduced, the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression, and the fact that this new gun was less expensive to shoot was a huge plus.
Just under 11,000 Colt Ace pistols were produced between 1931 and 1947. While there were some models that were sold to the United States military for training purposes during World War II, the majority were sold on the commercial market to civilians. The military preferred the Service Ace, which accentuated recoil. This gave soldiers a more realistic feel to firing the “real thing” that they’d be using in combat.
The Colt Ace in the September Collection is no mere representative example of Colt’s pre-war manufacturing. Instead, it’s more like a time capsule that takes you back to the Hoover administration. That’s because this particular pistol, with a four-digit serial number denoting first-year production, is complemented by everything that the original owner would have received when it was purchased in 1931.
Early Model Colt Ace Pistol
The pistol is still nestled in its original factory box that is numbered to the gun on the bottom. Inside the box, you’ll find the pistol (of course) along with the original cleaning brushes, sight adjustment tool, a special instructions pamphlet. It even comes with the test target from the factory that is also numbered to the gun.
Everything that came from the factory with this Colt Ace when it was brand new is still with it. That almost never happens; it’s a truly rare find. The only thing not present would be the original sales receipt. Of course, it’s entirely possible that it never existed in the first place. We certainly won’t hold that against this grouping.
Whoever owned this gun previously took incredible care of it. For whatever reason, it obviously hasn’t been used much – if at all – in the last 93 years. For an almost 100-year-old gun to look this good is almost unheard of. It doesn’t get any better than that for a collector.
You simply cannot improve on this package deal. Well, I guess there is one thing that could be done to put this Colt Ace grouping over the top. The only thing left to do is send off to Colt Archive Properties for a factory letter and see exactly what month and day in 1931 this Colt Ace pistol was shipped and to whom it was delivered. Doing this will allow the new owner to put the last piece of the package together and make their mark on this gun’s history.
If you’re in the market for a time capsule collectible, you’ve found it right here. Don’t bother looking elsewhere; you won’t find anything like this Colt Ace grouping anywhere other than Collector’s Elite Auctions.
