Not a good day for a 1931 Colt Ace 22 ++Update++

Klondiker said:
I went to range this morning with a few pistols. One was a 1931 Colt Ace 22 with beautiful bluing, original magazine. I have shot it before and it's been fantastic. My eighth round through it today and it locked up tight with a half open slide, enough to have ejected the case. It came home in that state and I used a rubber mallet to move the slide forward to full lockup. when I disassembled it I found the barrel bulged about an 1.5 inches from the muzzle. I didn't realize I'd had a squib.

This is one day I'd like to do over.

Any chance someone has a Colt Ace 22 barrel without the floating chamber for sale or know where to find one?? Yeah, I know, good luck....
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I have one .22 barrel & one .33 WCF barrel that are bulged near muzzle . That never stopped me from shooting them .
Why you ?
 
NAA said:
Stinger's are pretty hot .22lr ammo!

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NAA.
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Brass is also longer, so there can be cambering issues. I can feel the difference in my CZ rifles, as the nice tight bolts and chambers take extra force to close on stingers. They shoot very well in my CZ rifles. They don't shoot worth a darn in my High Standard pistols. Function is OK but accuracy is terrible.
 
Lot 115 in the March Landsborough Auction listed on icollector. Its obviously postwar, so you would have to determine if the barrel would fit your original floating chamber and slide.

As you noted, probably best solution is to reline the original barrel, turn down the bulge to original OD and reblue. I recall some gunsmiths claiming they can hide the liner seam at the muzzle. Redman's Liners would be a good source for technical info - their liners are sold at Brownells but may need an export permit.
 
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Klondiker said:
because the bulged barrel prevents the bushing from traveling back and forth on barrel to eject or even chamber a round. This is a semi auto 1911
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Klondiker : thanks for clarification . Understood . In past I have heard people with repeater RF or CF rifles with bulged barrels
and thought they needed replacement.
 
What does the bore look like, I have seen lots of guns with a ring in the bore that shot great.
I would go to a good machinist, and have the bulge turned level and try it.
I don't think I would shoot stingers in a gun like this, they will beat the hell out of it.
I don't shoot that stuff out of any of my guns, I had a 41 smith in the shop a few yrs back and it was destroyed with stingers.
 
marshall said:
What does the bore look like, I have seen lots of guns with a ring in the bore that shot great.
I would go to a good machinist, and have the bulge turned level and try it.
I don't think I would shoot stingers in a gun like this, they will beat the hell out of it.
I don't shoot that stuff out of any of my guns, I had a 41 smith in the shop a few yrs back and it was destroyed with stingers.
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Try this, and keep shooting while you find a barrel.
 
Jasper Morris said:
Lot 115 in the March Landsborough Auction listed on icollector. Its obviously postwar, so you would have to determine if the barrel would fit your original floating chamber and slide.

As you noted, probably best solution is to reline the original barrel, turn down the bulge to original OD and reblue. I recall some gunsmiths claiming they can hide the liner seam at the muzzle. Redman's Liners would be a good source for technical info - their liners are sold at Brownells but may need an export permit.
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Thanks for taking the time to look into this, I appreciate that.
 
marshall said:
What does the bore look like, I have seen lots of guns with a ring in the bore that shot great.
I would go to a good machinist, and have the bulge turned level and try it.
I don't think I would shoot stingers in a gun like this, they will beat the hell out of it.
I don't shoot that stuff out of any of my guns, I had a 41 smith in the shop a few yrs back and it was destroyed with stingers.
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It does have the ring inside. Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. It’s probably the best way to approach it. At this point getting a replacement barrel looks like a $6-700 CDN bill out of the states, import fees etc.
 
With the help of a great CGN'er the 1931 Colt Ace is back in fine form. He was able to turn the barrel on his lathe and did fantastic work! Thanks!!

I had it out to the range yesterday and the accuracy is as good as before. What a relief!

A good lesson for me with a favourable outcome.
 
Good show, and do not shoot stingers in older target guns , not made for it, some do , says it works good, well maybe, till it goes to hell.
not sure why you would get a scrub, but strange stuff happens
 
Glad to hear it worked out. I bought a first year S&W K-22 Outdoorsman on an online auction years ago that the seller neglected to mention had a bulged barrel - drove me nutz until I realized it was still accurate. A prewar Colt Government was on my bucket list, but alas beyond my financial means now - they are beautifully made & finished. Good on you for bringing it back and keeping it shooting.
 
Thanks guys. I was felt sick when I realized what happened and I was not happy with myself for not realizing what happened before it was too late. I thought I had destroyed a beautiful first year Colt Ace, but when it was brought back to life I was elated.
Now I have 1290 CCI Stingers that I'm not sure what I can use them in. I have a few 22 revolvers they would probably be better used in than anything semi-auto. I guess we'll see.

I also have a late 70's Colt Ace Service Model that functions 100% with Federal Champion 36gr CPHP. This ammo has run flawlessly in a number of semi-auto pistols and rifles, but not in the '31 Ace, hence the trial of CCI Stinger.
 
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