Colt M1911 .22 Conversion w. Floating Chamber Action Type?

[Bwana John]

Recoil? Yes
Retarded? No
Direct blowback? No (not really)
Locked breach? No
Piston? Yes
Direct impingement? Yes (kind of)
Intended for recoil enhancement? Yes
Accurate? No
Reliable? Gums up fast
Needs lube? Yes
Inventor? Carbine Williams

I was trying to explain it to a friend, he wanted a hard definition. I have had shotguns with floating chambers ( Win M-50) but the Colt Conversion or Ace pistol is pretty unique.
http://www.thedailytop.com/look-floating-chamber-recoil-booster-colt-ace-fascinating/

 

[Vern Humphrey]

That about sums it up. I have mine mounted on an M1927 Argentine. It has to be kept clean and lubed. In retrospect, I wish Colt had solved the reliability problem by reducing slide mass rather than using the floating chamber.

 

[1KPerDay]

Mine is really reliable. Fun to shoot. Not super accurate but neither am I.

 

[sgt127]

I have one I put on a dedicated Colt frame. Plenty accurate for fun. Great fun to shoot. Absolute pain to get clean. After 150 rounds, that floating chamber feels like it welded into the barrel.

I’ve tried every lube imaginable.

 

[weisse52]

I was excited to pick one up at a local gun show.
Mine is fairly reliable when clean and running wet. Not so accurate. But I purchased just to have not for bullseye.
I used only plated rounds and that helps. But have to make sure I scrub it completely every 200-300 rounds for the best results.

And…. Fresh recoil spring helps as well.

 

[Speedo66]

I have one I put on a dedicated Colt frame. Plenty accurate for fun. Great fun to shoot. Absolute pain to get clean. After 150 rounds, that floating chamber feels like it welded into the barrel.

I’ve tried every lube imaginable.

My thoughts, exactly. A neighbor had one, a US marked 1911 Colt ACE, with the floating chamber. It became almost impossible to take apart at times.

He loaned it me, didn't understand why I didn't want to borrow it again, or had any interest in buying it. I think he glomed it from when he served in the Navy.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You should have grabbed it -- they're selling for $$$$$ these days.

 

[Bwana John]

And…. Fresh recoil spring helps as well.

What weight for the fresh recoil spring?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

"I have had shotguns with floating chambers ( Win M-50)"

also patented by David Marshall "Carbine" Williams.


"I wish Colt had solved the reliability problem by reducing slide mass rather than using the floating chamber."

The point of using the floating chamber in the Colt Ace kit is to magnify .22 recoil for realisitic training for the .45 ACP.

 

[Jim Watson]

My Service Model ACE has a bit of recoil from the floating chamber but nowhere near realistic for .45 ACP.
I once passed up an "Original ACE." Sigh.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

"I have had shotguns with floating chambers ( Win M-50)"

also patented by David Marshall "Carbine" Williams.


"I wish Colt had solved the reliability problem by reducing slide mass rather than using the floating chamber."

The point of using the floating chamber in the Colt Ace kit is to magnify .22 recoil for realisitic training for the .45 ACP.

From COLT ACE, SERVICE ACE & CONVERSIONS (sightm1911.com)

"Reports on the gun, both contemporary and modern, are a mixed bag. The pistol was beautifully fitted and finished in the manner of all pre-war Colts; and accuracy, from what amounted to a fixed-barrel pistol, was excellent. Of course, the Ace had the familiar feel of the .45, but there were problems associated with trying to operate a big-bore size pistol with the recoil energy contained in the .22 Long Rifle cartridge."

"There was evidence, though that the rim-fire ammo of the day was a contributor to the Ace’s reliability shortcomings, the pressures generated not being as consistent as today’s uniformly excellent products.

Colt went back to the drawing board, to find a better way to adapt the small cartridge to the big pistol. If the pistol couldn’t be made to act small, maybe the cartridge could be made to act big. Enter David Marshall “Carbine” Williams, whose expertise in perfecting the short-stroke gas piston system would earn him his nickname after his design was incorporated into the mechanism of the wildly successful Ml Carbine. A variation of Williams’ principle, in which a separate “floating” chamber was itself the piston, allowed the recoil energy of the .22 cartridge to be boosted sufficiently to cycle a slightly modified .45 slide"

 

[Speedo66]

You should have grabbed it -- they're selling for $$$$$ these days.

There is that. They already had value at the time, but the constant locking together of the parts angered me enough that I didn't want it.

First time it happened I thought I broke it.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have gotten mine pretty coked up but never to the point of freezing the floating chamber in the barrel.
Back in the Shotgun News era there was an ad for a no-bind treatment. I think they just polished it up real shiny.

Trivia: Remington made the 550 around a floating chamber for S, L, LR. The successor 552 just has a light bolt and a buffer to handle all lengths.

 

[Reloadron]

I have an old Colt .22 LR conversion kit. Works well with all my Colt Series 70 guns both .45 ACP and .38 Super. Yes, the floating chamber does get dirty depending on the ammunition I shoot.


While the box is pretty beat up the parts are really clean. I also have an old Remington Model 550-1 which uses a similar floating chamber as mentioned above.

Trivia: Remington made the 550 around a floating chamber for S, L, LR. The successor 552 just has a light bolt and a buffer to handle all lengths.

It behaves like the Colt kit. The cleaner burning the ammunition the better it works. The kit is just plain fun to shoot.

Ron

 

[halfmoonclip]

Have a Kimber .22 conversion that I've finally persuaded to work on a Gold Cup frame; the Kimber poly mags were dragging on the bottom of the slide. Never have had much luck with .22 conversions, unhappily, because it seems like a great idea.
Glock succeeded with their 44, .22 pistol...the slide is absurdly light, and mine works well all the time.
Never have heard a kind word for the Ace type .22, due to the floating chamber. Do I recall Colt trying to make a .38 Wadcutter gun that was plain blowback?
The Ace does sound like an interesting contraption to own, for you fellers lucky enough to have one.
Moon

 

[weisse52]

What weight for the fresh recoil spring?

14 pound. I like Wolff springs. Brownells has.

 

[Rodfac]

I've had a Colt sliding chamber .22 Upper unit for 30+ years or so...works well on Series 70 Colts & my Ruger SR1911;s but you have to keep the sliding chamber clean...every 50 rounds it comes off and I lube with Kroil. It's an OK plinker but Marvel, Ciener, & Advantage Arms all make .22 uppers that are far more accurate and reliable...that said, any, and I mean ANY .22 conversion unit needs to be kept clean to operate well.

Marvel, Ciener, & Advantage Arms made uppers are close to Smith Model 41 Auto accurate in my guns with suitable ammunition and are more reliable. They're close to NRA Bullseye accurate for club level competition.

Kroil, or in a pinch Rem Oil, works well with mine, mentioned above. Any grease in the slide grooves will cause malfunctions. CCI Mini Mags will work every time and suitably accurate. As to cleaning: wipe out debris from bolt face and barrel face, and push a bore brush through the bbl. every 50 rounds and you'll have far better reliability.

HTH's Rod