USFA Ace .22 LR

[mattw]

http://www.usfirearms.com/cat/ace-22.asp


Just take a look at the price on that thing. How does the CEO of USFA sleep at night? All their stuff is rediculously high priced!

 

[Outlaws]

I am sure he has a $10k matress. If I were him I would sleep great on a $10k matress.

 

[mattw]

and his sheets are insulated with our $100 bills

 

[larry starling]

FWIW USFA seems to get great reviews and there quality is 1st rate.But on the other hand in the same price range $1999-2500 you can have the real deal from Colt. I recently found a Post war colt ace for $1600 buck as NIB. Said gun is now in my safe.So if you must have it buy it. But for my Cash it needs a PONY on it.

 

[SaxonPig]

Colt .22 Conversion Unit at $200 (many years ago, now around $450) plus Charles Daly lower at $140 equals complete 1911 in .22 LR for $340. And mine is more like a Gold Cup with target sights and wide trigger.

I like that GI looking .22 but $2,000? Ye gods!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Great Googlie Mooglie! I have a Colt Service Ace (1970s made) on an Argentine M1927 frame (a 1930s-era Colt made the way Colt used to make them) and I don't have a quarter of that in them.

These people expect to sell a reproduction for what a real ACE costs!!

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Mattw and guys,

I don't know where you folks work or what your company makes, but I doubt they give the stuff away or that you are willing to work for nothing.

If you think USFA is making a lot of money, I suggest you show a Colt Ace to a production engineer and ask him what it would cost to make and what a fair retail price would be. Make sure he factors in all the paper work, licenses, insurance, etc. that is required of companies making guns, not to mention CT wage scales. Of course, made in Bangladesh out of old beer cans, it would be cheaper.

That being said, a Colt Ace in top shape will run close to or over that, but will be more collectible and will increase in value. (BTW, don't confuse the Ace with the Service Model Ace or the conversion unit; the Ace is a much more desireable piece than either of the others.)

Jim

 

[Vern Humphrey]

From www.gunsamerica.com

Colt Ace
GA# 976707704
$1,725.00
Colt Ace Model #01974, serial #SM28697, .22 lr, 5" bbl, blue finish. Colt matching box with styrofoam, some factory paperwork. Appears new in the box and to have only been test fired. Excellent condition! 99%+
Seller: OLE HAMMERS
FFL Dealer: Yes Area Code: 210

Now at the same site you can find some for more than USFA wants for theirs -- but frankly I have to say they have put their price right in the middle of the asking price for a real Colt Ace.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Just take a look at the price on that thing. How does the CEO of USFA sleep at night? All their stuff is rediculously high priced!

That's like complaining about the price of a new Ferrari. If you don't want to pay the price, then don't! It's a free country, after all. And if you think USFA is making obscene amounts of money on their products, nothing stops you from going into business making the same thing. If USFA is really making obscenely high profits, then someone will come along and make an equal quality product at a lower price, and in the process drive USFA out of business.

Of course, people have been complaining about USFA prices for years, and I don't see any signs of that happening. That's because the reality is that USFA is building top quality products in an environment that makes it very expensive to do so. Sure, they're making money, but that's kind of the point, isn't it? If the venture wasn't profitable, they wouldn't be doing it.

And if you don't think it's worth the asking price, then don't buy it. I can't afford to buy a new Ferrari, or a Rolex, or a Barrett M82A1, but I don't complain about the fact that they are made available for sale at any price. I'm happy that those who want them, and are willing to pay the price, have the opportunity to buy them.

I'm thankful for USFA, and hope they're around for a long time.

 

[Jim Watson]

Vern, SM serial number and styrofoam box mean they are selling a late production Service Model Ace. Jim K was talking about the Original Ace without floating chamber, I bet.

USFA does nice work, but some of their SAs and all of their autos are not faithful reproductions of Colts. Nothing wrong with that IF you know it going in.

 

[mec]

and no doubt, he crepitates through gossimer

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern, SM serial number and styrofoam box mean they are selling a late production Service Model Ace. Jim K was talking about the Original Ace without floating chamber, I bet.

Of course -- but the USFA is not an original Ace. So it isn't fair to compare it to an original collectable Ace from the 1930s. It's a shooter and should be rightly compared with a late production Colt shooter.

 

[10MMGary]

If they're selling them they are obviously not too expensive. Personally I would buy one if I hade a extra couple grand to spend on a plinker / small game getter. From everything I have read their firearms are all heirloom quality.
Gary

 

[Vern Humphrey]

If there selling them they are obviously not too expensive

.

I don't mean to quibble or start an argument here, but this is from their website:

USFA Ace .22™ Long Rifle is scheduled for production release 4th quarter, 2006.

They aren't selling them, yet.

 

[mattw]

I don't know what kind of PCP you guys smoke, but if just about everyone on the planet can produce a quality 1911 for around $700 in .45 ACP why can't USFA do the same in .22 LR? Are all the parts on that damn thing milled from barstock? Probably not.

 

[Father Knows Best]

I don't know what kind of PCP you guys smoke, but if just about everyone on the planet can produce a quality 1911 for around $700 in .45 ACP why can't USFA do the same in .22 LR? Are all the parts on that damn thing milled from barstock? Probably not.

Hmmm ... I guess we should go bang on Ed Brown's door, and Les Baer's, and then over at Wilson Combat, and demand that they lower the prices on their 1911's to $700.

While we're at it, what business does Colt have charging $1,300 for a Single Action Army? After all, Uberti is making them for just $400! The Colts must be ridiculously overpriced!

USFA makes incredibly high quality firearms. They are largely handcrafted, using top quality steel and other materials, and built right here in the high-labor-cost-capital-of-the-world. Just as Ed Brown and Les Baer and Wilson and others rightly charge a premium for the high quality of their 1911's, USFA commands a premium for its products.

Could USFA make a .22LR 1911 for $700? Probably. After all, they make Single Action Army replicas at price points ranging from $600 or so for the Rodeo (basic, unpolished matte finish) all the way up to $2,000+. I suspect USFA isn't trying to make a $700 .22 1911, however, because they don't see a market for it. There are plenty of .22 conversions, and even full .22 1911's (the Kimber Rimfire Target, for example), already available at that price point and even less. USFA is aiming this product at a small niche market -- one that wants a modern recreation of a hard-to-find gun built to the highest standards. It is probably a small market. I doubt USFA expects to sell many, and that's a part of why the price is so high. It costs a heck of a lot to design, tool up and build a gun, and when you don't expect to sell thousands of them you can't spread those costs around much.

If you don't like it, then don't buy it. That's your choice. If everybody else makes the same choice, USFA won't sell any of them. Be thankful you live in a country where you at least have that choice.

 

[ArmedBear]

After all, Uberti is making them for just $400! The Colts must be ridiculously overpriced!

They are, actually, for the reason you mention. Colts are not any more perfect out of the box than a good Italian gun. However, buyers want the horsie, so they're willing to pay for it. Now, in a free market, of course, there's no such thing as an overpriced item that sells.

USFA sixguns are actually not overpriced, because they don't need new springs and a trip to the gunsmith before they're ready for high-volume, high-stress competitive shooting. In the big picture, they're a bargain, with the caveat that, in the real world, if you want something REALLY pretty, you pay extra. USFA's optional finishes, etc., will run up the bill, but the results are gorgeous.

This semiauto is probably an incredible rendition of this gun, as USFA products tend to be. If you want something perfect, with no "tweaking" required, it costs money. But so does a gunsmith, or a custom job.

 

[Jim K]

On the question of USFA out-of-box reliability, I can only speak of their SA guns, which have proven excellent. Price may not be everything, but I think money really does make a difference. There are obvious exceptions, but generally "you get what you pay for" still holds.

BTW, Vern and Jim, yes, I was talking about the original ACE, not the Service Model with the floating chamber. I have checked and am astonished at the new Blue Book prices on both the pre-war Ace and SM Ace ($3500/$5000 NIB). I am also surprised at the uptick on the pre-war SM Ace, which used to run quite a bit less than the Ace. So maybe $2000 for a quality reproduction is not that far out of line.

Jim

 

[Croyance]

This is obviously a low volume item. Remember that if you are selling tens of thousands of units that the cost of any custom machining is averaged out. Parts can also be ordered in volume, made to spec. Or roughs that can be properly sized by hand if you want it to be "custom".
Scales of economy don't apply here - at the volumes they are probably selling, each is almost custom.