What do you do when you need a full-heft, realistically-recoiling .22 caliber training pistol? Why, call up convicted murderer David Marshall (later called “Carbine”) Williams, of course! The 1930s were a different time, when convicts were encouraged to use the prison machine shop to create inventive weapons for fighting the enemies of democracy, or just to make Winchester a buck.

Grant Cunningham covers the remarkable floating chamber design of the Colt Ace training pistol, it’s development and history, over at his blog. Follow the link to see some impressive high speed footage of its operation (in gif form), and learn a bit of history behind the remarkably innovative operating mechanism.

H/T, Grant Cunningham, Daniel Watters