Post by bazooka on Dec 16, 2019 2:54:39 GMT
Test fired this little gun with .22 BB and CB caps and with .22 short ammo. The latter ammo gives surprising accuracy and, incredible as it may seem, it also kicks a fair bit.
Shooting the Little Ace with CB or BB produced some fair groupings on the targets...Unloaded, the pistol weighs 3 ounces, measures 3-7/8” overall. The frame is solid bronze, the barrel is blue steel and rifled to standard .22 caliber specifications.
The earliest Little Ace guns were made in Norridge, Illinois. However, the majority of them were made in Itasca, Illinois. Finally, the maker - Erl Svendsen - moved to Brownsville, Texas in about 1973, and made his last guns in that location.
He eventually sold the rights to his guns to Herman J. Seminiano of Brownsville, Texas. Herman intended to continue to manufacture the pistols, but when he asked about the plans for the guns he was told there weren’t any. All of Earl Svendsen’s guns were made by hand and were hand fitted. There were no interchangeable parts.
Erl had been manufacturing guns of one kind or another since the 1950’s. Erl did business as the “Erl Svendsen Firearms Manufacturing Company” (ESFAC) and later as the “4 Ace Manufacturing Company.” His best-selling gun was a single-shot derringer called Little Ace, but he also manufactured a four-shot derringer called 4 Aces.
These guns had brass frames and steel barrels and parts. Both were chambered for the .22 Short, but toward the end of production Erl began chambering 4 Aces in .22 Long Rifle, making it an effective defensive weapon for the first time. Around 1974 or 1975, for reasons I don’t know and can’t speculate on, Erl Svendsen filed for bankruptcy.
Erl Svendsen 4 Aces Derringers
Early 1990's issues of the now defunct National Association of Derringer Collectors newletters, The Derringer Peanut, contain information on Erl Svendsen firearms. Dixie Gun Works' president, Turner Kirkland, remembers in the 1960s buying Little Ace derringers from Erl Svendsen for $7.50 each in lots of six and reselling them for $12.50 each. Erl told Turner that he employed women to assemble the derringers.
Information contributed by Harold A Murtz, Senior Staff Editor Of Gun Digest, was that ill health required Erl Svendsen to relocate from Itasca, Illinois to a better climate and he chose Brownsville, Texas, where he continued manufacturing handguns. In approximately 1974 Svendsen sold the manufacturing rights to his firearms to Lou Fagen, from Warwick, New Jersey, but Svendsen stayed on as a manufacturing consultant. Apparently, it was at this time the company name was changed to ESFAC(Erl Svendsen Fire Arms Company). Mr. Murtz recalls that ESFAC ceased to exist approximately a year, possibly less, later.
I'm not certain but I believe the Pocket Pony is an ESFAC product. Earliest Erl Svendsen guns were marked Norridge, Illinois, followed by Itasca, Illinois, and finally Brownsville, Texas. Earliest Little Ace derringers were said to only chamber CB and BB caps. Later Svendsen derringer were chambered for the standard velocity .22 cal. short cartridge.
RARE PISTOL WITH BOX AND PAPERS CURIO LIC.OK • MAKE:ERL SVENDSEN F.A. MFG. CO. • MODEL:4-ACES * Action:DERRINGER • Finish:BLUED BBL BRONZE FRAME • Caliber/Gauge:22 S CAL. • Bore:GOOD • Barrel Length: 1 3/4 • grips: black wood • Blemishes:shows normal wear and tear from carry over the years, • Features:4 BBL WITH ROTATING FIRING PIN,BRONZE FRAME,BLUED RIFLED BBLS,SUPER SMALL
Information contributed by Harold A Murtz, Senior Staff Editor Of Gun Digest, was that ill health required Erl Svendsen to relocate from Itasca, Illinois to a better climate and he chose Brownsville, Texas, where he continued manufacturing handguns. In approximately 1974 Svendsen sold the manufacturing rights to his firearms to Lou Fagen, from Warwick, New Jersey, but Svendsen stayed on as a manufacturing consultant. Apparently, it was at this time the company name was changed to ESFAC(Erl Svendsen Fire Arms Company). Mr. Murtz recalls that ESFAC ceased to exist approximately a year, possibly less, later.
I'm not certain but I believe the Pocket Pony is an ESFAC product. Earliest Erl Svendsen guns were marked Norridge, Illinois, followed by Itasca, Illinois, and finally Brownsville, Texas. Earliest Little Ace derringers were said to only chamber CB and BB caps. Later Svendsen derringer were chambered for the standard velocity .22 cal. short cartridge.
RARE PISTOL WITH BOX AND PAPERS CURIO LIC.OK • MAKE:ERL SVENDSEN F.A. MFG. CO. • MODEL:4-ACES * Action:DERRINGER • Finish:BLUED BBL BRONZE FRAME • Caliber/Gauge:22 S CAL. • Bore:GOOD • Barrel Length: 1 3/4 • grips: black wood • Blemishes:shows normal wear and tear from carry over the years, • Features:4 BBL WITH ROTATING FIRING PIN,BRONZE FRAME,BLUED RIFLED BBLS,SUPER SMALL
Great history of the company. One small correction. Lou Fagen didn't own the company. Mac Carr bought the company and Lou Fagen worked for Mac. Mac also lived in Waldwick, NJ.