It’s hard to miss the new Iver Johnson Pocket Ace pistols, tiny though they may be. After all, it isn’t every day you see a tiny handgun like this one. Sure, it’s little when it comes to dimensions, but it has four barrels. Four. Barrels. How can you not be interested?
The Pocket Ace is a pepperbox derringer chambered in .22LR. If you’re at all unfamiliar with Iver Johnson, one of the cool things about them is that they’ve been around since right after the Civil War. They used to make a little break action revolver in .32 Smith & Wesson that U.S. Cavalry members were issued to put their horses down (if the horse was seriously injured, of course). Let’s just say that have a long and storied background.
As for the Pocket Ace, pepperbox derringers are diminutive pistols with three or more barrels (they can have more than four, too). Chamberings vary.
I’ll be honest. I was a little disappointed this quad-barreled pistol fires its barrels one at a time. No, that isn’t surprising, but it would be fun to fire four rounds of .22LR at the same time.
You can also see that unlike some derringers, the Pocket Ace does not have a trigger guard. Whether or not you care is a matter of personal preference. It isn’t exactly easy to bump and negligently fire a single action model like this.
Caliber:Â .22 LR
Barrel Length: 2″
Overall Length: 4″
Weight:Â 7oz
Frame:Â 17-4 Stainless Steel
Grips:Â Oak Dymondwood
Capacity:Â 4
Action:Â Single Action
Will Iver Johnson also offer teeny, tiny holsters? Probably not, but you’ll probably thrill a holster maker by requesting one from them for the gun.
The three versions of the Iver Johnson Pocket Ace that will be available soon are all steel with grips of either Oak Dymandwood, Black Dymandwood or Rosewood Dymondwood.
MSRP is currently a state secret, but the company has an email list set up so you can be notified of cost and availability when they’re made public.
