I've been jealous ever since someone here recently posted a picture of a very nice Colt Woodsman they purchased. Had my eyes open for one like it ever since. Came across this one for $785.00. I believe it's a Third Series Sport Model. Grips appear to be original post-1960 variant. Other than very light holster wear near the muzzle, it looks almost like new. Working the action, etc., gives one the impression of Swiss bank vault level craftsmanship. Just sold a Colt Lightweight Commander for about the same amount, and was thinking of "rolling it over" into this. Thoughts?

Sold my dad's a while back. Was almost like new with original box and instruction booklet. He bought it new in '48.

Thoughts:

They are not making any more of the old Colts.

They are not going to go down in value.

You might as well buy it and shoot the snot out of it, as that is exactly what it was built for in the first place.

The design has a natural balance in the hand that few other pistols have ever matched. They are outstanding field guns.

Jackrabbits hate them.

You're speaking my language. It's on reserve in my name till that Colt XSE Lightweight Commander sale becomes final on the 25th. Then I'm going to roll that money over to the Woodsman.

I had one eons ago. Some dipstick had put a peep sight on it. WTF? In fact, I got several pistols out of the same estate and quite a few of them had peep sights. A pair of break-top S&W single shots come to mind. Not sure what the point was, the bead was pretty coarse and hole in the peep small, the only way they could have fired and seen anything through the sight at all was to lock the off hand on the shooting hand elbow and put the gun into the off-hand elbow. That's loud!

Tom

All i can say is buy it. I love the Woodsman Pistol.

I guess I am different. While the Colt is a very nice gun parts/magazine cost is just to high if you need them in my way of thinking.


I would buy a Smith 41 and never look back.

Dink

Check out my profile pic and see if I like my Woodsman? Mine has lost a lot of finish, but it is still very accurate and has a bullseye competition compensator on it. Keys off the front sight blade. Mackay, cottontails hate them too!

Buy it and shoot it! Great old pistols.

The 41 is a fine target gun, but that's a different niche.

Lets be honest here. Your not going to carry that colt. It will only be shot at the range so why not have a target gun.

I really like the Colt but the idea of giving $100 for magazine when you find one is not for me.

Dink

I actually agree with DINK.

Scary, that...

Something to think about.

As fine as the Woodsman's are--and they are quite fine--the magazine issue is a deal-breaker for me. I will own one someday, but only if it comes with 3-4 factory mags. Oh well, just an excuse to keep looking There's one at a local store for $500 in nice condition. Just one mag though

My late dad and I have gone about two entire lifetimes with a Colt Woodsman as our primary pistol. This totals 155 years.

My dad won the CT pistol championship one year with his Woodsman. We also carried/carry them while rifle hunting.

I have never needed a part for the Woodsman nor another magazine.

A 155 year old Woodsman...

I guess Lee24 designed it, too, right?

Hint: Don, you dumbass... unless you and your father both carried the same Woodsman, at the same time, all the time (a physical impossibility even you should be able to grasp), you can't claim 155 years of service for one pistol.

And, you can't claim any years that it wasn't owned by at least your father. If he bought one the very first year (1915), you could claim 95 years of service, but no more.

If you both had one, that'd be however many years his has been in service, OR however many years yours has been in service. But, not both.

Of course, making sense has never been one of your strong suits.

That Woodsman is in excellant condition. I sold one like it a while back, but it had been carried many years on the Miss. river and it showed it. The gun functioned fine, but was awful rough.I would vote for getting the one you showed.

TRH, That's a nice 3rd series. Grab it, man. So the [bleep] what?, if it's gonna be a range gun. It will still carry and hide better than the 41, even if it's only on the drive to the range. grin.

As to $100 mags for a third series, these guys been smokin' crack. Both blue and stainless late colt mags abound. A bazillion on GB for way less. Here's a sample...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=251019481

3rd series parts aren't hard to get yet, either.....

My Grandfather's retirement gift from Graybar electric in 1964 - I have the pistol, box, test target, screwdriver, manual, Ellison sight instruction, holster and receipt($99 for the pistol and holster from a shop in Cincinnati) - No it's not for sale at any price.

We've shot it a lot over the years but it's in great shape.

For those who need magazines:

I bought 2 magazines for my Colt Huntsmans from CDNN Investments last year for 20 bucks a pop. The last magazine flyer they sent me, they were still advertising them for the same price.

....It is good to know that cottontails hate them too!

The Woodsman is my favorite 22 pistol:





My second favorite is this Walther PPK with custom sights & trigger


[img]http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x157/hhclark/PPK22-4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x157/hhclark/PPK22-2.jpg[/img]

As do porkypines and cottieyodies.

Great pics of the Woodsman there Clark. Thanks.

The Bullseye Match Target is in my view one of the best looking guns ever made.

unique looking yes, in an art deco sort of way - best looking?

Nyet

Dad had a short barreled WMT that he bought in the 60's - a slightly rare variation. I recall the grips kept coming loose on it, but otherwise it shot very well. My brother & I were both distressed that he sold it, and a S70 Gold Cup, and a .41 Colt SAA, without checking if we wanted them.

Here's a contemporary of the WMT:

It comes with a magazine.

Is that a Hepburn in the background?

No, it is a fairly well-worn Field's Patent falling block single shot. It was made for "RR Rodda & Co, #6 & #8 Dalhoosie Square, Calcutta"

I don't have it anymore, but it was an interesting piece. Caliber .500-.450 #1 Blackpowder Express. It was at one time heavily engraved with game scenes, but it had been carried so much the engraving was almost totally worn away. It was clearly someone's favorite hunting rifle, and could likely tell a lot of stories...

Thanks. The woodsman was nice but the background was what really caught my eye.

Huntsman,

I know you have done your fair share of game thinning with the little Colts! Ihave always like the way they have balanced. Plus they are so thin and handy they seem to pack easy on the belt.

Hclark,

If you ever decide that the old Walther needs a new home, I will be happy to oblige. To be honest, I will treat it properly, but it will see time in the field, as I am an outdoorsman primarily. I would do my level best to kill some big jacks and grouse with it just because they are there!

I have an old Walther PP 22 that I really enjoy. It is obvious that whomever tricked up that old PPK .22 with the Smith rear sight intended for it to get shot. Judging from the wear, someone agrees.

Thin and handy is right... But they are really comfy in a shoulder rig, 'specially the first series without that shickenchit thumbrest pokin' ya in the ribs......

I carry the first model Woodsman in my back pocket, chamber empty. If you pull your shirt tail out or are wearing a longer jacket the gun is covered.

Huntsman,

I like to keep my guns original but I did find a company that makes nice Walnut Grips with or without the thumbrest. I promptly took the thumbrest grips off my 2nd model and replaced them with Walnut grips, w/o thumbrest. They have the rampant stallion lazer engraved on them and look awfully sharp.

2nd series Challenger and 3rd series Huntsman grips come without the thumbrest, too. I'll bet the walnut looks good on 'er, bush....

Please share.

Gee, you guys are sick posting all that gun porn

BEAUTIFUL examples I must say. Some nice custom work as well.

I don't know how Colt has missed the boat NOT re-introducing the Woodsman line....it's an injustice I tell you as old Colt's are out of the reach of many wallets.

Seems if they could make it compete with Ruger's and Brownings they'd dominate the market...

Just thinking outloud..a modern day stainless Sport model, adj. sights

Hawkeye...did you own it? Do share.

I haven't been without a Woodsman of one configuration or another for 32 years now. My current one is a 1946 vintage, made with pre-war parts and wearing the WWII government issue extended target grips. Having owned an example of every common .22 autoloading pistol to come down the pike over 40 years of .22 handgunning I will say that there are some that were more accurate, but none with better fit and finish.

Unless one plans to use a Woodsman for serious "tactical" use, what does one need a pile of spare magazines for ? One in the gun plus a spare gives 20 shots quick. Being able to plink away 40 or 50 rounds without stopping to refill magazines only means spending all that much more time refilling them once they're empty. Six of one, half a dozen of another.

That's how I figure it, too.

The_Real_Hawkeye: I am happy you have put that beauty on hold for yourself - I hope you get it in hand soon!
Over the past 4 decades I have owned a variety of Colt Huntsman, Colt Woodsman and Colt Targetsman pistols.
Alas I wish I had them all back.
My lone specimen that I currently own is a minty Colt Huntsman with 5 1/2" barrel.
That IS a strong price ($785.00) for that pistol but it is not "overly-priced" in my mind.
Your situation brings to mind my motto of always having 10 one hundred dollar bills nearby for moments like when this pistol comes around - you might have gotten the pistol for $700.00 cash right then.
I still think you are going to be quite happy with that pistol once you get it in hand.
Enjoy.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

New ones (if made as well as old ones) would be out of reach too.

I had them put it in the back on reserve in my name. They sold my Colt LW Commander for me, and they said the sale of it will be considered final by them on the 25th. So on that date they will put that money towards the Woodsman and I can take it home.

True. US Fire Arms is making them to the old standard, and they're charging over a grand for them. USFA Woodsman

"US Fire Arms is making them to the old standard"

Old Standard?

Well, to a very high standard by modern norms, then. Parts aren't forged and hand fitted, I take it, which is more labor intensive, so were it made that way today it would likely cost over two grand.

LOL...if I am going to pay a Grand..it WILL say COLT.

I passed up a Sport 4.5 last year or so at a show, was 475 and in good condition....cash poor...NEVER have the $$ when I need it.....

WORSE YET..a match Target 4.5"...IN BOX, and ANIB...$450....several yrs back, but WAY under the THEN price! I KICK myself for that, tracked the seller down, but a collector had snatched it up and put it in his safe.

Hate those buyers...driving the price up, the supply down, and makes it tougher on availability and affordability for guys like me who would love to take them out for a walk - as they were built to use!

Was the Colt Woodsman ever issued to the US military?

some....

I've got the Norinco copy ($130 CDN). It functions fine, but it is not a thing of beauty.

Didnt know Norinco made copies, interesting. Norinco 1911s
seem to be made of gold.

Here's where I purchased it from this spring. Plenty of cheap 1911's there as well. Can't you buy Norinco's in the U.S. for cheap?

Woodsman

Not that I know of, lots of guys swearing by Rock Islands
though.

Not available to Americans. Norinco makes lots of low priced copies of American classic firearms, many of them John Browning designs. It's just illegal for US distributors to import them for some reason. Canadians get lots of them. Thank goodness we live in the land of the free, right?

Nope. Our government says no.

Didn't the OSS in WWII use a bunch of them?

The magazines as noted above, are not an issue call CDNN, Got 3 of the ones they sell under $20/each and they work fine. Here are my 2nd series, lower one was my Dad's. Got several Ruger's...the Rugers are not in the same league.





Jerry

Nice! Thanks for the pictures.

well? where da pics?

So are those USFA Match models in production or not? I clicked on the link, read it and pushed buy now and they show nothing listed nor does it show as an option on Davidson's USFA Gun Genie thingy.

I wondered that myself. Call the company.

you ever pick up that shooter? pics?

Yep, I sure did. It's a jam-o-omatic. Can't get through a mag full without several jams of various types. Took it right back, since they have a guarantee on all their used guns. Instead of a refund, they said they'd have their in house gunsmith fix it. Well, he claimed to have, but when I got it back it was just about as bad as before. Took it back again and he says he's ordering some replacement springs for it. I only use high quality ammo, too, CCI Mini-Mags, what the gunsmith there recommended. No wonder it was put up for sale.

sounds like a mag tweek or swap is in order.....

Hawkeye,

Do you have a 2nd magazine for it? I really question the 'spring fix'...looks more like the rails on the magazine are not right. Keep us up on what happens. Wish someone with a Woodsman was close by so you could try a 2nd magazine.

Jerry

Huntsman...you're quicker at typing than me!

First thing he tried was tweaking the magazine. Didn't work. I've got no second mag for it.

all with one finger, too......

If it were my problem...I'd get a second magazine and give it a go, I know I alway's have the question in the back of my mind whether I'm throwing more money down the drain, but I'd still try that if they won't take it back.

i also really like to have a working magazine to pattern the tweaks after before I go bending willy nilly.

From the picture you posted the rails don't look right and also from the way it's (not) feeding. Looks like it needs to be in a little morein the forward section. But it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. If you decide to look for a 2nd magazine, CDNN has them for 19.99 (plus ship).

It's a downer when things go like this.

Keep us in the loop

Jerry

Thanks. Will do. Since the store sold it with a guarantee of proper function, if it needs a new mag, that would be the store's obligation. I'll let them try to fix it for a reasonable period of time, then demand a refund if they can't get it working right, or at least store credit.

PS They have another similar variant of that gun in their classic Colt showcase, so the gunsmith can use that magazine for comparison if he needs to.

Pistol looks to nice not to try another magazine.

You're right. I think I will when I get back from Idaho, as I don't have time to deal with it right now.

Got a closeup of the magazine feed lips, out of the gun? Does it look like they have been modified?

Not prior to my returning it, but after the gunsmith had it, it did look worked on, since it was worked on. That was the main thing he did to "fix" the problem. It just didn't work.

I had the same thing with my High Standard, took a bit to get the mag just right. Once it was, she has run flawlessly for years. Hopefully the in-house smith knows what he's doing. It is really easy to screw up a mag if you don't. If you want to give a try yourself, at the range, there are detailed instructions from High Standard on adjusting mags. Those instructions work on other mags as well, as I have used them. The first time I did it, it was more beneficial to be able to move them a smidge and shoot it, move it a bit more and shoot it, then to bend them, cross your fingers and then hand it to the client and tell them it was good to go. Just some thoughts.

We have an in-house smith at one of the local shops I frequent. He learned all there is to know by watching those videos you can get in the back of an American Rifleman.....Wouldn't trust him to change out a recoil spring in a 1911, much less modify a gun like that. He could be great but you never know.

Good Luck, Ryan

Thanks Ryan. He actually has an indoor range there at the store just for reliability testing for this sort of thing.

Magazines are critical
but try different ammo too.
Mini mags may be too fast for it.

.22 pistols can be sensitive.

I bought it a few weeks ago, and it was having reliability issues. The in-house 'smith made two attempts to correct the problem, but failed. The store did the right thing and gave me a store credit for the full sale price. Would have preferred a refund, but that's not their store policy. I would spend that much in there in a year anyway, if past history is any measure, so no loss.

Too bad, nice looking Colt!

Yes, it was. Seemed put together very well.