I've shot match targets, targets, & sport but can't remember one key thing about them. Do they function well with various brands of ammo? Like their feel & the 4.5" round barrel model would make a nice trail gun, if they aren't ammo finicky.

I've got a couple Hi Standard Supermatics that are wonderfully accurate & easy to shoot well, but only with just a very few brands or types of ammo, & are heavy. My 41 Smiths seem to function with just about anything, but are heavy as well.

For a trail gun nothing much maters over dependability with various brands of ammo. Accuracy only maters if the gun has fed the round in the first place. Do the Colts feed?

mine do........

Gunzo: I have shot Colt models of pre-Woodsman, Targetsman, Huntsman, Woodsman, Aces, Colt 22 and Challengers, amongst all these pistols they have all fed properly and reliably.
I only wish I had never (in the distant past!) sold ANY of the many Colts I owned.
I am down to just a few currently owned pistols of the Colt Woodsman series (and one Pre-Woodsman).
Bottom line is I think they are wonderfully reliable with the better quality hollow-points I have shot through them, over the decades.
By coincidence I bought a mint, as new, in the box, 4 1/2" barreled Colt Woodsman last month over in Ennis, Montana - I paid SO much money for it I would not even consider using it "on the trail".
For a "trail gun" I suggest you look into buying one of the aforementioned (and much less expensive!) "Colt 22" models.
For investment purposes I would then go with a nice condition Colt Woodsman.
Just my opinions - hope it helps.
Best of luck to you with whichever you go with.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I shoot the chit outta my 'investments'.......

Ditto. I do have one specimen, a post-war series 1, which won't cycle 100% with standard velocity ammo. Don't know why, and it frustrated me until I simply stuck with high vel stuff (which it happily shoots more accurately than the slower stuff anyway), and life is good.

Standard barrel shooter grade 3rd models with a few nicks here and there are probably too high simply because they've got a prancing pony on them, but one can be had for a lot less money than a heavy barrel Match Target can. Maybe affected a bit by the gun value slump. That fact is partly what got me looking at them again. The MT never impressed me as target grade when compared with the big Smiths & High Standards. But in the standard weights is when the Colt shines as a field gun IMO.

I have both Colt & Kimber 22 conversions for the 1911, just boxed them up & put 'em on the shelf. Not satisfied there.

I've got a few Ruger MkII's, just can't seem warm up to them. I don't know, just searching for the perfect everyday 22 handgun.

Thanks for the replies.

I've had a few and currently have a 1951 2nd Model "Sport" that is in excellent shape but has been fired some and carried a lot. I have fired about 300 rds of W-W hollowpoints in it (what I use in "carry" .22s) w/out any jams or FTFs. Gave my son a near-new in-the-box 3rd Model "Sport" that I'd shot about as much with the same ammo, plus some other brands of hollowpoints w/no glitches. He hasn't had any either, but I don't know what he feeds his.

It isn't easy to find "shooter grade" Woodsman for a reasonable price, but not impossible either. I live in CA where any Colt is in high demand and the Woodsman family especially because they are all (regardless of date of manufacture) C&R. That means they can be "imported" into CA and sold by dealers just as if we lived in a free state! But you can still find a decent one for around $600 with some lookin' and dickerin'. They are well worth the search.

I shoot "Stingers" and "Velocitors" in my Ruger MKII, but not in the Woodsman. They seem a little hot and might wear the gun faster than I want. Great out of the Ruger w/6" bbl. and my 16" Contender Carbine, tho!

I would have thought that the last few years of Series 3 pistols are still too new to qualify for C&R status.

nope. all....

All models of the Woodsman got "special dispensation" from the ATFE some years ago, so even the latest ones are C&R, Gary. (Apparently they are less of a danger to the Republic than, say, my Ruger .22 auto....).

Bought a Browning Buckmark 22 a couple years ago. Wanted a cheap beater for the truck and it is big enough to require a truck to haul it around. Shoots anything. Nice trigger. Great sight picture. Wish they made same pistol in smaller lighter pocket version. That said, regret selling my Woodsman 22s. My current pocket 22 is a 2" S&W 63.

Citori: Check out a Walther PP in .22 LR. Good balance between size and shoot-ability.

I would be looking at some offerings by Ruger or Browning. If dependability is No1 then you can certainly put more faith in a new gun than one 50 to 70 yrs old. Some of these new models have much better hi-viz sites. If you can't see it you cant hit it. Right?

Just to be a contrarian pain in the Butt. Accuracy does matter and you can clear a jam but you cannot get a POS shot out or abused gun to hit. And rimfire targets of opportunity are often small. Sometimes very small.

As for the ammo. In any hunting gun I own. any type weapon. I select the best performing ammo and stick with it. That might be mini-mags in a tough new gun. If the accuracy was there. If not, I might try some std velocity loads.

That is like telling a guy that likes vintage leever marlin/winchester rifles to buy a frigging BLR, just because it's 'newer'.....

Huh. Well I'llbedamned. Didn't know that.

No it is not, You can still buy NEW 1892, 94 or 86 today What if the the buyer WANTS a 7mm08 lever? Then what do you tell him?

Now is the Op up to replacing all the springs and extractor on a 70 yr old gun?

Naturally all the talking heads do no even mention if the colt has a feed ramp. Does it? No mention. The Hi Standard does not. BTW, HiStd is my all time favorite 22pistol. My best is better than my M41. I do not whitewash the story. There is no feed ramp and magazine tuneup is critical. Also slide spring has to be strong to prevent frame damage. I can deal with it. Well, OK, a colt expert can rebuild, repair and tune up the pistol too. So what is the OP asking? Is the highly popular and most copied 22colt any good? Kinda has to be does it not?

I am under Dr. orders to walk every day. I usually carry a handgun and walk the woods. Once the OP gets beyond the asking stage and starts the walking stage, he will find accuracy is everything.I estimate 99% of all game encounters are decided in the first shot. Or wait a while for another ONE. Success or fail on that first shot. A follow up is typically after enough time to cock reload and involves a walk up closer. The old iron sites can work. Hi viz, can help.

We are answering the wrong question, including me talking about springs or magazines.

Yes

Yes.

Yes. He is asking specifically about Woodsmans. Thanks for being here.

Cotched a packrat this morning. A 1941 1st series Sport got the nod. Of all the 22 pistols ever made, my choice is one of these. THE LAST pistol I would ever get rid of....





I modified both of mine to suit.

Specifically. And specifically function with various brands of ammo. A semi auto that can only get along with one brand, one weight, one style of ammo is of little use to me. Something like that might belong to a fierce competitor & hopefully he would be wise enough to lay up a very large supply for the picky eater.

Currently watching 2 Model 3's on GB that are reasonable. The last 15 minutes will tell.

Maybe this will be more helpful, tips on woodsman that jams and miss feeds:

https://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-421669.html

Thank you for the link. Several mentions of magazine go/no go. But if the gun itself is conducive to good function, then, & only then can the components be questioned.

Next thread might be be.... Which magazine is best for Colt Woodsman.

gunzo,

I've got two second series Woodsman's, both 6 1/2 inch barrels...

Shoot nothing but CCI MiniMags for hunting (except in suppressed rifles) only because they are my favorite round. Feed fine in both of my Colts.

Kind of prefer them to my Ruger MK3's as they are much trimmer AND I have had far more 'failures to feed' in my Rugers than my Colts.

My only regret is I did not pick up a 4 1/2 inch barreled 2nd Series Woodsman before the price rose out of sight.

I do agree with fourbore in that the it is easier to get front sights that work better for me in the Rugers... I may get one of the Colt W's front sights drilled out for a fiber optic in the future.

I would not own my Ruger Pistols if I did not have need for a suppressor host.

YMMV,

Jerry

Will also add I bought 3 extra Woodsman magazines from CDNN a couple of years ago and they function fine.

Thanks Jerry, info I was looking for, especially with the Ruger comparisons. Admittedly though, just about anything that's gonna work well will do it with Mini Mags. Even MK's

I was just given a dose of reality & then made a booboo.

One I was watching on GB went for $800 bucks. That chilled my desire & I forgot to keep an eye on the other I was watching. It sold 10 hours later for $450. I would have been happy to in the middle of those prices. Maybe next time.

In 2013 I collected 5 woodsman, 2 woodsman target, and 3 pre woodsman pistols.
Dates on them vary from 1919 to 1965.

Hemingway said you could stop Joe Louis with one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Woodsman

Just rereading this thread has renewed my interest in a 3rd series 4” Woodsman. Have a couple WTB’s out now. PM me if anyone has one to sell .

Reading this thread, and looking at Huntmen22 pics of his woodmans keeps me intrested in getting another one had one back a few years ago, but had to sell it! i just put one in a LayAway looks like the one with the pic of the pack rat! Ser# is 1953X, any info would be a Great Help, I didnt think to snap a pic of it!

the number can't be right. answered your PM. Is the mag release on the bottom? Fixed sights? Is the bottom of the grip parallel to the barrel, or square to the grip? Could maybe give 'great help', if we had the right info (hell, ANY info)...

the number can't be right. answered your PM. Is the mag release on the bottom? Does it slide, or flip? Fixed sights? Is the bottom of the grip parallel to the barrel, or square to the grip? Could maybe give 'great help', if we had the right info (hell, ANY info)... Does it even say 'Woodsman' on it?

I replyed to the PM it does have fixed sights, the grips look just like the ones on your Packrat pic and I didnt even look at the mad release Lol, the tag said Colt woodsmen on it and a price! I dont belive that its been reblued! if I dont hunt in the morining I might drive back over there and look closer at it and try to take a few pics! Thanks Don for the Help, sorry I dont have very good info! the ser# is 1952X instead of a #3

Yes its a pre Woodsmen, with a 4" barrel! a Nice Shooter!