Author Topic: Anybody shooting a Colt Woodsman? (Read 4973 times)

PeterF. · « **on:** February 04, 2006, 01:41:18 PM »

Most folks here seem to be talking about the "newer" stuff (Rugers, etc.); but I'm wondering who-all has ... and uses ... the Colt Woodsmans. There were a zillion made; and they seem to have their fans and collectors. I just never see anyone posting about them here. 'Fess up. Opinions, experiences? Peter F.

Daveinthebush · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2006, 04:10:18 PM »

I have had a Colt Woodsman Target Match for years. It is, using standard velocity ammunition, one of the most accurate and dependable pistols that I have ever owned.

Tusker · « **Reply #2 on:** February 04, 2006, 05:27:14 PM »

Peter ~ I must agree with Dave-- I have many .22's. but this one will out shoot them all except one. I found her at a show several years ago, box and all. I thought enough of her to stock her with Ivory. Find the right one and you will have a lifetime friend for sure. :grin: Also, I have an extra factory instruction book dated 1972, if there is any interest.

mt3030 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 04, 2006, 07:37:24 PM »

Yep, mine gets used, a lot. Made in 1946, I got it about 1972. Have carried it from time to time ever since. It has dispatched a load of small game and quite a few head of wounded large game. It's also my favorite plinker. Have no idea how many rounds have gone thru it. Mostly Remington 40 gr Goldens.
Wally

Ka6otm · « **Reply #4 on:** February 05, 2006, 05:19:58 AM »

I've had the 4.5" Match Target for over 30 years now.

Outstanding gun.

Ka6otm

JD · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2006, 05:23:20 PM »

Inherited my 4 1/2" 2nd Gen Sporter in the mid 70's. Best gun I have ever owned. Popped many a muskrat and squirrel. Had a 6"barrel and the adj sight & slide installed in '79. It will regularly embarass Brownings equipped with scopes or dots. Mine does seem to prefer Remington as well.

Plink · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2006, 03:57:45 PM »

I wish my feelings towards the Woodsman were as warm as the rest of you. I was given one as a kid in the 70's. I got rid of it some years back, because even though it was my first handgun, and only my second gun as a kid, I could never form a sentimental attachment to it.

It was undoubtedly the worst gun I've ever shot to this day. Inaccurate and unreliable with any ammo, needed almost constant cleaning just to function at all, and even though it didn't get shot much, it ended up breaking after maybe 1500 rounds. It would cycle the slide back but not cock the hammer about 20% of the time.

I tried to have the local 'smith fix it, but he ripped me off yet again. That makes about 4 times in a row. I just gave it away out of disgust. Kind of a shame too because I really wanted to like it.

(Edited to correct spelling)

257 roberts · « **Reply #7 on:** March 24, 2006, 04:35:20 PM »

I don't have a woodsman but I have a Huntsman and its been a nice little gun I have the box and the original sales slip.

BAGTIC · « **Reply #8 on:** May 06, 2006, 06:51:19 PM »

The first handgun I ever bought was a Colt Woodsman Match Target 6". I had to sell it to get through college. The first gun I purchased after graduating and getting a job was... you guessed it, a Colt Woodsman Match Target 6".

I have never shot any .22 autoloader that was more reliable or more accurate. My current gun goes with me to the grave. 'Nuff said?

Keith L · « **Reply #9 on:** May 07, 2006, 02:53:48 AM »

I don't own one but have the pleasure of shooting one once in a while that was my buddy's dad's gun. I have never had a pistol that fit my hand better than that little Woodsman.

snattlerake · « **Reply #10 on:** November 17, 2006, 07:25:59 PM »

When I was in the Marines I bought a new Match Target and shot that thing everyday. I learned to shoot with that gun. I now have a Woodsman I bought new in 1973 for $83. It is simply too nice to shoot and resides in the gun safe. All my Colts are great shooters.

His lordship. · « **Reply #11 on:** November 19, 2006, 04:34:40 PM »

I have been a happy owner of a Browning Buckmark, a Ruger MK. 2, and a Ruger Single Six. I would be very interested in buying a High Standard pistol, and a Colt Woodsman if they would put them back into production at a reasonable price.

It just amazes me that Colt will not produce it!!

. Granted the market is saturated with the Rugers and the Brownings, but there is a nich opportunity here. No wonder the American gun companies are hurting, remember Winchester recently? Does Colt want to goe bankrupt again?

DFrame · « **Reply #12 on:** December 08, 2006, 03:51:57 PM »

Mine looks much like tuskers. But without the beautiful ivory. It's finicky as hell about ammunition but when fed what it likes (Remington Goldens) the accuracy is truly astounding. It's one of those "Ya gotta be trying" in order to miss. Funny gun though,will NOT fire anything CCI. Just WON'T fire at all. Never did figure out why, but fortunately Remingtons are easy to come by.

fjg · « **Reply #13 on:** December 15, 2006, 03:37:33 PM »

I have several Series II Woodsmans (the ones with the push button mag release, made from 1947 to 1955, I think). My favorites of the Series II models are the ones with the Coltmaster rear sight (I believe that these were made in the 1947 to 1953 timeframe). I have the Match Target model as well as a Target model and a Sport model.

All of my Woodsmans are more accurate than I can shoot them. The only complaint I have is the trigger pulls could be a bit better (heavy). The only problems I have encountered is when the slide does not lock back when the magazine is empty. In my experience I was able to correct this problem by replacing the recoil spring.

Just to be on the safe side I only shoot standard velocity ammo in my Woodsmans. CCI Standard Velocity is the most accurate and reliable ammo I have found so far.

In my opinion, from a quality perspective and a traditional perspective, it is hard to go wrong with a Woodsman!

BAGTIC · « **Reply #14 on:** April 17, 2007, 06:59:26 PM »

I shoot a Colt Woodsman Match Target 6". The first handgun I ever owned was the same model but I had to sell it to pay for college tuition. As soon as I graduated I went searching for another just like it. It will never be sold. Some of the most fantastic pistol shots I have ever made were made with the two of them. It was my favorite handgun for jackrabbits and killed a lot of vermin too.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #15 on:** July 31, 2007, 05:18:07 PM »

I have a "Woodsman" too, it's used on the trapline with CB shorts or longs mostly..

DM

lucky guy · « **Reply #16 on:** August 09, 2007, 08:34:28 PM »

I have a 4" huntsman shooter that I take on walks. I haven't had it too long but I'm liking it!

AK737FO · « **Reply #17 on:** September 04, 2007, 06:08:31 AM »

My Dad has a series one, made in 1929. I grew up plinking with that woodsman. I do not ever remember it failing to fire or even jamming for that matter. I got a series 3 a few months ago that was made in 1972. It is just as accurate (maybe even more so) as my Dad's but the overall quality of my newer gun is not as good. Mine is a little picky about what it wants in ammo and I have had many stove pipes in the brief time that I have had it. I recently got to shoot a bunch of tricked out Buckmarks. They had trigger jobs and fancy scopes but did not shoot any better than my Woodsman from 1972 or my Dad's from 1929. You can't beat a Woodsman!

jakes10mm · « **Reply #18 on:** September 28, 2007, 11:13:30 AM »

Picked up a 1920 Colt Pre-Woodsman a couple months ago. Showing its age, gracefully, but did well the one time I've gotten to the range with it. Had some Federal Match ammo on hand and it did well with it. When I can scratch up the money, I'd like to add a Match Target for a range pistol. I'm also curious about how stiff the price will be on the NEW US Firearms Woodsman that is suppose to be released in October.

bigdaddytacp · « **Reply #19 on:** September 30, 2007, 01:00:23 PM »

I just traded off a target Woodsman 4in. and I kept the 6in Match Target made in 1953 that has the push button mag release and Elliason sights with custom thumbrest checkered grip pannels.......it shoots well and accurately with several brands of ammo but has to be kept good and clean to fuction 100%......I got a set of stock grip pannels before they were discontinued to have to go with the gun....I had a 4in match target with standard sights but it got gone in a trade that I don't even remember now.......they were good solid well made steel guns and I seldom saw a poor shooter..some gave fuction problems with some ammo but they usually shot accurately even between stoppages......good luck and good shooting!!

tomray · « **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2008, 04:05:29 AM »

I also own and shoot a 2nd gen Colt Match Target Woodsman that my dad built when he worked at Colt in the early 50's. Dad built it with a 6" barrel, but I have changed it to a 4 1/2" barrel, as I think it balances better.
I did the changeover in '96, and refinished the gun in the process. Dad now likes the shorter barrel also.
As I couldn't find a holster, I made my own leather "boned to fit" holster.
This little gun has replaced one of my S&W Mod 41's as a field and woods gun. It's lighter and smaller and carries a lot more convienently.
As far ar accuracy goes, its up to doing anything a 41 will do, Except it only gets fed Target ammo. I've never found the need to shoot hi vel ammo in my rim fire pistols anyway.
IMHO I think the old woodsmans are better made than any of the newer 22 pistols, and I have both.
Enjoy your Woodsmans Guys.........they're a great gun and a great investment, not to mention a heirloom to be handed down.

Tom

Horsefeathers · « **Reply #21 on:** October 11, 2008, 07:22:01 AM »

My son just picked up a Pre-Colt Woodsman it had little tono finish on it and acoat of rust on the surface.It has a clean bore and is tight as a crabs but under water. He re-blued it ,it looks perfect and it shoots to the sights.Italso cycles Aguilla Colibre pipsqueeke loads through the Mags. Horsefeathers.

slabsides · « **Reply #22 on:** October 30, 2008, 07:56:27 AM »

When I started shooting seriously, the Colt .22's had just been discontinued, and good ones were scarce: all the new ones were snapped up by collectors, and those who owned & fancied them wouldn't let them go.
It wasn't until the mid-70's that I spotted a pretty nice 6" Huntsman, at the sporting goods store where I worked part time for spits 'n giggles. I picked it up at the 'used wholesale' price. Truth to tell, it didn't shoot a bit better than my Browning Medalist, or the two Ruger Mark I's I was using at the time. I had tweaked the triggers on the Rugers, and they just felt more solid and were more accurate than the Colt by far. As others have mentioned, the Colt was also finicky about ammo, where the Rugers just gulped everything down. And the Colt felt funny, being light in the barrel and not balanced as I was used to. I was doubly disappointed, since the Woodsman was the first handgun I'd ever fallen in love with, while drooling over the pictures in the Shooters Bible as a kid. I wanted to like it, but just couldn't. When I had the chance, I sold it for big bux to a collector, and used the money to purchase a brand new Hamden High Standard Supermatic. Night and day. The H-S got me two state championships, and I don't miss the Colt at all. The Medalist? Oh, on a weak day, I traded it for a dog that ran away, you know how that goes. What could I have been thinking? Ah, well, I still have the Rugers and the H-S, and don't miss the Colt at all.

clum sum · « **Reply #23 on:** October 30, 2008, 01:52:39 PM »

I have owned 2, a 6" & a 4 1/2" match target, both shoot as good as they feel and the only thing that feels better is a womans breast. They are hard to take apart and harder to put togather. I had the 6" years ago, shot 1,000s of rounds mostly mini mags and had no trouble. If any one made a 22 pistol any better the Good Lord keep it for his self.

tomray · « **Reply #24 on:** October 30, 2008, 02:53:56 PM »

Quote from: clum sum on October 30, 2008, 01:52:39 PM

I have owned 2, a 6" & a 4 1/2" match target, both shoot as good as they feel and the only thing that feels better is a womans breast. They are hard to take apart and harder to put togather. I had the 6" years ago, shot 1,000s of rounds mostly mini mags and had no trouble. If any one made a 22 pistol any better the Good Lord keep it for his self.

Amen...................I fully agree.

Tom

rimfire · « **Reply #25 on:** October 31, 2008, 02:30:21 AM »

I inherited my gradfathers, and will never sell, but it is frutrating because the front sight is one of those spring loaded ones that I hate. It is not adjustable vertically that I know of and the POA is 6" high at 15 yards. I would love to shoot it more, but too annoying. Gave it to a smith to fix several years ago. Asked him to replace the front sight with a higher one so I could it to PO aim. He removed and replaced the front sight with the exact same front sight, rebluied it, and left bluing salts all inside the darn thing. This after he kept it for a year! I wanted to beat him senseless when I got it back.

I need to get this thing fixed.

Graybeard · « **Reply #26 on:** October 31, 2008, 02:36:35 AM »

I've owned at least two maybe three of them over the years. My first was like the one Tusker has in his photo but with the factory grips not fancy ones as his has. I had one similar to the other pictured also and I seem to recall a third of some sort but for the life of me can't recall it. I did have a cheaper version of it called the Huntsman I believe also.

I let them all go as me and them just didn't get along all that well. The grip angle seems odd to me and I never did shoot them very well. They are quite collectible and many seem to desire them but I'd much rather have a High Standard as a shooter.

Drilling Man · « **Reply #27 on:** October 31, 2008, 03:46:37 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on October 31, 2008, 02:36:35 AM

I've owned at least two maybe three of them over the years. My first was like the one Tusker has in his photo but with the factory grips not fancy ones as his has. I had one similar to the other pictured also and I seem to recall a third of some sort but for the life of me can't recall it. I did have a cheaper version of it called the Huntsman I believe also.

I let them all go as me and them just didn't get along all that well. The grip angle seems odd to me and I never did shoot them very well. They are quite collectible and many seem to desire them but I'd much rather have a High Standard as a shooter.

I do like my Woodsman, BUT, nothing i've ever held in my hand has out shot my High Standard Victor. Back when i shot competitively i won match after match with my Victor... It shoots like a really good bolt action rifle.

Old High Standard built the best, most accurate 22 auto handguns, and i now wish i had kept one or two more of them.

DM