.22 cal Colt W oodsman auto

[HLWalker]

I have inherited this pistol. Its a Colt woodsman22 auto and know nothing much about it. Can anyone give me info on this hand gun. Thanks HLWalker

 

[Monac]

The Woodsman was one of the first automatic 22 target pistols. It was designed by John Browning, who was a firearms genius, and made by Colt, who was America's best handgun maker. It was in production from about 1915 to about 1977. Having said that, it was a fairly early automatic pistol, and not as easy to take apart for cleaning as many that have come after.

Wikipedia has a brief general history of the Woodsman:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Woodsman

And there is a website dedicated to it here:

http://www.colt22.com/

There are MANY other online resources. Many people collect Woodman's, or at least want a good one.

To tell you anything specific about your particular gun, you would have to say more about it. Pictures would be essential to any estimate of value, because condition matters a LOT.

 

[rcmodel]

More info needed.
Photo & partial serial number at least.

The Colt Woodsman was one of the finest and most reliable .22 pistols ever made.

I have 4 of them, dating from 1927, to 1936, to 1965, to 1976.
And I would like to have some more.

rc

 

[Clark]

They are very good pistols.

Older than a certain age, you are supposed to only shoot standard velocity ammo in them.

The old original magazines can be worth over $100.
Newer model magazine do not fit in older models.

John Moses Browning really did this one right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Woodsman

Now standing in one corner of a boxing ring with a .22 caliber Colt automatic pistol, shooting a bullet weighing only 40 grains and with a striking energy of 51 foot pounds at 25 feet from the muzzle, I will guarantee to kill either [boxer] Gene [Tunney] or Joe Louis before they get to me from the opposite corner. - Ernest Hemingway 1938

 

[usp9]

The Woodsman was my first pistol years ago. A beautiful and perfect design. Enjoy it. Here's my baby, a Match Target.

 

[I6turbo]

^^^ That's a beauty, usp9!

 

[ATLDave]

Just one note of caution: They are somewhat susceptible to slam-fires. I.e., firing a round when the slide is dropped, irrespective of whether the trigger is pulled. Just be extra sure to always have the gun pointed in a safe direction when loading.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Slam fires? I have a Colt Woodsman Target second generation (1954) that I purchased in 1966. It has never "slam fired" In fact this is the first time I have ever heard of it.

 

[bannockburn]

usp9

That's one sweet looking Match Target there! I always thought that the Colt .22s, like the Browning Nomad, had the cleanest lines of any .22 pistol.

 

[Clark]

HL Walker,
You can register and make one post about Woodman pistols, and pique my interest again and again.

I do not normally buy safe queens, but this pre woodsman from 1920 looked like it had not been fired.
I asked the guy were he found it. He said it has been in an old bank safe all this time.

 

[dogtown tom]

ATLDave Just one note of caution: They are somewhat susceptible to slam-fires. I.e., firing a round when the slide is dropped, irrespective of whether the trigger is pulled. Just be extra sure to always have the gun pointed in a safe direction when loading.

Where did you hear this?

I've owned and shot Colt Woodsman pistols since 1976.
Read pretty much everything ever written on them....and this is the first time I've heard of them being susceptible to slam fires.

Currently own four Match Targets, two Huntsman, a Challenger and two Second Series Sport models.

In 38 years I've run no less than 50,000 rounds through various Second and Third series Woodsman.......never a single slam fire. My original Huntsman has run around 20,000 rounds by itself.

 

[Clark]

dogtown tom
In 38 years I've run no less than 50,000 rounds through various Second and Third series Woodsman

I collected 10 woodsman pistols in 2013.
I shot one of them once. I clamped a scope onto a target model.
But I post more about them than you.
That just shows the quality of internet information

 

[ATLDave]

"Where did you hear this?"

I believe it is mentioned in one of Ayoob's books. I don't have it with me, so can't cite you to the page.

Also, it happened to me! (With a gun owned and maintained by one of my uncles.) For years, I was puzzled by it... but then read that this is something that can happen with Woodsmen.

See also http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=54711

http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/faq-pp-tp/15662-accidential-discharge.html#post113815

 

[Clark]

I had a really good technician building a jet engine starter dummy load the size of a phone booth.
Everything was going great. Then he said he read Ayoob books

 

[dogtown tom]

ATLDave "Where did you hear this?"

I believe it is mentioned in one of Ayoob's books. I don't have it with me, so can't cite you to the page.

Also, it happened to me! (With a gun owned and maintained by one of my uncles.) For years, I was puzzled by it... but then read that this is something that can happen with Woodsmen.

See also http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=54711

http://www.waltherforums.com/forum/f...tml#post113815

A slamfire caused by lack of maintenance or cleaning isn't a design defect.....it's negligence by the owner. Any firearm with a firing pin that gets stuck in the forward position can cause a slam fire when it returns to battery............this means there is nothing at all specific to a Woodsman.

 

[HLWalker]

I do know that my fathers brother ( my uncle) gave the pistol to him pre WII. I have the original mag and holster that came with the pistol. It has the plastic bone grips. Will post pic later.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Older than a certain age, you are supposed to only shoot standard velocity ammo in them.

Look at the mainspring housing -- right where the web of your hand would be if you were holding the pistol in firing position. You will see a oval panel there. If that panel is cross-hatched, use only standard velocity ammo in your gun. If it has a series of horizontal lines instead, it is safe to shoot high velocity ammo.

 

[rcmodel]

I have never heard of the Woodsman being prone to slam firing when loading in over 50 years of fooling with them.

There is absolutely nothing in the design that could cause that.

Other then nearly 100 years of wear and no cleaning at all.

But that's true of all old guns.

rc

 

[yugorpk]

I have a 1938 model standard model my Great Grandfather bought new . Probably the most accurate and reliable .22 I own ( OK the browning is too ) . Ive put maybe 10,000 rounds through it as has my dad and his. It has never slam fired. Not once that I know of since the beginning of time,

I dont know how good Woodsmans are but the two Ive owned and the one I own now are the pinnacle of .22 pistols ( browning challengers excluded ) . The Brownings might be "better" but the Colt is just.. a Colt.

 

[forindooruseonly]

Let's not argue! Let's just admire the Woodsmans...

 

[usp9]

Let's just admire the Woodsmans...

Amen. Beautiful picture.

 

[AJumbo]

Look at the mainspring housing -- right where the web of your hand would be if you were holding the pistol in firing position. You will see a oval panel there. If that panel is cross-hatched, use only standard velocity ammo in your gun. If it has a series of horizontal lines instead, it is safe to shoot high velocity ammo.

And if there is no oval? My Woodsman has no distinguishing feature on the mainspring housing at all, apart from a slot screw located about 1/2" above the lanyard pin. The serial number is in the 56XXX range.

 

[rcmodel]

Then you have a later 3rd. series gun. (1955-1977)

Which were all Hi-Speed rated.

The checkered oval was used on the 1st. Series guns beginning in 1915-1931.

The high-speed mainspring housing with the grooved rectangle was phased in beginning in 1931 and ending production in 1947.

The 3rd. Series begin again in 1955, and by then the frame grip angle had been changed, and all were Hi-Speed rated.

So there was no longer a need to indicate whether it was or wasn't.

The slotted plug screw was for an optional 'Coltwood' plastic grip extension, shaped something like a 1911 arched mainspring housing.

Why?
I do not know?

They had already screwed up the perfect grip angle of the earlier guns.
And the grip extension made it even worse.

That's why so few of them still survive.





rc

 

[Vern Humphrey]

And if there is no oval? My Woodsman has no distinguishing feature on the mainspring housing at all, apart from a slot screw located about 1/2" above the lanyard pin. The serial number is in the 56XXX range.

As RC has said, that applies ONLY to First Model Woodsmen, made prior to WWII. The First Model Woodmen were the ONLY Woodsmen made for standard velocity ammo, and transitioned to high velocity around 1932.

Guns sold after 1932 had the high velocity mainspring housing, and you could buy a high velocity mainspring housing to install on an earlier gun.

Those made after the war have no oval and were made for high velocity ammo from the get-go.

 

[tuj]

BTW, I have had a slam-fire on a dirty IZH-35m which has an inertial firing pin (eg. no return spring). Does the Woodsman have such a FP?

Slam fire in bullseye is weird. As fast as an automatic in cyclic speed, but that second shot always seems to go high...