Old Colt 22 Pistol

[Novcon]

I have a chance to buy a older Colt 22 pistol, and I wanted to see if anyone rememebers this gun. It looks somewhat like a Browning Buckmark, the grip is at a fairly steep angle and it looks like the barrel and frame are solid. Can anyone tell me how the accuracy is and what price would be fair. Also if they had any known problems with jamming or feeding. I don't remember a model number, I thought the dealer said it was called a Colt target 22.

 

[Jim Watson]

Colt made the Woodsman series of .22s from 1915 to 1977. There were a lot of different variations, many of considerable interest to collectors. There was a Target model, the Match Target, and the economy model Targetsman that have "target" in the model name (no numbers.) They are pretty good shooters - anybody who picks mine up is charmed by it - but they could not compete on price with Ruger or on trigger pull and features with High Standard and S&W, so Colt dropped them along with so many other nice but expensive guns.

Colt also made the .22 Target for a short time in the mid 1990s. It is an entirely different gun, more like a High Standard Duramatic than a Woodsman, and again Colt missed the market. A decent shooter as far as I know but not real valuable.

So we need more information on exact model and condition before anybody can even tell you what you are looking at.

 

[Spackler]

Colt's most recent .22LR pistols were the Colt .22 and Colt .22 Target. Basically the same pistol except the "Target" had a longer barrel.

I have a Colt .22, it has a stainless slide and barrel with a polymer frame. I have put thousands of rounds through it, maybe close to 10,000 rounds, without any problem, and I don't clean it much. It is easy to disassemble and very easy to clean - I'm just lazy. It's accurate and fun to shoot.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Can anyone tell me how the accuracy is and what price would be fair.

Some examples of the Woodsman were extremely accurate, and some were dogs out of the box. On the whole, they weren't as competitive as High Standards, but High Standards have their own set of weirdities and problems, including cracked frames you'll not likely find on the Woodsman.

I've seen Woodsmen offered for as little as $250, as much as $2,000 and more. The Match Target models were the cream of the crop, and so command higher prices.

If you buy it, be sure to shoot only standard velocity ammunition through it: it wasn't designed for today's hot rod .22 ammunition.