Colt Woodsman Target Model

posted on March 4, 2011
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
201134105530-img_4105_2_f.jpg

Could there be a more fitting name than “Woodsman” for a .22 Long Rifle, semi-automatic handgun that evokes images of bouncing tin cans or dropping rabbits on the run? This is yet another classic firearm from John M. Browning, assisted by Colt employees George H. Tansley and F.C. Chadwick. When introduced in 1915, it was named the “Colt Automatic Pistol, caliber .22 Target Model”—hardly indicative of what would become a 62-year reign of a gun that started many a boy on a lifetime of shooting. In all, more than 690,000 were made.

Initially sporting a 6 5⁄8-inch barrel, adjustable sights, blued finish, checkered walnut stocks and a profile reminiscent of the Luger (and later, the Ruger Mark I), this pistol was renamed the Woodsman in 1927. Retaining its adjustable sights, it came with a two-tone, 10-round-capacity magazine retained by a European-style heel release. In 1933 Colt introduced a Sport Model with 4½-inch barrel, and from 1938 until 1944 the company made a heavier-barreled Match Target with a “Bull’s Eye” target logo on the frame. These guns constitute the First Series, which ran until 1947.

From 1947 to 1955, the Second Series featured Sport and Target Models, with Target barrels shortened to 6 inches, and saw a side-mounted magazine release. Designers and engineers at Colt re-proportioned the grip (with Coltwood or brown plastic stocks) with a higher arch, for better controllability, and they added a weighted-barrel Match Target Model to the line.

The Third Series, from 1955 to the end of production in 1977, had the magazine release relocated to the frame’s bottom. It introduced the economical, fixed-sight Challenger and Huntsman Models, along with other variations. Stocks were black plastic, but beginning in 1960 Colt offered thumbrest walnut stocks at no extra cost. The price back then for a Woodsman Target was $84.50. Two years ago a 1938-era, 95-percent Woodsman Target with original magazine, box, and sales receipt sold for $850 at Wally Beinfield’s Las Vegas Antique Arms show.

This pristine Third Series Target Model was shipped on June 21, 1974. If I hadn’t known it had previously been shot, I would have rated it NRA New, as virtually 100 percent of the finish is present. As the saying goes, the only thing missing is the box. Even so, at 99 percent, to a collector it is easily worth $800 or possibly more.

Gun: Colt Woodsman Target Model—Third Series
Serial Number: 052XXXS
Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
Condition: 99 Percent (NRA Perfect—Modern Gun Condition)
Manufactured: 1974
Value: $800

Latest

Stuart 45 Pistol Pre War Manuevers Web Main
Stuart 45 Pistol Pre War Manuevers Web Main

Guns Of The U.S. Tankers In World War II

Since the end of World War II, debates have raged about the effectiveness of American armored fighting vehicles in that conflict. Despite all the Monday morning armored quarterbacking, American AFVs were war-winners, driven to victory by some the finest fighting men our nation has ever produced.

MidwayUSA Foundation Awards Over $14 Million In Cash Grants In 2025

In honor of National Shooting Sports Month—held annually in August—along with the growing popularity of the sport with new participants, MidwayUSA Foundation announced it has distributed more than $14.2 million in cash grants to support youth shooting sports in 2025.

Making The KelTec PR57 In Wyoming

To make its PR57 handgun, KelTec invested in an entirely new manufacturing facility located in Rock Springs, Wyo. "American Rifleman Television" headed out for an inside look at the company's efficient production process.

Taurus 66 Combat: A New "Fighting Revolver"

First introduced in the 1970s, the Taurus 66 Combat is a medium-frame revolver that has seen several evolutions in its lifetime, and the latest update creates what the company considers "the final word in fighting revolvers."

Review: Taurus GX2

From cars to cellphones, as a product gets more sophisticated, it usually also gets more expensive. And, as modern handguns get more modular and optic-ready, their prices tend to go up.

Rifleman Q&A: A Garand Puzzlement

"We are a father-and-son NRA member tandem in search of an answer regarding the branding of an M1 Garand rifle. We own an M1 rifle that has markings indicating it was a “lend lease to England,” and it also has a .308 barrel/sleeve."

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.