Woodsman First Series (1915 - 1947) Pre-Woodsman 1st Series Target.22 LR 6.5' Blue, Serial Number 863 (1916) pencil barrel. Factory Presentation Pre-Woodsman 1st Series Target.22 LR 6.5' Blue, Serial Number 1468 Presented by Colt President Col. Robinson to Phil B. 1916) Pre-Woodsman 1st Series Target.22LR 6.5' Blue, Serial Number 5952 (1917) pencil. For example: 1001, MT1001, 1001-S, 1001-C, and 001001S are all valid serial numbers dating from 1916, 1938, 1948, 1950, and 1969, respectively. A few hundred guns were assembled after regular production ceased, between 1977 and the late 1980s and possibly later. The serial numbers on those guns were intermixed with numbers used years earlier.
SOLD FOR: $1025
- Serial number is 164XX-S, 6' barrel (not the slab-sided version). My primary question would be where to find any historical data for this Woodsman. I haven't shot it yet but expect to in the next few days. Bore looks nice and bright and the muzzle crown looks good also. Any responses are certainly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
- Also if you have a Colt Woodsman that does not actually say ‘The Woodsman’ on it, and your serial number is less than #34,000, your gun is very collectable. Like over $2000 worth collectable. The same can be said for factory engraved guns as there were only a few hundred of these made.
LSB#: 210410BA03
Make: Colt
Model: Woodsman Match Target 3rd Series
Serial Number: 218415-S
Year of Manufacture: 1966 (https://colt.com/serial-lookup)
Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto with Removable Magazine
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked “COLT”, “AUTOMATIC / CAL. 22 LONG RIFLE”. The left side of the frame is marked with a rampant colt over “MATCH TARGET” between the slide and barrel. The left of the barrel is marked “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.”. The right of the frame is marked “218415-S” over the trigger. The right of the trigger guard is marked “0”, the left is marked “S” and “VP” in triangle.
Barrel Length: 4 1/2″, Fluted Slab-Side
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade pinned to a serrated, ramped base fixed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is an Elliason square notch adjustable for windage and elevation in a base pinned to the rear of the slide.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered walnut with thumb rest on the left panel as for a right-handed shooter. The grips have handling wear with some areas of thinning finish, minor discoloration, and a few light nicks and scratches. There is a minor loss at the bottom edge of the right panel toward the rear. The checkering is well defined. There are no cracks. Overall, the grips are in about Very Good condition.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bore.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 85% of its metal finish. The finish is thinning at most edges. There are scattered light nicks, scuffs and scratches. There are also some scattered spots of minor surface oxidation with a patch of light erosion in the frontstrap. The action shows operational wear. The screw head is sharp. The markings are generally clear, the rampant colt is stamped deeper at the bottom than the top. Overall, this pistol is in about Very Good condition.
Colt Woodsman Serial Number Age
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The slide locks back on an empty magazine. The manual safety can be used to lock the slide forward. We did not fire this pistol. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes in a one-piece faux-leather hinged-lid cardboard Colt box with model-matching label, manual, and a single 10-round magazine. The magazine has minor operational wear and scattered light surface oxidation with intact feed lips and a strong spring, in about Very Good condition. The box has scattered storage wear with fraying and tears at edges and corners, in about Good condition.
Colt Woodsman Serial Numbers By Year
28.Woodsman 2nd Series / 3rd Series Match Target Mystery Gun .22LR 6' Blue, 90%+.Features 2nd Series SN#111489-S (1952) with original 2nd Series brown injection molded plastic grips w/thumbrest, mint bore, 2nd Series machined slide stop lever, 2nd Series barrel roll markings 2nd Series mag, 2nd / 3rd Series Accro rear sight / flattop slide w/rounded base front, 3rd Series (early) polished radius slide, 3rd Series bluing motif on bottom of barrel and in barrel flutes, 3rd Series blued (not bright polished) finish on raised front barrel muzzle surface, 3rd Series larger trigger guard, 3rd Series trigger, 3rd Series mag release on butt, 3rd Series no mag safety feature, 3rd Series main spring housing without lanyard ring bar or grip adapter hole with thinning blue on grip front and backstraps.Major Robert Rayburn, of Tacoma, WA; author of the Woodsman collector's bible, the little redColt Woodsman Pocket Guide and the world's leading authority on Colt Woodsman pistols thinks it 'was a 2nd Series that had problems (such as a cracked frame) and was returned to Colt for repair after the 3rd Series came into production.They probably replaced the frame and numbered it with the original SN#.They would probably have reblued the whole thing at the same time, likely using the bluing scheme in effect at the time of the repair.They may, or may not, have stamped an ampersand (&)(they did not) somewhere on the frame, most likely in the aft right hand trigger guard web.'Rayburn continued: 'I don't know about your particular pistol, but I do know that frames were replaced and given the original number sometimes; I saw entries in the shipping records to that effect for some prewar guns.Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily mean that there would be such a notation by your serial number, but there might be.'I found the gun at a local Iowa gun show in November '97 and normally don't look at guns in this condition but something just didn't look right and it took several minutes to come up with the reasons why it didn't.Truly a Mystery Gun and a special find!There are no hints of tampering of any sort!