Welcome to the Forum,
The Colt Cadet or later just the "Colt .22" with the 4 1/2" barrel and the 6" barrelled "Colt .22 Target Model" are not rare. They are the first striker fired pistols made by Colt. Like any Colt made firearm these will eventually become collectable although that may take a few decades......Magazines are available on the auction sites. You are correct that there isn't a lot of info on the web about them. Any holster made for a 4 1/2" barrelled Colt Woodsman will fit your pistol. I shoot a 6" Colt .22 Target Model with a Tasco Pro Point red dot scope. These are excellent pistols that weren't very popular and disappeared a few years after their release.

 

I seem to recall that the Colt .22 was a near copy of a High Standard model. I can't remember the details, possibly a search on the forum might turn that data up.

 

I own a few and they have always shot well. I thought the frame was stainless steel. Unless new in the box, I suggest you shoot it.

 

It's almost unbelievable that Colt stopped producing these truly excellent pistols. I bought one for my wife a few years ago and enjoy shooting it as much as she does. True the magazine release was disliked by many but I for one like the different location. It will be interesting to see what these go far 10/15 years from now. It's a great pistol that I can highly recommend as they can be had rather reasonably.

 

Hello zimm,

Welcome to the forum.

I have a 6" target Model. For cheap spare magazines, Beretta Neos magazines will work fine in your Colt; other than the floor plate they are virtually identical. I've been researching these pistols for a while and believe that Colt made around 75,000, of which about 20,000 are the 6" target Models.

Here's mine. The spare mags are Beretta Neos with Colt floor plates added. I bought it mainly for the rail to put an optic on it. (Old eyes) I was looking at Rugers when I found this in a local store. Being a Colt I decided to take a chance and am very happy with it.

KNO[SUB]3[/SUB]

 

I had both the standard and target models. I sold off the 4", but the 6" is one of my favorite shooters.
The gun is based off of the High Standard Dura-Matic 101. I had both, and I liked the Colt much better. The H/S was their budget model. The design then went to Beretta and with some changes became the Neos. Here's some comparison pictures.

 

I have the 4" one but cannot find a rear sight for it.

 

I had both a Target and a standard model Colt .22. The Target model was very finicky about ammunition...I eventually sold it but still have the standard one which is a fine shooter. I had a different standard model which I sold to a Forum member.

Colt should have kept this pistol in the line. Its hard to justify not having a .22 pistol in your product line.

 

Colt should have kept this pistol in the line. Its hard to justify not having a .22 pistol in your product line.

I could not agree with you more, but you do realize a LOT of people on this forum would complain that it is "....not a woodsman".

 

I agree with Snidely that this is a pistol colt should have kept investing in. I had the 4" model for a number of years and it was great. Great accuracy and a solid trigger. Take down was very easy, especially compare to the Rugers. I sadly sold mine but I am back in the hunt for the 6" model as like many of you I want to run an optic on it. Haven't used a pistol with a red dot before!! I currently have a 4" Sig/Hammerli Trailside which is in my opinion another solid performer on a budget pistol. For those who have the original "First Edition" Colt .22 with that black finish I am very jealous those you don't see every day and really don't see them on the auction sites either.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

Mine's been shot a lot, I enjoy it. The only negative is when you have the barrel off to clean it, it's very easy to stick those sharp feed ramp points into a thumb or finger. Ouch.

 

Oh and great info on the nano magazines being compatible.

 

Oh and great info on the nano magazines being compatible.

Neos, not Nano.

KNO[SUB]3[/SUB]

 

I have never fired mine, I bought it a few years ago from a guy who bought it and put it in the safe, and never fired it. Mine came with a longer barrel and another slide too, never really looked at that too much, looks to be a scope mount type rail....Anyhow, very neat gun, makes me want to shoot it!!! I have searched for more mags myself, and determined that Neos ones are the way to go, as several local retailers keep them on the shelf.

 

Hello,

I baught a 4.5 in Luxemburg 1 year ago and i'm using it each sunday.
I want to change the rear sight (non adjustable.....)
Can you please advice me for a LPA compatible adjustable rear sight ??
Thx in advance !

 

Welcome to the Forum,
I'm not aware of any direct replacement LPA sight that will slide into the dovetail in the Colt Cadet slide. LPA lists several rear adjustable sights for a Colt Government Model but I don't know if the dovetail cut is the same between the Government and the Cadet. I would measure the dovetail in your slide and contact LPA and see if their Tech Department can advise which one would work best. You may end up having to do what I did a few years ago with a LPA TPU rear sight to fit in the dovetail of my Norinco Model 1911A-1. I had to file the front and rear edge of the sight's dovetail to fit in the Norinco dovetail. It worked fine and was a snug fit and was pretty simple to do.

Edit to add a pic of the LPA TPU sight I modified and used in my Norinco.

 

Hey,

Thank you for answering.
I dont have proper tools to take the measure (and i would means that I should first remove the rear sight no ?), and here in Luxemburg sellers are taking sooo much money for any action (got my cadet for 390€ +/- 450$...) that i'm trying to do things by myself.
A 6'' replacement barrel would be great, but it seems impossible to find.
I will contact LPA, maybe they already received such request .
Regards,
Meta

 

At one time Colt produced a conversion package for the Cadet to convert it to the "Target" version with a 6" barrel/slide with adjustable sights and optic rail. I haven't seen one for quite a while but I suppose keeping an eye on the auction sites and hope that one pops up that you can purchase in Europe. You could always sell your Cadet and pick up something else that suits your need or mount an optic on it or do what I did and customize one to work. I can measure the dovetail cut in a Colt Government Model for you but I don't have a Cadet.

 

If it's hard to find this kit in US, i imagine that it will be barely impossible in Europe And at which price !
Last time i went in a gun shop here (not where i bought it) the guy just told me "are you sure it is a colt model ?"
I do like it, it's my 1st Firearm, i will keep it
And thx for your proposition for the 1911 but i don't think it will help (i can find a LPA for 1911 70/80/90)
And for an optic, i'm in a "classic" shooting club, i'm not sure that i'm allowed to mount that, we are not allowed to try silencers or "fancy" stuff....boring.. just classic aiming & competition..
Anyway, i learn the term "dovetail cut" today now i have to find the equivalent in French

 

Take it to a machinist - he can accurately measure it for you.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

these are not based on the high standards, the colt 98 catalog will tell you they are based on the woodsmans

 

They look like a clone of the Duromatic (High Standard) to me.

Regards,

Tam 3

 

Colt officially denied there was any close resemblance to any HS model possibly for legal reasons but the name change from Cadet and the actual resemblance is uncanny and undeniable.

 

Indeed...

 

Hey Y'all,

I too have one of these . . . an early example marked Cadet. I received this pistol as a Father's Day gift from my wife. I am the second owner, and luckily the first owner kept the outer box and the blue plastic box with all of it's accessories. I believe this pistol has not been fired since leaving Colt. I would love to shoot it, as I am a big .22lr fan. However, I will shoot one of my Woodsman pistols.

Best,
Tom

 

Cool. I wonder both how many Cadets and Colt 22s were manufactured?

 

Just posted this in another thread.

I've been doing some serial number research on these. I'd guesstimate about 50,000-55,000 of the 4" models and about 20,000 of the 6" Target Models were made. I've got a Target Model. It shoots well, no jams or malfunctions. Accuracy is good, especially with a Red Dot and is easy to clean and maintain. The main reason I bought it was to be able to use a red dot. It's not up to Woodsman fit and finish and to belt carry would require a large holster.

Original mags are expensive but Beretta Neos mags work perfectly well and are a cheap alternative.

KNO3