What to look for in a Woodsman

You want one that is in original condition. What model and barrel length?

Model, Price, Condition and Originality are all points of consideration.
A written post here on the forum takes some time to type and not always as comprehensive as a direct dialogue. I suggest a direct conversation via the telephone which starts by a sent email for the exchange of phone numbers and a chat.

Regards,
Tom Platt
[email protected]

Bob's excellent pocket guide is out of print and he does not have any copies left. He does have all the 'art' to reprint but he said he is getting too old to even reconsider that option. Great loss of knowledge.

I am lucky enough to still have an unfired Woodsman with the original s/n box and holster/stock from his collection.

Randy

Thanks for the comments, they are well received. It's a 3rd generation 6-inch Sport with walnut grips. It is definitely not a collector piece, with light blue wear at the muzzle, some sharp edges, and grips. The magazine looked worse than the rest of the gun, not marked on the base plate so maybe not even Colt. I only took a brief look but I'm thinking I might pick it up if there are no mechanical issues. I am confident in my ability to do a basic inspection but was just hoping for some tips on anything that might not be easily noticed visually or? I can't test fire it or do a lot of disassembly.

I finally took the jump earlier this year. Now I'm wondering why it took me so long. Bob's little red book is worth the cost when you find it. I traded my extra copy off but treasure the one I kept.

There's hardly a bad woodsman out there. Even the ones with lots of wear and "life" are still good shooters. The magazines seem to be the "valuable" part when getting them running right.

I stumbled up on a buggered up 1st series on the way home from Myrtle Beach SC eons ago. You remember your first. Bubba had shortened the barrel among other ‘mods’. I played with it, modded it some more and still have it. I believe my mods are not as crude as Bubbas. Never broken a firing pin or extractor but did break a sear. Great .22s.

ezb57
A “Sport” Model will have a 4 1/2” barrel
A “Target” Model will have a 6” barrel
There are OEM Colt magazines listed on eBay for your Woodsman. Expect to pay about $125 for one.

prewoodsman said:

... a direct conversation via the telephone which starts by a sent email for the exchange of phone numbers and a chat.

Regards,
Tom Platt
[email protected]

Click to expand...

I can highly recommend this ⬆ ⬆ ⬆ ⬆

To the op, you might want to replace the recoil spring not knowing how much it was shot. They are available. I don’t remember replacing a hammer spring in any of mine. Regular LR is ok but SV is always good stuff. My two oldest are 101 and 105 years old. My preference has always been the 2nd series MT. And they are called Pre-Woodsman, 1st, 2nd, 3rd Series not generation. Colt SAAs are referred to as 1st-4th Generations. Don't ask me why. Maybe because they span a longer time frame, 1873 to whenever the Colt Custom shop made the last one. Message Tom as he's the best on this forum for Woodsmans if you have questions.

The price isn't outrageous. But always see if you can do better.

That’s a nice looking 4 1/2” Sport Model!

If the left side looks as nice as this the price is certainly not out of line. It would be a great shooter.

Randy

As above...that price isn't bad. If you can get them down any, I think you will be very happy with it.
Both my 1st Series MT and 2nd Series Target are proofed for HV ammo but both show a preference for standard velocity.

Glad to hear all that. I have a mountain of SV ammo that would last me the rest of my shooting days.
I'll post more pictures if I end up buying it, which is likely at this point. They have a Blue Book they are using that shows $700 in 95% condition and I get the impression they want to make a sale.
Thanks to all.
ezb