Colt Woodsman

Colt Woodsman
An early first series Colt Woodsman pistol and magazine.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	John Browning
Manufacturer	Colt's Manufacturing Company
Produced	1915–1977
No. built	More than 690,000
Specifications
Weight	Approx: 1.875 Lbs
Barrel length	4.5, 6, or 6.625 inches.
Cartridge	.22 Long Rifle
Action	Semi-automatic

The Colt Woodsman is a semi-automatic sporting pistol manufactured by the American Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977. It was designed by John Moses Browning. The frame design changed over time, in three distinct series: series one being 1915–1941, series two 1947–1955, and series three being 1955–1977.

The Colt Woodsman sprang from a design by John Moses Browning and was refined by gunsmiths and designers at Colt's before its introduction in 1915.

Without the constraints of the US Government interfering with his design, Browning developed the Woodsman with a short slide, no grip safety and no hammer. These features were in place on his Model 1903 and 1911 designs, but a handgun for the civilian market did not require them.

There are three series of the Colt Woodsman and each series had three models: Target, Sport and Match Target.

The Target Model was the base model of the Woodsman and featured a 6" barrel with adjustable front and rear sights.

The Sport Model was designed as a field sidearm for hiking and camping in 1933 and had a 4.5" barrel. Original versions were made with a fixed front sight in the first series, but by the latter half of production, an adjustable sight was available.

The Match Target Model debuted in 1938 and featured a heavier barrel with a one piece wrap-around grip known as the "elephant ear." A "Bullseye" Icon was rollmarked into the slide lending the nickname "Bullseye Match Target."

In 1941 as the US entered World War II, Colt ceased civilian production of the Woodsman but delivered 4000 Match Target models to the US Government as late as 1945. These pistols had a plastic one piece grip and were marked "Property US Government," but appeared on the surplus market after the war.

Colt resumed production of the Woodsman in 1947. The three Models remained the same, but were built on a longer heavier frame and had a magazine safety, automatic slide stop and magazine release located at the rear of the trigger guard.

Special versions were made for the United States Marine Corps (100 Match Target Models and 2500 Sport Models); United States Air Force (925 Target Models) and 75 Match Target Models for the United States Coast Guard. The Air Force models had no special markings and most were sold as surplus through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship Program. The bulk of the Marine and Coast Guard versions were destroyed and sold as scrap metal.