Colt Woodsman question

[JustinL]

Hi

I purchsed a second generation Colt Woodsman last year and have enjoyed it immensely, however, I think it may be malfunctioning. I had read that the woodsman's slide was not supposed to lock back after the last shot, however, I viewed a vintage Woodsman ad on Ebay today and the advertisement noted that it DID lock back? Is this true? Do I have a malfunctioning firearm? Does Colt service weapons from the 1950s? Thanks for your time.

 

[rcmodel]

Some did, and some didn't.

The First series did not have a slide lock.
Second Series did, but the Challenger did not.
Third series did, Targetsman, and Hunstman did not.

If yours has a thumb operated slide release lever in front of the safety at the top of the grip, it should lock open after the last round.

http://www.eskimo.com/~rayburn/woodsman/cwpg.html

Colt will not work on them.

BTW: You should be able to take the left grip off and look in there.
See if the magazine follower button is pushing the slide stop up when the mag is empty.

rc

 

[JustinL]

Well then I guess I have a defective pistol. Off to the gunsmith then. Thank you very much!

 

[dogtown tom]

JustinL:...I purchsed a second generation Colt Woodsman

rcmodel: Some did, and some didn't.

The First series did not have a slide lock.
Second Series did,

JustinL: Well then I guess I have a defective pistol...

Reread rcmodels post- if you have a Second Series Woodsman it DOES have a slide lock. If yours doesn't have a slide lock lever on the left side, it isn't a Second Series Woodsman.

 

[bhk]

It may be that by simply trying a different magazine, the slide will lock back. Lock back issues are often really just magazine issues.

 

[mljdeckard]

My father has one that has the thumb lock, but it has never locked back. I think I'll get a few different mags and see what happens.

Also, does anyone know how to field strip it? I just looked at it once years ago and couldn't figure it out.

 

[HammerBite]

Go here for field stripping instructions.

 

[ddc]

Be careful when field stripping.

I have only stripped mine a couple of times now. The grip safety always seems to desire a small bit of flesh at some point during disassembly/reassembly.

It is very possible I'm doing something incorrectly.

 

[rcmodel]

If you have a Woodsman with a grip safety, somebody certainly did something wrong!

If you lock the recoil spring back with the take-down button, then snap the hammer, there should be very little resistance when you take the mainspring housing out.
Same with putting it back in. The hammer must be in the un-cocked position or you will have a very hard time snapping it back in place in the frame.


JustinL
Go here and see if you have the correct magazine for your gun:
http://www.eskimo.com/~rayburn/woodsman/wmmagazine.html

If the follower button is the wrong one the slide stop won't work.

rc

 

[ddc]

Sorry, main spring housing.

(It's probably been a couple of years since I even looked at mine; somehow over that period of time the shape of the main spring housing morphed into a 1911 like grip safety.... I know... kinda scary isn't it?)

Even so I seem to remember, although now I'm having significant doubts! that the main spring housing tended to pinch the web of my hand.

 

[HammerBite]

Even so I seem to remember, although now I'm having significant doubts! that the main spring housing tended to pinch the web of my hand.

You may be remembering correctly.

The pre-war Woodsman did not have a mainspring housing retainer pin. If your gun is a post-war model, the pin may be missing. Colt added the mainspring housing retainer pin because some shooters with strong grips were pressing the housing inward. That opens a gap between the housing and the frame. The web of the hand can find its way into that gap and get pinched when the grip is relaxed.