problem with colt woodsman match target

[nappy]

Hello everybody,

about 6 months ago i bought my first gun. Having spent entirly too much time trying to
figure out what i wanted, i ended up buying a colt woodsman match target. Although the gun was made in 75 it looks very good and i simply love firing it on the range. True there are other gunds with better trigger and better whatnot, but the colt beats them all when it comes to looks and i wouldnt trade it for the world.

Now..anyways. I have 1 problem which i cannot seem to figure out.

Oh.. and btw. when trying to explain my problem ill be refering to this page:
http://www.gunsopedia.com/File:Colt_Woodsman_parts.jpg

So, to my problem.

As can be seen in slide.jpg, the bottom left side (inside the red rectangle) the bluing has
started to come of. This is caused by the "slide stop" (slide_stop.jpg) scraping on the slide when the last shot is fired. The "slide stop" should be caught by the slide, but it doesnt. This is not a big problem, since all i have to do is cock he gun and then remove the magazine. But i love this gun and id like for it to be in perfect working order and the left side of the slide is starting to look ugly

I have changed the "recoil spring" and the "firing pin spring" and i have cleaned the gun and magazine several times, but of about 1000 shots, i think the "slide stop" has caught the slide maybe 10 times.

If you look at slide_stop_w_magazine.jpg you will see that i have sircled the "slide stop screw". I have experimented by tightening this really tight as well as setting it very loose.
Nothing seems to help. if i tighten it too much it locks the "slide stop" in the up position so i am assuming it shouldnt be screwed too tight..right ?

Finaly, i have not tried another magazine.. simpley because none are easily available, and before i try to find one on ebay i want to be sure ive tried all i can to fix my problem.
As far as i can see the magazine spring is all right (as can be seen in magazine.jpg), and
it does push the "slide stop" up into the notch on the slide when i do it manually. The magazine spring sertainly has a ...spring to it when i press and release manually (can be seen in cocked.jpg), but maybe its not enough?

I have scoured the internet, but have so far, found no answers for my problem.

Any and all help appriciated.

nappy

 

[nappy]

meh.. i forgot to add the magazine pictuere. here it is

 

[rcmodel]

Your mag spring is worn out.

A relative new & unused mag spring should measure 6 5/8" long or so.

Or 6 7/8" including the follower.

Yours appears to be much shorter then that.




PS: You could try stretching it.
But that won't last long.
The more times you stretch a spring the weaker it gets through use.

I don't know of any current source for new springs.
But you could try here:
http://www.coltparts.com/pt_woodsmanmatchtarget3.html
rc

 

[nappy]

much appriciated rcmodel.

I'll start looking right away for a new spring, and ill try and stretch the old one to see
if it will help (for a little while at least). Again, thanx for the help.

nappy.

 

[rcmodel]

BTW: The screw that holds the slide release in should work fully tightened.

If it doesn't, and causes binding?

Something is bent, warped, or there is a bur on something.

It also appears a little oil on things wouldn't hurt!

rc

 

[nappy]

Hmm, then theres something wrong. If i screw the "slide stop screw" as tight as i think it should be,
it will lock the "slide stop" in the up position and the "slide stop" will scrape on the slide all the time. I can push it down, but it will pop up again when i release it. Ill dissasemble it again later on tonight and take a closer look for bent or twisted parts.

again. thnx.

nappy

ps: i removed all the oil before i took the photoes. It was easier to handle the parts and the camera withouth oil all over it. I isually have a healthy amount of oil on all moving (and non moving) parts.

 

[rcmodel]

I can push it down, but it will pop up again when i release it

.

Without a magazine in the gun??

The slide stop should be spring-loaded DOWN by the little wire spring (Part TT in your schematic)

The mag spring should be able to over-power it, and only push the slide stop UP to lock the slide back when the mag follower button hits it on an empty mag.

rc

 

[nappy]

yes i know its weird.

if i tighten the "slide plate screw" past a sertain point, its almost as if the "slide stopper" is reversing
its function. If the screw is somewhat loose, it will be in the down position and if i pull it up and then release it, it will pull down (because of the "slide stopper spring"). If i tighten the screw too much, the last few turns of the screw, will pull the "slide stopper" up. if i press it down and release it, it will pull back up again.

Ill see if i can make a short movie tomorrow to show what happends.

nappy

 

[rcmodel]

I don't need no steenk'n movies.

Apparently your slide plate screw is worn to the point it is tightening down too tight.

It is a 'shoulder screw' and should tighten tight against the frame before the head pinches tight against the slide stop and binds it up.

rc

 

[nappy]

Lol, aight, no movie then.

in any case, you have given me valuable information and hopefully ill be able to fix the problem now that i know what to look for.

nappy

 

[jfrey]

If all else fails, call Alex Hamilton at 10Ring in San Antonio, Tx and ask him. He fixed the same model gun my FIL has when it was acting up.

 

[hentown]

Not trying to be a smarty-pants, but how would a guy who's just bought his first gun know whether the mag spring is o.k. or not? I inherited a Woodsman Target in 1981. It was and still is pristine. I do have six mags for it. Occasionally, I'll have to use a little graphite or some other dry lube, in order to get the follower to engage the slide stop.

Oh, yeah, I gave that old Woodsman to my youngest son and am now the proud owner of two Ruger 22/45s, which, in my humble opinion, are superior to my old, beautiful Colt Woodsman. (And you can buy 3 22/45s for what one Woodsman Match Target sells for. )

 

[rcmodel]

Generally speaking?

If the mag spring is too weak to lock the slide back on the last shot, every time?

It is too old & weak.

It can also manifest itself in feed failures as you get to the last round or two in the mag.
It's a matter of the slide outrunning the mag spring as it pushes the next round up.

rc

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

When I bought mine in 72 I bought 2 extra mags. which never worked. Maybe they had to be fitted to the gun.

 

[Jim K]

It sounds like the slide stop itself might be bent so that the slide stop screw binds when it shouldn't and the slide stop is too close to the slide and rubs. Also, as RC says, the slide stop should be tensioned down, so apparently the spring is in wrong or something else is wrong.

Jim