In House Shipping:
Make: Colt
Model: Woodsman Match Target, 2nd Series
Serial Number: 62438-S
Year of Manufacture: 1949
Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
Action Type: Single Action Semi-Auto fed by Removable Magazine
Barrel Length: 6″ Heavy Barrel, Fluted Slab-Side
Sights / Optics: The rear sight is a flat topped square notch adjustable for windage and elevation, dovetailed into the slide. The front sight is a blade that is pinned into a serrated, ramped base fixed to the top of the barrel.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are two-piece checkered plastic with a rampant colt molded into the top of the right panel and a thumb-shelf on the left panel for a right-handed shooter. The grips have minor handling wear with a few small nicks and scuffs. The checkering is well defined. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the grips are in Fine Plus Condition.
Type of Finish: Blue
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is mostly bright with sharp rifling. There is no erosion in the bore but there is a little stubborn fouling. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates 9 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 96% of its metal finish. There is some minor oxidation on the breech- and muzzle-face. There is a light scuff on the top of the barrel in front of the frame. There are a few other scattered minor marks. The action shows minor operational wear. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is in Fine Condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this handgun. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: This pistol comes with one vintage original Colt blued 10-round magazine stamped “COLT / CAL. 22 L.R.” on the bottom floorplate.
Our Assessment: Another innovative design sprung from the mind of gunmaking genius John Moses Browning was the “Colt’s Automatic Pistol, Caliber .22”, later to become the Woodsman, with the design refined slightly by Colt employees George Tansley and F.C. Chadwick before it was released in 1915. The Woodsman stayed in production until 1977. While sportsmen favored the Sport Model and plinkers preferred the Target Model, competitive bullseye target shooters wanted the top of the line Match Target. The Colt Woodsman pistols changed the location of the magazine release from the butt to the left side of the frame and then back to the butt for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Series, respectively. The 2nd Series Match Target was released in 1948, but the design was changed in 1955, dropping the brown with black swirl plastic grips and the angled and grooved trigger, making any 2nd Series Match Target scarce and desirable today.
This Colt 2nd Series Match Target Pistol was made in 1949 and is in Fine Condition. It’s chambered in .22 LR, and features 96% of its lustrous, original blued finish, a 6” heavy, fluted, slab-side barrel, the original, elegant Colt brown with black swirl plastic grips, and a mostly bright bore with sharp rifling. Lastly, this pistol comes from the personal collection of inventor, founder, and President of Universal Firearms, Abe Seiderman, and should be of additional interest to collectors for that ownership lineage. This 2nd Series Match Target should still prove to be a great shooter, or would be a fine addition to a Colt collection.