Literally three weeks after bringing home my ‘63 Woodsman MT for $ 520, same LGS had a nice 1940 model for $ 535. Guess what I did ?









Back in time when “America’s Great Gun House” was on 5th avenue in New York City, imagine that
























The Woodsman Match Target pair





As usual, straight to the range, 25 m

Nice!
The pre-war Match Target was ahead of its time and gave a decent run for the money against the revered Walther Olympia.
I had a 1957 Woodsman Match Target like yours and won a lot of matches with it.
One of the weak points was an inferior sear design that was prone to wear and failure, and always had an issue with trigger creep. Colt knew of the issue but chose not to address it. It cost them the American target shooters market, which was to become dominated by High Standard and S&W with their M41.
When my Woodsman sear failed in the 1980s, I had a gunsmith make (and heat treat) a proper replacement. There were no more problems and the trigger was improved in the process.

Both of yours would command a much higher price stateside!

The case you have is a very nice touch. By the way, what is the headstamp on your .22 ammo?

For more info on these Colts, and the era in which they were designed, I recommend the book:
U.S. MILITARY MATCH AND MARKSMANSHIP AUTOMATIC PISTOLS by Bill Jenkins.
(see attached)

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Wow, nice Roper grips! The gun and case were free!

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"I also cook."

Good job, bet you'll enjoy that pistol for a long time!

Awesome gun! Similar to the Match Target I fired as a teen. Recall it had what is called Elephant Grips that extended passed mag well. Sure was quite a gun. Can imagine what they sell for these days!

Thanks a lot for your detailed post, very interesting

Those are Swiss made vintage .22lr ammo I put there, hence the Swiss cross in a shield. I found 30 rounds of high velocity Remington in the box, I hope the previous owner didn’t shoot tens of thousands of those.

Thanks. I didn’t know those were Roper, I thought they were the original grips

not original grips, not original sights.

Back in time when “America’s Great Gun House” was on 5th avenue in New York City, imagine that

There were some pretty good sporting goods stores there as well

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

I have seen those Thun ammo boxes!
The early (1930s until 1947) Hämmerli free pistols (both the MP33 and earliest model 100) were made for the domestic Swiss market most often chambered for the Thun Patronen no. 7 .22 extra long.
I wish I could get some of that ammo, or even some empty fired cases and/or an empty cartridge box for my collection!

Roper grips are very desirable and quite valuable. If I owned those, I’d have someone address the cracks on the butt before they get worse.

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"I also cook."

Better than original sights and grips. King and Roper were the top of the game back then.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Gorgeous Match Target!
I think the King sights and Roper stocks really make it superb. Looks like the previous owner was quite the target shooter.
To find that Colt for that price in the states would be front page news. I for one am extremely jealous.

That was a one-in-a-million find, for sure. The grips and the case and cartridge block are really a terrific combination. Congrats!

I also have a Match Target, but this one dates from March of 1953. It's still quite accurate. Here's a pic.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

No, but that three line pre-war magazine is correct and worth $300+ all by itself.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Damn, I should have haggled then

Good, there’s two of them

Thanks, I’ll look into that indeed

Might have been already repaired / glued

When I saw the price I went back and checked to see if this post was 20 years old and then noted where you are-that’s a beautiful pair of pistols at fantastic prices.
As Kwill said, it doesn’t get better than Roper grips and King sights.
Regards,

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turnerriver

Nah, the sights are an upgrade over original.....

The original stocks had long lower extended panels and were nicknamed “elephant ears”. Fairly fragile and often seen cracked and or replaced.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I bought a lot of fly fishing stuff in the A&F Madison Ave store.
My favorite gun store in NYC was Rex Firearms although I only bought 1 revolver there(I think).
Most of my business went to Jovino,Bob Frielich and 2 stores on Long Island,World of Guns and Leslie Edelmans.

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

I bought a 6" blue Python at a New Jersey Edelman's in 1986, while stationed in NJ teaching AFROTC at Rutgers. My son has that revolver now.

HaHa! Yes!
Because we all know modified guns aren't worth anything....

It's so great that you not only have this treasure, but get to enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed: on the range!
Big Thumbs Up!

I have a Huntsman, Colt .22 Automatic ( pre-woodsman), Targetsman, First model Match Target, Second Model marked USMC property, and two 3rd model Match Target. The are the finest 22 pistols and all others have tried to catch them.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk

Here is a pic of my MT with original elephant ear grips.

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Yep that sure looks exactly like the one I tried Model46. Barrel something like 7 inches and the build quality simply fantastic as usual. Heard they took a special magazine too. Did not realize the gem I was holding 55 years ago!!

very nice. I like the stoeger guns, too.

I always thought that the Match Target from the 50's was about the best looking pistol ever made. I had a Woodsman 2nd model, not a MT. I received it for selling the family guns of my brother's FIL. One year I was strapped for cash and sold the Woodsman to some local gun collector for $100. He was one of those types that sits you down and carefully explains how he had just screwed you royally and what it was really worth.

I had just bought a Model 41 2nd year production and a Bob Chow 45 from a retired Army pistol team shooter, so I didn't need the Colt. I liked the pushbutton mag release and it looked great.

As my Machine Shop Instructor use to say some 50 years ago, "A thing a Beauty is a Joy forever!"

From an ole Bullseye shooter enjoy those pistols Sir, I'm in envy. It's obvious someone took a lot of pride in owning those.

Thanks for the post, I lucked out and got mine years ago with a box, manual, and a different set of grips. Honestly, I can't remember how much I paid for it but, it was well below $1K. The guy that sold it to me said it belonged to his father who had recently passed away and he wasn't into firearms and shooting as a hobby. Don't really know what it's worth now but, I know it's more than what I paid.

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FBINA 234

Dad gum, CLASSIC12, I think you are getting better US guns in Switzerland than we can here! I need a jealousy emoji!! Great find. The previous owner sure knew how to dress up his target gun. One thing I wonder is if the gun left the US with the Roper grips and King sights, or if they were sent to Switzerland and installed there?
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I wonder how cost prohibitive it is to move to Switzerland just to purchase quality made U.S. firearms for what seems to be bargain prices. My guess is that I would not be able to afford a place to live and purchase firearms, much less food.

Congratulation s on a fine looking pair of Colts!!!