Engraved Colt Target Woodsman

THREEDFLYER · #1 02-12-2018, 10:51 AM

This one is listed for sale, but not being a Colt guy and not knowing the engraver is an issue. ***Brought this one home today***

If you know engraving I would appreciate some feedback and if you have an idea of value feel free to state your thoughts. There is no box with this one and it has been left in the "white" as you can see in engraved areas.

Thanks for looking!

The Norseman · #2 02-12-2018, 11:00 AM

In the Shadow of the Ruger Pistol Factory you
found that?

Hopefully someone here can guide you to who
the Engraver is.

That would be a joy to own and shoot. Great
Colt Pistol.

My Copy Colts; U.S. Fire Arms.

italiansport · #3 02-12-2018, 01:03 PM

I don't know if you'll ever be able to identify this engraver but the work looks to be excellent to me. I would grab this pistol in an instant if it was reasonably priced. Good luck.
Jim

THREEDFLYER · #4 02-12-2018, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by italiansport

I don't know if you'll ever be able to identify this engraver but the work looks to be excellent to me. I would grab this pistol in an instant if it was reasonably priced. Good luck.
Jim

What would you call a “reasonable” price??

italiansport · #5 02-12-2018, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THREEDFLYER

What would you call a “reasonable” price??

If it looks this good in a hands on I'd probably be a player in the $1500 - $2000 range. I expect you'll get a lot of opinions here.
Jim

murphydog · #6 02-12-2018, 03:01 PM

It's a 3rd series Woodsman Match Target, which is a low four-figure gun by itself. Add on what appears to be a set of ivory stocks, gold inlays and what appears to be a very nice engraving job and $2000 seems on the low side - if you like the style of embellishment.

Perhaps our fearless Forum leader, or Richard (rkmesa), or one of the other engraved gun experts will chime in.

THREEDFLYER · #7 02-12-2018, 10:47 PM

Alan, I will get to check this one out in person tomorrow and can provide some better photos.

I tend to agree that $2,000 would definitely be on the low side but if I could get it for that I would grab it.....Colt guy or not! I am sure it would sell for much higher on GunBroker.

2152hq · #8 02-13-2018, 01:41 AM

Cut right thru the factory blued finish, that's the reason for the 'in the white areas' showing. That's all the fresh cut steel and punch work the engraver did.
All the work was performed on the flat surfaces of the pistol,,none on any of the rounded areas. That was carefully planned so as to avoid any oops problems and to get the work done as fast as possible.
Cutting the rounded areas increases the chance of a mark into the nice blue surface that would show up. Plus working on areas such as the grip straps, under side of the bbl/frame, underside of the trigger guard ,,these all slow you down greatly as you can't make arcs and circles in one complete cut. The frame itself gets iin the way of you hands and tool as you cut forcing you to make those arcs/circles in segments. Completing them in cuts that meet from opposing directions. Not the easiest & quickest thing to do,,and those elbows and knees start to appear real fast !

Working over the flat areas with nothing in the way is fast work and can be covered quickly with a repetitive pattern like this one.
All done with one V chisel including single point shading and the background punch dot matted.
No slips allowed to spoil that nice factory blue finish!

The gold inlayed Colt Pony looks like 24k,,that's the easiest to work with. Soft, shapes easy and attaches easily as an overlay. Probably the overlay done using the stamped logo as the outline and then just crosshatch the inside of the outline with a tiny sharp flat chisel in 3 directions to throw up teeth. Those teeth impale the soft gold and hold on to it when it's gently swaged down upon them. I use wire to form the overlay in that manner,,some use a cut out from thin sheet of gold. Either way, the end result is the same, a raised figure that can then be modeled to shape with punches and burnisher as here. Or be leveled flat but left raised and then shaded with gravers to apply contrast to the figure. Sometimes a little of both.
The work here is excellent IMO. Both in the modeling and detail and the fact that the surrounding metal/blued surface was not touched at all during the overlay and detailing process.

Looking at the cut of the scroll and the quality of the overlay,,I'd almost guess that two different engravers did those different tasks. But again just my guess.

Who did the work?,,,Anyones guess really.
Can't really tell by just looking at the scroll work. It's a style done by untold number of engravers known and un-named.
The fact that it's done 'in the white' and done only to the large flats of the pistol may be a clue of sorts.
I'm thinking one of the engravers that liked to follow the various shows and money shoots (Trap,Skeet, ect) and set up doing work right there at the event may have done it.
It was popular for guns to be done and given right back to the customers at the 3 to 5 day event.
Bill Mains would have been a possibility, he cut that style quite often, But Bill would have signed it plainly I'm sure.
Angelo Bee also but as above, he would sign his with ABEE or the small bumblebee figure.
Some Spanish engravers were fond of cutting thru the blue and leaving the work in the white also. (They even cut thru Color case hardening on Colt SAA's when carbide tools became available.) Another possibility.
Not to forget that cutting thru Nickel Plated handguns and leaving them in the white was in style for a time in the 70's. This done by more than a few US engravers.
(Kind of fell from favor after it was found that the plating started to peel from the edges of the cuts from some mfg's plated guns so cut.)

I think I see a 'mark' in the engraving. Maybe it's nothing.
In the closeup pic of the gold inlay Colt Pony,,& you have to enlarge it more,,, under the horse there is a curl of scroll sweeping upwards.
Sitting on top of that scroll is 'something'(?) A caricature mark,,a signiture?,,or am I just seeing a dust bunny there!

Also on the left rear side of the trigger guard (triangle flat portion) there is an elongated oval stamp w/something inside of it,,can't make it out.
Can't recall anything Colt related that would be stamped there that looked like that, but maybe I just can't recall anything anymore.

Just some observations

murphydog · #9 02-13-2018, 05:45 AM

Wow, and all I saw was a bunch of scratches

. Thanks for the observations!

Looking forward to more details when Tom sees it. You live in a beautiful part of the country.

S&W ucla · #10 02-13-2018, 09:09 PM

Nice gun. The grips are actually made to fit a 2nd series with the push button magazine release. Seem to be nicely done. SN indicates 1968 manufacture of 3rd series. The 4.5" Match Target is one of the more desirable of that group. Good luck!

For all things Woodsman, check out Maj. Robert Rayburn's site 22 caliber rimfire semi-auto Colt pistol: .22 calibre Colt Woodsman

THREEDFLYER · #11 02-13-2018, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S&W ucla

Nice gun. The grips are actually made to fit a 2nd series with the push button magazine release. Seem to be nicely done. SN indicates 1968 manufacture of 3rd series. The 4.5" Match Target is one of the more desirable of that group. Good luck!

For all things Woodsman, check out Maj. Robert Rayburn's site 22 caliber rimfire semi-auto Colt pistol: .22 calibre Colt Woodsman

I figured the grips were for a later model, but they still add to this one nicely.
I ended up purchasing it today along with an engraved 3.5" Pre-27 which I have posted in another section. Also ended up with an early 4-digit K-22 from the same seller, an early post war model.

I posted more photos in my first post.....still need to identify the engraver, will pull the slide off later tonight and see if it's marked there.

This one will most likely be up for sale soon as I am not a Colt collector......but it's sure a fine gun and you are correct it's 1968 production.