Ljohns
Active member
I want to share a comparison I did between the S&W Model 41 and the Colt Woodsman Match Target. I have owned the Colt for a long time. I just recently purchased the S&W on the advice of an out of state friend who has been shooting his in local competition with some success.
First I want to tell Forum members about my purchase experience. I purchased the S&W Model 41 used, from a Forum member, RkyMtn. After the purchase RkyMtn found a small cosmetic flaw on the trigger guard when he was cleaning the gun up for shipment. He e-mailed me immediately and offered to refund part of the purchase price if I still wanted the gun. His offer sounded satisfactory to me and I accepted. I told my local FFL about the deal. When he received the gun he called to tell me it had arrived and told me the flaw was very minor and hardly noticeable. In fact, he told me he would not even have noticed it if I hadn’t told him about it in advance. I would like to thank RkyMtn for the beautiful gun and the admirable way he handled the purchase. If any of you deal with RkyMtn I am sure you will find him honorable and very easy to do business with.
Second, I am not a professional marksman and don’t do any competition shooting. The shooting I do is purely recreational and I don’t profess to be an expert on these guns. I have no association with either manufacturer and you should take what I say here solely as my opinion.
The S&W Model 41 has the 5.5” barrel. The fit and finish are excellent and it feels a lot like my Colt 1911. I’ve understand that is because they both have the same barrel to grip angle. Since I like shooting the 1911 I find this very pleasing. It has an ambidextrous grip. Since I am right handed that doesn’t mean much to me but it would be invaluable to a lefty. The grip is flat on the bottom and the clip is recessed so the grip provides a stable base for bench rest shooting. The spring compress button on the side of the magazine is a little small and the spring is a little strong which makes loading the magazine a little difficult. The magazine release is a button on the left side of the frame, again, just like the 1911. I found the gun well balanced, even with the shorter 5.5” barrel (there is a 7” available). It has a real heft to it and recoils very little with .22 cal. L.R.’s. It is a joy to shoot.
My Colt Woodsman Match Target was manufactured in 1962 and was passed down to me when my father passed away in the early 1980‘s. It is one of my favorite guns and I probably shoot it more than any other, except maybe the 1911. This gun has the 6” barrel. I find fit and finish on this piece comparable to the Model 41. It has been holstered so there is a hint of a rub mark on the barrel end. Overall it is a 98% gun. The factory supplied grip is built for right handers, which works for me. It has a natural feel in my hand and has a good balance. There is a fairly large button on the spring compression mechanism on the magazine and the spring is light, I like that. The magazine, however, has quite an angle to it and the shells are a tad difficult to load because of this. The magazine release on this series is a knob on the end of the frame. I find this a little cumbersome and it leaves a bump on the end of the gun that makes it somewhat unstable when using a bench rest. It has a good heft and feel but isn’t as heavy as the Model 41. It handles well and is still heavy enough to have very little recoil. I enjoy shooting this one as much as the S&W Model 41.
For this comparison I shot round nose, high velocity Remington Thunderbolt .22 Long Rifle cartridges. I used a homemade pistol bench rest that adjusts to fit either pistol perfectly. I went to a local indoor range and shot at 10 yds.I thought this to be a practical distance for shooting a hand gun and, like I said before, I’m no marksman.
I shot 10 shots through each gun and made some minor sighting adjustments to zero the pattern towards the center of the target. The purpose of this shoot wasn’t so much to hit the center of the bulls eye as it was to see what kind of grouping each gun would produce. I only shot a five shot pattern on each target.
Each gun performed well. They both shot 1” patterns at 10 yds. There was one “flyer” in each group or the pattern would have been even smaller.
So, I’ve probably wasted all of our time with this review. I couldn’t pick one of these guns over the other for looks, feel, balance or accuracy. If you are torn between which of these guns is the best, it doesn’t make a rat’s rear which one you choose. They are both excellent guns and you will be satisfied with either one regardless of which one you take home.
First I want to tell Forum members about my purchase experience. I purchased the S&W Model 41 used, from a Forum member, RkyMtn. After the purchase RkyMtn found a small cosmetic flaw on the trigger guard when he was cleaning the gun up for shipment. He e-mailed me immediately and offered to refund part of the purchase price if I still wanted the gun. His offer sounded satisfactory to me and I accepted. I told my local FFL about the deal. When he received the gun he called to tell me it had arrived and told me the flaw was very minor and hardly noticeable. In fact, he told me he would not even have noticed it if I hadn’t told him about it in advance. I would like to thank RkyMtn for the beautiful gun and the admirable way he handled the purchase. If any of you deal with RkyMtn I am sure you will find him honorable and very easy to do business with.
Second, I am not a professional marksman and don’t do any competition shooting. The shooting I do is purely recreational and I don’t profess to be an expert on these guns. I have no association with either manufacturer and you should take what I say here solely as my opinion.
The S&W Model 41 has the 5.5” barrel. The fit and finish are excellent and it feels a lot like my Colt 1911. I’ve understand that is because they both have the same barrel to grip angle. Since I like shooting the 1911 I find this very pleasing. It has an ambidextrous grip. Since I am right handed that doesn’t mean much to me but it would be invaluable to a lefty. The grip is flat on the bottom and the clip is recessed so the grip provides a stable base for bench rest shooting. The spring compress button on the side of the magazine is a little small and the spring is a little strong which makes loading the magazine a little difficult. The magazine release is a button on the left side of the frame, again, just like the 1911. I found the gun well balanced, even with the shorter 5.5” barrel (there is a 7” available). It has a real heft to it and recoils very little with .22 cal. L.R.’s. It is a joy to shoot.
My Colt Woodsman Match Target was manufactured in 1962 and was passed down to me when my father passed away in the early 1980‘s. It is one of my favorite guns and I probably shoot it more than any other, except maybe the 1911. This gun has the 6” barrel. I find fit and finish on this piece comparable to the Model 41. It has been holstered so there is a hint of a rub mark on the barrel end. Overall it is a 98% gun. The factory supplied grip is built for right handers, which works for me. It has a natural feel in my hand and has a good balance. There is a fairly large button on the spring compression mechanism on the magazine and the spring is light, I like that. The magazine, however, has quite an angle to it and the shells are a tad difficult to load because of this. The magazine release on this series is a knob on the end of the frame. I find this a little cumbersome and it leaves a bump on the end of the gun that makes it somewhat unstable when using a bench rest. It has a good heft and feel but isn’t as heavy as the Model 41. It handles well and is still heavy enough to have very little recoil. I enjoy shooting this one as much as the S&W Model 41.
For this comparison I shot round nose, high velocity Remington Thunderbolt .22 Long Rifle cartridges. I used a homemade pistol bench rest that adjusts to fit either pistol perfectly. I went to a local indoor range and shot at 10 yds.I thought this to be a practical distance for shooting a hand gun and, like I said before, I’m no marksman.
I shot 10 shots through each gun and made some minor sighting adjustments to zero the pattern towards the center of the target. The purpose of this shoot wasn’t so much to hit the center of the bulls eye as it was to see what kind of grouping each gun would produce. I only shot a five shot pattern on each target.
Each gun performed well. They both shot 1” patterns at 10 yds. There was one “flyer” in each group or the pattern would have been even smaller.
So, I’ve probably wasted all of our time with this review. I couldn’t pick one of these guns over the other for looks, feel, balance or accuracy. If you are torn between which of these guns is the best, it doesn’t make a rat’s rear which one you choose. They are both excellent guns and you will be satisfied with either one regardless of which one you take home.
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