TargetTalk

Wondering if anyone has heard of this. Recently ran into a woodsman that had a bull barrel istalled. Rrumor has it that it may be one of Bob Chow's personal guns from back in the day. Just taking a flyer that someone here would have some info reguarding this. Pics coming shortly.
Thanks in advance.

Hi,
Welcome to Targettalk! To a lot of people the Woodsman is very "old school", due to it's lack of various adjustable things such as grip, trigger, etc.. It is in the same group as old High Standards, S&W 41, and a few others. But, if you find something like this that fits your hand size, trigger reach, natural point of aim, they can be really great! I had an old Colt Woodsman that was really nice. It was very accurate, had a good grip angle for me, a fine trigger, and was very reliable. I can't recall why I sold it, but I do regret selling it!
I'd really like to see some pics. It would be nice to know what specific model it was built upon.
You might have found a real treasure!

Best regards,
Jim

Thanks for your reply Jim.
It's actually a pre woodsman 40xxx serial #.

6string wrote:Hi,
Welcome to Targettalk! To a lot of people the Woodsman is very "old school", due to it's lack of various adjustable things such as grip, trigger, etc.. It is in the same group as old High Standards, S&W 41, and a few others. But, if you find something like this that fits your hand size, trigger reach, natural point of aim, they can be really great! I had an old Colt Woodsman that was really nice. It was very accurate, had a good grip angle for me, a fine trigger, and was very reliable. I can't recall why I sold it, but I do regret selling it!
I'd really like to see some pics. It would be nice to know what specific model it was built upon.
You might have found a real treasure!

Best regards,
Jim

Off the top of my head, there were three pre-war Woodsman models basically distinguished by the barrel. There were two thin barrel models (4.5" & 6.5") and the funny slab barrel model. The latter was a later model with really nice sights and a straighter trigger profile. These pre-war ones were roll marked into the side of the frame "The Woodsman ". But, the pre-Woodsman was actually introduced during WWI. Colt made 54,000 of them, with the serial numbers continuing into the "Woodsman" models. The 40,xxx serial number would put it in the mid-1920s.
Pre-Woodsman Colts were made only for standard velocity ammo, unless fitted with a later Woodsman mainspring housing.
I remember reading that Bob Chow had some sort of stamp or mark he'd put onto his work. But, I don't recall the specifics. If you found something like that, it would definitely enhance the value. Without any verifiable provenance, the modifications would be considered a devaluing factor.
So, if you decide to get it, you might want to use that as a bargaining point.

I hope this is useful, despite not being too directly addressed to you original question.

Best regards,
Jim

Here's some pics:

Well, that's pretty interesting! The frame looks like it has the original finish. There appears to be a trigger stop added. The mainspring housing looks like the original standard velocity mainspring. The breachface on the frame and barrel looks to be in good shape. The feedramp on the newer barrel looks like a good match to the frame. In fact, it looks just like an original. The rear sight is a replacement, perhaps from a pew-war Match Target?
It would certainly serve well for NRA bullseye pistol!

I wonder if you could find another example of Bob's work to compare the name etched on the magazine?

Thanks for posting!
Jim

PS: are you still considering this pistol?

I'm a sucker!
I bought it. As far as Bobs work, All the examples that I have seen have been stamped with his initials/last name. I haven't seen anything with cursive on it. I have seen mutiple 1911's, cople of high standards, and a couple revolvers that were his/he worked on.
Took a flyer on it since the possibility of someone finding a random Chow engraved magazine and matching it with a boll-barreled pre woodsman(or vise-versa) seemed very unlikely!
I cant wait to get out and shoot it!

6string wrote:Well, that's pretty interesting! The frame looks like it has the original finish. There appears to be a trigger stop added. The mainspring housing looks like the original standard velocity mainspring. The breachface on the frame and barrel looks to be in good shape. The feedramp on the newer barrel looks like a good match to the frame. In fact, it looks just like an original. The rear sight is a replacement, perhaps from a pew-war Match Target?
It would certainly serve well for NRA bullseye pistol!

I wonder if you could find another example of Bob's work to compare the name etched on the magazine?

Thanks for posting!
Jim

PS: are you still considering this pistol?