Colt Woodsman "slamfire"

**/dev/null** · April 4th, 2009, 08:29 PM

I have an older woodsman that doesn't seem to function properly any longer. Its slamfiring - meaning when a round is chambered and the slide is released it IMMEDIATELY fires the round... on top of that it doenst appear to cycle the slide either.

Any ideas? Ive stripped it down completely and cleaned everything, but same thing is happening. Is there a particular part that may be worn? Common issue with this pistol?

Thanks in advance

**BUCKMARK** · April 4th, 2009, 11:45 PM

First, check to see that the firing pin isnt stuck in the forward position. If it is, that will cause a slam fire. Just do a quick check to see that the firing pin spring pushes the FP to the rear.

If the FP is working correctly, your problem is in the trigger/sear/hammer area.

Unless you know the workings of the Colt Woodsman, I would do the FP check then take it to a gunsmith that is familiar with the gun.

**PA Rifleman** · April 6th, 2009, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by /dev/null

I have an older woodsman that doesn't seem to function properly any longer. Its slamfiring - meaning when a round is chambered and the slide is released it IMMEDIATELY fires the round... on top of that it doenst appear to cycle the slide either.

Any ideas? Ive stripped it down completely and cleaned everything, but same thing is happening. Is there a particular part that may be worn? Common issue with this pistol?

Thanks in advance

Not too common. As posted previously, check to make sure the firing pin's free. After that, it starts getting model-specific. The majority of my experience is with the first model (1915-ca.1947).

If this is what you have make sure it has the high speed mainspring housing, and doesn't have too much slide peening from decades of use.

Also pull the slide back, put a *spent* casing (NOT A LIVE ROUND) in the chamber. With the slide back more than about 1/2", pull the trigger and slowly release the slide. The hammer must not fall as the slide goes into battery, if it does your pistol might have a worn sear or malfunctioning disconnector.

Have you been detail cleaning it? Woodman pistols aren't the easiest pistols to disassemble, but it can be mastered with a little care and research.

These guns were made to very high standards that we no longer see today. The first model Woodsmans were made specifically to beat the German pre-war Walther Olympic pistols, which should give a general idea just how good both pistols were.

**Pa. Patriot** · April 6th, 2009, 06:24 PM

I've seen this exact problem (maybe not due to the same reason as yours).
with one of my personal Woodsman series II

As PAR pointed out. Not the easiest pistol to disassemble.

If you feel like a road trip bring it up and we'll give it a look.

**/dev/null** · April 6th, 2009, 06:37 PM

Thanks y'all for the replies. I jsut got the Hoppes cleaned out from under my fingernails.... was down in my shop wiht the Woodsman torn down (completely)... I found the issue!

The sear was stuck completely against the frame. Seems years of shooting had let enough oil and crud buildup in the thing that the sear spring wasn't able to snap the sear back in place any longer. The thing was so mucked up that I thought it was put in there permanently the way it was (looked permanent to me)... A REAL good cleaning and re-assembly appears to have done the trick.

The only part I couldn't get apart was the firing pin....

not too sure how the firing pin stop holds everything in.... I worked on that for about 20 minutes and gave up. flood-cleaned the entire slide instead. After drying everything out and lubing the slide, all seems well. Ill get it to the rang in the next couple days and run some ammo through it - but at this point it behaves MUCH better than it did.

Appreciate the feedback.