Can a Charter be fitzed?

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pairof44sp

pairof44sp

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Well, I lost another gunfight this morning, when my dang finger got hung up on the trigger guard again. I’ve had it with these safety gizmos. They’ve got to go.

Q: since Charters have that special trigger guard/ grip assembly, and it’s made of (cast?) aluminum, can the trigger guard still be fitzed?
 
Are you asking about removing the trigger guard or polishing it? Removing the trigger guard can be quiet dangerous, but easy to do. Polishing it is even easier.
 
For John Fitz Gerald, worked for Colt from early 1900's. His claim to fame was shortening the barrel to 2", bobbing the hammer, removing the front of the trigger guard, etc., to allow for easier draw from concealment I believe. In my opinion, I wouldn't do that just from a safety perspective. Edited to add I need to spend more time perusing the forum, there's some more info about 'fitzing' in the revolvers subsection regarding slip guns.
 
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I have pondered doing this for years now. Yes, I understand the related issues of doing so.

If I were to do it I think I would use a Ruger as their design allows you to change out the "trigger pack" so you could get a 2nd one to hack on but be able to convert it back as you like.
 
Its your gun do as you like. Just beware of the safety issues. Me personally I wouldn't do it. If you have large fingers maybe find a pistol with a large trigger guard. Or possibly ask a smith if they could enlarge the trigger guard. I doubt one could with cast aluminum. But hey ive seen crazier things in my day.
 
Short answer... probably not.

Long answer... the charter grip frames are detachable units that are attached to the main frame of the revolver by 2 pins and a screw. There is one pin that attaches up near the crane pivot point, a pin in the area of the rear of the trigger guard, and the screw at the rear of the frame. The trigger guard is what bridges the front of the grip frame and the rear of the grip frame. Without the trigger guard the front piece would not be very secure, and the gun would have leverage to work against the 2 remaining parts that would take all of the recoil. With the trigger guard installed it eats up some of the recoil energy and has leverage to keep the recoil energy from shooting all the other bits loose. Removing the trigger guard would be a bad idea on this particular design.
 
The reason for the modification was not a fashion statement, he had trouble getting his trigger finger into the trigger guard
One of the reasons FitzGerald was he had large (long) fingers. Another was (according to a source or two) he had boxed professionally in his younger years and his fingers were less than supple from being used as clubs.

I suggest an orthopedist if your fingers do not move (joints) or otherwise function correctly. Cutting the front of the trigger guard causes a plurality of other problems. And it totally prohibits spinning the gun on one's finger.
 
A optional idea to cutting away the whole front of the trigger guard is to scallop the front strong side. You may be surprised at how little you have to take off to get satisfied results and if you stay inside the area that you would fitz you can still fitz it up later. This also helps remove the chance of the trigger guard below the trigger getting bent and jamming the trigger making it inoperable. Being aluminum and thin will make it more susceptible than a metal frame gun in doing so. By the way if you do a full fitz to the trigger guard make sure you bob the hammer and don’t use weaker springs for a lighter trigger pull.
 
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I considered doing this to my S&W M69 snub.

The comments here are the only reason I won't do it.

There is absolutely nothing unsafe about it - so long as the gun is carried in a proper holster.
The problem is it looks "scary" - it looks scary to people on a gun discussion forum that, honestly, should know better.

Can you imagine the picture a zealous anti-gun prosecutor could paint to a jury - with a bunch of already scared people sitting on it?
It's little things like that that can add zeros to settlements & years to a sentence.

My best advice would be - get rid of the Charter before it gets you killed.
 
Hal said:
... Can you imagine the picture a zealous anti-gun prosecutor could paint to a jury - with a bunch of already scared people sitting on it?
It's little things like that that can add zeros to settlements & years to a sentence. ...
Click to expand...
Paints a picture for me. :)

... also immediately brings to mind a 1911 being carried in Condition 1.
 
Things change. I don't think it is a horrible idea, with some caveats.

At the same time, our community thinks it is a great idea to carry pistols with no safety pointed at their crotch/femoral artery.
Or, make AR's with a tiny barrel on them, etc. Many things out there that I don't think are a bright idea either but are a norm now.

We could yell that SA revolvers should all have a transfer safety on them so you can load all the chambers.

The man did it for reasonable reasons THEN.
 
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