Colt lawman, half trigger guard?

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About 200 bucks would be top of the mark on that gun for me....I understand the Fitz theory, but that gun is too big for pocket carry anyway.
 
Jim K said:
Many things done back when would be considered horrible today. I have a film (remember film) someplace of me drawing a Combat Magnum out of a Bucheimer Federal Man holster. The holster allows full exposure of the trigger guard and my finger is on the trigger as I draw. Worse, the hammer is half way back when the gun is at a 45 degree angle and falls as the sights come on target.

If I did that today on a police range, I would be thrown out so fast I would bounce. I think modern training is to never draw the gun unless fired on and never touch the trigger until you have been hit by at least six bullets. All in the name of "safety" and avoiding lawsuits from the bad guys.

Jim
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And I suppose you are going to tell us that you fired that pistol with One Hand! And that you actually hit what you were shooting at.
When today Everybody knows that handguns are only to be fired when held with both hands, lest the ghost of Jeff rise up and smite them. Actually, doesn't that mean they should be called 'handsguns'?
At least tell us that after breaking the laws of Nature with your scofflaw technique, you at least brought the gun up to high ready under your chin and looked to the left and right, thereby satisfying the rules of Modern Technique by imitating a squirrel eating a peanut...
 
Last time I saw one of those (some years ago) it was riding a conveyor belt up to the smelter door....don't know how old it was, but it looked to be a big old Colt of some kind. Now it's been fashioned into rebar for some project in Los Angeles.
 
Old Fuff wrote:
In later life Rex Applegate prefered Smith & Wesson revolvers, apparently J-frame snubbies and a 2 1/2" model 19. Because of the location of the mousetrap spring that tensions the cylinder stop, neither was (or is) a good candidate for a Fitz conversion. At least part of the time he carried them in upside-down shoulder holsters. I know because I have the holsters.

Those holsters sound like the Berns-Martin clamshell rig I had for an Airweight Bodyguard back in the 60's. Invisible under a jacket and lightning fast to draw. And, of course, no longer made because everything we have today is so much better...
 
splithoof said:
Last time I saw one of those (some years ago) it was riding a conveyor belt up to the smelter door....don't know how old it was, but it looked to be a big old Colt of some kind. Now it's been fashioned into rebar for some project in Los Angeles.
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Thanks a lot. You made me barf all over my keyboard! (j/k)

Just me, but I don't like the way it looks. I am NOT going to argue with Charles Askins, dead or alive, however!

I don't see how such a trigger guard could speed me up by even a fraction of a second, and I hope I never find out.
 
Perhaps

But it is still a gun and they have more uses other than quick draw.
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Nope. These revolvers had a singular purpose, and they were often backups to their general purpose sidearms...for those moments when Plan A goes to hell and fractions of seconds could easily mean the difference between going home upright, or going to the morgue on a gurney. The "Fitz" modifications were generally meant for hideout guns.

I don't see how such a trigger guard could speed me up by even a fraction of a second, and I hope I never find out.
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It wasn't about speeding up. It was about eliminating anything that could slow him down or cause a fouled draw.

Da Fuff said:

His major concern was how long it might take him to get it done, when he decided it was time to shoot, rather then worry about what was happening when he didn’t have to.
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And there it is. When one of these men reached for the gun, shooting the man in front of them was a foregone conclusion.

I love Fitz threads!
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Me too. So many look at those modifications and can't wrap their heads around the very practical reasons for them.
 
I understand the Fitz theory, but that gun is too big for pocket carry anyway.
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See if you can find some old photographs, or even better - movie footage - taken during the 1920's and 30's and pay attention to the "baggy look" of the suit styles. Then you may understand how FitzGerald could on occasion carry not one, but a pair of cut-down .45 New Service revolvers, that represented the largest frame that Colt made.

While it does nothing about the weight (even though Fitz had special leather holsters sewed into the pants pockets) the removal of the trigger guard at the front does noticeably reduce the bulk, regardless of frame size although it it more apparent in the larger ones.
 
If it were a PP wearing ivory grips, I'd have in my pocket right now.
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It works well, or at least I found that to be the case when I made one using a .38 Police Positive as the basic platform. Didn't have ivory stocks though. :(
 
fetching [ˈfɛtʃɪŋ]
adj Informal
1. attractively befitting a fetching hat
2. charming a fetching personality
fetchingly adv
 
my finger is on the trigger as I draw. Worse, the hammer is half way back when the gun is at a 45 degree angle and falls as the sights come on target.
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I was once signed up for a class with a professional trainer/gunsmith who teaches "prepping the trigger" on his favorite brand of DA/SA autopistol. The practice is deprecated in most circles, but it is still done in some. I didn't make it to the class and now think I am better off without that technique. Doesn't work too well with a 1911 or even a Plastic M&P, which are my preferred pistols.


I think it was Elmer Keith who pointed out that one incentive for Mr Fitzgerald to put a lot of thought and work into pocket pistols was his wife. She liked jewelry and she liked to go out on the town and show it off. Elmer wrote that when they were out together, Fitz was always seen with one hand or the other in his pocket.
 
While it does kill its value as a collectable,if it was done well I wouldn't mind bringing one home.
 
Well it would be neat to have one in my collection regardless of the merits or demerits of the design. Just a well done conversion would make me happy. Wouldn't even have to be a genuine Fitz. Which is good because I couldn't afford a genuine Fitz. I've heard rumors that Tom Selleck owns a genuine Fitz. Same rumors state that the Fitz he used in his television show Bluebloods was his.
 
Isn't that a great site? I should know I'm one of the moderators over there. I'm Jcordell. There has been some debating between me and another memeber whether Selleck was using an OP Fitz or a DS Fitz. In this case I liked the image of the OP Fitz (which I found and downloaded :) ) and since we couldn't really tell I left it as an OP Fitz. Glad you liked it Guillermo.
 
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