Fitz Special Reproduction

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

A had a tatty old Police Positive Special that was just sitting, and a cop buddy back east talked me out of it the last Fitz I did. I figured, 'What the hell, it's got no collector value in this condition so why not?'

So here it is- it has some slight leftover mods from it's previous life, but otherwise it's pretty true to an early Fitz. Except for caliber- it's a .32-20. hey, any idiot can have a Fitz in .38 Special! It takes a special kind of idiot to have one in .32-20!

The half-brass front sight is something I am trying out. 40 lpi checkering on the top of the hammer and yes, I can thumb-cock it. And antler grips because antler is cool. I haven't decided if I am going to refinish it or not.

 

[starling]

Looks pretty good ( I like the Fitz specials as well). Rear sight needs some clean up yet. I am pretty OCD about tool marks and pitting though. If I couldnt get all that out I would just oxpho blue it. A bunch of my carry guns where beaters I fixed up and oxpho blued (A lot of coats).

Antler grips look great. I would carry it.

 

[wcwhitey]

I am a fan! Always liked the concept.

 

[Tallball]

Extremely cool. How does she shoot?

 

[doubleh]

I am always amazed at the things you do with guns. This one is definately not my cup of tea though. The Fitz has always looked like an accident waiting to happen to me.

 

[starling]

I am always amazed at the things you do with guns. This one is definately not my cup of tea though. The Fitz has always looked like an accident waiting to happen to me.

you deffinitely want to thumb that hammer when holstering thats for sure.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

Looks pretty good ( I like the Fitz specials as well). Rear sight needs some clean up yet. I am pretty OCD about tool marks and pitting though. If I couldnt get all that out I would just oxpho blue it. A bunch of my carry guns where beaters I fixed up and oxpho blued (A lot of coats).

Antler grips look great. I would carry it.

The rear sight is actually deliberate. Ssince this was a beater I cut a step and cut 40 LPI serrations as an experiment. It does marginally improve the sight picture, but I wouldn't bother doing it again.

Tallball- it shoots very well. Oddly it's one of my best snubbies to shoot despite not having anything like the lightest trigger; DA is 10 lbs. and single-action is 5 lbs. It's very smooth though, and I am a gorilla so the heavy trigger isn't an issue for me.

Starling- absolutely!

 

[Reinz]

Very cool, I love it!

Even checkered the hammer like the originals.

 

[Pat Riot]

Not my cup of tea for a carry gun, but it looks good. I would consider refinishing it. The grip panels really up the cool factor.

 

[Archie]

I have a "Fitz type" revolver. A Colt Detective Special made in the late '40s or early '50s. Initially sold in 1952 (if I remember correctly) and 'altered' at some point thereafter. From the finish on the aftermath of the alteration, it certainly isn't a factory job. I have no real idea how it shoots, being a genuine Colt, it's so badly out of time it will not fire with any degree of regularity due to wear and timing malfunction.
I found it at a gun show, cheap. It was so ugly I bought it. And, it is a prime example of the modifications of the type. (Did I say it was ugly? Bears repeating.) It is safe to shoot, IF one can make it go off. I keep thinking of having it 'fixed' by a gunsmith, but that would remove the charm.

I do have the book Shooting by J. Henry FitzGerald. It's a reprint, the original being printed in 1930. Good information for history of shooting and sidearm concepts.

Couple of notes about the "Fitz design". Mr. FitzGerald was a big fellow. He had big hands. I understand he had boxed (possibly bareknuckle) in his youth and sustained some damage to his fingers and finger joints. The result was getting his finger into the trigger guard was a bit complicated and not as fast as he expected. So the cutaway trigger guard was to assist him. But, like many such things, it became 'cool' and all the 'cool' shooters (in fact and in imagination) had to have that feature. The bobbed hammer spur was actually functional in drawing from concealment - which included carrying the arm in a pocket.
One must understand Mr. FitzGerald worked for the Colt corporation. He was a gunsmith and a representative on the sales end (later). So he was in effect, married to Colt double action revolvers. The book suggests replacing a revolver no more than eight years after purchase. Odd.

For the record, I carry the old type - pinned barrel - Smith & Wesson revolver for serious use.

 

[entropy]

That's probably the only .32-20 Fitz Special in existence.

Except for caliber- it's a .32-20. hey, any idiot can have a Fitz in .38 Special! It takes a special kind of idiot to have one in .32-20!

Dare I say, a unique kind of idiot.

As usual, idiocy or not, your work is exemplary in execution, Tink.

 

[BobWright]

you deffinitely want to thumb that hammer when holstering thats for sure.

(?) Please elucidate. Why thumb the hammer when holstering?

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

As a matter of note, the .32-20 revolver almost became what the .38 Special did become, that is, the standard police cartridge.

Bob Wright

 

[Jim Watson]

You going to have to 'splain that one, Bob.
Teddy Roosevelt standardized the NYPD on .32 LC when he was police commissioner but I have not heard of any large move to .32-20. Although my Dad carried one to defend himself against change box robbers on his city bus route.

I read that Mrs Fitzgerald liked to go about wearing good jewelry and that Mr Fitzgerald was always seen out with her with one hand in his pants pocket. EITHER pocket, he commonly had two such revolvers on his person. A jewel thief would not have been tolerated.

 

[Dewey New]

I got this 1923 Police Positive Special at a local store, its barrel was bulged at about the half-way mark. What else could I do?
It shoots rather well for what it is.

 

[wcwhitey]

You going to have to 'splain that one, Bob.
Teddy Roosevelt standardized the NYPD on .32 LC when he was police commissioner but I have not heard of any large move to .32-20. Although my Dad carried one to defend himself against change box robbers on his city bus route.

I read that Mrs Fitzgerald liked to go about wearing good jewelry and that Mr Fitzgerald was always seen out with her with one hand in his pants pocket. EITHER pocket, he commonly had two such revolvers on his person. A jewel thief would not have been tolerated.

He from what I have read was a fan of leather/heavy canvass lined pockets as was the fashion of the time for pocket carry. Pocket carry was how New York Police carried until holsters became part of the Uniform. The little Colts and I Frame .32’s we’re not hard to pocket. To this day the Dress Blue (Reefer Coat and Wool Pants) have pockets made of heavy canvass. The heavy Reefer Coat or Choker has slots behind the front pockets as a pass thru to the front pants pockets allowing for access to a pocketed revolver. Not the best pic as I am not the best subject. The cost kinda sorta still fits.

 

[Jim Watson]

Interesting, news to me.

Reminds me of the article in the Sacramento Bee about guns in the mining town of Bodie, California: "Army and Navy revolvers in scabbards are seldom seen, the usual weapon is a Bulldog revolver in a canvas or leather lined coat pocket."

 

[wcwhitey]

Interesting, news to me.

Reminds me of the article in the Sacramento Bee about guns in the mining town of Bodie, California: "Army and Navy revolvers in scabbards are seldom seen, the usual weapon is a Bulldog revolver in a canvas or leather lined coat pocket."

These guys were more about the stick!

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

As a matter of note, the .32-20 revolver almost became what the .38 Special did become, that is, the standard police cartridge.

Bob Wright

Yeah, I didn't explain that well. Placing a thumb on the back of the hammer while holstering alerts you if the trigger gets caught and prevents the hammer from moving backwards enough to fire.

 

[kBob]

Eck! oop! gork!

Can
not
talk
or type
he has done it again!

I am SO not gonna make any of the upper levels!

Great work yet again!

-kBob

 

[kBob]

Didn’t Fitz also experiment with reducing the width of the trigger guard at the front by half rather than removing it entirely?

I seem to recall a few folks almost entirely removed the trigger guards from 1911 Colt semi autos…. but that would be off base in the revolver zone.

-kBob

 

[Jim Watson]

Didn’t Fitz also experiment with reducing the width of the trigger guard at the front by half rather than removing it entirely?

Bill Jordan is best known for narrowing the trigger guard to clear his long fingers, I don't know about Fitz.

 

[Archie]

Narrowing the trigger guard - on the strong hand side - was done as a way of making access to the trigger easier without fully cutting the trigger guard. I see to recall Jordan trying this approach.

One of the criticisms of the full cutaway trigger guard was the possibility of the trigger bending and jamming the trigger in place, making firing a shot impossible. Sidearms were used on occasion to be used with less than lethal effect. This was a technique long since abandoned by police agencies known as 'buffaloing'. Contrary to popular belief, this does not produce a ringing sound.

 

[Smaug]

One thing I never understood about the Fitz was why the front of the trigger guard has to be chopped. What does it add?

Other than that, it’s awesome. Don’t re-blue; the patina looks great!

 

[starling]

One thing I never understood about the Fitz was why the front of the trigger guard has to be chopped. What does it add?

Other than that, it’s awesome. Don’t re-blue; the patina looks great!

Faster... gloved fingers.. looks different etc. etc. Is it useful..with gloved fingers I can see it giving a benefit.

Its unique to Fitz jobs so its become a bit iconic when somebody does it to a snubby. Its pretty safe as long as people remember to thumb the hammer. I always kind of liked them for the nostalgia. Lots of pistols have left off the triggerguard throughout history even before the Fitz. Im not sure where he got the inspiration from. Maybe an old Bulldog.

They were kind of forgotten until a few years ago. Tom Selleck carried one in Blue Bloods and firearms enthusiests started talking about them again. Need someone to bring back the Whipit gun. That is another iconic custom job from the era.