Fitz Special

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The great disadvantage is the possibility of a bent trigger guard, which would render the gun useless, as it would block trigger movement. Note that Ed McGivern never advocated cutting the trigger guard, but rather opened it up by reshaping it with a bulge out toward the muzzle. And McGivern was no slouch with the DA revolver.

Bob Wright
 
An evolutionary dead-end in gun design. The person who doesn't practice enough to get their finger on the trigger reliably isn't going to be able to hit anything once they do.
 
It's described and recommended by Fairbairn and Sykes for the plainclothes detective. Their philosophy of use was to carry it concealed and they believed the cutaway trigger guard allowed faster access to the trigger without fumbling. They wrote: (pardon the OCR errors)

Obviously, it takos loss time for 2 inches of barrel
to emerge from tho holster than 5 inches. Contrary
to what might bo expected, thcro is no loss of
accuracy, at any rato at tho ranges at which tho
weapon is customarily used.

Tho front part of tho trigger-guard is removed in
order to eliminate yet another possiblo cause of
fumbling when speed is tho order of tho day. The
indox-fingcr, no matter of what longth or thickness,
wraps itself in tho propor position round tho triggor
without any impediment whatovcr. Tho groovos on
tho butt aro thoro to ensure that tho fingers grip
tho weapon in exactly tho same way overy time.


I agree it's an obsolete notion. If it truly made someone faster or prevented any likely fumbling or impediments, we'd see it in the races.
 
I’ll admit...Fritz’s are pretty cool looking and are probably fun to shoot. At the time, it’s a pretty good idea. It makes sense if you’re a “ gang buster “ investigator.
 
Have yet to see that design brought forward anywhere else. I worked with a lot of professionals from myriad agencies over the course of 40 years in LE with an agency in NYC, I don't recall ever seeing anyone carrying one modified like that.

If it was a good idea others would have probably picked it up.

I find it interesting from a historical viewpoint, but that's it.
 
I'd love to have one in my collection. It's a part of our history and our lore, but in the collection is where it'd stay, not in my pocket. In George Nonte's book on pistol smithing, he has a huge section on cutting down 1917 Colts and Smiths, a fascinating idea in its time, but I doubt many would be willing to chop an original 1917 now.

Pockets have changed and are much smaller. I've learned that before I buy a new pair of trousers to make sure the pockets aren't so low cut they won't conceal even a Chiefs Special.
 
The reason for the cut away trigger guard was to give unimpeded access to the trigger for fast use.
This was John Fitzgerald's idea of a "gunfighter" modification done in an attempt to speed up using the gun.
For most people getting to the trigger wasn't a problem, but John Fitzgerald was a HUGE man with hands like catchers mitts and fingers like bananas.
Even with his favorite Colt New Service models he still had trouble so he cut the entire front of the trigger guard away.
He carried one or two of these altered Colt New Service models in his hip pockets, which he had lined with stiff, waxed canvas.
In his hand a Colt New Service looked like a Detective Special in an ordinary persons hand.

A number of early gunmen often carried guns in their hip pockets and often had the pockets lined with waxed canvas, Wyatt Earp among them.

Famed Border Patrolman Bill Jordan also had huge hands and instead of cutting the entire front of the trigger guard away, he cut a half moon clearance cut out of the right side of the trigger guard, leaving enough to prevent the guard from bending or risking an accidental discharge if the trigger got caught like the Fitz Special could.

The Fitz Special was one of those good ideas that lacked in the real world. The trigger guard could get bent, jamming the trigger, and it was way too easy to fire the gun by accident when holstering it or pushing it into the waist band or pocket.
It was just riskier then any benefit was worth.
 
I have a "Fitz" made up on a Smith J frame and another J frame with no trigger guard at all. The only real advantage is if one must use it wearing heavy winter gloves.
 
Looks like an AD ready to happen to me. E.G. reholstering with debris in the wrong part of the holster.
 
I guess you would have to be considered “special” to think cutting the trigger guard off a gun was a good idea.
 
Note that since Fitz was a Colt employee, all true "Fitz Specials" must be Colts.

Bob Wright

While technically true that all of the original Fitz specials were made up on colts, it wasn't unheard of to find the same alterations made to Smiths. When applying the term Fitz special to a revolver other than a Colt it's sort of like calling tissue Kleenex. There are several brands but if some one asks for a Kleenex everyone knows what they mean.
 
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