Did Colt Make A "Fitz Special" Chambered For .32 Short?

[Phydeaux642]

I was in a local Big Box and was talking with a fellow in the 'nice gun' area for a bit. When I see him, I always ask him where the used revolvers are (they rarely have any). Tonight He told me that he had just sold a Colt chambered in .32 short. I began telling him that I was tempted to make my DS a "Fitz Special" and had to explain to him what that was. He then proceeded to tell me that the Colt he had just sold had the trigger guard cut and the hammer bobbed. He said it looked like it was a nice job if it wasn't a factory altered gun.

 

[Jim Watson]

1. If Colt ever made a double action revolver for .32 short, I have not been able to find it. They made guns for .32 short AND LONG Colt and for .32 S&W + .32 S&W Long (but called it .32 New Police or .32 Police Positive to keep from using their main competitor's name.

2. There have been a lot more trigger guards mutilated than J.H. Fitzgerald ever cut out at the Colt factory.

 

[Phydeaux642]

There have been a lot more trigger guards mutilated than J.H. Fitzgerald ever cut out at the Colt factory.

I figured that there have been a lot of bubba'd guns over time, but he said this one went for $250 and if it was a gun done at Colt I would have guessed that it would have been worth a lot more. Maybe not, but just curious.

 

[Old Fuff]

During the "Fitz era" running from the 1920's through the 1940's, Colt made hand ejector revolvers chambered in .32 Colt New Police (same as .32 S&W Long), but nothing specifically chambered in .32 Short Colt. .32 Long Colt and .32 Short Colt are not interchangeable with .32 Colt New Police or .32 S&W Long.

Any revolver chambered in .32 S&W Long (or Colt New Police) will shoot .32 S&W cartridges.

I would say that the "big-box fellow" was clearly wrong in that Colt never made a revolver chambered to only use the .32 S&W..

While it is unlikely that Colt made many, if any .32 Fitz Specials on its Pocket Positive or Police Positive platforms, I have handled made-outside-the-factory examples made on both. It is possible (although unlikely) that the big-box-fellow did happen to see one of those.

Keep in mind that during the Great Depression (1929-1941) Colt would make anything within reason if the buyer had the money to pay for it.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I thought FitzGerald made the Fitz Specials out of Colt Revolvers and not the Colt Factory itself. I don't see any in Severn's book either. FitzGerald would show up at Camp Perry, shoot a little and work on guns (so I've read). Of course, like Old Fuff sez, Colt would make anything within reason if the buyer had money to pay for it. I think FitzGerald was a Colt employee so that would count.

 

[Phydeaux642]

I would say that the "big-box fellow" was clearly wrong

Very likely. After all, these guys are much more interested in nice shotguns and double-barrelled rifles than they are in the lowly handgun.

 

[Old Fuff]

Colt made genuine Fitz Specials at the factory, mostly in the tool shop that at the time doubled as a custom shop making up special orders. These guns were never carried in a regular retail catalog. Members of the law enforcement community and others associated with them ordered a substantial number through J. Henry FitzGerald himself, and each was customized for the buyer’s requirements. FitzGerald ("Fitz" to his friends) wore many hats at Colt during the years between the two World Wars, most of which had to do with promoting Colt products. He was also Colt’s contact man between the company and many police and sheriff departments as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies.

His “Special” was conceived as a weapon to be primarily carried in a gentleman’s side pants pocket. It wasn’t particularly controversial except that the front of the trigger guard was cut away. Today this gives some people fits – much more so then during FitzGerald’s lifetime. There were some good reasons behind it, and it was endorsed by many gunfighters of its day. Most if not all of them knew a lot more about gun fighting from actual experience then Internet critics that came decades later.

I don't see any in Severn's book either.

At the time James Severn wrote his book, Fitz Specials were of little or no interest to hard-core Colt collectors. This would come later.