Delusions of Fitzgerald

Ruger Redhawk 3" 3 inch 44mag 44 special
A custom shop conversion of a redhawk #500 251xx. made 1983. 26 years old and very tight. perfect lock up, bore is excellent. has had mild trigger job done right, not overdone (no pushover). grips are real nice. exterior finish is very nice but has been cleaned up at one time. These conversions, sometimes called FitZgerald, named after the colt employee who pioneered them, are designed for people with large fingers and for circumstances where one might want to fire thru a coat pocket without removing the gun from the pocket but yet have quick and easy access to the trigger. A fun gun, gets lots of attention in the gun case or at gun shows which means they are usually easy to sell.

Yeah, I bet they will be standing in line for that.

More on Fitz Specials

This is why I love a good gun forum. The collective knowledge can be astounding. I bow to dfariswheel and Old Fuff.

Hello all. I'm brand new to this forum. I'm interested in pricing and maybe selling my 1931 Colt 38 "Fitzgerald Special" Detective Special. Any ideas? I know a little about guns but I'm no expert. I do know that this is a pretty rare gun. It's in pretty good shape. Only problem is that my dad engraved his drivers license in the metal in two places.

Due to the great rarity of genuine Fitz Colts, the value can be high today. However, also due to the rarity and value, the Fitz Colts have been counterfeited, INCLUDING to the extent of having a fake Colt letter.

Such is the case, that today, without a Colt factory letter ALL Fitz guns are suspect to potential buyers, no matter what the history.

In your case, since the value could be significant. You will almost have to have a recent Colt letter in hand before anyone will pay the true value.

Due to the few Fitz Colts that come up for sale, it's almost impossible to give any kind of close estimation of value. I'd guess that the best price would probably come in an online gun auction on Gun Broker, and that would HAVE to have the Colt letter as a estimate to it's authenticity.

The Fitz Special, named after John Fitzgerald who worked for Colt, was conceived as a revolver to be carried in a gentleman’s side pants pocket. The purpose of cutting away the front of the trigger guard was so that the trigger finger could wrap around the trigger while the gun was still confined within the pocket.

Today of course the whole idea is condemned as being dangerous. I once ask Charlie Askins about that. His personal body count was supposedly double-digit, and he not only cut away the guard on his pocket guns, but holstered sidearms as well. He unquestionably spoke from a position of unequaled knowledge and experience.

He looked at me for a moment and then said, "Well there are a lot of things more dangerous that happen in a fight then a cut-away trigger guard."

In my experience the amputated guard will buy you a split second when the revolver (or pistol for that matter) is carried in a pocket. Split seconds often make the difference between life and... whatever. Askins never felt obligated to give the other guy an even break, and eventually he died of old age. Somewhere in there, there is a message.

As has been mentioned, all of the Fitz Specials that were made at the Colt factory were custom ordered, as they were never cataloged. Most of them were channeled through Mr. Fitzgerald himself, and the individuals that got them read like a who's who of legendary gunmen of the middle 20th century. They were neither incompetent or stupid, and like Askins took any advantage they could get.

View the entire thread here at The High Road.

Fitz Special on Gun Broker

"COLT Commando
Parkerized Finish
Caliber 38 Special
4 Inch Barrel
'Fitz' Special Speed Trigger

This Revolver is in Very Good Vintage Condition.

Timing and Bore are excellent.

The Revolver is fitted with the Original Factory Brown Checkered Plastic Grips. Please note that the forward edge of the LEFT Grip Only is Damaged.

These Revolvers were made during World War II from 1942 - 1945.

This example has modified in the 'FITZ Special' style. 'Fitz' Special Speed Trigger modifications were performed Originally on Colt Revolvers by Colt. This type of modification was also done in the private sector to both Colt & Smith & Wesson Revolvers. This Modification was a popular aid to facilitate rapid trigger acquisition and to allow the use of heavy gloves. Bill Jordan carried a 'Fitz Special' Modified Revolver while on duty with the US Border Patrol. This modification was popular in the Decades Preceding and following WW II.

Please note the Military Inspection/Acceptance Marks on Upper Left Frame above and behind Cylinder Release.
Marked:
"G.H.D." (Guy H. Drewry)
Ordnance insignia (flaming shell or bomb)
In Original Form, the US Counterintelligence Corps, Military Intelligence and the Office of Strategic Services orders totaled nearly 12,800.
Many more were purchased/used by the Defense Supplies Corporation (DSC). The DSC provided arms for Defense Plant Guards, Police Departments and Security Personnel for various US Government Organizations. Others were used in the US Merchant Marine, and Lend Lease Programs.
US General Eisenhower is reported to have had one, and some Colt Commando revolvers were definitely used in the war zones."

Blah Blah Blah. The seller sounds like a used car salesman with a rusted out Caddy on the lot.

1. This revolver was reparkerized. Note the parkerizing in the GHD and US Ordnance proof. These proofs were applied after the revolver was accepted by the military. After it was originally parkerized. Thus, one would expect to see bare metal in the proofs rather than parkerizing.

2. After this revolver was reparkerized, some knothead decided to make it into a Fitz Special. He lopped off the front of the trigger guard, and did a fair job of roughly blending things out. The area under the frame could use a bit more polishing though, and some parkerizing........ Oh, and bob the hammer, and cut the barrel down to a snubby. Replace the front sight and you might be getting close to a Fitz. Maybe some nice stag grips to compliment the parkerizing.

Sell the finished fake Fitz for $200-$300 instead of $600, and I might be interested. At $600 though, this is a revolver that is overpriced. This Colt Commando is also either ruined, and not followed through on the conversion, depending on how you look at it. $150 tops.

Here's a nicer Colt Commando (that isn't screwed up) starting at $301. Here's one that is supposedly unfired. Note the differences in the finish.

The Fitz Special

"J.H. FitzGerald, ("Fitz") to his many friends, was a key employee at Colt between the two World Wars, and the best company promoter since the Col. himself. He was a major force in keeping Colt alive during the Great Depression, and their point man when it came to law enforcement sales.

His revolver design was built around a concept of side-pocket carry, either pants or topcoat. It was for this reason that he cut away the front of the trigger guard, because of the tight confines of a pocket. In addition the hammer spur was bobbed and often the butt was shortened and rounded in the manner used on Detective Specials.

However some rather interesting people, Charles Askins being the most notable, liked the amputated trigger guard on any handgun, including a few pistols.

Askins and FitzGerald were both close friends, and Charley sent the Colt Company a fair amount of business when they badly needed it. But more to the point, Askins discovered he could quickly unload a revolver (or pistol) by, “fanning the trigger,” as he put it. He would hold the gun in the left hand (he was a southpaw) and use the edge of his right to literally fan the trigger through the open front of the trigger guard. It should be noted that he used a holster of his own design that covered the trigger guard, or where the guard would usually be. This holster was adopted by the Border Patrol for general issue, but they never made any alterations to their guns.

When I was a callow youth, and not the brightest light bulb in the room, I asked Askins – who was in a mellow mood – if cutting away the trigger guard wasn’t a bit dangerous. He looked me up and down, and then told me in somewhat stronger language that wouldn’t get past Art’s Grandma, that there were a lot more dangerous things one would encounter in a gunfight then a cut-away trigger guard. His words and experience made an impression I haven’t forgotten."

The Old Fuff

More info on Fitz Specials

Identifying a Fitz

One pretty sure method of ID'ing a real Colt factory Fitz model is whether the Colt "VP in a triangle" or Verified Proof stamp is present on the left REAR of the trigger guard.

Colt always stamped the VP on the left FRONT of the trigger guard, but when the trigger guard was cut off during the custom modification, the "VP" was cut off with it.
So, Colt stamped the "VP' on the rear.
No "VP in a triangle" on the left rear of the guard, it's not a genuine factory Fitz.

Truth is, ONLY a Colt Archive letter will tell for sure if it's a genuine factory Fitz.

Quoted from dfariswheel, THR.