Dont Twirl This One
No matter whether you call it a “FitzGerald Special,” “Fitz Special,” “Fitz Colt” or simply just a “Fitz”, doesn’t change that the fact that there is possibly no more distinctive snub-nosed revolver in firearms history. Period.
John Henry Fitzgerald (1870-1944). John Henry Fitzgerald (1870-1944) was the Massad Ayoob of his day. A former career New York cop, competition shooter, and writer, Fitz was a pioneer in combat handguns. He even wrote a pretty advanced book about it entitled, appropriately enough Shooting. Published in Hartford, Connecticut by the G.F. Book Co, it came out before anything written by Elmer Keith or Bill Jordan and when Jeff Cooper was but 10-years old.
Around 1926, Fitz began customizing both full size New Service, Police Positive, and Police Positive Special models to make them small concealed handguns, much like Colt’s then new Detective Special. This modification included shortening the barrel to two inches or less, fitting a new front sight, removing the hammer spur and carefully checkering the top of the now bobbed hammer, shortening the grip, and—unique to this type—cutting away the front 1/3 of the trigger guard and rounding off the now open edges….
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com