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Thread: The only factory S&W Fitz Revolver

  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Hambo View Post
    Any hints in the book as to how the trigger job was done, or who did it? I'd really hate to think that secret died with a gunsmith at S&W.
    All custom done at Smith in the 1940’s....long dead guy who was likely at his bench for 30 plus years.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave T View Post
    No question that is a piece of revolver history, and a rare one at that. Kudos to the OP!

    But...I have a question since there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the cut-off trigger guard of the Fitz guns. I've been shooting DA revolvers since I went to the police academy in the summer of '73. I have large hands but I've never once caught my index/trigger finger on the front bow of the trigger guard. Someone please explain the utility of this rather radical alteration to DA revolvers?

    Dave
    Dave, the cut trigger guards by Fitz had a really specific purpose that actually made sense. Stand by and I ll do a Fitz post to maybe explain and discuss a bit.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

  3. #23
    Member jtcarm's Avatar
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    Wow, I love those grips!

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by jtcarm View Post
    Wow, I love those grips!
    Mega dittos!!!

    Those grips are sweet.

    Nice find and Happy Birthday to you Dagga Boy!

  5. #25
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    south TX
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave T View Post
    But...I have a question since there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the cut-off trigger guard of the Fitz guns. I've been shooting DA revolvers since I went to the police academy in the summer of '73. I have large hands but I've never once caught my index/trigger finger on the front bow of the trigger guard. Someone please explain the utility of this rather radical alteration to DA revolvers?
    Quote Originally Posted by Dagga Boy View Post
    Dave, the cut trigger guards by Fitz had a really specific purpose that actually made sense. Stand by and I ll do a Fitz post to maybe explain and discuss a bit.
    If I may be so bold, I'd like to take a crack at this. DB can slap me down if I am mistaken.

    DaveT, you list your location as Mesa, AZ. Unless you migrated from the Northeast, you likely have not spent months in freezing temperatures, with thick gloves protecting your digits.
    But that is only part of it. Look at the triggers linked below from both Colts and S&Ws of the era. Note the pronounced shelf on the colt trigger that rests on the bottom of the frame. With big hands and thick gloves, it is was very easy for glove material to get trapped between the frame and trigger, thereby blocking full trigger return. Having the front of the trigger guard removed allowed one to clear this type of stoppage far quicker than pulling it out of and reinserting it into an intact trigger guard. The design of the S&W trigger mitigated this somewhat.

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/194620

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/1490850

    Add in loss of feeling and dexterity due to cold and gloves, etc.
    Last edited by Chuck Whitlock; 06-04-2019 at 09:36 PM.
    "It's surprising how often you start wondering just how featureless a desert some people's inner landscapes must be."
    -Maple Syrup Actual

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Whitlock View Post
    If I may be so bold, I'd like to take a crack at this. DB can slap me down if I am mistaken.

    DaveT, you list your location as Mesa, AZ. Unless you migrated from the Northeast, you likely have not spent months in freezing temperatures, with thick gloves protecting your digits.
    But that is only part of it. Look at the triggers linked below from both Colts and S&Ws of the era. Note the pronounced shelf on the colt trigger that rests on the bottom of the frame. With big hands and thick gloves, it is was very easy for glove material to get trapped between the frame and trigger, thereby blocking full trigger return. Having the front of the trigger guard removed allowed one to clear this type of stoppage far quicker than pulling it out of and reinserting it into an intact trigger guard. The design of the S&W trigger mitigated this somewhat.

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/194620

    https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/1490850

    Add in loss of feeling and dexterity due to cold and gloves, etc.

    That is about half of it....I ll get to the other component later.
    Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
    "If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".

  7. #27
    Site Supporter
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    Texas
    Is it safe to shoot a revolver that is slightly out of time?

  8. #28
    Site Supporter Tamara's Avatar
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    In free-range, non-GMO, organic, fair trade Broad Ripple, IN
    The trigger on that thing is amazeballs.
    Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.

    I can explain it to you. I can’t understand it for you.

  9. #29
    Assuming the "out of time" is a "doesn't come up", you will get normal shooting if you pull the trigger like you mean it.

    Paul Weston seemed to favor "two staging" the DA; sweep the trigger back to a "pressure point" and then squeeze off the shot in sorta single action. No doubt with long practice he could do that fast enough that the pressure point was not noticeable to the watcher. The "thumb rest" on his grips as seen here provided a pressure point he could feel with the tip of his trigger finger.

    Contrariwise, Ed McGivern shot DA in a smooth pull, all the way back, all the way forward.

    I kind of cringe when I see a "Fitz" done to an inoffensive revolver by however good a modern gunsmith, but this one and factory Colts done in John Henry Fitzgerald's tenure are real Collector's Items.
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  10. #30

    Cold Weather Trigger Guard Thoughts

    If I remember correctly, Bill Jordan wrote about narrowing the front of a revolver trigger guard to help speed trigger acquisition on the draw.

    For a right hand shooter material would be removed from the right front side of the trigger guard. Jordan had huge hands so this may have influenced this idea.


    I appreciate the mentioning of the cold weather glove factor for the removal of the front of the trigger guard.

    In a similar idea, in one of his writings I believe Massad Ayoob mentioned something about certain double action automatics having enough room for gloves in cold weather.

    If you wear heavy gloves, trigger guard room is something to consider.

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