geichal

I am looking for photos and specs for chopped Colt New Services or 1917s. So far I have been having very poor luck. My intention is to build a "Fitz Special" (with the trigger gaurd intact) in .45 Colt or .45 ACP depending what I find. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Michael

Gordon Hulme

Now your talking, I have a new service 1917 fitz special I don't have a digital camera tho. It has a 2" barrel and the front of trigger guard cut away and the butt rounded a bit with the factory(I think) walnut grips rounded a bit . The action seems fairly smooth but not that light, nothing like a Python. The sights are adjusted (filed and bent ever so slightly) to be right on at 15yds with ball. I hate the cut away trigger . Fitz also had these made up(Idon't think he did the work) in official police frame .38's and police positives too. Of course these guns are unsafe with exposed trigger, not very concealable(mine still has the hammer spur) and being a snubbie not effecient in power. His shooting style was to point the gun with one hand from the waist in ahalf crouch or fire thru the (enormous) pockets in close. All in all a collector piece which I won't part with no way, as I got it from a pre WW2 colonel who carried it going into WW2 , I also got his 1911 made in 1913.

Drummer

I did a quick look through some of my books and found some pictures if you're still wanting to see one.

First, there is a drawing and brief description of them in Sykes and
Fairbairn's Shooting to Live, available from Palladin Press.

Also, In Bill Jordan's book No Second Place Winner, there is a picture of a colt fitting that looks exactly like a Fitz special, but is not labelled.

It is my understanding that Fitzgerald designed the original ones but other smiths later copied the gun. It was just a short barreled .45 with bobbed hamer and the front of the trigger guard cutoff. Finger grooves were added to the side of the left grip for the fingers.

David