The Colt Fitz Special Revolver

The Colt FitzGerald Special, AKA The Fitz, AKA the Fitz Special, was the nationwide predecessor to what all shooters know now as the snub-nose revolver.

John Henry FitzGerald, a NYS Trooper and firearm enthusiast, became so good at recreationally modifying and perfecting his Colt revolvers at home, that in 1918 Colt hired him onto their team.

While employed by Colt, Fitz would take and stock Colt revolver and modify it into a “Fitz Special.” He would take the barrel down to two inches, shorten the ejector rod, bob the hammer spur, round the butt and finally, remove the front of the trigger guard. The meaning behind all of these modifications was simple; Fitz’ goal was to make a small revolver that was easy to conceal and easy to draw. Shortening the barrel, removing the hammer spur and rounding the butt made the revolver easy to hide and ensured that nothing would snag on clothing or other times during the draw. Cutting out the front of the trigger guard granted the shooter easy access to the trigger, regardless of hand size.

Since Fitz used any stock revolver, they came in many calibers. The firearms he used were already serialized and stamped with the model prior to Fitz’ manipulation. FitzGerald special models became a prototype of the Detective Special, however after Colt began production of the Detective Special, Fitz continued to produce his off variation. The Butter-nut Sport Shop has a Fitz Special stamped “Detective Special”. This would be the prototype of the true Detective Special. It’s estimated that somewhere between 40 and 200 Fitz Specials were produced between 1918 and 1944.