I have a sad and very ugly 1917 with a very poorly bobbed barrel and a 2nd Model Hand Ejector .455 converted to .45 Colt that has a broken-off hammer spur. My idea is to swap hammers so the Hand Ejector is complete and correct. Then, I would further bob the barrel on the 1917 (cleaning up the job) to around real snubbie length (2” +-), add a simple blade front sight (or not), and bob the broken hammer spur. This would leave me with a poor man’s “Fitz Special” a’la S&W instead of Colt (I would not cut up any of my New Services, unless a real beater comes along). I would not cut out the trigger guard, I draw the line there but would consider a K/L grip modification (down the road). Should be a fun and relatively cheap project. I have read that there are some differences between the 1917 & Hand Elector hammers/triggers. Is this true? If so, will swapping the hammer & trigger together solve this issue?

I think hammers and triggers are the same

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Gary Grace
S&WCA #1837

It's my understanding the 1917 is simply a rechambered .44 HE/Second with cylinder and barrel mods, so the lockwork should be identical. But I would think you could tell by taking the two hammers and laying one atop the other. Even a tiny difference should be observable.

If you try the swap and it doesn't work satisfactorily, it sounds like a good plan to move the trigger too.

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David Wilson