It's finished!

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by a Fitz-Colt I saw in one of my dad's gun magazines. When John H. Fitzgerald worked for Colt in the early 1900's, the shortest barrel available from the factory was 4". Fitz made snubnoses by cutting factory barrels down to 2 1/2", 2", or even 1 1/2" lengths. He also created the first custom handguns by also bobbing the hammer spur and cutting away the front of the trigger guard (Fitz had huge hands and he coulnd't get his trigger finger inside the trigger guard when wearing gloves) for fast trigger access.

A co-worker gave me a jar of gun parts he found while cleaning out a friend's old home. There was a 2 1/2" cut and re-crowned Colt Official Police .38 barrel in the jar and that's what got me thinking about those old Fitz-Colt revolvers.

I bought a 1948 Colt Official Police .38 Special off Gunbroker (after looking for a very long time) that had a lousy barrel and a terribly worn finish. Colt made tons of these common revolvers and this one had no collector value. I didn't care about the condition of the barrel since I would be having it replaced. This gun had a tight action and functioned well.



I gave the gun to my local gunsmith, Mario Matelli (Bullseye Firearms and Gunsmithing), and he disassembled and cleaned the old Colt and smoothed its action.



Then Mario bobbed the hammer, cut away the trigger guard, and attached the 2 1/2" barrel.



Mario then removed the original front sight from the old barrel and re-attached it to the new shortened barrel.



I had an old set of Colt grips with factory medallions from the same era as the walnut factory grips that came on the Official Police. I sent those medallions to Patrick Grashorn (Home) and he inserted them in a handsome set of his American Elk Stag grips.



I then turned the Fitz'ed Colt over to a local guy that does fantastic re-blueing. He doesn't want more business because he has too much already so he asked me not to put his name out on the internet. He is truly an artist and when the Colt came back, it looked just wonderful!







I sent the Colt to Michael Gouse (www.mtart.com) for American Scroll coverage. Gouse has engraved several other guns for me and I just love how his engraving turns out.





















I made a cigar box into a custom presentation case for the Fitz-Colt too:



While the Colt was with Gouse, I looked around for a proper holster to go with the revolver. I couldn't find one that looked vintage but still covered the cut away trigger guard. Then I found Tom Dyer (Saguaro Gun Leather - Home) and ordered one of his custom tooled and dyed leather holsters. I had him use silver Mercury dimes for the hardware. By pure luck, the dimes are dated 1929 and 1927 which are the years my mom and dad were born. Amazing, and it makes this whole project just that much more special to me.



Tom even stamped my initials on the back.



So the gun is finally finished and it's exactly the way I envisioned it to be. I am so happy with my Colt and I can't wait to shoot it. If I'm lucky, I'll shoot it this Friday!







-Steve

Very Nice Steve! Fitz would be proud.

A truely impressive masterpiece!

That, my friend, is beautiful. A true work of art.

Dang, I am impressed more than I can describe.
You have truly made yourself a unique and personalized gun like none other. The whole rig is reflective of good taste.

Unfortunately for me, you have stimulated my creative side and I feel that this is going to cost me.

That is one of the most tastefully done custom guns I have ever seen.

Your vision of what you wanted and the collective talent that brought it to fruition are both truly amazing.

Thank you for sharing the pictures and documentation of the process with us.

Wow! That really came out nice, everyone involved did a great job. I liked it back when the initial gunsmithing was done but the finished product is just super.

If you don't mind me asking, what did the engraving set you back?

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

$500 plus shipping was the cost of the engraving by Gouse. He engraves after blueing or case hardening but he can't engrave over plating. The nice part is there is no need to reblue after the engraving.

Very nice indeed. That is an awesome looking Fitz Special.
Thanks for sharing.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Absolutely gorgeous!

Steve,

Dadgum ya...Now I'm gonna have to have one!

That's sur nuf a hard act to follow for sure right there, that's just pure class.

Just color me green


Su Amigo,
Dave

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

Dave, coming from you (and because I've drooled over your guns many times!) that is high praise indeed! Thank you very much for the kind words!

Steve, if I had that Colt of yours and you had your foot in a bucket of mud both of would be stepping out.

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Always Stay Strong!

Wow, a beautiful job.

The picture process was fantastic to follow through the completion this build.

The holster is perfect.

I had to look at everything a few times to really appreciate it.

Oh and another wow.

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Goal Life Member
Traveling Man

ujhygn

Sorry...that was my jaw dropping and hitting the keyboard.

That is an amazing work of art. Definitely one of the most beautiful guns I've ever seen. The holster compliments it well.

I have been wanting an engraved gun for a while, and I like the Fitz looks....I feel my bank account shrinking just thinking about it.

Looks great!

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On the Oak Savannah

Since I started posting pics of the project, Mario has had several Colts come in to him for "Fitzing." He's was good at it when did mine, but now he's getting realllllly good at it!

That turned out really nice and I especially like the treatment of the top strap. Congrats!

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

Did somebody say barbecue?

Steve,....

That is the finest modern Fitz, that I have laid eyes on!!!

Giz

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Looks great Steve...the entire package! You've put it together well and it was worth the wait. I reckon I'd be packing that rig each and every day!

Thanks for the updates!

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C & L

mm6mm6 inspired me when I saw his Colt, but I went a little different
way with A Colt Army Special in.41 Colt. Mine is still a work in progress.
I can vouch for Mario and his Fitz skills. I was one of the several Colt's
that came for the treatment. Some pics of my projects in the works.

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OGCA Member.

It's just awesome. If I were to customize a gun I would use yours as a model to go by. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

That is purentee a beautiful set up. You have an artist's taste. The whole package just belongs together. Well done!!!

You took that one to the next level.

Absolutely,Positively love it.

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Dum vivo cano

Well, I'm not normally a fan of customization but I'm a convert now. That gun is cooler than a gravy sandwich AND the flip side of your pillow all in one!! Like posted above, every one that touched that gun "did their magic" and it turned out awesome. I really like your creation and thanks for posting the pics.

Roger

Thanks everyone!

Muddyboot, those Colts are looking great! Keep the pics coming as they progress with whatever your plans are!

Really like that piece, But it looks like the screws were not reblued. Just me or is it true?

Spectacular transformation! Thanks so much for sharing this. The photos are outstanding, this must have been fun project!

Thanks mm6mm6
They are on the way to the engravers now. Not sure how long that will take. After the engraving they go to Dave Chicoine for refinish and mechanical work.

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OGCA Member.

Outstanding Muddyboot! Patience is a virtue!

I made it to the range today and put 50 rounds of old 158 grain lead roundnose .38 Special ammo through the Fitz'ed Colt. It shot great. The trigger pull measures just a touch over 9 pounds double action and it's short and smooth. The gun shoots about 3" high at 21 feet due to its high front sight. I may file it down and touch up the blue one day to get it to shoot to point of aim. Today, I just aimed a bit high and, if I did my part, the rounds went right in the center.



The range I shoot at only allows strings of 5 rounds at a time. I forgot I should really have just loaded one more round in then next empty cylinder and would have 6 shot groups (since the gun holds 6 rounds). Instead I fired 5 shot groups, double action, standing unsupported, at 21 feet.

All the targets looked like this one:



It was fun to shoot and the Colt got lots of attention. It is a "different" experience without the front of the trigger guard.



I took these quick photos while the revolver was still dirty. It's now been cleaned and looks just as good as it did when I picked it up!

Does filing the front sight lower the point of impact?

Beautiful project, very well done, thanks for the great posts.

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I Love This Site

Congrats on a beautiful gun! Thanks for walking us through the evolution of the project.

Absolutely beautiful piece, but I'm still trying to figure out how you can engrave the piece and not have to have it refinished (reblued) afterwords?

Regards,

Dave

Great thread! Thanks so much for sharing this with us. Your Colt is beautiful, and very tastefully done.

I'm guess I'm gonna be the lone dissenter here but to me the whole Fitzing thing is an abomination. On top of that, engraving a piece that's supposedly modified to improve it's functionality is a strange concept. Engraving and function just don't mix well. I think the money would have been well spent in restoring the old Colt to original condition.
Sorry if I rained on someone's parade, it's just how I feel.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

Another great looking project Steve, but I gotta know....how does Gouse engrave it after the bluing and not have to blue it again??