Post by tinkerpearce on Mar 3, 2018 1:11:17 GMT -5
There are a few people that have been after me to do a Fitz Special, and I finally came across a gun that was trashed enough that I wouldn't feel bad modifying it but still mechanically sound. The gun had about 50% blue, was missing the ejector finial and a screw. The gun was dirty- as in there was actual dirt in the cylinder and bore. I popped the sideplate and there was more inside, so I detail-stripped the gun and gave it a thorough cleaning. Did wonders for the trigger pull...
The gun, an Army Special .38, was made in 1924 and had a high serial number, and in it's condition I felt no compunctions about modifying it.
While the gun was apart I bobbed the hammer and cleaned it up, then shortened the barrel to approx. 1-3/4", trued and re-crowned it. The trigger-guard was cut and the bottom of the frame modified. I also rounded the square-butt grip-frame and modified the grips to match. I cleaned, polished and re-blued the cylinder and touched up the bluing on the rest of the gun. I had to replace the missing screw with a philips-head, but that will only be there as for as long as it takes to get a proper replacement. Later this spring I'll strip it down and properly re-blue it. I'm planning to transplant the original sight to mimic the appearance of the official guns. The results are shown below, with a few Fitz-appropriate cartridges loaded with 173gr. LSWCs.
The gun, an Army Special .38, was made in 1924 and had a high serial number, and in it's condition I felt no compunctions about modifying it.
While the gun was apart I bobbed the hammer and cleaned it up, then shortened the barrel to approx. 1-3/4", trued and re-crowned it. The trigger-guard was cut and the bottom of the frame modified. I also rounded the square-butt grip-frame and modified the grips to match. I cleaned, polished and re-blued the cylinder and touched up the bluing on the rest of the gun. I had to replace the missing screw with a philips-head, but that will only be there as for as long as it takes to get a proper replacement. Later this spring I'll strip it down and properly re-blue it. I'm planning to transplant the original sight to mimic the appearance of the official guns. The results are shown below, with a few Fitz-appropriate cartridges loaded with 173gr. LSWCs.
