They Called Him “Fitz”

As with all boys from time immemorial, the young lad was curious while at the same time somewhat bored with nothing to do. Going into his father’s office he started looking through drawers in the big desk finding nothing of interest. Then he came across a small cardboard box and opening it, found an engraved, silver-plated, ivory-stocked .22 revolver. He was only 10, however he knew what it was and also how to shoot it, at least point it, and pull the trigger. Just before stumbling on the .22 he found a box of cigars, and I well remember when I was his age how fascinating cigars were, for a very short time. He left the cigars where they were and put the .22 into his pants pocket and began the hunt for cartridges. When he found a box of .22 shorts he was ready to shoot; or at least he thought so.

He left his father’s business office and went looking for a suitable target quickly finding a tin can; he then hiked four miles to get away from any houses. He was smart enough to start up close placing the can on a stump and backing up 15′. He carefully looked the revolver over, loaded it, and pointed it in the direction of the can.

At the first shot there was a howl as another boy came out of the bushes beside the stump with a .22 hole in his big toe. Needless to say, the young guy was in for a lot of trouble when he got home, where he was disarmed and sent to bed. The gun was hidden, however he did find it after several months, saved up enough money to buy ammunition and convinced his father he now knew how to be careful and was able to keep the gun.

This took place in 1886, and John Henry Fitzgerald learned his lessons well; it was his first and only firearms accident from that time until he died in 1945.

DA Shooting

Everybody who had anything to do with handguns knew Fitz. In his excellent book The Secrets of Double-Action Shooting Bob Nichols paid eloquent tribute to Fitz who had passed on five years earlier.

“I knew the late John Henry Fitzgerald well. He was the fastest man on the draw in the world. Here was the famous Fitz of Colt’s. A rattlesnake could be first to the strike, but I never saw anything on two legs who could do the same … In his book, Fitz came as close as he dared to telling the truth about double action shooting. Fitz knew the deadly accuracy and speed of double action shooting; make no mistake about this. His great concern was Colt’s just did not make the best American double action revolver, that’s all; and Fitz knew this, too … Fitz was the most colorful personality, the greatest showman and the greatest salesman Colt’s ever had after the death of Col. Sam Colt. Fitz was Mr. Colt for the 27 years preceding his death. He was immensely popular with, and respected by, law enforcement officers the country over; and even in Canada.”

It’s most interesting to me to read Nichols’ statement about Fitz knowing the Colt was second-best compared to Smith & Wesson but Fitz was loyal to Colt and both quick and accurate with his .45 Colt New Service sixguns.

Those sixguns were a pair of specially altered .45 Colt New Services, which were carried in his front trouser pockets. These were not ordinary New Services, which are large double action sixguns by anyone’s definition. Barrels were cut back to 2″, the grip frame was shortened, the hammer was bobbed so it would not catch on clothing, however enough was left so an expert at double action shooting could start the hammer back with the trigger action and then use the thumb to cock it for deliberate single action fire.
The final touch is something shooters have been arguing about ever since the first Fitz Special was created. For quick access to the trigger, Fitz cut out the front of the trigger guard.

Ed McGivern did not agree with this and instead enlarged trigger guards for quicker and easier access to the trigger while Bill Jordan slimmed the front of the trigger guard on his double action sixguns to about half their normal width so he could more quickly get his big finger on the trigger. One man who completely agreed with Fitz was Col. Charles Askins and modified a couple of his personal guns to be his own versions of Fitz Specials.

Two-Handed

In my early days of shooting I certainly heard of the almost mythical Fitz Special but had never actually seen an original one. That changed when I visited Col. Rex Applegate at his home in the mid-1990s. I, along with Bill Jordan, had presented him with the Outstanding American Handgunner Awards Foundation bronze, and we became very good friends. When I entered the front door of Col. Applegate’s personal museum his two most prized possessions were the first thing I saw. One was his bronze trophy signifying his lifelong contributions to handgunners; leaning against his trophy was his original, ivory-stocked .45 Colt Fitz Special which was engraved “To Rex From Fitz.”

By 1890 Fitz, though still a teenager, became fascinated with ballistics going so far as to actually examine the rifling marks on bullets. In the future he would be known as a expert witness in forensic tests testifying in hundreds of trials as well as being a consultant in over a thousand cases. He considered himself to be “half-cop” instructing and lecturing to police departments all around the country and was actually affiliated with several law enforcement organizations. Just as his friend Col. Rex Applegate would later do, Fitz not only instructed in the use of firearms but also techniques to use when unarmed. He had been a prizefighter in his youth so was well qualified for the latter. He was a firm believer and proponent of double action shooting. As Colt’s Ambassador he was always in the Colt tent at the Camp Perry National Matches ready to share with other shooters as well as tune their Colt pistols and revolvers.

All serious handgun shooters today know of and also use some form of Jack Weaver’s Weaver Stance. In modern times it was championed by Weaver in the 1960s and promoted by Jeff Cooper. I’ve always maintained the Weaver Stance or some form thereof goes back at least as early as 1847 when the first Texas Ranger tried to shoot a 41/2 pound Walker Colt.

Fitz did a lot of double action work shooting two sixguns simultaneously, but he also believed in being able to hit at longer ranges. To this end he was using two hands for shooting one gun nearly a half-century before Cooper and Weaver.

Predicting The Future

Not only do we find Clint Smith and Mas Ayoob in Fitz’s book, we also find such master builders of the .45 auto as Bill Wilson, Les Baer and Ed Brown. More than 50 years before they arrived, Fitz looked to improving the big .45. Soon after the Colt 1911 .45 was adopted, stories began of its inaccuracy and difficulty in shooting.

One year after Fitz went to work for Colt he turned his talents to the 1911: “A few shots from a properly sighted .45 automatic will convince the most skeptical that it is a wonderful arm and very accurate, extremely so if fitted with the .45 Colt Match Barrel. These barrels were first used in 1919 and after months of experimenting at the Colt factory. I took 40 of these match barrels to the national shoot that year and the records made at this shoot convinced the most doubting that the .45 automatic equaled any of the large caliber sidearms in existence.”

Just as the writings of all the old masters of the handgun, Fitz’s work is dated in many ways but it is also as modern as today. Elmer Keith, Ed McGivern, Charlie Askins, Rex Applegate, Jeff Cooper, and most assuredly John Henry Fitzgerald all have much to teach us still. We will never see their like again.

Fitzgerald’s book Shooting can be found in its 1930 version quite often at www.abebooks.com. In the early 1990s it was reprinted by Wolfe and is currently cataloged by Paladin Press.

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