From Forgotten Weapons / The Fitz Special – Art of the Gunfighter, Circa 1926

John Henry Fitzgerald was not the first person to cut down a revolver barrel, nor the first person to bob the trigger guard or hammer. But he was the person who put all these modifications together as a package and popularized it as a self-defense piece. “Fitz” was a former NYPD police officer, very successful competitive and exhibition shooter, and a gunsmith and representative of the Colt company from 1918 until 1944. He made somewhere between 20 and 100 Fitz Specials as part of the Colt custom shop, and inspired many more to be made by other gunsmiths.

The Idea was to have a gun that would carry easily, and not get hung up on clothing. The shortened barrel, bobbed trigger guard, bobbed hammer, and bobbed ejector rod all served this purpose, with the trigger guard removal also easing use of the gun with gloves on. With the exception of the trigger guard, all of these ideas have become commonly accepted and available on revolvers designed for concealed carry. The trigger guard, of course, is a bridge too far in today’s more litigious and safety-minded society…

If I were ever to come with multiples 100’s of money to spend – plus the cost of a donor piece – I will have one based on a S&W Model 64 – the last time I priced the work out on one it was in the $700 to $900 dollar range – and that’s not the cost of a high polish on the stainless – but I do want one . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

ABC forgets’ documentary which ‘absolutely skewers the renewable energy industry

Clutch YOUR pearls tightly real tight folks – the least polluting large scale energy production?? – nuclear – yep that’s right – nukes – until we figure out how to do fusion – the green “thing”? – think watermelon – green on the outside – red on the inside – that’s right – the communists have never stopped – want to build a coal fired plant? – kinda hard to start one right now since everybody capable of building one is already committed their company resources to building as many as they can – as quickly as they can – in China . . . You don’t here anyone crying about China and their coal fired economy do you?

I use solar for standby lighting – spring time thunderstorms and old trees in the area are not a good combination – for about $375 total outlay I have about 30 hours of lighting in the hacienda – I can’t get excited about total conversion for about $25,000 + at this point – this old barn is slated for sale when we retire – and that is dependent on our mood when we crawl out of bed on any given day – so far we have not both said fuck it at the same time – that’s all it would take – so no – I’m not going “off grid” here . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Some Snubby Stuff

Folks – I always have a S&W 642 in my pocket – ALWAYS – regardless of what else I am carrying at any given time – and more often than not I have 2 on me – again regardless of what else I’m carrying . . .

A quick one from First Person Defender’s Ryan Gresham demonstrates the effectiveness of a short-barrel revolver in a self-defense situation at 5 feet, 10 feet, and 15 feet. – pretty good shooting when you remember he is shooting AND moving . . .

Some good information from Sootch00 . . .

And Chris from MarksmanTV compares 3 popular snubby choices –

To me he almost looks like he has his inner Bill the Cat thing going on in this video . . .

Read somewhere that S&W produces more 642’s than any other single firearm – for some reason I have no doubt about that . . .

2 642’s with Ergo Delta Grips and Wilson Combat spring kits – The top one came out of the belly band and the bottom one came out of the pocket holster for this cameo appearance . . .

Have YOU gotten over and checked out the Snub Gun Study Group yet?? – If not – Why not??

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!

Friday Music : Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen – Now You Know . . .

Unless you grew up in a vacuum pretty much all you folks are familiar with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen . . .

And if you don’t recognize any of those songs – this should work for you . . .

Now where did they get the name?? ( yes I know – In case you missed it last week )

And now you know . . .

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!