Recently, there has been a lot of interest and posts on “Fitz” revolvers on social media. I simply shake my head at the level of pontification and commentary by folks who have absolutely no concept of the reason they existed and what the intent was in their creation. There is a huge disconnect, so I thought I would do a post to explain the historical significance of these guns. Continue reading “Why The Fitz?”
Tag: RevolverGuy History
Weird Revolvers & Revolver Cartridges
I’m thinking about weirdos right now. Not the people panicking during these unprecedented world times, but rather weirdo revolvers. This doesn’t mean that I think weirdos are bad or good, inferior or well-made, it just means that they’re out of the norm as self-defense handguns. They’re just weird. Continue reading “Weird Revolvers & Revolver Cartridges”
The History and Future of the Smith & Wesson Internal Lock
There was no avoiding it. Eventually, we were going to have to discuss the darned lock.
Continue reading “The History and Future of the Smith & Wesson Internal Lock”
In Memoriam: Dick Baker, Firearms Designer
The gun world lost a good man in December. Continue reading “In Memoriam: Dick Baker, Firearms Designer”
Independence Day 2019
On 2 July 1776, the Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution which declared the colonies’ independence from Britain. Two days later, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence had been approved, and America’s independence was formally announced. (1)
Inside The Ruger LCR38
Sometimes I’m a little slow in catching on . . . Continue reading “Inside The Ruger LCR38”
Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II
In Part I of this series, we discussed the birth of the breakfront holster with the Berns-Martin design, as well as the development of competing designs from popular police holster makers Hoyt and Safety Speed.
We now pick up the breakfront saga where we left off . . .
Continue reading “Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part II”
Fighting Leather: The Breakfront, Part I
While some of the nation’s oldest uniformed police departments trace their roots back to the mid-1800s, it wasn’t until the early 20th Century that the majority of American police sidearms moved from tunic pockets to openly-carried duty holsters. The earliest rigs were generally substandard in materials and design, and it wasn’t long before the search for the perfect police duty holster occupied the minds of uniformed lawmen from coast to coast.
Coming To Grips With Grip Adapters
When the double action, swing-out cylinder revolver began to take shape in the late 1800s, it seemed like the designers had already used up all their energy by the time they got to the back end. The grip frames on these guns were universally small, and the grips (or “stocks,” in S&W parlance) almost looked like they were afterthoughts.
RG Reference: Hammers and Triggers
Back when the revolver was King, wheelgun shooters and manufacturers paid attention to details that are sometimes overlooked today. A great example of this, is the host of trigger and hammer options that were available back when sixguns still filled most of the duty holsters and won most of the matches.