Some time later, Askins was instrumental in getting the Border Patrol to adopt the Colt New Service in .38 Special as its primary handgun. Askins's own .38 Special New Service was tricked-out with a King ramp, adjustable sight, ivory grips, and a four-inch barrel. This is also the handgun that Askins carried during most of his World War II duties.

Col. Rex Applegate was another shoot-ist who favored the FitzGerald Special. Colonel Applegate cut the barrel of a .45 Colt New Service to two inches, bobbed the hammerspur, and cut out the front of the trigger guard. During World War II, Applegate was involved in training special agents for the O.S.S., the forerunner of the CIA, and he figured that the FitzGerald Special was just the ticket for the fellows who often had to work behind enemy lines.

Apparently, Applegate liked to just stuff his FitzGerald Special into a front pants pocket. In fact, a story is told that he was once interviewed for a special assignment by President Roosevelt, and the Secret Service asked him to remove his revolver before going before the President. It was a request that Applegate declined. (I would have loved to have heard that little exchange.) Later when asked about his choice for the assignment, President Roosevelt is supposed to have replied, "Yes, get me that Army officer with the revolver in his pocket!"

One of the most colorful of the Texas Rangers was Capt. M.T. "Lone Wolf" Gonzaullas. He entered the Rangers in 1920 and retired in 1951, with some time in between serving as a federal agent. Gonzaullas took particular delight in owning, and using, several pairs of custom handguns. And his pair of Colt 1911s is the only set of auto pistols that I know of to get the FitzGerald treatment. This pair of guns was finely engraved, had custom ivory grips, and had the front of the trigger guards cut out. In fact, Gonzaullas may have used one of these guns in his last gunfight against a wanted criminal in Gladewater, Texas, in about 1950. Gonzaullas may have dressed fancy and carried fancier guns than other lawmen, but he could cover the ground he stood on. Make no mistake about that.

Although the cutout trigger guards have a mean and business-like look, we now know that such alterations are not necessary. Without the protection of the trigger guard, some obstruction conceivably could contact the trigger and cause a negligent discharge. And we also know that such alterations are not necessary for speed, either. The late Bill Jordan (longtime lawman, exhibition shooter, and Shooting Times Shooting Editor), who had hands the size of dinner plates, merely thinned the front of the trigger guards on his S&W Model 19s. Since he was recorded drawing, firing, and hitting in about .37 second, the trigger guard issue was solved forever.

The FitzGerald Special is an interesting symbol of the prewar era. It was a grand gun from a grand old man of sixgunning, Mr. J.H. FitzGerald.