Sterlingworth youth model?

[ScottNC]

Hello all. This is my first post to this forum.

I recently inherited from my father a 16 ga Fox Sterlingworth in very good to excellent condition. Based on the serial number, 374XXX, I believe the gun was manufactured in 1938. My concern has to do with the dimensions of the gun. The barrels are 24" and the length of pull is 13" measured from the front trigger. It has an ivory bead sight. I have not found anything to indicate that AH Fox ever produced guns with these reduced dimensions.

Could this possibly be a youth model shotgun? Or, did a prior owner have the gun cut down? My dad purchased the gun used and I know he did not have any modifications done. If it has been altered by a prior owner, how does this impact the value of the gun? Thanks for your input.

[ASavageFox]

welcome to the forum!

I'm still pretty green but I'll take a stab and if I misspeak I am sure someone will correct.

I am guessing the gun was cut down. Pics would help... is there a pad on the gun? Black plastic butt plate?

You can best tell if the barrels were cut by having the length of the chokes checked.... factory choke should be close to 4" What are the chokes?

There were factory produced 24" guns but they are fairly rare and usually in the graded guns not the sterlingworths from what I have seen.

[Researcher]

The standard length-of-pull for a Fox-Sterlingworth was 14-inches. The Fox-Sterlingworth was generally made to stock dimensions, but the catalogues always carried the offer of "Drop of stock changed 3/8" either way at an additional charge of $3.80. Cut off to any desired length and refinished at an additional charge of $2.20." I'm sure a very few guns may exist where the purchaser took advantage of this offer, but for most of the years the Sterlingworth was offered, those charges move one a long way toward the price of an A-Grade where stock dimensions were to customer order.

A very few graded guns have been found ordered with 24-inch barrels. I've never heard of a Fox-Sterlingworth being so ordered. The odds are very great that what was done to your gun was done after-market. A letter from Callahan might prove otherwise.