Answering involved technical questions in open forums

[Silvers]

Let me say up front I am writing this from a personal perspective and my post is by no means intended to represent AHFCA current policy.

As of this date I see we have 825 "registered users". Certainly, not all of them are active. Many may have registered for one question, or to post one comment, and have never been back on the site. However I suspect a large percentage of the 825 are active or at least read the site on some basis. At the same time we only have about 175 AHFCA members who are paying the bills to maintain this website and fund our other activities.

I don't see this dichotomy as an issue when someone wants to post pics of their guns, see info on other Fox guns, read about Fox hunting or shooting activities, ask a simple question, etc. However I do have a personal concern with it when someone who isn't a member writes in with a more involved technical question that might require much effort by a knowlegeable member to research, write a coherent answer, take and post pics, etc. In those cases the person initiating the question gets a gratis answer that has some significant value, without having to put forth a penny on their part.

With this in mind some of you may have noticed that "Silvers" is moving from answering technical questions on the open forums, and is doing it mostly on our private Members Forum. Actually I think the Technical Forum should be moved to a Member's only access as an improvement for the future, but that isn't my call. Meanwhile from now on I will mainly stay on the Members Forum when posting tech stuff and to answer the more technical questions. Basically I see this as "value added" for the members who are actually funding the AHFCA.

I know there may be different perspectives on this and, again, this is mine for me. Frank Silvers

[Sportalluring]

Silvers,

Open forum are just that, Open! On most websites they were started to share and help people with interests that they may have and to help others
as well. Sorry to hear members only for 'Silvers' thoughts on Fox shotguns. I guess you`ll be missed.

Sportalluring

[BarkeyVA]

I am a newly registered user but have not become a member YET because I just bought my first Utica-Fox Sterlingworth that I picked up last Saturday. It is a 16 ga. with 28" barrels choked .006/.012, 2-3/4" chambers and "modern" stock dimensions that seem to fit me really well. I hope to pattern it and shoot some clays with it tomorrow.

I have been very impressed with the willingness of members of this forum to provide detailed answers, opinions and advice in response to my many PM's emails and questions about Fox-Sterlingworths in general and my purchase in particular. Thank you all! While I am not a member yet, I think it is only right that registered users who are getting expert advice from the knowledgeable folks on the Fox Collectors Forums become paying members. I'll be printing out the membership application later today.

[mc15426378]

I am a newly registered user but have not become a member YET because I just bought my first Utica-Fox Sterlingworth that I picked up last Saturday. It is a 16 ga. with 28" barrels choked .006/.012, 2-3/4" chambers and "modern" stock dimensions that seem to fit me really well. I hope to pattern it and shoot some clays with it tomorrow.

I have been very impressed with the willingness of members of this forum to provide detailed answers, opinions and advice in response to my many PM's emails and questions about Fox-Sterlingworths in general and my purchase in particular. Thank you all! While I am not a member yet, I think it is only right that registered users who are getting expert advice from the knowledgeable folks on the Fox Collectors Forums become paying members. I'll be printing out the membership application later today.

You'll not regret joining the "brotherhood". Look forward to the shooting report.

Mike

[Dave Furman]

I don't know if it's helpful or not, but perhaps I can offer a bit of a different perspective. I am not a fox collector or a collector of any sort. I am a hunter, shooter, and enthusiast of doing things the hard way. I am well over 6 feet tall, so a while back I stocked an old Parker in order to (finally) have a gun that fit me reasonably well. That venture has turned into a bit of a hobby, and I have found that I enjoy Fox shotguns very much--I currently own a 16 and a 12 that were both basket-case guns I have restocked to fit me. Along the way, a great many people--Mike Campbell chief among them--have been of humongous assistance to me, and their generosity as well as websites such as the Doublegunshop have set a very high bar for this sort of information exchange.
With that introduction for background, I have to admit to being more than a little put off by the "only members may get answers" statement I ran across here on a few occasions. I am not the sort that likes to join clubs or groups and I am not a collector, so I initially had no intention of joining a collectors association. After seeing the lack of willingness to share info I pretty much left and haven't been back more than a few times, mostly following a link to a photo or discussion sent to me by friends. I understand the idea that membership should have its privileges, but if the goal of the organization is to "stimulate interest in the history and production of Fox shotguns. We believe you will enjoy our forum and learn more about the rich history of Fox shotguns" , which ideal seems reinforced by the information accessable to the public via this website, it seems at least possible to me that such a policy could run counter to the goals of the organization by virtually ensuring that only current collectors and enthusiasts will have access to much of the information. I will probably join at some point whether this is a policy or not but petty as it might be this was the main reason thus far I have elected NOT to join. The organization may get more members as a result of a policy such as this than it will lose--in which case it's a good one no matter what I think--but I hope that this perspective is helpful to you in some way.

[BarkeyVA]

I shot my 16 ga. Fox Sterlingworth, 28" barrels choked .006/.012, for the first time today. Using the hood of my pickup and 4 towels as a rest, I shot 4 patterns from each barrel at 20 yds with 1 oz game loads to check POI. By inspection, both barrels are putting about the 60% of the patterns above POA. The center of the pattern from the left barrel is about 4" to the left of the POA. (Not sure if that is too much or not) I shot two more patterns from each barrel at 10 yds. Again the patterns are about 60/40 and the left barrel shoots slightly to the left.

I then shot two rounds of wobble clays (5 stations in an arc even with the wobble trap. Station 3 is on a platform above the trap.) They shoot one single and two report doubles at each station and most shots are from 20-35 yds. Shooting low gun exclusively , I missed 3x5 on station 1 and finished with 20x25 for the first round. The second round, I hit 22x25, including missing the first bird on the last report pair at station 5. My scores were about average for me, so I can't complain about the gun or the results. I think it will be a decent upland bird gun.