Grades?

[thomas john]

What do the different "Grades" in some of the posts and forums refer to.
Is it the quality of the gun or when it was made or what.
I'm new both here and to Fox Sterlingworths in general so please understand my ignorance.
Thank You!

[bamboozler]

Grades are the quality of the gun. I recommend you go to this site's homepage and poke around there for a while---there's enough info there for you to become somewhat enlightened in the world of Fox guns. Then pick up a copy of Michael McIntosh's book "A.H. Fox", read and study that. After absorbing the aforementioned things you'll have a good start in learning about A.H. Fox guns---then join the AHFCA.

[Stan Hillis]

Welcome, Mark. Smart people ask when they don't understand. You've come to the right place. I know volumes less about Foxes than many of the other regulars here, but will try to answer your question about grades. Others will no doubt come along and offer even better information.

Grades of Foxes run from the Sterlingworth, on the bottom end, up through the GE grade, which was the finest gun built by Fox and offered for sale. It was offered in 1922 at a price of $1100, while the Sterlingworth was offered at $48, $60.50 with ejectors. The lower the grade the less embellishment the gun has and the plainer the walnut. Foxes differ from some other makes of doubles in that the inner workings of the lowest grade, the Sterlingworth, are just as well made and reliable as those in the high grade guns. The prices of the grades go up as the grade increases.

Also, it is worthy of mention that all grades were offered with ejectors, for an extra fee, and the ones with ejectors will be denoted in their grade designations by the letter "E" after the grade, i.e. an A grade will have extractors, while an AE will be an A grade with ejectors. The exception to that is the Sterlingworth, which would be called a Sterlingworth Ejector.

If you go to the Board Index on this site, and look down the list, you will see categories with pictures of most of the different grades offered by Fox. One of the best references for Fox shotguns is the book entitled A.H. Fox "The Finest Gun in the World" by Michael McIntosh.

Feel free to ask questions. There are some on here that, unlike myself, are treasure troves of knowledge and research information on Foxes.

Stan

[thomas john]

I guess my next move will to be to buy the book to determine the grade of the shotgun that my Dad left me.
Thanks you all for pointing me in the right direction.
I will post more as my knowledge increases.

[thomas john]

I guess my next move will to be to buy the book to determine the grade of the shotgun that my Dad left me.
Thanks you all for pointing me in the right direction.
I will post more as my knowledge increases.
Would this, Michael McIntosh's book "A.H. Fox", be the best referance for me to determine the grade of my gun and are there others?

[Researcher]

McIntosh's book is more a biography of Ansley H. Fox and a history of the companies he founded. It is not a grade by grade discussion of the guns, though most all grades are pictured in there in one place or another. Just go to our home page and look at the sections on markings and the sections showing pictures of all the various grades. Look at the "Factory Letter" section and you can order a letter from the Savage/Stevens/Fox historian, Mr. John Callahan.

Finally, open a Photobucket account, load pictures of your gun there and then post them here and members will be happy to discuss what you have.

[thomas john]

McIntosh's book is more a biography of Ansley H. Fox and a history of the companies he founded. It is not a grade by grade discussion of the guns, though most all grades are pictured in there in one place or another. Just go to our home page and look at the sections on markings and the sections showing pictures of all the various grades. Look at the "Factory Letter" section and you can order a letter from the Savage/Stevens/Fox historian, Mr. John Callahan.

Finally, open a Photobucket account, load pictures of your gun there and then post them here and members will be happy to discuss what you have.

Will Do!!!

These are pics from my first ever post...

http://foxcollectors.com/My%20Forum/php ... f=2&t=3618