My First Post & Fox

[David D]

Guys,

A few weeks ago I did not know what a Fox SxS was ... I do now, what a great gun. Just bought this today at an Orlando gunshop. I found it on Gunbroker and stopped at the shop in order to inspect it and the gun is in excellent condition. 12 gauge, A grade, Utica 1936, #4 barrels, extractors, perfect bores, nice and tight, not sure on chokes, 28 " barrels, fairly standard dimensions on stock and it feels real good on me. The stock does have some movement left/right, which will need to be addressed.

Here's the embarrassing part, I grew up in Utica and we were a hunting family, but no Foxes (or SxS's) in the house. This is my second SxS and it will be my workhorse, the other is an AyA that is used for the light pretty stuff.

I'm planning on adding a 20 down the road and I'm sure a 16 will join too.

Love the forum and I appreciate all of the great information here ... I hope to add as I get smart on these fine SxS's.

Regards, Dave

[Twice Barrel]

David welcome to the wonderful world of Fox guns. Owning and shooting Fox guns can become addictive. If you have movement in the stock your gun most likely has a crack in the web at the head. I really recommend that you have it attended to and the stock glass bedded before you shoot the gun as these types of cracks have a tendency to only get worse. Good luck.

[bbman3]

David,welcome! Fine looking Fox! Bobby

[David D]

David welcome to the wonderful world of Fox guns. Owning and shooting Fox guns can become addictive. If you have movement in the stock your gun most likely has a crack in the web at the head. I really recommend that you have it attended to and the stock glass bedded before you shoot the gun as these types of cracks have a tendency to only get worse. Good luck.

Thanks, I'm fairly certain that the addiction has a strong hold already.

Any suggestions for a gunsmith that can repair the stock and at the same time, give the action a good inspection and cleaning?

Regards, Dave

[Twice Barrel]

There are many good smiths that can work on your Fox. You may however want to find one in your area. My go to smith is up to his eye balls in restoration work but my stocker can usually get a repair in and out in three to four weeks, sometimes more sometimes less. If you post your location someone on the board may have a recommendation for a smith that can do your stock repair and action inspection/cleaning in your area.

[David D]

I'm in Central Florida (east coast) and Northern NY (way north, central), but I'm willing to ship the gun anywhere in the US. I'm really looking for a quality repair, $$ and time are secondary.

I found the the picture below on this site ... I think the wooden tab on the left side of the stock is broken on my Fox, as the stock will separate from the gun on the left side only.

[Silvers]

David, the Fox design doesn't have tabs to keep the wood captive inside the frame. Essentially the stock head is held together by a "web" of wood inside the inletting, and by some slight compression of wood due to its fit against the frame. The inside web is easily cracked by a lateral impact such as falling with the gun held sideways. Fox is not alone in that regard. Fox reinforced some but not all stock heads with a corrugated staple aka corrugated nail, and you can search and find some threads with pictures of same. But with all that said the A H Fox design is pretty solid and I've fired one of mine almost 15,000 rounds with ZERO cracks, problems, etc. That gun doesn't have the staple feature.

Without looking at your gun I can't say for sure if the web is cracked but from your description it probably is. I've seen stocks with these cracks glued and usually they don't hold up. I work on own guns ONLY and have seen it all. If the web is intact but cracked, the fix I'd recommend is to have a competent Fox man glue it back together and bridge over the crack with a heavy metal pin that's also acraglassed in place. But if the web is split out, about the only fix is to dovetail/glue/bridge a new piece of walnut in place. This can be done without being visable from the outside as with a crossbolt. I use a vertical mill for these wood web repairs but I suppose a very steady hand can do a passable job with a die grinder.

I know you asked who can do an evaluation and good repair. Most competent Foxsmiths have way more work offered to them than they can handle. One I spoke with a week ago and told me he has an ~ one year queue on most work. And serious Fox nuts who are getting work done generally keep their good smiths' names confidential and only share with close friends, for fear their future work will be delayed by addition of a new customer(s). I'm not saying that's right, only that's the way it is. I'm sorry I can't offer much more than this. Silvers

[jolly bill]

David,

In upstate NY, Cato NY to be exact which is just a few miles west of Syracuse, Dan May and Ken Waite of Classic Gunstocks may be able to help. They do nice work and are very familiar with side by sides. Shop phone number is 315-626-2605. They have some nice examples of their work on their web site: http://www.classicgunstocks.com

Hopefully, you'll get other recommendations.

Jolly

[Silvers]

On a different computer with my pic files this morning.

First pic shows the front end of the web that holds the stock head together. This Fox has the reinforcing staple and its web is intact. But what I call the "draw pyramid" that pushes the stock tight against the gun frame is broken out (left center of pic). Gun was apart to replace that pyramid.




I've seen most everything on Foxes. Here's a top view of web on another stock, that someone "repaired" with what looks to be old time plastic wood.

[David D]

Guys,

I really appreciate all of the help ... I was looking at the gun this morning and decided to take it apart in order to determine exactly what is damaged/broken on the stock. Picked up a gunsmith kit at the local gun shop for $30 and breaking the gun down was a breeze. I used the disassembly instruction on this site . Here are a few pictures of the pieces parts and the broken stock.

I'm not sure how a professional would go about fixing the gun, but I would think that the best "structural" fix would utilize a pin through the web ... Adding some checkering would hide the pin. I plan to contact a number of stock repair experts and get their initial opinion on the best approach based on detailed pictures of the stock. Once I have selected a shop for the repair, I'll ship the stock for a more thorough inspection in order to give the shop an opportunity to see the damage and give me a solid price for the repairs. Once we agree on the repair approach and price, I'll ship the components of the gun so they can be cleaned up and reassembled.

I will say this, for a 76 year old gun, it's in fantastic condition. When I purchased the gun last week, I was aware that there was an issue with the stock, but I only paid $1200 for the gun.

Thanks again for all of your comments. I will keep you informed on the progress of the repair and I hope to get it fixed asap ... I'm chomping at the bit to shoot this beautiful gun!

Regards, Dave

[David D]

BTW, I'd appreciate a PM from any stock repair expert that is interested in discussing a repair approach with me. This would be a nice project to share with the members of this forum.

[Twice Barrel]

David don't even think about pinning it. A good stock man can fix that damage so that it is stronger than new and the repair will be invisable. When you ship the gun for repair you will need to send the receiver as well so the smith can glass bed the stock to the receiver so I recommend you send it when you ship the stock for evaluation.

[David D]

David don't even think about pinning it. A good stock man can fix that damage so that it is stronger than new and the repair will be invisable. When you ship the gun for repair you will need to send the receiver as well so the smith can glass bed the stock to the receiver so I recommend you send it when you ship the stock for evaluation.

Will do, thanks for the advice.

[David D]

Well, I talked to a few different gunsmiths wrt repairing my stock and decided to send it to Doug Carpenter @ Capenter's Custom Gunstocks, which is located in Ohio. I talked to Doug on the phone regarding the repair and decided to ship it to him so he can give it a thorough inspection and decide what the best repair approach is. I'll provide an update as we go forward with the repair.

Regards, Dave

[Bird1122]

David,

While the USPS makes the proximity of the smith performing your repair irrelevant, I would highly recommend Larry Schuknecht at Dutchman Wood Works (on the web) in Clarence, NY (just north of Buffalo). He repaired a similarly damaged Fox for me with great success. As pleasant and eager a person as you will ever find.

Bird