My first A grade Fox

[MilRob]

Bought my first A grade Fox. Here are a couple of pictures of the gun. Just waiting for it to be shipped to me and I cant wait to get it out in the woods. I bought the gun off an auction and they didnt have a lot of information for me. They said the bores are mint no dents. Wood has typical wear of a 100 yd old gun and it is tight on face. I hope all is true since it is sight unseen at this point.

Serial Number 3003XX
16 gauge
28" barrels

[fox-admin]

Very nice example well done!! Report back to us after your first hunting venture. Craig

[bbman3]

Very early 16 with second style engraving.Hope you enjoy it. Bobby

[David D]

Congrats on your first Fox, it's a slippery slope once you buy a fox!

[Researcher]

Looks like you have a geat transition smallbore with the later Gough style engraving but still the snap-on/off forearm. I'd love to have complete data on the gun for my table tracking the transition from 1st to 2nd generation smallbores. If you don't want to post the complete serial number in the open, you can PM me or send it to AHFCA@comcast.net

What type barrels does your gun have? Krupp? Chromox? Which type forearm fastening does your gun have? The J.C. Kremer & A.H. Fox Patent No. 1,029,374 with a spring-loaded roller in the forearm iron which pops into a detent on the back side of a solid forearm loop on the barrels? Or, the F.T. Russell Patent No. 1,029,229 which has a fixed roller in the forearm iron which goes into a spring-loaded catch in the forearm loop on the barrels.

[Sgtfury31]

Hi,
i got my first A-Grade 16-GA less than a week ago.It's pure quality(if you don't believe me, drop the forend, then listen for the snap when you attatch it);
WARNING: Any Genuine A.H. Fox SxS 16 GA, was produced before WW.2. It will probably be chambered for 2 9/16' cartridges. Anything off the shelf, if you can find 16 GA at all, will be 2 3/4". Get it properly inspected. Mine turned out to be short-chambered. Your's might, too. Make sure.
Carl

[Researcher]

Probably a good place to post my canned Fox chambers reply again.

FOX CHAMBERS --

The only two A.H. Fox Gun Co. catalogues, that I have seen, that state chamber lengths are the 1913 and 1914. They both state 12-gauge guns are regularly chambered for 2 3/4 - inch shells, 16-gauge 2 9/16 – inch shells and 20-gauge 2 1/2 - inch shells. That being said, virtually every 12-gauge Ansley H. Fox gun made in Philadelphia (other than the HE-Grade Super-Fox) that I've run a chamber gauge in shows about 2 5/8 - inch. The chambers of unmolested 16-gauge guns seem to run about 2 7/16 inch and 20-gauge guns a hair over 2 3/8 inch. A very few graded guns were ordered with longer chambers. Savage began stating chambered for 2 ¾ inch shells in their 1938 Fox catalogues.

All this being said there is a good body of evidence that back in those days chambers were held about 1/8 inch shorter than the shells for which they were intended. In the book The Parker Story the Remington vintage specification sheets on pages 164 to 169 call for a chamber 1/8-inch shorter than the shell for which it is intended. Also in the 1930's there were a couple of articles in The American Rifleman (July 1936 and March 1938) by A.P. Curtis on the virtue of short chambers. A series by Sherman Bell in The Double Gun Journal showed no significant increase in pressure from shooting shells in slightly short chambers. IMHO I don't much sweat that 1/8-inch in 12-gauge guns. On the other hand when one gets a 20-gauge chambered at 2 3/8-inch likely intended for 2 1/2-inch shells I do worry about folks firing 2 3/4-inch shells in such guns.

[MilRob]

Thanks for the kind words. I am pretty excited to get this gun. I have a 16 ga Sterly and a 20 ga Sterly that is getting fit with a second set of barrels. I have always wanted an A grade when I stumbled onto this one. I will post a couple more pictures when I get it shipped to me hopefully this week.

Went out yesterday to do some grouse hunting with my 1920's 16 ga Sterly and wish the season wasn't ending. Dog work was awesome, birds held tight, dogs steadied, shot straight, and perfect weather. Hunted with good company. I could not have asked for more. Now I am at work watching the snow come down and end my grouse season. Depressed.

[Dalgo]

Congratulations on your A grade Fox find, MilRob. I recently got one myself, and its debut was a successful pheasant hunt last month. I'm taking the Fox for my first ever grouse hunting experiences between now and the end of the season (Jan. 26th), time and weather permitting. I'm really enjoying my A grade, and hope you have many happy hunts with yours.

[MilRob]

Picked up the shotgun today and everything checked out. Tight on face. Serial numbers match. Short chambers. Mod/Full. Here are a couple more pictures of the gun. The stock dimensions are 2 7/8x 1 5/8x 14 1/4. Too much drop for me. So now the debate begins if I have my first restock project or just use a slip on pad to get the comb a little higher. I don't know if I want to try and have the stock bent at all. I am pretty sure they are 3 weight barrels. I weighed them with my fishing scale at 2 lb 15 oz which is exactly the same as my other 16 ga sterly with 3 wt barrels.

[Researcher]

Sweet old bird gun!! Nice piece of wood for an A-Grade. My old 1914-vintage A-Grade 12-guage, that I've been shooting for 46 years now got a pretty nice piece as well --

[AmarilloMike]

MilRod I have had some luck adapting to bird guns with a 14 x 1-3/4 x 3" dimensions as that is what most of my old doubles came as. I am struggling at trap with 8lb 32" barreled Parkers with with those dimensions though.

You can have the stock bent and get 1/4" or perhaps 3/8" less drop at the heel.

Nice light game gun.

I have an A 16 with 26" barrels, also 3 weight. My barrels weigh 2-9 and it is stocked 14-1/8 x 1-5/8 x 2-3/4 and I shoot it pretty well (for me).

I especially like the ball grip on yours. Mine has a capped pistol grip.

I took this wild Bobwhite with it yesterday. The small action of the sixteen is really apparent when next to the Bob's head.

[gold40]

My early Fox A-Grade 12 gauge; photo from an Illinois hunt last week. Restocked and restored by Buck Hamlin.