Horn buttplates as factory option for graded guns??

[Brian]

who has reference to this. I seem to recall reading that a horn butt plate was offered fro graded guns as an option. was it offered on C grades?
does anyone have a photo or two of a factory horn buttplate on a gun? side and rear view would be great.

[Researcher]

I've never seen such an option mentioned in any A.H. Fox Gun Co. catalogues. I've seen FE-Grades and Gough "raised gold specials" from the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, with the same hard rubber butt plate as all other grades. I've got a 1906 vintage C-Grade, very light weight 26-inch barrel "Grouse gun", that has a smooth horn butt plate with engraved screws, but in that the gun was renewed by Mitzie sometime before it came my way I have no idea if that feature is original, and the gun is from well before any surviving cards.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Researcher, when we refer to buffalo horn, are we referring to Cape Buffalo, water buffalo, or American Bison? Either way, I like the look of horn butts and horn fore end inserts.

[eightbore]

Recently, Indian stag has been favored by knife makers, but it is not black. It also has been restricted from time to time. The black and dark grey horn that Frank Mittermier and Lewis Drake have sold for decades, I don't know what that is, but it is what we are referring to. Those two sellers are the source of all the black horn I have bought and used. By the way, Dave's buttplate is beautiful. I have always thought that a horn plate needs to be checkered or grooved, but I guess i was wrong. The engraved screws add all the elegance needed on a high quality gun. I always put something sticky on the butt of a hard butt shooting gun anyway. If you want a straight answer to your question, call Lewis Drake and ask him.