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Fox Collectors
The Fox Collectors forum was founded in 2006 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.
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Free Card from Mike K ?
Please elaborate.
Thank you.
Dues paying members of the A.H. Fox Collectors Association, Inc. have access to the "Members Forum" and can request one free lookup of the production card for a graded gun per year. Additional look ups are $25 payable via Pay Pal. One of the board members then makes an image of the card and emails it to the member requesting. Mike K. is one of our new board members that took office the 1st of January. Our non-computer members, and there are a lot, can request their look up by mail.
We have no Sterlingworth records, one has to go to John Callahan for a letter on those guns. Also, the folks that got into Savage Arms' archives back in 1991 and copied the production cards, only did the backs of probably less then 10% of the cards, so likewise one needs to go to John for that info. Big advantage of us is that you get the info usually in less then 12 hours (often much less) instead of waiting three to six weeks for a letter from John. Also, only about ten cards remain for 12-gauge guns with serial numbers under 9650, so no info on them from us or John.
The AHFCA group seems like a great bunch of people. I appreciate all of the nice comments and support. As I mentioned in my initial posting, I thought that someone had converted the A grade from a "half pistol" grip to a "straight" grip. When I received a copy of the factory card I was delighted to see that it had been ordered with a straight grip. "Researcher" asked that I submit a picture of the grip, so I have attached it to this posting. To me it looks identical to the straight grip pictured on page 215 of the McIntosh book. So, unless anyone disagrees, I think the stock is original. Now all I have to do is enjoy my new gun and learn how to break clay pigeons with it. Thanks again for asking to see a picture. My wife is already tired of me showing it to her. Jeff
How can I get in touch with John Callahan for card look ups on Sterlingworths? I own two. I have a 1915 20 ga. that my Dad purchased from the owner's widow and a 1922 12 ga. that was my grandfather's partridge gun back in the 1950's. I love those guns.
Very nice find with that "new to you" A Grade, and great close up pictures. Looks like a lot of conditions left on that gun. Just the way you like to find em.
Mike
"Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson
Researcher wrote:Show us some pictures of this "grip"!! Your production card will bring a surprise.
Hey coooool . Factory converted to straight grip! The short tang on the trigger guard would have spooked some collectors but the card dont lie. Jeff, any way you could share the image of that card? congrats!
Hey "Setterspell". Here is a picture of the card. Did you just "hint" that the tang looks a little short and that it would have scared off some collectors? First of all, I'm really not a collector because I don't know much about them (yet). I'm more of a Fox "enthusiast", and hopefully I'll kill a duck or two with it next fall. Based on the appearance of the card, penmanship at "Fox" was not as important as engraving abilities. Anyway, on the card it appears that "half" was crossed out. It looks like "straight" has hand scribbled over the "half". As far as the length of the tang, I wouldn't know anything about it. I think it's a good looking gun, and I paid a reasonable sum for it which makes me happy. If anyone has any additional opinions on this stock, I would love to here them.
My opinion is, it's a mystery gun because of that trigger guard setup. You might consider posting a macro pic of the serial no and Grade stamps in the head of the stock. Also some macros of the inletting inside the stock head. That would require disassembly which can be done by an expert with very minimal damage to the screw slots. While doing that you might also check if the serial no that's stamped in the underside of the tg tang, matches the frame number. Lastly, does the stock measure ~ 2-3/4" drop as shown on the card? The front of the card looks like it shows "straight" but the short tg tang (on an A Grade with straight stock) prompts a question mark for me. It would be nice to confirm factory work. JMO as you asked. Silvers
I think this is fun having all of you guys offering your thoughts. For 30 years I've been somewhat of an accountant, so I love following audit trails. "Silvers", you said this is a mystery gun. Well, maybe. You guys are all correct. The tang is too short for most "straight grips". But, the card makes it look like it was changed at the factory. I have attached 4 more pictures that show the serial # 30180 in all 4 places. Per Silvers' suggestion, I measured the "drop" and it is 2 3/4". Your suggestion to check some of the stuff "inside" is beyond my skill level so we'll have to leave that inspection until a later date. During my first trip to the skeet range with this gun I discovered that the safety did not automatically reset. I brought it to Bacheldor and he fixed the problem. He also mentioned that it looked like the gun had never been "opened up" before. Aside from the "straight stock" mystery, the gun looks pretty good. The #2 barrels are a little heavier than I'm accustomed to, but I'll get used to them. Next fall I intend to have this gun in a very mucky bog chasing woodies and mallards.
Bacheldor had to take it apart to fix the safety. I'm guessing he can recall if the serial number was stamped in the buttstock anywhere. Might be worth a phone call to clear up the mystery.
Thanks so much for posting the additional pics. Nice gun. You say you're close to Mr. Bachelder's shop; perhaps when convenient you can ask him to pull the stock again to check serial nos and do the macros? Also, there's a serial no stamped underneath the tg and it's not visable until the guard is removed. The engraved serial no on the outside does look correct, but it would be nice to confirm they match.
Looking at your last pic I'd say the screw in the trigger guard tail might be a replacement. Typically an A Grade tg screw would have engraving on it.
On the card you posted, of course the half stock entry is penciled over and the new entry seems like it starts with "Str" but the last part is illegible - at least on my screen. If I owned this Fox I'd send a letter request to John Callahan who can look at the original record card and decipher what that says, also look at its back side and relay any additional entries there.
I hope you don't mind but I copied your pic to post here. Perhaps it's the angle at which the pic was taken but the nose of the comb (in the circle) looks a little too tall and abrupt to my eye, especially for a stock with 2-3/4" drop. The nose may be right but it suggests (again to me) that a half-grip stock might have been modified to straight configuration and then recheckered/finished.
Again, all this just my opinion. It would be nice to absolutely confirm for posterity, that this is 100% factory work.
