What are the "Holy Grails" of Fox's still missing?

[jimmartin]

"There seems to be a good selection of graded 12-gauge guns around from serial number 2 to serial number 3000. Then serial numbers seem to begin again in the 7000 range. Just saw serial number 7144 at Las Vegas. First gun I've seen with Krupp "Light Weight" barrels." posted by Researcher Feb 2015

I just purchased # 7144 at Hidden Hollow . The barrels weigh 3lbs 1 oz and are 28 inchs and are marked Light Weight Barrels ,gun is a 12ga and 6lbs 11 oz. Am I able to get a letter or is the number to early?

[Researcher]

No. Surviving production cards begin around 9600.

[Silvers]

Sounds like a nice buy. The Krupp "light weight" barrel legend is surely uncommon but the actual weight (mass) you cited corresponds to "4-weight" in Fox parlance for 12g/28-inch. I'm sure someone will check that against the charts in MM's Fox book and it should be noted, the mass (pounds-ounces) numbers shown there are for unstruck barrel sets. Generally you can subtract 2-4 ounces for 12-gauge.

Fox would make lightweight graded guns on order. The lightest 12g Fox I've owned was a graded 1915 gun that was ordered light for the uplands. She had 28-inch tubes and the EJECTOR barrels weighed 2^14.3 on a digital scale. The gun weighed 6^7.4 despite having burly tight grained wood.

frank

[jimmartin]

Just shot some skeet with the gun today , shoots great. MM book says no.4 28" is 3lb 4 oz , so a digital scale weight of 3 lb 1 oz looks right . They were the forerunner of 4 weight barrels. Jim Martin

[fox-admin]

My holy grail is HE 31736 a CH/HE with ducks engraved instead of the standard birds. Made with a straight rib.

[birdawg]

Ty Cobb's gun passed through Galazans. Was featured on the back page of their 2003 calendar --



From the August 1915, Rod & Gun in Canada --

Are there any details as to the production of his gun? Serial number, barrel length, chokes?

[JasonPeck]

What about the Fox over-under prototype?

[Researcher]

What about the Fox over-under prototype?

My hunch is that saw the light of day briefly in the late 1930s as the Savage Model 420 and 430. January 2, 1937, Savage catalog --

[Researcher]

As far a "Holy Grails" go, where are Ansley's personal guns? From the Fox Gun Co., Balto., MD., U.S.A.? From Philadelphia Arms Co.? From the A.H. Fox Gun Co.? We know of the two E-Grade Philadelphia Arms Co. guns made for directors C. William Haywood and P.F. duPont. Where is Ansley's Philadelphia Arms Co. gun? We know of the A.H. Fox Gun Co. serial number 35 for director Louis H. Eisenlohr, and serial number 121 that was for another director, name escapes me at the moment. Where is Ansley's gun?

[JasonPeck]

In my opinion the Holy Grail for Fox collectors would be the remaining factory records for guns #1 through #9647.

[200052]

If you want to include Fox paper in this discussion , consider the Number 22 or Number 23 Campfire catalogs. I often
wonder if a copy of either actually exists ?
Ed Farrand

[Researcher]

Ed,

The Headricks paper collection had the signature "Campfire" catalog and No. 21, 22, 23 and 25 when I first met them in the late 1980s. At that time I owned two No. 24s one really nice that I picked up at the Old Baltimore Show in the 5th Regiment Arsenal and another ratty one I'd gotten at the Waterfowl Festival at Easton, Md. Bill the younger worked on me until I parted with my nice one. I'm pretty sure the Headrick collection, which didn't include any "The Finest Gun in the World" catalogs became the basis for the Dana Tauber paper collection.

Dave

[JasonPeck]

How about a 16 gauge HE-Grade?

[ROMAC]

We touched on this when discussing 3 inch 16 gauge shells a few months back.

I wrote:

Interesting topic.

Tom Archer wrote an article in the Double Gun Journal, Spring 2011, that was about 20 gauge Super Foxes.

In the article on page 131 he stated "Also of interest is that the Fox Gun Company also attempted to develop a Super Sixteen, but in spite of their best efforts, were never able to discover the correct chamber, bore, and choke configuration that would consistently produce an 80% pattern; so the Super Sixteen project was terminated."

Has anybody ever seen or heard of the existence of these experimental Super Sixteens? Were they just experimenting with barrels? Is there any evidence that they were then destroyed? Is it possible that the parts were just reused in production guns?

The thread got a few enlightening responses from Silvers and Researcher see below:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8749

[Silvers]

How about the A H Fox Grade 5 and Grade 6 Single Barrel Trap guns @ $100. and $150. each respectively? Grade 5 with "English style engraving, a new and original pattern. Grade 6 with "new and elaborate engraving on frame and barrel". Either available with 30, 32 or 34 inch barrel. Yep 34 inch …..

"It is the result of careful study and liberal experimentation covering a period of two years before gun was put on the market".

frank