Las Vegas Sporting Arms Show

[Researcher]

A good time was had by Fox Collectors members attending the winter show in Las Vegas. Members brought in some very interesting arms to examine. A special thanks to Jim from Ivory Beads for bringing us the only known 16-gauge SPR-Grade Skeet Gun for display on our table among my old smoke poles!! Thanks to member Don Stuff for help manning our table.

Dave

[Obsessed with Doubles]

Other than the 16g, what else did you see?

How was attendance? Were prices high?

Thanks

OWD

[Brian]

Dave,
was that a slip of the digit on the wrong key (which i do all the time) or is that a new grade of SPE?
what makes an SPE a Skeet? I odnt have nay books or catalogs to look it up here.
how were prices. better yet, was anyone selling?? prices asked dont mean nearly as much a sprices sold.

[Researcher]

Brian,

In 1936 there was a listing on the retail price list for an SPR-Grade. The grade was not pictured in the retail catalogue, however there was the listing of the option of a vent rib for the SP-/SPE-Grade Skeet & Upland Game Gun which might lead one to believe that the SPR- was an SP-/SPE- with a vent rib. Not the case. In the 1936 Wholesale Price List the SPR-Grade is pictured, and it looks like the old Trap Grade from the 1932 thru 34 time period, but with the trim Field/Skeet beavertail forearm in place of the big shnable of the Trap Grade. Jim's gun was marked SPR-Grade on the watertable and looked like the picture in the 1936 Wholesale price list with one exception. The gun pictured in the 1936 Wholesale Price List had checkered stock cheeks, and Jim's gun had clean cheeks.

During those tough Depression years Savage was desperately trying to move some product, and seems to have been continually tweaking the product line to try and find some clay target guns that might sell.

Dave

[MARSHFELLOW]

Brian, ....what Dave said....I always expected an SPR to look like an SP(E) with a vent rib...i.e. "flatside" and blued. I have the 1936 image that Dave describes but I guess I never paid enough attention to the detail of the cut. The actual receiver has the traditional Fox sculpted sides and is beautifully case colored...I mean vibrant. It is a sibling of the Trap gun on p.284/285 of McI. right down to the style of engraving. The ONLY real direct connection that I could detect to an SPE Skeet gun is the checkered butt. It is clearly marked SPR on the H2Otable.

[fox-admin]

Thanks to all that stopped by the booth, it was nice putting faces together with names. We signed up a few new members including Julia and Puglisi. We now have 149 paid members!
Not many Fox guns for sale. Two late B grade 12ga guns, one purchased by a member. One early B, a few Sterlingworths, a 12ga CE restocked plus the guns Dave reported about above. Slim pickings! Another member purchased a 12ga Sterlingworth factory two barrel set. One big named dealer bought a pin Sterlingworth and it showed up in his booth the second day. I came home with a new pair of shooting gloves, that's it.