Looking for an A Grade 16 GA stock

[Drfoxmm]

I recently came into ownership of an A Grade( I believe) 16 gauge S X S. It has 26" barrels, serial # 302,046, all the numbers match on the receiver, barrel and fore-end. It has the patent dates and Fox proof stamp on the receiver. It's in wonderful shape, the case colors are excellent. There is an A stamped on the barrel not far from the serial number and both barrels have a 4 stamped on them. The stock had been cut down for a child to use then glued back on as you can see in the pictures. A few question the biggest is where can I find a new stock that is of the caliber of an A Grade. Next, is the A stamped on the barrel definitive that it is an A grade or is that more of the quality of the engraving and wood quality that grades it A. A few more questions, since the blue book has the serial numbers on the 16 GA at 300,000 to 303,875 it would appear that the 16 GA was pretty rare, was this made in Phila. or by Savage? And lastly are these guns still safe to shoot with modern shells. Sorry for the long post but this gun is really beautiful and I really want to use it.
Thank you

[bbman3]

That is a nice A grade! Bobby

[vaturkey]

Based on that serial number it should be a Philadelphia made gun and stamped as such on the left barrel. The gun is an A grade based on the stamping of the barrels and frame with the letter A. Has nothing to do with quality of the gun. Yes, not a ton of them made. 1580 were made in Philly and 1132 were made in Utica according to the Fox book. Regarding a replacement stock, you have two options in my opinion. Either get a new buttstock made or have someone like Mark Larson blend the two pieces of wood to make them look as one. He has done of lot of these. Sort of his specialty. Here is his website.

https://www.marklarsongunart.com/

If the gun doesn't have ejectors its an A grade. If it has ejectors its an AE grade.

PS. Really nice case colors on that gun.

Double PS. Regarding loads, I'd think the gun has short chambers and as such RST's or a similar 2.5" shell is the way to go. Finding 2.5" shells of any gauge right now is difficult as RST is having problems with loading ammo and that's what most of us shoot out of our short chambered Foxes.

[Jeff S]

Well, that is a very nice, a desirable A grade. Too bad that someone destroyed the stock. There have been pictures on this forum of stocks that have been repaired by "artists". There are a few, talented people that can splice on wood, and create faux "grain" so that the damage is practically undetectable. I don't know who they are, but someone on this forum does. To have a new stock made will probably cost $2,000+.

Before firing this nice gun, you should have the chamber length checked. It was probably designed to shoot 2 9/16" shells. I own #301982, and I use 2 1/2" shells.

Nice gun

[Drfoxmm]

Thanks for the information, the gun came with 3 boxes of Winchester Super X in 2 3/4 , it was my bother in laws gun who hunted with it, he passed on. I am not familiar with RST shells, who are they. It does have Philadelphia Stamped on the barrel. I'll look into Mark Larson for the stock.

[Jeff S]

RST makes very nice shells that are designed for Vintage firearms. Included in their product line you will notice that they offer 2 1/2" shells, which is what your gun required when it left the factory. Occasionally people will have the chambers lengthen to accommodate 2 3/4" shells, but you should have a gunsmith check. It doesn't surprise me that you received 2 3/4" shells with the gun. Quite often people will use the longer shell simply because they are not aware that the gun has 2 9/16" chambers. I recommend visiting the RST website at rstshells.com. Jeff

[3birddogs]

Nice A grade. I have # 300640, a Philly gun from 1916 as I recall. I will second Tom's recommendation of Mark Larson. He has done work for me. He is quite talented, and the turn around time surprised me-very quick! He is also a SXS and 16 ga enthusiast.The Stock Doctor
gets good reviews--Google him also. There are others I am sure that could make it look right without the cost of a restock.
Oh, and I wouldnt touch anything else on that gun. Wonder what it is choked? I generally shoot 2 1/2" in mine but I reload, I have shot factory 1 oz loads thru it, but would not want to shoot heavier than that.

[Old Colonel]

Mark Larson covered up an extension for me. The job looks good, further after quite a bit of field use to my surprise it has held up well. I choose that course as a stop gap before restocking at a later date, however I have found it nice enough to push that project off for several years now.