AH Fox - The Finest Sporting Clays Gun in the World

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:25 am

Bill, my understanding is the long schnabel type forend with horn or ebony wedge was intro'd pretty much concurrent with all "2nd generation" X/D/F grade guns beginning ~1914. Frank

mike campbell · Post by **mike campbell** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:01 am

Silvers,

Thanks for the kind words. You betcha...Mike K and I will be at RB! Sure would like to see you make it. I don't take a hand in setting tourneys anymore, but I'm awful proud of the job Waterman and the volunteers do.

BTW, how did you get your text to wrap short? everybody else's is following the long pics off the page.

Eightbore,

I always supply my own blanks. Shopping for the wood is a hobby in itself. I love looking at fancy wood, matching the figure and price to each specific project. I've bought 80% of my English blanks from Jim Preslik and 20% (the very best) from Cecil Fredi. Every project differs in the details. Some I pay only for the blank and the semi-inletting from various sources; doing the final inletting myself. I always finish and checker my own stocks, but I've taken several routes from the blank to the fitted stock.

I've had stocks turned and fitted by Gemes and Wenig for $600-800 labor and I've had a couple of O/U's (forends are a bear) done for $1000 from a celebrity. I've never done nor purchased a perfect inlet, but the worst I paid for was the second one from the celebrity. You gotta be a gambler to play.

If you have a specific project in mind, I'd be willing to offer my perspective on project guns.

regards, Mike

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:43 am

Mike I will be up at R-B is the weather is anything half decent, i.e., no big snowfalls. Also, nothing special on the family calendar right now.

Regarding the text, I wrote in the edit mode and didn't write to the very end of the page (so the words don't automatically wrap around to the next line). I deliberately stopped a bit short and manually carried over the next word to the next line. Also was sure to post a regular size pic.

Best Christmas wishes to all you guys up north! Our daughter lives in 'Cuse and she said they've been getting pounded with the so-called lake effect snow. Frank

Shooter · Post by **Shooter** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:12 pm

Following are two pics of an XE beaver tail forend on a gun for sale online (no, I'm not interested in buying it so if anyone wants to see the rest of the pics, I'll post the web site if it's permissible).

Anyway, the serial number is in the 34K range. Would this be a Phili or later gun?

Silvers · Post by **Silvers** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:52 pm

I saw that gun too. It looks like a hybrid between an XE and the "Trap Grade" that was intro'd by Savage in ~1932. The frame number is ~1932 also. I'm thinking it's probably a genuine Trap gun that was ordered with XE engraving, rebated frame, etc. However I haven't see the gun in person so I really don't know. Would be nice to see a Callahan letter on the gun. Silvers

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:10 pm

I still need to find out whether the long X type splinters were all made with those little schabels or whether some were made straight to the end. I would prefer to build my project gun forend straight to the end but not if the factory made them all as schnabels. Thanks for the information on wood sources etc.

Post by **fox-admin** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:21 pm

eightbore, they were all made with the schabels. If you want pictures let me know.

Researcher · Post by **Researcher** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:03 pm

That big XE-Grade trap gun with its high flat comb straight-grip stock, vent rib and big trap-style schnable beavertail has been making the rounds for the last quarter century. As I recall the first time I saw it Thad Scott had it. Some years back I saw it at the winter Las Vegas show with I believe Jay Schacter. Now Tony has it. Can't seem to find a home?!?

Shooter · Post by **Shooter** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:06 pm

fox-admin wrote:eightbore, they were all made with the schabels. If you want pictures let me know.

I'd like to see them too, so I can save them to my hardrive. I'm serious about having one made one of these days, and it would really help if we could get some good, accurate pics of them.

Thanks.

Researcher · Post by **Researcher** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:48 pm

I took a couple of pics of the forearm on my big 12-gauge 1-weight 32-inch XE-Grade boomer. However, Photobucket seems to be having problems and I can't get in to upload them. Maybe tomorrow.

Tom Kidd did an article on likely one of the very first XE-Grades, serial number 19435, in The Double Gun Journal, Volume Seven, Issue 3, pages 45 to 50. That gun has the early-style XE checking with the ribbon through the panels on its straight grip, and back of the latch on the forearm. This gun has a short forearm with an ebony tip inlay. Tom states that in early 1915 they began using the longer style with the slight schnable, and attributes this style to Becker influence. Tom shows a good picture of this guns short forearm and a later longer forearm on page 47.

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:37 am

Thanks for the information and the pictures.

Post by **fox-admin** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:54 am

Here are a few close ups of my 1918 XE

eightbore · Post by **eightbore** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:16 am

It appears almost all of the schnabel is created with the inlay. Is any of the schnabel part of the wood? Is the original inlay of horn or ebony?

Researcher · Post by **Researcher** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:34 am

Photobucket is working this morning.

Researcher · Post by **Researcher** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:42 am

Just looked at mine again, and the wood is involved ever so slightly. Probably no more then a sixteenth by a thirtysecond of an inch right at the end.

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AH Fox - The Finest Sporting Clays Gun in the World

XE Forend