Fox newbie with a new sterling!!

[Silvers]

Dave, both of those levers look fine, particularly the example in your first pic which was taken perpendicular to the centerline of the top tang.

Mike’s Pin Gun although nice looking is however far from mint condition and I’d expect its lever (if bolting is original/factory) to be farther left than we see in Mike's third pic - which was taken at the opposite angle to Dave’s second one. As always, all this is JME

frank

[Fin2Feather]

Thanks for sharing your first time out with the Fox Mike. Enjoy it, and here's to many more!

[medicmike3762]

Well, took the barrels up to the small reloading shop in town that I work at part time and measured the barrels just for fun. What I found I thought was odd. The barrels are exactly 27 7/8 long and the OD of the barrels is touching at the muzzel. When I dropped the choke gauge into the right barrel to measure the bore and choke the right barrel measured .741, Oversized for a 12 I thought that was strange so I slid the gauge too the muzzle and the constriction did not change on bit until the gauge was at the very, end of the barrel and it read .738. So the right barrel has .03 constriction but not until the very very end of the bore, strange I thought, on to the next one. The left barrel gauged .740 and when sliding the gauge to the muzzle the constriction starts about 4 to 4 1/4 inches back and tapers to an ending diameter of .726 for a total constriction of .14. I have read that many of the brush guns were choked like this but I haven't found any reports of a 28" like this. Also the barrels seem to be back bored as the bore diameter is larger than what is typical for a standard 12. Was this a common factory choking or could it have been a special order, and was that even an option in 1910? I am confident that this is the factory choking and that the barrel have not been cut or reamed as there are no signs of such and the left barrel choke starts 4 inches back very consistent with everything I have found. Any thoughts would again be appreciated!

Mike

[vaturkey]

I'd say the gun has had the bores cleaned up. I've owned more then a few early pin guns and they have all been circa .725 bores and had chokes about 4 to 5 inches long. Wouldn't be unusual at all.

That said, didn't you say earlier that the barrels were marked as 4's? I've never had a Pin Gun with 4 Marked barrels. Actually had one with number 1 barrels, and I believe the others were either 2 or 3 marked. Maybe those with 4 marked barrels were backbored by the factory. Be interesting to know the minimum barrel wall thickness.

[medicmike3762]

Yes, the barrels are 4 weight, Maybe the back bore made the barrels 4 weight? I don't know I just thought it was interesting. Would a factory letter include the barrel chokes on a sterling?

[vaturkey]

Yes, the barrels are 4 weight, Maybe the back bore made the barrels 4 weight? I don't know I just thought it was interesting. Would a factory letter include the barrel chokes on a sterling?

I do believe they would. They would not give barrel internal measurements. based on your measurements, I'd certainly have someone check the minimum barrel wall thickness.