What to do with this 20 gauge Fox Sterlingworth?

[orpington]

I’m not big on refinished shotguns. If I refinish the stock, it will be sold.

What’s going for this shotgun. It’s a 20 gauge with 26” barrels. Enough said. Also, the wood has nice grain.

What’s going against it. Utica production, not Philadelphia, wood is definitely finish challenged.

Valuation as it stands now?

Valuation with refinished wood, deviation from original.

[orpington]

More photographs…

[orpington]

A few more photographs…

[orpington]

And two more photographs, one being of the factory letter.

[Researcher]

I've only recorded two Savage 20-gauge Fox Sterlingworths with lower serial numbers. Except for the deep cut Savage checkering that gun is really all Philadelphia parts. Pretty sure the Bradley front sight isn't original.

[orpington]

I've only recorded two Savage 20-gauge Fox Sterlingworths with lower serial numbers. Except for the deep cut Savage checkering that gun is really all Philadelphia parts. Pretty sure the Bradley front sight isn't original.

What’s the serial number of the other two that are lower?

I was under the impression that this was a later shotgun due to the 1933 ship date but the serial number tables seem to indicate it was manufactured in 1928. Is this correct? When did Utica start to be stamped on the barrels of these?

What should I replace the bead with to be correct and where do I get that?

Value?

[Fin2Feather]

I'd get myself some TimberLuxe, blend in that old finish, and shoot the heck out of it. Brass front beads are available from a variety of sources. JMO.

[orpington]

Is this a 1928 PRODUCTION shotgun that shipped in 1933?

How well does Timberluxe work, especially on a finish such as this?

Value?

[orpington]

With regards to this possibly being 1928 production and not shipping until 1933, was the 5 year lag time a consequence of the Great Depression?

[Stan Hillis]

Not refinishing the wood on a gun, when needed like this one is, is like never shineing a pair of shoes. Just let them age well and get raggedy looking. They’ll be “original “. People will look at them and say “Wow!”, those shoes are really ORIGINAL.

[Researcher]

Actually, a closer look at my table shows three in the 259xxx range but one of those, 259708, is only marked STERLINGWORTH on the sides of the frame but has big letter Savage marking on the barrels --

The transition from Philadelphia to Utica in 20-gauge Sterlingworths spreads from the 2593xx to the 2628xx range. An even wider transition range in the 12-gauges, but from what I've recorded so far the break is much cleaner in the 16-gauge.

[vaturkey]

The pluses of this gun outweigh the negatives IMO. It might have 2 3/4" chambers that are factory and thus off the shelf light loads will be fine. No concern about finding short chambered ammo or reloading your own. That's a big deal right now with short chambered ammo being hard to find. Condition all around says its a shooter grade gun. It might have nice modern dimensions for shooting and probably balances well as she sets. If you want to add a bit more length of pull without much weight lots of folks are using the Cervellati Microcell Recoil pads which are a bit difficult to work with because they are so soft, but they weigh almost nothing. As already said, I'd put some timberluxe on the buttstock after taping off the metal work with some Painters tape. I'd also get a brass bead installed and would get someone to replace that buggered up bottom screw which stands out like a hairy wart.

PS. If I was going to use it over a pointing dog I'd probably get someone like Mike Orlen to open up the right barrel to IC or Skeet and keep the left barrel as is. Then shoot it over a nice dog and have some fun. I am a big fan of the transition guns from Philly to Savage ownership. I think they are undervalued overall.

[vaturkey]

With regards to this possibly being 1928 production and not shipping until 1933, was the 5 year lag time a consequence of the Great Depression?

I think some serial number frames were found probably in some dark corner storage bin after the fact and therefore they were put out later in production.

[orpington]

Where would you obtain the proper brass bead and how difficult are they to install? What affixes the old one to the barrel? Is it threaded?

[orpington]

No one has said anything about valuation. Any guesses?

What I had it for sale at on a few forums doesn’t really matter as it wasn’t for sale long and I didn’t have it for sale at a bargain price, and yet it’s hard to believe a 20 gauge Sterlingworth with only a bit of a challenge to the wood can’t be worth that in this day and age.

I also based my price on what I paid for this shotgun well before Covid—when everything, or so it seems, went up in price drastically—except for double barreled shotguns. I would have guessed that only applied to the 12 bore variety but I guess the 20 bore variety as well.

I bought this before the days of me being internet savvy or even being on the internet at all, when finding a 20 gauge Fox Sterlingworth was much more difficult. I paid $2000 for it in June of 2012. Not having much else available, I thought it an okay price, but was disappointed with the finish. A gun dealer friend found it for me and I’ll admit I was disappointed with the wood finish when he showed it to me but I had said before I saw it I would take it and I’m true to my word.

I listed it for a few days at $2500 and no interest. When you add in the factory letter, even if I sold it for $2500, profits are slim.

Admittedly, if it was earlier and said Philadelphia on the barrel, it never would have been offered for sale at all.