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Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 6:08 pm
by krcrowley
Hi all,
New to the forum. I just picked up a 16ga Sterlingworth, 1921 made, that weighs 5-14.8 with 28 inch bbls. The barrels weigh 2-13.5 on a postal scale which has always been reliable. Of course, that doesn't jive with anything I've read about Fox barrels. They are uncut and chambers are original length too. Do #5 bbls exist? The spot where the number might be is pretty rough, but I'll try to get a photo of what I think is a number. In the meantime, here's a pic of the gun (which I hunted with today for the first time.)
Re: Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2025 6:18 pm
by Foxnut
krcrowley,
Great looking 16 Sterlingworth. Fox did not make 5 wt barrels. More than likely 4 wt barrels. Due to the striking/finishing of the barrels the stamping (4) may not appear on either barrel bottoms just ahead of the barrel flats.
Looks like you had a great day with your new Sterlingworth! Can’t beat a Fox 16 gauge!
Re: Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 8:47 am
by krcrowley
Best photo I can get without setting up special lighting. Left bbl has a number (circled), right has nothing discernable. Must be a "3" if 5s don't exist. But the barrels are pretty dang light at 2lbs 13.5oz.
Someone must've taken some weight off somewhere, but I can't see it. In fact, the gun balance ahead of the pin. Anyway, it still shoots well!
Re: Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 9:38 pm
by Jeff S
Congratulations on your 16 ga. Sterlingworth. They are wonderful guns and a delight to carry. Looks like you had a very successful hunt.
According to the chart in McIntosh’s book, a 28” set of 16 ga., 4 weight barrels should weigh 3 lbs, 1 oz., but remember that is the “unstuck” weight. That means that the “rough-machined barrels” weigh 3 lbs. 1 oz. Several ounces will eventually be removed as the barrels are filed, polished and fitted to the frame. Since your barrels weigh 2 lbs. 13.5 oz., that implies that 3.5 ounces were removed during the “striking” process.
For comparison purposes, I just pulled my 26”, 16 ga. A grade out of my safe. According to McIntosh, the unstuck weight of the barrels was 2 lbs., 15 oz. I put mine on a scale and they weighed 2 lbs., 10.6 oz. This implies that 4.4 ounces were removed during the striking process. Reasonably consistent with your barrels.
I’m sure that many of the members have weighed their barrels and compared them to the unstuck weight listed on the chart. I don’t know that there is a reliable “conversion” rate, but surely the finished barrels always end up several ounces lighter than the charted weight. I hope this helps clarify the situation.
Once again, congratulations on the successful hunt and I hope you will post more hunting related pictures in the future.
Re: Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2025 10:29 am
by krcrowley
Jeff S wrote: ↑Thu Jan 30, 2025 9:38 pm
Congratulations on your 16 ga. Sterlingworth. They are wonderful guns and a delight to carry. Looks like you had a very successful hunt.
According to the chart in McIntosh’s book, a 28” set of 16 ga., 4 weight barrels should weigh 3 lbs, 1 oz., but remember that is the “unstuck” weight. That means that the “rough-machined barrels” weigh 3 lbs. 1 oz. Several ounces will eventually be removed as the barrels are filed, polished and fitted to the frame. Since your barrels weigh 2 lbs. 13.5 oz., that implies that 3.5 ounces were removed during the “striking” process.
For comparison purposes, I just pulled my 26”, 16 ga. A grade out of my safe. According to McIntosh, the unstuck weight of the barrels was 2 lbs., 15 oz. I put mine on a scale and they weighed 2 lbs., 10.6 oz. This implies that 4.4 ounces were removed during the striking process. Reasonably consistent with your barrels.
I’m sure that many of the members have weighed their barrels and compared them to the unstuck weight listed on the chart. I don’t know that there is a reliable “conversion” rate, but surely the finished barrels always end up several ounces lighter than the charted weight. I hope this helps clarify the situation.
Once again, congratulations on the successful hunt and I hope you will post more hunting related pictures in the future.
Thank you! It hadn't occurred to me that the weights listed were unstruck weights. Mystery solved.
Re: Do 5 wt barrels exist?
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2025 3:34 pm
by bbman3
I would hang onto that one. Bobby