Getting the B ready for Ducks

[Jeff S]

While I was at Hausmann’s back in June, I purchased a nice Gough era Grade B from Robin Hollow. I wasn’t really looking for a gun, but “Bill” was very persistent and by the end of the day I owned a new gun.

Typically I lean towards light-weight, upland guns. This Fox is appropriate for the duck blind. The barrels are heavy, 30” in length and both are choked .035”. My only issue with the gun was that the LOP was 14 3/4”, which is fine for some members, but too long me. Fortunately, it had a very nice pad that could be removed.

Beautiful recoil pad, but I really wanted to shorten the LOP, so I took it off and stored it in a safe place. Then I headed over to Brett’s house (Foxnut). Brett had a few butt plates to choose from so I picked a new, reproduction plate. No point in buggering up an original. Also, hole placement was important. I didn’t want to have to “plug” any holes in stock.

Fitting the new butt plate took a lot of sanding, filing and polishing, but I’m happy with the results. Keep in mind that my goal was not to restore a fine Fox to original condition, but rather to make it shootable without harming the gun. The LOP is now 14 1/16” and the drop at heel went from a little over 3” to a little under 3”. The fit feels pretty good in my basement, next stop will be the clays course, and then the duck blind. Happy Hunting!

[Silvers]

A nice modification and looking good Jeff. Just a tip, handwork can be reduced on retro fitting hard buttplates to replace a recoil pad, by using one of the commercial pad fitting jigs and a large belt or disc sander, and it's a no brainer to maintain plane of the comb and toe lines on the buttplate. Thin machine screw washers can be used to level its back surface (goes against the shoulder) relative to the jig before setting the comb and toe angles for the stock. frank

Edited twice for clarity, not enough java this morning.

[44whiskey]

how about some pics of the rest of the shotgun, im proud for you and ever growing collection

[Jeff S]

A nice modification and looking good Jeff. Just a tip, handwork can be reduced on retro fitting hard buttplates to replace a recoil pad, by using one of the commercial pad fitting jigs and a large belt or disc sander, and it's a no brainer to maintain plane of the comb and toe lines on the buttplate. Thin machine screw washers can be used to level its back surface (goes against the shoulder) relative to the jig before setting the comb and toe angles for the stock. frank

Edited twice for clarity, not enough java this morning.

Thanks for the tips Frank. I hadn’t thought of a jig. I drilled one new hole in the butt stock and then attached the oversized plate. I used a nice sharp scribe to etch the outline of the stock on the plate. After removing the plate from the stock, I carefully shaped the butt plate using a 1” wide, upright belt sander. I had to clean up a few spots with a hand file and then I polished it the best I could with steel wool. If I do it again, l may invest in some tools, but I used what I had. Patience is key.

[Jeff S]

how about some pics of the rest of the shotgun, im proud for you and ever growing collection

Fred, a couple of pictures of that classic, deep engraving.

[Foxnut]

Jeff,
Nice job with the butt plate fitment. Looks good. From your description it sounds like patience was the key to this project especially since it was done by hand! Well done, you are braver than I am!! Per Frank’s comment I may have to investigate one of the jigs he referenced and “experiment” with a gun I’m working on for one of my grandkids (not a Fox)

[Stan Hillis]

You take 'em off, I put 'em back on. That gun would've shot nicely for me with the pad in place, but I'm glad you made it right for you. I do the same, but usually the other way.

That B/BE engraving is nice, ain't it?

[Jeff S]

Don’t worry Stan. The pad is labeled and in a safe place for guys like you.

[Jeff S]

And it works....... I just shot a round of clays with my B and I'm very happy with the new butt plate. I missed a few clays, but the ones I hit really evaporated. Typically I don't use full chokes on the clays course, but it was fun to try it out, and it should be a good duck gun.

[DarylC]

And it works....... I just shot a round of clays with my B and I'm very happy with the new butt plate. I missed a few clays, but the ones I hit really evaporated. Typically I don't use full chokes on the clays course, but it was fun to try it out, and it should be a good duck gun.

What? You don't like diesel smoke?

[Jeff S]

I like diesel smoke, it’s just that I see it so seldom. Ha Ha Ha

[DarylC]

I like diesel smoke, it’s just that I see it so seldom. Ha Ha Ha

Practice makes perfect.

[Sporrns]

Jeff, what a great gun and a most impressive effort on your part to remove the pad and fit the buttplate to your correct dimensions! I remember "strongly encouraging" you (aka browbeating) to buy that gun at Ernie's. Now that you have it in hand and the way you want it, just remember what Nash said, "Get 'em in close and hit 'em hard!" Good luck and we will need pics come early season! Kevin

[eightbore]

The late Bs are very impressive, bold engraving. I had a nice one years ago, but couldn't get the Kautsky trigger to work. I sold it back to the fellow I bought it from. He couldn't get the trigger to work either, named the gun "Murphy's Revenge".

[spyder]

I have a 20g B grade that needs more LOP, and this thread got me motivated to try grinding a recoil pad myself. I thought I’d start with putting a shorter pad on my Super 10 just to get the hang of it. After watching a few YouTube how-to videos, I dove in. I bought a 1/2” pad from CSMC, a Miles Gilbert jig from Midway, and some 10” sanding discs from Amazon. After much sanding and fiddling, the end result was pretty good. Not factory perfect by any means, but pretty good.