Fox Collectors

So i just bought an 12A (old engraving) and have a few questions... the gun has been messed with a fair amount... and I am okay with that... I did not pay much and it will still be fun to shoot. There is some extra engraving on the bottom of the gun that is really quite nice with the exception of the name "Bud Kling" crudely engraved in. The real interesting piece for me though is the forearm. I was under the impression that all graded guns had the deeley style latch unless special ordered with other... this gun as the sterlingworth style latch... comparing the attach point on the barrel to that of my C shows a different shape to the hook and the forearms are not interchangable even with the barrels off the receiver.

So the question is: Was my gun modified by welding on a different hook? It does not appear to have been messed with to me.. unless the original deeley hook could have been filed to accept the sterlingworth style forearm?? that would make this a fairly permanent change then hun? The barrels and receiver have matching serial numbers and I was originally thrown by the forearm b/c it is struck with the serial number and the letter A as well but then I realized it was a different style stamping. Also an interesting inlay "badge" on the forearm

The other question is: is the checkering on the butt stock correct... it seems a fancier design than my C and honestly the wood has even nicer character.

I am really not upset about the gun at all... the case is not my favorite color but other wise its a nice enough gun and the wide forearm is a lot more comfortable than the sliver of a forearm on my C. The craftmanship of the forearm is all very well down, the fit and finish is factory quality

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Thanks for any helpful information...obviously no letter on this but I got the card info and it does not way anything special about the forearm.

It appears to me that the forearm is of totally after-market manufacture. That spring-loaded plunger works in the opposite direction of the plunger in a Fox & Kremer snap-on/off forearm. Appears that the latch was designed to work on an only slightly modified Deeley-style forearm loop. With the plunger working in that direction it would tend to pull the forearm away from the hinge instead of keeping it tight to the hinge as the factory snap-on/off forearms. Soneone put a lot of work into that forearm.