Source for a replacement butt plate

[steve matson]

I recently inherited an AH Fox Sterlingworth 12ga Dbl barrel shotgun w/ 30" barrel. It is serial # 76481 . It is barrel stamped STERLINGWORTH FLUID COMPRESSED STEEL MADE BY AH FOX GUN CO. PHILA PA USA I am guessing from the little bit that I have read so far on this site that it is a 1927 model . It is in pretty clean original condition with a nice bright bore . It does however have a broken (chipped w/ pc missing ) butt plate . I'm guessing that finding an original butt plate for a replacement will be extremely difficult if not impossible . Does anyone have any suggestions for me ?
If not an original part , perhaps an acceptable look alike.
Thanks very much .
When I acquired this gun , I had NO IDEA that there was as much interest in them as there apparently is .
Great website !
Steve M.

[bamboozler]

Welcome to the forum, Steve!

It's your lucky day, these good quality reproduction A.H. Fox butt plates are on sale at CSMC:
http://www.csmcspecials.com/A_H_Fox_But ... /pb110.htm

[steve matson]

THANKS for the info , , I could have looked for a hundred years !
I contacted them already .
Just twenty bucks , not a bad deal . Sweet actually .
I'll have to get one and then get it custom fitted to the stock ( they all come slightly oversized )
Since you were so quick with the last answer, let me ask you one more .
Can you determine a year of manufacture simply by a serial number ?
#76481 from Phila

Thanks again !!

SM

[bamboozler]

You can be absolutely certain of when and to whom an A.H. Fox gun was shipped (not necessarily manufactured) from the factory, but it will take a factory letter to do it:
http://www.foxcollectors.com/ah_fox/con ... tters.html

If you can settle for an approximate year it was shipped from the factory, here is a chart that is known to be an approximation, scroll down to your gun:
http://doublegunshop.com/dgsnos1.htm
Per this chart it looks like 1916 for S/N 76481.

[Brian]

I checked galazan. theirs is 2 15/16 but every Fox I have in the hsop I measured and they all measure 3" center to center.
what years was the 2 15/16" for?

[mc15426378]

Brian, I have a 1913 A grade 12 and it measured narrower than the 2 15/16 plate from Galazan, closer to a 16/20 spacing, but wider. I could not find an exact fit so I used the narrower spaced plate from Galazan and it came out very nice.

Mike