I only live about 20 minutes from Deep River where the Southern Side by Side is being held, so getting there is not an issue, but taking off work on Friday and dedicating an entire weekend to it was a commitment. Today is the end of day two, and being someone who is fairly new to Foxes and gun collecting in general, I can tell you this weekend was well worth it. If you have been thinking about attending one of these events, or find yourself wondering where to find the kind of guns you're looking for, this is it. I got there early on Friday, and made a b-line for the Fox tables in the main tent. I was immediately greeted by Silvers, fox-admin, and Foxist who all made me feel welcome, and I ended up spending 90% of my time with them over the past two days, soaking up their vast knowledge of Fox guns. After listening to the stories this weekend over a few glasses of Bourbon, I have added several guns to my "lookout list", including Becker Foxes. I brought several of my Foxes for show and tell, but the highlight for me was getting some much needed validation on a 12ga Parker DHE that I've had for almost a year. I've never shot the gun, because I haven't been able to find someone locally to measure the bores, or the barrel wall thickness. Frank measured the bores for me that morning, and Craig suggested someone in the Parker tent who could measure the barrel wall thickness. The gun checked out great, which allowed me to sign up for the LC Smith/Parker Challenge, something I didn't think I'd be able to do. Craig, Paul, Frank and I all tried out for the Parker team, and even amidst some ribbing from the crowd (How does it feel to shoot a real gun?!), several of us came within a bird or two of making the team.
The rest of the weekend was spent meeting other members like Neil and Tim, and walking the tents looking at some of the nicest examples of double barrel shotguns that you will ever see. As these guys have reported already, there were quite a few higher end Foxes to look at, including several XE's and J Grade Single Barrel Trap guns, and probably 7 or 8 CE grade foxes all in various gauges. Today, I brought my 12ga Sterlingworth project gun in, which I've been working on recently to try to clean up the pitting on the outside of the barrels. It had a small dent in the right barrel that I was planning to eventually have removed. Frank took one look at it, and walked me down to meet Jon Hosford, who took the barrels and hammered the dent out right there on the spot. He also measured the barrel wall thickness for me, which let me know that there is plenty of room left for the striking it will take to fully clean them up. Tomorrow, I think most of the guys will be driving home, but I'm planning to show up early again, and meet LVAKA362 to hopefully shoot my new 20ga Sterlingworth on the Clays course. Needless to say, this event will be on my calendar every year from now on.
Guys, thanks for a great weekend, and keep your eyes open at Hausmann's, I checked the dates tonight, and you might just see me there.
Mike
"Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson
). After finding some pictures online today of clearer examples, the stamp reads USA-F.
