Fox Collectors

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

Nice to meet you as well Mike. Good luck with the work on that Sterlingworth!

Neil, it was good talking with you, and I want to see some updates on the C-Grade project as well! I'll be looking into the MGCC classes to see what's coming up in the evening or on the weekends.

For those interested, the third day at the Southern Side by Side was a fairly productive one as well. I got there early and hung out in the Fox booth for a little while, and was rewarded with the chance to see a near mint condition flat side Sterlingworth brought in by a local Fox Collector. When Alan arrived, with the help of Craig and Paul, we did some additional inspection on a nice CE grade two barrel set that he had been considering. With that wrapped up, Alan and Tim and I headed off to the Five Stand to shoot some clays. I was happy to finally get a chance to put some rounds through my new 20ga Sterlingworth. Tim had a nice Early A Grade Fox for sale this weekend, and after shooting it on the Five Stand, ended up selling it right there on the spot to one of the gentlemen shooting in our group. New guns seemed to show up every day, so I spent the rest of the morning walking the tents again, and also trying to sell an older German double (Simson & Co.) that I brought to the show. Unable to find any cash offers, I started talking trade with folks who had guns for sale. After a few failed attempts on some Foxes, I ended up trading it for some cash, plus a 12ga Field Grade L.C. Smith, a featherweight model with ejectors and dual beads. On top of that, this gun ends up being one of 1506 guns purchased by the military from 1940-1944. This one is marked with US Air Force, and has the "flaming bomb" proof mark, and the initials 'RLB' for Inspector Col. Ray L. Brolin of Rochester Ordnance. My understanding is that the Air Force purchased these guns to help teach their pilots how to hit moving targets. The gun has some very minor issues that I should be able to address myself (like a correct grip cap and recoil pad), but comes with some cool history too.

A new Gun, some new Friends, and something to look forward to for next year! What a show!

Mike

SmithShady wrote: This one is marked with US Air Force, and has the "flaming bomb" proof mark, and the initials 'RLB' for Inspector Col. Ray L. Brolin of Rochester Ordnance. My understanding is that the Air Force purchased these guns to help teach their pilots how to hit moving targets.

Actually Mike your gun was procured by the Army Air Corps as the Air Force was not formed until after WWII. Too bad the Army didn't have the foresight to keep it's close air support and theater air transport capability like the Marines. Would have made life a lot easier for everyone.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. There is a stamp on the barrels just past the flats that is hard to make out on mine, but has the letters USAF, which I assumed was US Air Force (we know what happens when you assume ). After finding some pictures online today of clearer examples, the stamp reads USA-F.

Mike, thanks for the update on Sunday's activities. I'm happy Tim sold that early A Grade to a shooter.

Congrats on that military Elsie. For further clarification, "Army Air Forces" was a designation used during WWII. Here's a pic showing some of my Dad's cards issued while serving on Tinian in the South Pacific. Both of them are dated 1944. Thus, the "F" in your gun's stamp could be proper for a wartime trainer gun. Silvers