Fox Collectors

One of my interlocutors sent me some pictures of Baltimore Fox #254. It is pretty much the junker they all are, but it shows the lengths some of the old timers went to to keep these old guns going.











I especially like this repair/reinforcement of the top tang around the screw hole --



Here is a "normal" top tang on #153 --

Why do I see a lot of old side by sides with a nut and bolt through the stock aft of the action? What did that repair accomplish?

When the head of the stock split, a bolt through the stock cheeks often would hold things together.

If these old guns could talk . . . . I bet this one would have some interesting tales.