Sterlingworth 12 ga. 26" or 30" guns

[LVAKA362]

Does anyone have an or knows which were the most made 26" or 30" barrel 12 ga. Sterlingworths? Also on Philly Sterly's are the serial numbers on the forearm wood and if so where?

Thanks,
Alan

Sorry I missed you guys this year at the Southern. Was working at Beaver Pond Sporting Club all that weekend...

[fullchoke16]

30* is the most common in 12 gauge. Mostly under the fore end iron for the numbers.

[LVAKA362]

Thank You for the info.

[MARSHFELLOW]

fullchoke16, how did you come by that info that the 30" is the most common in the 12ga S/W???....... in my experience it seems like the 28" outnumbers them all.

tjw

[Researcher]

Tom,

In my five decades of playing with these things and a quarter century of recording observed Sterlingworths, 30-inch 12-gauges are far and away the dominant length, with 28-inchers a distant second.

Mostly under the fore end iron for the numbers.

but by late Philadelphia years like this --

[MARSHFELLOW]

Thanks Dave, I have had a different experience. Interesting.

t

[1SG Mosteller]

I have seen more 28" barrels in the years I have been buying Fox guns.

[Researcher]

I just pulled up and counted the guns on my table of observed 12-gauge Sterlingworths and it is ninety-eight 30-inch to fifty 28-inch. I have thirty-three 26-inch guns recorded, but twenty-six of them are in that late Savage block in the 160xxx and 161xxx range. Also, I've recorded eighteen 32-inch regular 12-gauge Sterlingworths and nine 32-inch Fox-Sterlingworth Wildfowls.

[fullchoke16]

Good point Tom. Honestly, it was a guess on my part. I think it depends on what part of the world you are from as to what you might experience. Most Sterlingworth 12's around here have 30* barrels followed by 28's. 26 and 32's are rare as hen's teeth. Other than what Dave has tabulated, I've never seen anything documented on the subject, but I'm not above learning something new. Fred

[MARSHFELLOW]

I'm with you Fred.... I love to learn. I definitely have seen/owned/handled many more 28s than any other S/W barrel length. Until somebody does a good count on the 12ga S/W cards that survive I guess we wont really know. (that somebody wont be me) There were thousands of 12ga S/W made, I'm not sure how large the group counted would have to be to be a valid statistical sampling.

tjw

[Georgia]

Mine is a 30" (I'd call it a 29 1/2").