Fox Collectors

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum, stumbled on it blindly and I'm blown away by all the information and interest in Fox guns. I have been a life long shooter and hunter. I grew up in Kansas City and was fortunate to have a grandfather that lived and breathed hunting, fishing and all things outdoors. We hunted all sorts of upland birds in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, but most weekends during hunting season we were out after quail. I think he knew most of the farmers in a 200 mi radius of Kansas City, so in the late 50s, 60's and 70's, we would load up in the station wagon with shotguns, bird dogs, a few sandwiches, and a thermos of hot chocolate for me. Great memories.

I shot a Browning 20ga superposed and bought a few model 21's later, but in the early 90's I wanted a 16 ga just because I had never owned one and that was the gauge my grandfather always used for quail. My first Fox was a 16ga AE with 28" barrels and I was blown away by how easily that gun pointed and handled! I was hooked. I acquired a few nice Foxes and have really enjoyed them over the last 20 some years. Recently I got the urge for a new Fox and somehow stumbled on this site. Wow, what a wealth of knowledge. I have really enjoyed looking through the posts over the years since the group was formed.

So, I have a question for those of you that have been more in touch with Fox prices over the last 5 or so years. In searching the the internet listings of guns for sale, prices being sought are considerably above Blue Book prices or recent auction prices. Looking at Blue book historic prices it indicates Fox prices have been flat at the same level for the last several years. So what do you guys think about current prices. Is Blue Book out of touch and are people paying what I see being asked for really nice guns which looks to be as much as 2 times what Blue Book shows? Have prices been increasing over the last few years or remaining fairly stable?

I look forward to being part of this community and learning more about these fascinating pieces of history.

Tim

Hello Tim,

For the most part, 12 gauge Foxes have remained about the same in price over the last few years with little increase in price, and even some slight price declines in my opinion, depending on the grade. I have seen a couple pretty nice 12 gauge Fox CEs sell for under $3500. As for the small bores, the 16 and especially the 20, have steadily gone up, long barreled & graded 20s, way up! I would think you would have to pay at least in the mid teens for a CE 20. A 20 gauge XE or higher, well, hang on to your credit card!
As for the Blue Book pricing, I look at it like this, how could a panel of researchers, who are probably playing with their I-phones most of the time , keep current on 10s of thousands of different gun makes, models & model variations by actually monitoring guns for sale. Not to mention, while they are researching guns, they have to monitor car & truck sales as well, and everything else we see for sale.
The Blue Book is just another company out to make a profit and can say anything in their advertising to make you buy their books. First thing you should do, in my opinion, is throw the Blue Book in the recycling bin. What the Foxes are "selling for" at auction and in listings, is the closest to it's actual current value.

FoxintheHenHouse

FoxintheHenHouse wrote:Hello Tim,

For the most part, 12 gauge Foxes have remained about the same in price over the last few years with little increase in price, and even some slight price declines in my opinion, depending on the grade. I have seen a couple pretty nice 12 gauge Fox CEs sell for under $3500. As for the small bores, the 16 and especially the 20, have steadily gone up, long barreled & graded 20s, way up! I would think you would have to pay at least in the mid teens for a CE 20. A 20 gauge XE or higher, well, hang on to your credit card!
As for the Blue Book pricing, I look at it like this, how could a panel of researchers, who are probably playing with their I-phones most of the time , keep current on 10s of thousands of different gun makes, models & model variations by actually monitoring guns for sale. Not to mention, while they are researching guns, they have to monitor car & truck sales as well, and everything else we see for sale.
The Blue Book is just another company out to make a profit and can say anything in their advertising to make you buy their books. First thing you should do, in my opinion, is throw the Blue Book in the recycling bin. What the Foxes are "selling for" at auction and in listings, is the closest to it's actual current value.

FoxintheHenHouse

I think the above pretty much nails it. Most 12 gauges Fox don't receive the love (or cash) that a 16 or a 20 do. In particular I think 12 gauge Sterlingworth values on anything except mint guns is very depressed and will no doubt continue to be depressed. I think all the Sterlingworth Ejector guns bring a good bit more money then the extractor guns even though the extractor guns are certainly more reliable and less prone to breakage. FWIW, the 20 gauge Sterlingworth Ejector guns have flat taken off in the value department with the longer barreled guns (30") heading to the stratosphere.

The best way to understand the vintage shotgun market is the visit one of the SxS events. You will have an opportunity to handle many great guns and get a good feel for the market. The best place to buy is from private sellers (Parker, Fox and Elsie association members who advertise guns for sale on member only forums) or small out of the way auctions. The market for run of the mill original 12ga Foxes above Grade A have crept up in price, prices for 12ga Sterlys and A Grades have been soft as have 12ga restored guns. High condition 12ga gun especially in the higher grades continue to accelerate in price as have good original Super Foxes. Small bores especially in the higher grade and longer barrels have been a moon shot the last decade. Welcome. Craig Larter