Fox Collectors

I have an fox sterling worth 12 gauge with 28 in barrels. It has been well used over the years but Still in fine shape for a shooter. I have no idea what chokes are in the gun but by visual inspection it appears the left barrel has the tighter choke. I decided to pattern the shotgun and discover that while the left barrel shoots a great pattern the right barrel is way off. It’s almost fifteen inches lower than my point of aim at 40yds. What could be the cause of this and what do I do about it?

You could have the barrels re-layed, which would be expensive, or try honing the the barrel that shoots low, which may not work to your satisfaction or send it down the road.

Given that a 12 gauge Sterlingworth with 28 inch barrels is one of the most common Foxes it might be cheapest just to buy another one, even if you dont want to sell the one you have for some reason.

You didn't write how many shots you fired from each barrel but from the context of your post it may have been only one shot each. Actually it takes a composite of at least 3 per barrel, fired at a single paper, to get a true indication of the point of impact vs. point of aim. That's because of aberrations from shell to shell, the flinch factor, etc. Also, techies who pattern shotguns know that different shells will have different points of impact. Before going to extremes like getting the barrels relayed or flipping the gun I suggest you re-do the testing with both barrels as written here.

If in fact after that testing either barrel is shooting off quite a bit, an expedient is to get a GOOD shotgun 'smith to recut that barrel's choke at a very slight tangent to compensate. That's done with a draw reamer on a lathe with the barrel clamped where the tool post normally is, and the 'smith can mathematically calculate the tangent and usually do it in one setup. All you'll lose is a few thou of choke constriction. Sorry I don't have a recommendation for a good man; maybe some of our experts here will.

frank

Both barrels were shot 3 times apiece. I also tried a second brand in a different shot size in the barrel that shot low with the same results. My main question is how could this have happenend? Is it more likely that something has gone awry with my barrel or could it possibly always shot low even when new. There is some personal attachment to this gun for me so I would like to know as much as I can about this situation

Good test protocol. Someone may have already opened the right barrel choke and got it "cockeyed". A very slight tangent would account for what you've described. In that case the choke would have to be recut exactly on the axis of the bore. Again a good gunsmith could do that.

However if you're certain the left choke was never opened up, then it sounds like a day-one issue and you're back to the fix described in my first post.

Thanks for the information. For now I’ll adjust my POA when using the right barrel and save up to send the gun off to a gunsmith