Revisiting an Old Friend
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2019 1:00 pm
It seems like every now and then I'm seduced into buying a new "vintage" gun. Maybe it has really nice engraving, or really pretty wood, or some unique specifications that make it a little different than the other guns in my closet. Ultimately, this new love affair has a detrimental effect on other guns. What was once the apple of my eye gets lost in the back corner, just gathering dust, while I enjoy the new “perfect gun”.
That is exactly what happened to the first Fox I purchased back in December of 2014, a 2nd generation, straight grip A Grade. I had been looking for a "half pistol grip", but I instantly fell in love with its deep engraving, and svelte lines. It was a big step for me, but the price was “affordable” since it had been restocked (straight grip with a sort tang). I snapped it up and was quite proud to show it to my friends that night at our Christmas party.
As is so often the case with old Fox shotguns, there are no “absolutes”. I requested a “card” for this gun and discovered that “half pistol” had been crossed out on the card and replaced with “straight” grip. The assumption is that gun began the production cycle as a half pistol grip, and when someone changed the order, they simply left the short tang trigger guard on the straight gripped stock. When I brought the gun to Hausmann’s in 2015 it was inspected by several members of the group and Silvers declared the stock “Right as Rain”.
I had a couple good seasons of duck hunting with “Right as Rain”, using the I/C barrel for ducks over the decoys and the tight barrel for the high flyers. But as I said, new guns come into picture and the old ones get left behind. I’d even been toying with the idea of selling it. Then last week I decided to take “Right as Rain” back out to the duck blind for a couple of hours. Saturday morning would have to be a short hunt because I was headed to Kalkaska for an afternoon of woodcock hunting. Early in the morning I slide my boat into the water and quietly rowed to my old familiar blind. After the decoys were in place, I settled down and began watching the woodies, warily buzzing overhead and landing safely in the swampy woods. Then, around 9:00 a.m. a nice drake wood duck, that had been swimming near my closest decoy, flew up and banked to the right, giving me a nice passing shot. I swung the barrel towards his bill and squeezed the trigger. It seemed that the duck instantly froze in the air, and then splashed down into the water. It was one of those shots that you replay, over and over during the cold winter months. I made a mental note to take “Right as Rain” out again next year.
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That is exactly what happened to the first Fox I purchased back in December of 2014, a 2nd generation, straight grip A Grade. I had been looking for a "half pistol grip", but I instantly fell in love with its deep engraving, and svelte lines. It was a big step for me, but the price was “affordable” since it had been restocked (straight grip with a sort tang). I snapped it up and was quite proud to show it to my friends that night at our Christmas party.
As is so often the case with old Fox shotguns, there are no “absolutes”. I requested a “card” for this gun and discovered that “half pistol” had been crossed out on the card and replaced with “straight” grip. The assumption is that gun began the production cycle as a half pistol grip, and when someone changed the order, they simply left the short tang trigger guard on the straight gripped stock. When I brought the gun to Hausmann’s in 2015 it was inspected by several members of the group and Silvers declared the stock “Right as Rain”.
I had a couple good seasons of duck hunting with “Right as Rain”, using the I/C barrel for ducks over the decoys and the tight barrel for the high flyers. But as I said, new guns come into picture and the old ones get left behind. I’d even been toying with the idea of selling it. Then last week I decided to take “Right as Rain” back out to the duck blind for a couple of hours. Saturday morning would have to be a short hunt because I was headed to Kalkaska for an afternoon of woodcock hunting. Early in the morning I slide my boat into the water and quietly rowed to my old familiar blind. After the decoys were in place, I settled down and began watching the woodies, warily buzzing overhead and landing safely in the swampy woods. Then, around 9:00 a.m. a nice drake wood duck, that had been swimming near my closest decoy, flew up and banked to the right, giving me a nice passing shot. I swung the barrel towards his bill and squeezed the trigger. It seemed that the duck instantly froze in the air, and then splashed down into the water. It was one of those shots that you replay, over and over during the cold winter months. I made a mental note to take “Right as Rain” out again next year.