Pretty Dang Close.

[Fox20obsessed]

Been making various posts on the build of my 16 gauge “budget” gun...below is a pic of it (on the bottom) beside a factory stock and forend from a 20 bore sterly I’m in the process of redoing. I’d say my stock looks pretty darn close to factory with the exception of the 18LPI checkering. The grip panels and forend diamond pattern are the exact same as on the 20. I just finished stripping the 20 the other day so the wood looks dirty, but after it’s sanded it should clean up nicely. Both guns have 28” tubes and will be getting the same stock finish treatment so they should be almost a matched set
-Matt

[Stan Hillis]

Great job, Matt. Please continue to post pics of the project as you near completion. I've done similar Sterly stocking projects. They're fun.

SRH

[Jeff S]

Very impressive. Thanks for sharing the pictures. You have skills that I'll never have. Jeff

[Fox20obsessed]

Thanks Stan and Jeff, your kind words are appreciated. I won’t be posting here anymore however. If you want to see pics of the finished works in a few months as grouse season approaches feel free to send me a PM. I refuse to post anymore due to so many trolls creeping on my s#%+ and never taking the time to make a single comment. As Frank would say, Free Lunch time is over.

[fox-admin]

Sorry to see you go. I'm an older man and maybe have a little different perspective on human nature. For years I would display my personal guns at SxS events in the Fox booth. I really put a lot of effort in doing a display with Fox memorabilia, guns, factory production cards etc. I have some great guns in my opinion but 95% of the people who visit the booth could give a crap about my stuff. Its the same with articles authored for DGJ, mostly silence. They are casually interested but not enthusiastic. At first I was disappointed but I realized it's human nature. Most people love to talk about their stuff, work and lives but never do they hold others stuff and work in the same regard.
I derive my joy from just interacting with other like mind guys who like to talk guns and the personal satisfaction I derive from my collection of Foxes. If you looking for more you could be disappointed in my opinion.
Most people are consumers of content not creators.

[Fox20obsessed]

Craig,
I have been pretty disappointed which is why I have decided to revert to being the consumer instead of the creator. I’ll still be building and restoring Foxes, but they won’t be on here unfortunately. I did enjoy doing the posts, but have not enjoyed the relative lack of feedback with the exception of a select few. I appreciate you bidding me farewell sir.

[Stan Hillis]

You, and your posts, will be missed. If you consider that your posts and pictures may well inspire a new, but insecure, Fox enthusiast it might help make your efforts seem more worthwhile, rather than focusing on the lack of appreciation by the masses. Just my opinion, and I sincerely wish you well.

All the best, SRH

[hihaven]

Matt, Sorry to hear your disappointment your posts have helped me with my project. I will eventually figure out how to post some pictures of my 20 gauge it’s getting closer to being ready for finish. I bought a cabin one month ago and been working every weekend on it. Thanks for your posts, Jeff

[Double O]

Matt, your post will be missed by those of us who view and appreciate but have little to add or say. We fly below the radar. Personally, I try to view these great forums every night. I rarely have anything to add but greatly appreciate those that post. I have NO expertise in these guns, but fortunately inherited an FE and that got me involved. The forums do drive some to acquire additional Foxes. I won’t say whom.
Find satisfaction in what you can accomplish, share, and be proud. What you add is inspiring! Your projects and posts will be missed.

[Stan Hoover]

Hello Matt,
I'm disappointed that you feel the way you do and hope that maybe you will reconsider. I guess I'm guilty of never posting a compliment on your fine work, so yes. I do want to tell you that you do nice work and you definitely have a way with wood/stock work that I'll only dream about doing.
Just another troll I guess is my new term,
Stan Hoover

[Silvers]

What Double 0 describes is great for “consumers” who are here to learn or simply to be entertained, but not for creators/contributors who spend their time writing coherent posts on interesting Foxy topics but get increasingly less recognition than even a few years ago. As Matt wrote on another thread, how much time does it take to hit the reply button if even to send a simple thank you? Or for those students who’ve been here to learn for many years, to apply that knowledge to reply or take a shot at answering questions? Yeah I know, let Tom, Dick or Harry do it.

Is it any wonder that contributors are getting sparse ….. many have gone away or shifted to idle to become consumers themselves, checking in but rarely writing. Why spend your time posting anything when most readers basically don't give a darn? Much the same situation as described here by Craig (Fox Admin) on hauling Foxes to Shows and SxS events for display at the AHFCA tables.

We have about 450 members plus an unknown but large number of registered users, and maybe 20 of that total are regular contributors. Huh? But on the other hand the Parker and Lefever Collector groups don’t seem to have a lack of enthusiasm on their sites nor at SxS events and I wonder why that is. See attached pics taken at the Rock Mountain event ….. sad for Fox and the subject of snickers and laughing.

All told after many years I’ve finally reconciled that almost all of the current users and members are here to be entertained. Sad but that's what has become of a once exciting and active forum. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep enough entertainers so consumers are able to read at least some interesting things.

I do think this is a good topic for the Directors to discuss. Are there learnings from our fellow Collector groups to apply and re-energize?

frank

[Sporrns]

Sorry to see you go. I'm an older man and maybe have a little different perspective on human nature. For years I would display my personal guns at SxS events in the Fox booth. I really put a lot of effort in doing a display with Fox memorabilia, guns, factory production cards etc. I have some great guns in my opinion but 95% of the people who visit the booth could give a crap about my stuff. Its the same with articles authored for DGJ, mostly silence. They are casually interested but not enthusiastic. At first I was disappointed but I realized it's human nature. Most people love to talk about their stuff, work and lives but never do they hold others stuff and work in the same regard.
I derive my joy from just interacting with other like mind guys who like to talk guns and the personal satisfaction I derive from my collection of Foxes. If you looking for more you could be disappointed in my opinion.
Most people are consumers of content not creators.

Thank you Craig for neatly and eloquently capturing the spirit of what would have been my response had I not just "tuned in" to this thread. Well said!

About all I can add is that I personally believe individual culture and upbringing also has a lot to do with it. When you put "Please Do Not Handle Without Permission" signs on your table or in fact on each of your display guns, then return to the booth after a brief absence to find someone waving a $15,000 Fox around, that tells you something. I've actually had people hand me back the gun and just leave; no "thank you", no "I didn't realize they were your guns", no nothing! I refer to it as "exhibiting in a vacuum."

Frank, thanks for the pictures of the Rock Mountain Shoot. FYI, the BOD discussed the particulars regarding AHFCA's representation at the Rock and It was decided that we would not have a formal display booth based on the cost/benefit results of the past 2 years' involvement. By that I mean specifically that the investment of my time and travel (as "Booth Captain" per my BOD description of duties) for 3 1/2 days, exhibition and exposure of personal Fox guns (some quite valuable), and the recently established per diem reimbursement, which I would have claimed, made the event not worth the effort. (As an aside, I had not even planned to attend; a pre-surgical interview was cancelled due to the COVID 19 restrictions, and cabin fever got the best of me at the 11th hour, so I came).

As is now well established, Rock Mountain is a "shooter's shoot"; that is, people wander into the exhibit area at random before or after shooting; for most of the day (excepting lunch time), the pavilion is a ghost town. So the level of AHFCA involvement resulted in an agreement with MIke K. beforehand to provide a table with cover and a series of envelopes offering an "honor system" of payment for hats, pins, decals, etc. (Most prospective members are encouraged to enroll online, so lately the use of hard copy applications has become moot). I've not yet heard a report on what the receipts of our table there consist of.

Prior to the cancellation of most of our events due to the COVID 19 stay at home orders, you will recall that I put up a full Fox gun display identical to those done for the Vintage Cup, Hausmann's NE SxS, the Southern SxS, the "Old Baltimore Show", and others. I would have gladly done so this time at the Rock Mountain Shoot had not fate intervened in the form of executive decisions and cancelled medical appointments. So far as "snickers and laughing", funny - I didn't hear any when I was there.

Finally, I don't think we should beat ourselves up over the fact that fellow collectors' organizations were represented in the majority display-wise at the Rock. The BOD made a decision and stood by it, and I for one would do it again. Kevin

[vaturkey]

What Matt experienced is similar to what I've experienced over the years on some of the posting of upgrades I've done. I learned over time that some folks are collectors and only want the best condition original guns and don't have much love or appreciation for upgrades etc. The same thing happens on the Parker forum, but they have so many more members that a few of them are going to make comments while the vast majority will just take a peak and move on. I appreciate the hard work Matt has done on all of his projects and he and I have interfaced many times on mutual projects. He's got a lot of knowledge and has been willing to share. Some of the things he has pointed out are things most of us don't think about nor do we have the knowledge (or guts) to even attempt. Matt's not alone, there are a good many members who are self taught and who have lots of knowledge they have collected over time. Matt and I will stay in touch for sure. We both have some irons in the same fire.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Matt, thank you for your efforts and sharing your knowledge.

[Brian Dudley]

Thanks Stan and Jeff, your kind words are appreciated. I won’t be posting here anymore however. If you want to see pics of the finished works in a few months as grouse season approaches feel free to send me a PM. I refuse to post anymore due to so many trolls creeping on my s#%+ and never taking the time to make a single comment. As Frank would say, Free Lunch time is over.

Matt,

I do personally understand your frustrations. And I can go back and forth with feeling that way myself sometimes. For example, I manage a facebook page for my business and I currently have about 725 followers of the page. I post a lot of content regularly and the only comments I ever get are from the same 8-12 people and in the year-and-a-half of running the page, I have only gotten maybe TWO jobs from it. But, the page fills my desire to feel the need to share the day-to-day work that I do with people. Yes, I wonder sometimes why I even bother, but that just is what it is.

I personally get burned by the same comments that someone that does half the work I do gets like "nice", "beautiful", "that is art", etc... You know what I mean. When the "other guy" who I wouldn't trust an 870 with gets the same sort of comments. I have just chalked it up to the fact that most people do not know what they are looking at and those are not the customers that I personally want if they don't know the difference between good and bad work.

You have to weight your own personal reasons for wanting to share with a community against the "benefit" and decide if it is worth the effort. Just remember... you cannot take "Likes", "Shares" or comments to the bank. In the end they all mean nothing in that regard.