Fox Collectors

Hello all, sorry to ask right off the bat but I have an early pin gun 1912 Sterlingworth 12 gauge. The other day I noticed there is a small crack in the receiver at the rear of the slot for the barrel lug (terminology?). The receiver is very thin in this area, and it appears to cover what I think is the hammer reset bars that are actuated when the action is opened. My questions: Is this common for Fox guns and is it possibly metal fatigue or something misaligned in the hammer reset mechanism? Should I look into getting this fixed (welded), or is it self limiting and just keep an eye on it? I only shoot 2.5" low pressure RST shells and the action locks up tight.

Occasionally seen on A H Fox guns both SxS and Single Barrel Traps that were opened hard repeatedly, or when the gun was carried with barrel(s) open and bouncing against the frame. Also when someone replaces a firing hammer or its sear and doesn't know what he's doing. Your crack probably isn't going anywhere but is unsightly and sooner or late will be an issue when you want to sell the gun. If you want to fix it a slot can be milled thru the crack, then fitting a filler piece of carbon steel, TIG welding the edges, and milling the repair area flat. I prefer to use a filler piece to span the crack as compared to overwelding a very small slot as the latter is likely to crack again owing to the thin cross-section of the frame in that area. I've also seen old repairs where the crack was brazed but it looks unsightly and usually doesn't hold. I don't do gunsmithing on commission but a GOOD Fox gunsmith can do the work for you. But finding one with the expertise, proper machine tools and a short queue list will likely be a problem. Cost is another factor on a Sterly and especially if it's not in otherwise good original condition.

frank

Such cracks can occur from repeatedly opening the gun and letting the barrels drop hard and fast.

In my experience, they are more commonly observed on Fox SBTs than on Fox SxS, perhaps because trap guns generally are opened much more frequently and their typically long barrels may have more inertia/energy/speed if shooters let them freely fall open?

I always carefully check over a gun with such receiver cracks for other potential issues, since a cracked water table can be symptomatic of abuse.

Here's an example on a Fox SBT K grade.

Thank you very much for the replies. I only shoot a few boxes a year through this gun at the clay field, most of my shooting is with a winchester model 12. Given that it's a low stress area, perhaps my best course of action is to just keep an eye on it and treat it with kid gloves when it ventures out to the range? It was amateur restored at one point in it's life (reblued, recheckered, no case color), so the collector value is gone but it's the only quality double I could afford.

Looks like a beauty to me.