Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage vs Savage Fox vs Fox Shotguns - What's What?

Sorry for that. I went to bed... This was posted on another site about the Smith a while ago so it was an easy copy and paste. Not much to say about the Fox Sterlingworth. I bought it just as it came out of the CSMC custom shop. They restored it and put it up for sale.

about 4 years ago i bought a partially finished LC Smith 16 FW "In the White" that had the receiver polished and had been restocked all the way back in the 90's. I was lucky enough to be able to contact the gunsmith who did the work but unfortunately he wanted no part in taking the project on to finish the job. All it really needed in my opinion was some extra engraving and then case coloring.

So I showed the gun to Geoffroy Gournet at the NE SXS and he and I came up with a budget and he agreed to finish the job.

Here are the results before it went off to get case colored. It is not a perfect recreation of a crown grade and has a good deal of creative license, but it fit the budget. I like it and I hope you do too.

I am purposely only showing the work by Geoffroy, the side plates had a pheasant on one side and a duck on the other by the previous owner.








This is it after getting case colored.

I'm very pleased, and the pictures do not do it justice.







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[img]http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj304/romac2/LC%20Smith/006_zpstliymvgj.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj304/romac2/LC%20Smith/024_zpsetqefhdi.jpg[/img]

Keep your eyes peeled and save your nickels. Every man should own at least one good shotgun in his life! Like most other guns stuff like that can sometimes be found with issues that a little sweat equity will bring up to snuff, which is certainly one way of backing into one. Keep an eye out also for a Continental or English gun also. There are probably more sleepers in that genre than with American stuff, and by and large are excellent shotguns also.

Personally, I would rather have one good graded L.C.Smith, Fox, Lefever, etc. than three or four ho-hum hardware store-grade guns.

Roger, that is a beautiful restoration. A Crown Grade is a rarity in and of itself.

ROMAC - those are some damn nice looking guns! Thanks much again

Getting back on the topic of Fox guns..... There is a very active business upgrading Sterlingworth's to custom guns, particularly in 16 and 20 gauges. Since all Philly Foxes were the same basic gun, all things being considered a talented gunsmith can refine the receiver with judicious file work and add rebates, bead the fences etc... Restock and send it off to the engraver and you can have a one of a kind gun made from original Fox parts for less than a new custom from CSMC if you mind your budget.

This is one I bought that someone else had done. At the end of the day it cost less than half a used one from CSMC would cost and about a quarter what an original would cost keeping in mind that it almost never pays to upgrade a 12 gauge because they just don't demand the premium that the sug gauges do.

It is a very nice upgrade with dimensions that are spot on for me. It is an upland/grouse gun, with ejectors, original 26 inch barrels opened to IC/IC. You need to look real hard to find any usage marks. It rates a 99.5% as an as new upgrade.

I was lucky to be online when he posted. As they said in the song... Just one look...is all it took.













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Yeah, with that, it would have been all over for just about anyone! WoW!

Here's what a sculpted Fox receiver looks like prior to final polishing and before going to the engraver. This one is a project 5 years in the works. it will be a 16 gauge two barrel set. I added that last picture to show the stock. After about 20 coats of hand rubbed oil it ought to be friggin awesome.

Excellent!

Its pretty frggin' awesome right now!

I can only imagine the task of heading up a stock to fit a scalloped receiver. I also like the cross section of the wrist.

The cross section of the wrist is actually more in the in the shape of a diamond rather than oval, which is typical.

That blank came from Cecil Fredi in las Vegas and was picked not only for the awsomeness of the grain pattern but also for the flow of the grain through the wrist area.

I built a set of stocks for an old 16 gauge SxS once. Man, it is not as much fun as you would think.

That up there is not only amazing wood but workmanship.

Being familiar with Las Vegas the wood should be as about as dry as you could make it.

There are Savages for collecting and Savages for hunting. I have few of each. My Fox model B 20 gauge has shot more birds than most hunters shoot in a lifetime. Not for sale nor trade. I hope to have a few more years to hunt with it.

The more I read the more it seems like a Fox in 20 or 16 gauge is an item for the" lust list."