doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sterlingworth "pin" gun

I got to closely look at a 12 gauge Fox Sterlingworth today that made me re-evaluate my opinion of such guns. I was able to research it a bit and now understand why it was so-much nicer than average. It is a Philidelphia gun (not the other address) and it's the first "pin" gun I've ever gotten close to. What is the story on that one? Did Parker sue?

yep! an sauer should have...

Sterlingworth -- When Ansley H. Fox, was forced to add a lower priced gun to his line of graded Ansley H. Fox guns, in 1910, he didn't want to detract from the A.H. Fox Gun Co. name, so they dummied up "The Sterlingworth Company." The first year�s guns, beginning with serial number 50,000, were marked as being "Made By The Sterlingworth Company, Philadelphia, U.S.A."





Actually the first few hundred were marked "Wayne Junction" instead of Philadelphia.



They even produced a separate The Sterlingworth Gun Co. catalogue for 1910. These guns were built under the same patents as the graded Ansley H. Fox guns. The main moneysaving features were an American Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) stock as opposed to the more costly European thin shell walnut (Juglans regia) stocks on the graded guns, and the "Sterlingworth Fluid Steel" barrels instead of Krupp Fluid Steel barrels. Workmanship on these early Sterlingworths was generally excellent, better than graded guns from the 1920's and 30's. The early "The Sterlingworth Company" guns had a rounded front for the side panel of the frames. According to my list of observed specimens that was changed to the same pointed profile as the graded guns by #51,301.

In 1911 this field grade gun was added to the A.H. Fox Gun Co. catalogue as the Model 1911. "Model 1911" is stamped in the forearm iron. (A very few graded guns made about this time are stamped Model 1910) The lowest Model 1911 serial number I've recorded is #53,140. All of these early Sterlingworths had a recessed hinge-pin head like Parkers, or Ansley's earlier guns made in Baltimore and the Philadelphia Arms Company A.H. Fox gun. The highest "pin gun" Sterlingworth serial number I've recorded is # 62,244. After that Sterlingworth hinge-pins are dressed smooth like the graded guns. When the small-bores (16- and 20-gauge) were added to the Ansley H. Fox line they were briefly referred to in some flyers as the Model 1912, but I've never seen one so stamped. Graded 20-gauge guns have serial numbers beginning with 200,000 and 20-gauge Sterlingworths 250,000. Graded 16-gauge guns have serial numbers beginning with 300,000 and 16-gauge Sterlingworths 350,000.

I've heard those stories of a Parker Bros. lawsuit, but I've never found any hard information on that. What I have seen is Babe showed me some letters between the A.H. Fox Gun Co. and Parker Bros. concerning Parker Bros. use of the J.C. Kremer & A.H. Fox Patent No. 1,029,374 forearm fastening on their new Trojan Grade.

All of the pin guns I've seen have had 30" barrels both choked full. I presently have three of them. They're my favorite duck guns. I never take them in the field where others do not mistake them for Parker guns.

One of my three had pitted barrels. There was enough barrel thickness to warrant a back bore and polish. Steve Bertram has done that for me and opened the chokes .007 and .013. I'm expecting that one to be a dove killer!

A common bit of miss-information about the pin guns is that they were built on left over Baltimore Arms and Philadelphia Arms frames which also utilized the carriage bolt hinge pin. That has come from Michael McIntosh's Fox book, but has since been determined to be untrue.

For them to have been made for such a short period of time there sure seem to be a lot of them on the used gun market today. It surprises me that they do not seem to bring much of a premium compared to regular Sterlingworth guns...Geo

I had a 28" pin gun that was choked IC/Mod that tipped the scales at 6 lb 12 oz. Very well made and it was one of the ones that was marked "Sterlingworth Co". The were very well made. Even the innards were polished to a fair degree. The hard pin gun to find are the ejector models. I've never actually seen one, only heard of them. I would think if you found one in decent shape with a bad stock that it would be wonderful platform for a custom gun.

How did Parker patent a Stove Bolt ?

I guess I am missing something.

This may be a stupid question, but can someone explain the functional advantages of recessed pins such as these, aside from looking good?

Easier to replace?

When Charles King patented the Parker recessed hinge pin, or spherical recess around the pin, it was mostly for the purpose installation of the pin if I am not mistaken. I will have to double check the actual patent documents to make sure of that.
The original Parker hinge pin was a single piece was pressed in and the ends were not stepped. They eventually went to a two piece design that had stepped end and a slotted screw on the other separate end.
Some of the Fox pin guns I have seen have a slot on both ends of the pin, others have no slot on either side.

The Sterlingworth Company catalogue of 1910 offers the gun in two versions.

Sterlingworth "Standard" Gun -- 12 gauge only; 30" barrels only; weight, 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 lbs. only; both barrels full choke; drop 2 3/4"; length of stock 14"; stock of American walnut, with full cap pistol grip. Patent snap forend; hard rubber butt plate; Sterlingworth Fluid Compressed Steel Barrels. Net Price.................$25.00

Sterlingworth "Field" Gun -- Same as the Sterlingworth "Standard," except 28" barrel; right barrel modified, left barrel full choke; weight 7 lbs.; drop 2 7/8". Net Price...........................$25.00

When the Sterlingworth appeared in the 1911 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" catalogue they added the "Brush" with 26" barrels, and ejectors were offered --





In the 1912 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" catalogue the 16- and 20-gauges were added.

In the 1913 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "A Fox Gets the Game" catalogue the "Trap" with 32" barrels were added to the offerings.





As far as recessed hinge pin heads goes, several of the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. doubles had them as did a number of early Lefevers and N.R. Davis Guns. Ansley H. Fox seemed to like them as his Fox Gun Co. Balto., Md., U.S.A. guns had them --



as did hid Philadelphia Arms Co. Fox doubles --

What really surprised me was the level of finish on this gun, as compared to other Sterlingworths I have handled. From the top rib to the shape of both the action and the wood, and even to the minimal but obviously hand-engraving. $25 bought a really nicely turned-out gun in this case. Mind you, this gun has been restored (and has even had thin-walls installed!) but the level of original quality was unmistakable. I normally pay little attention these days to 30-inch barreled 12-gauges, but this one was/is striking. I also really like the looks of the Fox action with the Parker hinge pin. Handsome!

The catalog rendering shows a pointed receiver boss, where others are rounded. Is one style rare or are both styles common?

The gun pictured in The Sterlingworth Co. catalogue has the rounded profile.

The guns at the $25 price point before WW-I were all quite good quality. Parker Bros. introduced their Trojan Grade in 1912, at $25.50 but by the next price sheet it was $27.50. The Trojan and the Sterlingworth stayed at these prices into 1916, then the inflationary pressures of The Great War began forcing the prices up with Fox's Sterlingworth going to $30. By 1917 it was up to $37.50. In early 1919 it was $47.75 and by late 1919 it was $55, as was Parker Bros. Trojan. In 1922 A.H. Fox Gun Co. dropped the price of their Sterlingworth to $48 and for 1926 they dropped the price to $36.50, and eventually sold about 140000 guns. Parker Bros. kept the price and the workmanship of the Trojan in the $50 range and eventually sold just over 33000. Fox's Sterlingworth did offer ejectors, a single selective trigger and a much greater variety of barrel lengths than Parker's Trojan.

To me, the Philadelphia Arms guns are the most interesting in regards to the Parker connection. It has so many features that are similar to Parkers.
The hinge pin, the frame sculpting, the engraving. The forend latches and irons on these guns look to have come right out of a Parker parts bin. Even the rib matting and makers mark is almost identical, right down to the arrows on each end of the roll stamp.

The Sterlingworth guns' similarities end at the hinge pin.

I have a pin gun numbered 52607 with 28" m&f barrels. What I got from the web was a 1903 DOM . Cant be sure

Probably late 1910. You can get a letter on it from the Savage historian --

http://www.foxcollectors.com/ah_fox/content/factory_letters.html

I am sure Brian knows this, this pin is not the hinge pin on a Parker, it secures the "roll" in the frame, the roll is the hinge pin. It is a feature in that the hinge pin was easy to change with an over size one.

I have three Sterlingworth "Pin Guns" and the "pin" is different in each one --





March 1910, The Sterlingworth Co., top.
July 1912, A.H. Fox Gun Co. Sterlingworth, middle.
August 1913, A.H. Fox Gun Co. Sterlingworth Ejector, bottom.

[/quote]
I am sure Brian knows this, this pin is not the hinge pin on a Parker, it secures the "roll" in the frame, the roll is the hinge pin. It is a feature in that the hinge pin was easy to change with an over size one. [/quote]

Of course. Just the use of terminology can be confusing. "Roll joint pin". Although most refer to it as a "hinge pin".