doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Early Christmas Present Fox XE

I'm lucky, my wife shoots and knows exactly what I pay for my guns, she went with me to Deweys to pick it up and was thrilled to see his shop.

GLS, I do have some before pics, will post them this evening when I get home.

Dewey is very up front about what he charges for his work. To ask what a completed job cost is a low blow and the question does not have to be answered. Dewey has done some of my most important jobs and I have never objected to his charge, however outrageous it may seem to someone who does not know which end the shot comes out. Bill Murphy in MD.

Here are some before pics, the gun had stock issues, light coating of rust over much of the gun, buggered screws, cut and sanded wood, couple minor barrel dents, broken ejector guide.

The good, it was complete,it was tight, lever far to right, chokes and chambers had not been messed with and it was a XE.

I lucked into the gun at my local trap club, it was sitting on the 4sale table along with an AE, a 2 for 1 deal. The AE had cut barrels 2" and had been restocked but that gun turned into one of my best sporting clays shooters.

Lay off the guy, he's new here. Johnr answer, "I'd rather not say" was sufficient.

Sorry, I didn't mean to break etiquette there. I've often thought of buying a somewhat beat up Fox and having it professionally restored. I can hear planes taking off from Philadelphia International as I'm typing this, so old Phili guns hold a sort of mystique to me.

No problem with me Lever. People don't always like to mention specific prices. That's sort of between the patron and the artist who performs the gun miracles we see so often on this site.

You asked, which is no break of etiquette in my mind, and Johnr preferred not to say. All is well. If you should decide to go forward with a Fox renovation, you have a great lead on an artisan to perform the work...Geo

I certainly do. He really did a beautiful job.

Johnr, he really gilded the lily. That was quite a coup finding two graded Foxes and even in the condition you found them, they looked better than my rag-tag "collection" of doubles. Now between you and me, what did you pay for them? The restock wood on the AE looks great.

I must admit I cringed a little when you were asked the expense, but leverhead qualifed it with "if you don't mind telling" and you politely responded. "I'd rather not". Not a breach of etiquette as in "how much money do you make" or asking a Texas rancher "how many head of cattle do you have?" I'm sometimes asked what a particular smith charged for work in order to get a baseline for similar work and I always respond "you gonna have to ask him, because it may be higher or lower than what he charged me." Gil

There you go Leverhead instead of the Merkel possibly a older American shotgun that can be fixed up. Find one, post pictures here on this board and ask if it can be fixed.

Gil, I have to agree, each smith will be different in quality and pricing, each gun will be different on the level of work required.
This gun required extensive wood work, I really wanted to save the original stock and Dewey came thru.