doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fox 20ga. mfg. date

Looking for some help finding mfg. date on Fox 20ga. ser. #256766.

Thanks

Tommy

Forgot to mention it's a Sterlingworth if that matters.

Thanks

Tommy

On this site, the forum menu page, "Other Useful Information", high grade guns dates of manufacture, A.H.Fox. 1923?

Thanks!!!

The only way to know for sure when your gun was made/shipped is to get a letter on it from the Savage historian --

http://www.foxcollectors.com/factory_letters.htm

Fox serial numbers are in blocks by gauge and whether Sterlingworth or graded gun --

12-gauge Graded Guns -- 1 to 35280
12-gauge Sterlingworths -- 50000 to 161556
16-gauge Graded Guns -- 300000 to 303875
16-gauge Sterlingworths -- 350000 to 378481
20-gauge Graded Guns -- 200000 to 203974
20-gauge Sterlingworths -- 250000 to 271304
Single Barrel Trap Guns -- 400000 to 400568

I have some real problems with the published Fox serial number chronology, which was originally put out in 1976 by Lightner Library.

For 16-gauge Fox-Sterlingworths they are showing production of 500 (1931), 600 (1932), 600 (1933), 700 (1934), 1100 (1935), 1500 (1936), 700 (1937) and then 1600 for 1938. Then the serial numbers from 374800 to 378481 are given for 1939 up to the last gun made 8/9/1939. I don't believe there is any way they all of a sudden pumped out 3681 16-gauge Fox-Sterlingworths in eight or nine months!!! From my 20 or so years of recording serial numbers of observed Sterlingworths, guns in the 375,xxx, 376,xxx, 377,xxx and 378,xxx range certainly exist.

On the 12-gauge Fox-Sterlingworths they estimate the highest serial number for 1937 as 145000, for 1938 as 150000 and for 1939 as 155000. Again from my years of observing and recording serial numbers, I haven't recorded a gun between 143802 and 160195, leading me to believe there were about 16000 serial numbers skipped. Perhaps the high 143xxx range was the end of regular production and the guns in the 160xxx and 161xxx range were cleanup of parts and barrels on hand?!? All of the guns I've recorded in that range are 26-inch barrels except one two-barrel set that also has a pair of 28-inch barrels.

Thanks again. I have been an L.C. Smith lover since 6. That was 50yrs. ago. My first a 1915 field grade 20ga. my grandfather bought new. It was given to me by my father and it is my favorite and i shoot it almost weekly. I use to turn my nose up at other guns until the last few years when i started to handle and then buy others to shoot. I love the history and the knoledge i am learning from all the fine people i am meeting at the differant sites. I know some of my questions may sound dumb (or at times asinine as i was told on one site by a board member) but i am just looking to learn as much about all the fine guns from our past that are still shootable today and many for years to come. So i want to thank you any others for taking your time over the years to do the research you have done in order for myself and others to learn about their guns.

Thank you

Tommy