doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fox HE value?

What is a fair market value for a Fox HE with warts. First that barrels have been cut to 28", now Mod & Mod. Second the stock cracked and was repaired with a dowel that can be seen from 20 feet, looks like a 5/8 or 3/4" maple dowel. Third the tasteless over application of True-oil to make the stock look greasy. Looks like the metal has seen a little steel wool abuse also. Case color is mostly gone with only about a buyers 20-30%, (sellers 50-70%), and bluing 80-85%.

Makes me sad. Someone took a nice long range duck gun and made it into a 3" Sterlingworth, with heavy barrels. To me it has a higher value than a Sterlingworth, but not as much as a AE grade. HE's were rather plain in engraving and the wood is about as boring as it gets without the dowel to dress it up.

Considered it as a project gun but the near $4,000 asking price made the no sale very easy. I doubt the gun is worth half the asking price. In fact I was trying to buy it for less than that but I was only interested in it as a long term project gun or as a shooter as it is right now. I can find a higher condition Sterlingworth or AE grade for lots less than this gun.

The HE, needs it's original barrels and chokes - to be in order!
A ducker doesn't have to be in top-condition, but it does need the above.

I agree with your valuation Jon, but I suspect someone will pay the asking price.

There was a beautiful high condition HE here locally a year or so ago. Only modificatin was a Miller single trigger. He asked $6500 and it sold in two days.

The seller also had a BE with a Miller single and it sold for $5000 but that took about two weeks.

If you find the name of the buyer of a cutbarreled HE for $4000, I sure would appreciate his contact number. The only value of an HE is it's barrels and barely so at that. Go ahead and get a Fox in any other grade with the "real " barrels. ------------but there is always a ---------sucker.

Darly, I agree but the gun does have a set of legit 3" barrels. Considered sending it to Briley and having screw in tubes installed to shoot in the duck blind. Only real reason to have that heavy Fox to me. They are no joy to carry for miles on end. The chokes are ruined and I think the real handling as a long range duck gun is gone also. How about a 9 pound quail gun? Doesn't that sound like a dream gun to carry?

KY, sorry I missed the meaning of "legit 3" barrels" . What is legit about cut barrels, or am I missing something ? Legit cut barrels ?? nine pound quail gun ??? I guess I have really, really missed out these past 35 years.

Daryl,

Legit was a reference to the many altered barrels I see on Fox guns to 3" with sellers claim of factory status. Real 3" barrels on Fox are rare.

The HE's were built a heavier than the regular Fox. Figure the frame is about a 1/16"-1/8" larger than the standard Fox. The barrels were "0" weight barrels, 30 or 32" only. Bert Becker was the main barrel man behind this gun. Claims of 80-90% patterns were common and one I owned did fall into that range. One load of buffered 5's went over 93% on several pattern sheets. Originally they were a few 2 3/4" but most were 3" chambered barrels. 9 to 9 3/4 pound HE's are not that rare but the guns are fairly rare.

So what I saw was intended to be a long range, heavy weight gun, that could be used with the most modern and stoutest shells of the day. Now it is a butchered gun, with neither good handling, great patterns or the fine long range gun it should be. All because some owner, in the past, wanted a shorter or more open barrel. I would rather he just reamed out the chokes. That could be fixed given time and money.

By ligit, I presume he meant that the 3-inch chambers were factory original. The catalogues usually stated that the Super-Fox was "bored and chambered to shoot any cartridge of 2 3/4 inch and will be chambered for 3-inch cases to order." The catalogues also always stated that the 12-gauge HE-Grade Super-Fox weighed 8 3/4 to 9 3/4 pounds. However, after several of the writers of the day condemed that weight, the A.H. Fox Gun Co. made some considerably lighter and there are some HE-Grades out there that are really built of the regular frame with 1-weight barrels, not "really" Super-Foxes.

When it comes to HE Super Fox's I think there are fair share of 'suckers' out there.......

I think it could be salvaged but it matters what price you are willing to pay.

I would look into having the barrels extended by milling down 4" barrel blanks fitting them in like fixed choke tubes and adding rib extensions as well. Sounds kind of extreme but I'm convinced this can be done (like mono-blocking) and after a good filing and re-blue would hardly be noticeable.

Stocks, obviously can almost always be salvaged.

Tim