Hi Folks. I have been reading this forum for a few years now. I am an avid upland hunter living in western Canada. I have been searching for a Fox 20 gauge (Philly) for some time now. I found a private sale Sterlingwoth this week that dates from 1914. However it has a few issues and I would appreciate input on whether or not they may be difficult or very costly to repair. The first issue is a small dent in the right barrel. It is not a crease, it is a small round indentation but still visible when sighting down the inside of the barrel. The second issue is that when the lever is pushed over to the right to open the action, the lever goes back to center while the action is open making it necessary to move the lever to close the action. Other than those 2 issues the bores are gleaming, the screws appear unmolested and the case colour is very good. The stock is in good shape, but has a 3 inch drop at heel and is 13.5 inches from front trigger to pad. The seller is asking $1200 for it which I,m sure is negotiable. Do you think that the repair costs I might incur would make this a poor buy? I have seen some pretty high prices for 20 bores recently and they are very rare in my area. For me to import one from the U.S. is prohibitive due to the poor Canadian dollar. Would a Sterlingworth of that vintage have come stock with 2.5 inch chambers. wasn't able to measure them when I viewed the gun. Thanks for any advise that you could provide.
