doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Savage Fox B

I just bought a package deal and one of the guns is a Savage Fox B, non ejector 12 bore 28" barrels, mod and full. It has nice case color but a small crack in splinter forearm. Otherwise almost like new. Seems heavy, a utility type gun, but sturdy. 2 3/4" chambers. I know nothing about these guns. Is it worth even $500?

The Model B is a Stevens 311 fancied up a bit. $500 would be very high retail price. Some have a vent rib which is kinda cool IMO.

Nope. There was no such thing as a Stevens 311 when the Fox Model B was introduced by a flyer inserted in some of the 1939 Fox catalogues --



Fox Model B �

The Fox Model B was introduced by a flyer inserted in some of the 1939 Fox catalogues and was included in the 1940 Fox catalogue put out by Savage with a retail price was $25. The Model B was offered in 12-, 16-, and 20-gauges and .410-bore, and had a color case-hardened frame. The Fox Model B shared many parts with Savage�s Stevens-built 5100 action doubles, Stevens No. 530 and several Springfield models. Essentially the internal parts of a Stevens No. 530 put in a somewhat nicer profiled and decorated frame, with a bit nicer stock and forearm. By January 22, 1945, the retail price of the Model B was up to $34.50. Between 1946 and 1947, Savage consolidated their gun making operations at the old J. Stevens factories in Chicopee Falls, Mass.

Through the 1954 catalogue the Model B remained a double trigger, plain extractor, slim forearm utility gun. In the 1955 catalogue Savage added a Model BST which got a non-selective single trigger and a beavertail forearm. The offerings were the same for 1956 thru 1958.

By the 1960 catalogue the B and the BST got ventilated ribs. Between the 1960 and 1961 catalogues, Savage/Stevens/Fox moved from Chicopee Falls to the new factory at Westfield, Mass. There were no changes in the 1961 catalogue.

For 1962 a B De Luxe in 12-gauge was added with a satin chrome receiver, white-line grip cap and butt plate, checkered side panels, beavertail, ventilated rib, and gold plated non-selective single trigger. They also gold plated the trigger on the BST. There were no changes for 1963.

For 1964 the De Luxe became the BDE, and included automatic ejectors, and also was available in 20-gauge chambered for 3-inch shells. The B and BST remained unchanged.

For 1965 the B and BST 20-gauges got 3-inch chambers.

For 1966 the satin chrome BDE was gone. There was a BSE with ejectors, non-selective single trigger, satin black finish, white-line butt plate and grip cap, beavertail and ventilated rib. The Model B had double triggers, was case hardened, had a ventilated rib, and now a beavertail. Both guns now featured impressed stamped checkering. For 1967, 8, 9 and 1970 the offerings were the same. The gun control act of 1968 required Savage to start putting serial numbers on these guns.

By 1971 there was a gun called the Savage 550 which was just like the BSE but had a case hardened receiver, and was offered in 12- and 20-gauges. The text said it had precisely engineered barrels resulting in perfect balance. In the picture it appears to be a mono-bloc design?!? Also grip caps are gone from the B and BSE. Offerings for 1972 were the same � the 550 listed at $174.95, the B-SE listed at $164.95, and the B listed at $139.95.

By 1973, the BSE and 16-gauges are gone, but there is a 24-inch barrel B in 12-gauge and 20-gauge, both with 3-inch chambers.

For 1974 the Savage 550 is gone and the B-SE is back. The B-SE 12-gauge has 2 � inch chambers and the 12-gauge B and 24� Fox B have 3-inch chambers. All the 20-gauge and .410-bore are 3-inch chambered. No changes for 1975, 6, 7, or 8. For 1979 the grip caps are back and the double triggered B is offered with ejectors as the BE.

For 1980, cut checkering is back, but the 24-inch barrel offerings are gone � B, BE and B-SE. In 1981 the BE was gone, but the FA-1 and the FP-1 Fox autoloader and pump appeared. For 1982 the Fox offerings were B, B-SE, FA-1 and FP-1.

For 1983 the only Fox offering was the B-SE. The B-SE remained through the 1987 catalogue when its list price was $525. By the 1988 catalogue the Fox name was gone.

I stand corrected. Wouldn't the later Model Bs share parts with the Stevens 311?

If its a Utica made gun it has a little more intrinsic value over the later made guns....

For 1929, the J. Stevens Arms Co. introduced a cheaper version of their Springfield Arms Co. (earlier Riverside Arms Co.) No. 315, and called it the Springfield No. 311 --



This gun and its fancier versions the Springfield No. 315 and the Stevens No. 330 used the G.S. Lewis Patent No. 1,136,247 style action using coil spring driven strikers rather than internal hammers rotating about an axle. J. Stevens Arms Co. made many thousands of these G.S. Lewis action guns under their own names and many, many "trade brands." In 1936, J. Stevens Arms Co. brought out a new action with internal hammers that rotate about an axle, and replaced the Stevens No. 330 with the Stevens No. 530 and the Springfield No. 315 with the Springfield No. 515, while the Springfield No. 311 continued on to WW-II with the G.S. Lewis action. For 1940, the J. Stevens Arms Co. brought out a version of the Stevens No. 530 with the stock and forearm made of a synthetic wood look material they called Tenite --



After WW-II, Savage Arms Corp. decided to consolidate their gun making operations at their Stevens factories in Chicopee Falls, Mass., and the factory at Utica went to making washing machines and other household items for the post war housing boom. For 1947 the Savage/Stevens/Springfield/Fox catalogue offered the same Tenite stocked gun that had been the Stevens No. 530 M up to 1946 as a Springfield No. 311 --



By the 1948 Savage/Stevens/Fox catalogue the Tenite stocked double became the Stevens Model 311 --



By 1951 the Tenite stock was replaced with wood and the Model 311 became the gun most folks know.

So, there is the history of 311 as I know it.

Knowing that SxS's are more difficult to make than O/U's, I find it hard to believe even a clunky (but clean) SxS made in the USA isn't even worth $500. Is what it is, I guess.

Let's clear some stuff up here. The 311 and the B may not have entered the market in that order, but their production did overlap and they came out of the same factory looking identical except for trim.

As to price, I bought a B with all the trimmings back in about '60. I used it for grouse in Ohio and snipes and ducks in Louisiana. It got a lot of field use. It was not an elegant gun but it always did its job. Today, if I were going to spend something in the $500-1000 range on an inexpensive 12 ga. double, I would be looking for an old Beretta Silverhawk, and the Fox would not be a consideration at that price. So, for me at least, $500 would be a hard ceiling on the B

I sold a Model B 12ga, 28" non-ejector with vent rib in about as good condition as you'll find, last year for $350.00. I tried real hard to get $400 but couldn't do it. You might get $500 in the smaller gauges, but you'd be real lucky to get it for a 12 IMO.

The B's of the early 1950s and late '40s in 16 and 20 had a certain attraction for me. While a bit heavy for guage, they were plain, had nice straight grained walnut stocks w/hand checkering, were well-enough finished and lacked all the later models' bells and whistles that added price and weight while adding absolutely nothing to function.

Once Savage started trying to cater to the (apparent) taste in whiteline stock fittings, extra fake engraving, fancy stamped checkering, oversized clubby beavertails, single triggers that "sometimes" worked, and ejectors ditto, I lost interest.

The 12s were always just farmer guns or backup duck guns to me--nobody wants to lug one of them very far. And the .410s are just plain odd, even for .410s.