doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com value of a reconditioned shotgun

im sure this is a question asked here before but i was wondering on average how much value does an old american sxs in good condition lose if it were to be re-case colored reblued and the stock checkering recut and refinished by a professional.

i have a 1930s a.h. fox sterlingworth in good condition with a very nicely figured stock. the stock is lose and im having that fixed at the same time i would like the stock refinished. however i feel if the stock is refinished the rest of the gun wont look right left alone.

thanks
eddie

Eddie,

I'm sure those much more knowledgeable than me will chime in but you'll likely invest more than you'll be able to sell the gun for. If you're doing it for yourself I wouldn't worry about it. You'll get plenty of pleasure from carrying a well re-done Fox.

That and $3.00 will get you a cup of Starbuck's coffee.

Phil

Often a well reconditioned classic American shotgun will fetch a very pretty penny, depending upon the grade. I paid several thousand for one, and have seen others sell for much more.

Personally, I don't hesitate to have one reconditioned. My favorite A.H. Fox "A" grade has been completely redone, and restocked.

At the moment, I have a Remington 1894 being redone.

JERRY

I would leave it alone, but keep in mind there are many 'original' guns that were reconditioned 40 years ago and no one knows it. And there are many 'original' guns that were reconditioned 5 years ago and no one admits it.

Well said!

jack

Takes me more than a couple of words like Jack, tho I agree;-) My two cents .. fix the loose stock as you are currently doing and have the checquering recut at the time of refinish. Shoot it that way some & see how you feel about it. If the bbls are thin on finish & it is bothersome to you, have them reblued during the next session & do the trigger guard too if it is worn. A Sterlingworth doesn't look bad to me with no color and a polished action from honest carry wear. If its pitted or otherwise marred & bothers you then have it redone to suit your taste, but keep in mind that case color is/can be subject to wearing off again after time when carried afield &/or rubbed a lot. I suspect that gloves with their embedded dust [very fine grit] and trace tannins, much more so than acid from hands, have worn many an actions' case color away and been responsible for the wonderfully fine burnish left.

On a Sterlingworth it is up to you. The 20's are worth much more than the 12's but both are and will likely continue to appreciate. A couple of grand today buys what in the way of a double(?), a clean used BSS and they are not that uncommon and reasonably plentiful. The same money in your Fox may give you much more pleasure and it will not be readily available at every show. IMHO, you will be more likely to recover your costs on the Fox, with the proviso the work is properly executed & you don't incur an unreasonable expense getting it done. A properly refinished desireable gun will always have worth and should not degrade value as a shooter. I personally don't see a Sterlingworth as a rare or collector gun, rather it is one you should enjoy using. Just my thots, perhaps something of value.

Remedy the loose stock regardless.

Ed,
It's a slippery slope.

The rules have been set in stone for years, original condition only - is the thing that counts with vintage Americans.
I don't agree, but then I'm not a playa!

The gun in the pics is a 1905 damascus GH Parker. I have about $3800 in it. Could I recover my money? I dunno. I decided before I did this that I didn't care, but I wanted the finished gun.

I said it before; If a 1905 GH were available in this condition, but original, I could not afford it...and yet I want one in this condition. And, oh by the way, the stock dimensions fit me now, coincidentally. Nope. Not all original now. But just the way I would have ordered a GH #1 frame 12g from them in 1905.