My little A H Fox is on its way
 

About a year ago I cam across this 20 gauge Fox Sterlingworth for sale with no wood. The gun is as solid as a rock sporting 28" barrels and extractors. I called Chris Dawe and asked him if he was interested in a project putting together a custom Fox? He was very interested in taking it on but as always was extremely humble and reserved about the work as he had never done any significant metal reshaping for a custom. My comment to him was "if it doesn't work out just chuck it in Ocean", which is walking distance from his house, and we can salvage a few bucks out of the barrels. Two months ago Chris found the time to get things going and with very little direction from me on what i wanted started removing metal creating the gun you see below. I can tell you this gun will not be found in Seal Cove!

The blank came from Cecil in AZ and will sport a Prince of Whales grip, horn heel and toes clips, horn forearm tip and a silver shield. The measurements we decided on are 14 5/8" 1 1/2" and 2 1/4" with a few degrees of pitch to keep it on my shoulder for the second shot.

I hope you enjoy the photo's as much as have.

Nice Brian. Chris is a true craftsman who does extremely fine work and is way too self critical. He has produced work that rivals the best in the business. Too bad he is north of the border. Thanks for the pics. Jim

Can't wait to see the finished work.

Brian- i can complement you on your taste

and very high complements to Chris -you north of the border guys are very lucky to have him

can't wait to see the finished project

Very nice metal work and a knockout piece of wood to complement it. I would love to own that gun. Chris is finishing an upgrade checkering job on my CSMC A-10 Deluxe. Turning out incrdible. Chris is a true artist.

The metal alterations to the frame are very nice. Nice work on the bolsters. This is an area that does
Not get worked over much on a lot of custom foxes.

Wow--that's going to be a very special shotgun. Please continue to share the journey with us.

Thanks for all the kind words guys ,it is no doubt a fun project

Yes please keep those pics coming. I never get tired of seeing Chris Dawes work.

Very kind of you to say Mike ....I see it every day , but I must say - at about 8:30 each evening i'm pretty tired of looking at it;)

Great transformation!
BillK

Wood taking shape.

still alot to come off ,better pics at the end of the day....its a great project

Things are coming along nicely........Mr Dawe has outdone himself!!

Horn heal and toe clips with widows peaks
Custom steel inlay made from a toggle bolt in forearm
Horn spear point inlays on the cheeks
Horn forearm tip with raised contour.

All these things were Dawe's ideas with only nodding yes from me. I will say Chris is equally excited about this custom Fox.

Engraving layout has begun in Quebec City at Lemieux Armuriers

STUNNING !!! I love those Spear Points, and heel and toes inlays.

That horn inlay and heel and toe plates are a very nice touch!

oh, and the forend tip too.




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Looking good Brian! Some of the features are very Lefever-esque. Elegant.

Amazing !!!!

I agree Brian. I thought the same thing as well when I first saw the pictures.

Very nice project. Looking forward to seeing when it is all complete.

A quick update, coming right along.

That trigger plate is exceptional!

Wow, those folks at Lemieux Armuriers really know what they doing. Beautiful.

Wow!! Looks like something Ansley wished he could have been building.

Absolutely top of the top shelf. Stunning, both metal & wood. Congrats.
tjw

Woodcock and lightening bolt are done

Gorgeous Brian. Can't wait to see the completed project.

Very nice engraving but I'm really impressed with the sculpting of the bolsters and other areas of the frame.

Was that done by the gent in Calgary?





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No the guy in Calgary is good with scroll but has very little experience with animals and animal anatomy. This engraving was done in Quebec City. http://www.lemieuxarmuriers.com. They studied in Liege Belgium at the gun makers school.

The majority of the metal shaping was done in Newfoundland, that was mentioned in the start of this.

I am very happy with the progress.

More detail was added to "liven up" the Woodcock and my California Quail has taken flight! I like the dime to give you an idea of size.

Have a great night everyone.

OUTSTANDING��

That's no dime.... that's a six cent piece. :rolleyes:


Beautiful Bulino engraving and wonderful scroll too.

Actually I guess it's not really Bulino (the quail) but it is as nice!





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ha ha ha, yes about 7.6 cents US today Dean

Needless to say I am quite happy with the progress.

For those of you that have not messed with engraving, just pick out a picture! Realism comes from reality!

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

I really like how that bottom scene melds right into the surrounding scroll work instead of being segregated from it.

That floorplate is beautiful and I agree with Brian on the engraving. Now are you going to case color the receiver or do a French gray? I think you are going to lose a lot of detail if you case color it or maybe you could case color it and the rub down the colors so the detail isn't lost. Just wondering............ But the main thing is it is one wonderful gun !

Since the gun was annealed it will be hardened and then any color will be taken off with french gray being the end result.

Good choice Brian. That engraving is wonderful!





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It has been a fun project, hard to believe this started out as a 20 ga Sterlingworth in a box for $225. I think its good for those interested in a project like this to understand that the Parker and Fox gun platforms are fantastic starts for a custom guns. Sterlingworth's, VHE's and even the DHE 157766 I listed yesterday bought very reasonably are the best start to build what you want. DON'T START WITH JUNK, junk yields junk. Collecting original guns is wonderful but to get into the really good stuff you will be north of $8000 with the sky being the limit, also you may be afraid to shoot it. You can also go to CSMC and pay $15,000 with the sky being the limit. Depending on your taste a 1st class custom can be done with a $10000 budget, the stock dimensions you want, the chokes you want, your design and shooting a new classic that will be something generations of your family will be proud of! Custom guns do not typically yield profit though, you are building this gun for you and make sure it is something you will enjoy and shoot!!

My next project, a 16 ga 32" VH 1 frame with excellent metal, not in the record book and the wood is a mess. A perfect start to a great gun.

Truer words could never be spoken in regards to donor guns for projects ...I've literally torn my hair out making junk work ,in the end I will always know its there it haunts me under all the lipstick ......like that late night rendezvous,just as the bar was closing ,you say what the hell no one will know .....then shes finds your phone number :knowbetter:

Yes Brian, a great custom gun can be built for $10,000 - $12,000. And figure about half of that budget being eaten up by engraving.
The most important thing is having a sound donor gun or more so, sound barrels. And that can usually be had for under $1,000 depending on what it is.