Sterlingworth
 

Came across this cap. Owner has had it stored for 30 years and got it from his grandfather. He believes the cap is original. Was there ever such a cap installed at manufacture. My thoughts are no, but as Dean says, "never say never"... I had a quick look at the Fox site. Do they have a SN lookup like we do? I can't find it if they do. The gentleman says it is a 1921 gun. SN is 930xx as best I can make out on one pic.

Dates about right-maybe 1922. However, no to the grip cap!!
Bob Jurewicz

Agree with Bob, nice grip cap but no not factory.

Thanks gents.
Bob: Where do you find year of manufacture from the SN? Is there anything on-line or is it from a reference book?
Cheers,
Jack

some more pics. sports 32" tubes

Jack, go to Connecticut Shotgun and they have firearm date of manufacture. When you get to the home page, click RESOURCES and a pull down menu appears. Choose Firearm dates and terminology and it brings you to several gun manufactures to pick from.

Gentlemen,

Our friends at Doublegunshop.com provide this Dates of Production reference:

http://www.doublegunshop.com/dgsnos.htm

Mark

Jack, Is this Fox living in your house?.......:rolleyes:

No, but thanks to you guys, I look and then get tempted and then........ From what I can understand, the Sterlingworth was built by Fox in order to compete with the low budget gun world of the day. Did I get that right? If so, how come nobody thinks they are low budget any more? North of the border, guns tend to be a little cheaper but asking prices keep escalating. We just had an election up here (anybody notice?). The Conservatives obtained a long sought after majority. They will be scrapping our Long Gun Registry, so one less bureaucratic hurdle to gun ownership here. Unfortunately, many wonderful guns were voluntarily turned in for destruction :crying: over the past dozen years because nobody wanted the hassle that granpa's gun entailed in order to keep it legal. Many never did register and there has been one amnesty after another since the inception of the registry. There are likely as many or more unregistered firearms than registered. When that many people refuse to obey a law, examination is in order but it took more than a decade to deal with it and that could only happen with a majority Conservative government. Well, we got one now but I'm not holding my breath yet. I'm sure the registry will be scrapped in the fullness of political time. Well, that went a little off topic.

How much would a sane person pay for a Sterlingworth, complete with wooden pistol grip cap? Okay, even less than sane :)

Cheers,
Jack

jack a gun like that here would fetch between 1200 and 1500 hundred...thats my guess...nice looking gun and i like the 32 inch barrels.. charlie

Jack,

The main difference between the Sterlingworths and the "Graded" A.H. Fox Guns was the name. Mr. Fox didn't want his name associated with a low cost gun. The Sterlingworth action is the same as the Graded guns. FYI, the 16's and 20's were built on the same 20 gauge-size frame. Those small bore Sterlys are ideal for your Partridge!

PS: A 32" Sterlingworth is somewhat rare.

Mark

Dad if you buy another new /old gun Mom is going take you to the woodshed. You won't get away with just a new mix Master....on the other hand those 32 in tubes would be great out on the prarie, you know to keep the gun moveing. the follow through will result in more birds in the bag then on the table as dinner so you might pass it off as a grocery getter.

I shot my first gun with 32 in tubes today at sporting clays. An Ithaca 4E vent rib trap gun. She can smoke a target when I do my part which wasn't very often but hey we just started dateing:whistle:

Been in that woodshed before :) I'm struggling now. 32" a bit rare. play budget can do it. Already in Canada, so the extra 400 tagged on to bring one from the south isn't a factor. What to do, what to do.......
Cheers,
Jack

One can always sell but one cannot always buy...

Jack, I think you are answering your own question here.... I believe you found a keeper. Post pics when you get the gun :D:cheers::bigbye:

Yup Jack....Sounds like you already bought the "Ol Girl" It's just a matter of giving the guy the dough. See I knew it was gonna live at your house....

Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Buy it now deal with the woodshed later. Mom will forgive you, I just know it.

Sterlingworth
 

This is coming from a true Parkerphile but I could kick myself for ignoring Mr. Fox's guns until now. Just bought my 4th Fox and 1st graded gun at the Southern this year. A really nice, totally original 12ga. BE w/30" tubes.
Took her out this weekend down to Pintail Point and just shot it like I had owned it for years. I would buy that Sterly in a heartbeat with 32's. I own 2 Sterlys now[a 16 and a 12] and they are every bit the gun that a Parker is. Please forgive me for saying that. I will deny it under oath and please don't yank my life membership. Now that I'm out of the closet I feel better. I'm going up to the safe and fondle my DHE now just to let her know that I still find her very attractive with that sexy straight grip.
D

Daryl just this "one" time we will let you slide.....:rotf:

Ya...And we keep count......:whistle:

Do the Fox guys know this? Do they also secretly harbour Parkers?

Most Certainly Jack!

Everyone harbours what they don't have from guns to cars.

Thou shall not covet thy neighbors shotguns :rotf:

Somebody better explain that to JD....:rolleyes:

Oh yes, they sure do. We even have pictures of some of those guys shooting their Parkers :shock:

Like Mr. Parker, Ansley didn't know how to build a cheap gun. Most all are pretty much the same minus the embellishments and quality of wood IMHO. ENJOY!

Best Regards, George

Jack, Ive got a 16ga sterlingworth made in 1927, It like yours has a wooden grip cap. Ive looked for an original or repro sterlingworth grip and they seem to be hard to come by. I ended up deciding the wooden one looks better anyway. The original was just plain black dome.

Brent for the later foxes they used an grip cap almost identical to the L. C Smith smooth cap. It will require a bit of fitting and polishing but will duplicate the original.

Maybe it was a brief flirtation with after market shotgun bling of the era.

Jack, I had some photos of that Sterlingworth sent to me about a month back and considered buying it. In my opinion the stock itself was a replacement, though I'm not an expert and some here could set me straight. I didn't think the stock cheeks were defined enough and the checkering didn't appear to go close enough to the grip cap. The grip checkering panel was shaped a bit wrong too.
Since we're telling secrets I'm also a Fox Collectors Association member and have a few 32" Sterlingworths and several 30" pin guns. Excellent guns for the money they're going for, especially up here in Canada. They are great on clays, but for some reason I always seem to have a Parker in the goose blind.

Good to hear from you Bob. Hope all is well. I'll have to take up migratory birds again, as it will take a few seasons of roosters to shoot my late in life SXS accumulations. Will give SC a go as well, although I'm partial to eating what I shoot.

Cheers,
Jack

Okay, in the fullness of time and after enduring a postal strike this Fox did arrive at my den today. It will need some work to improve the cosmetics. And, surprise, surprise - it is an ejector gun. A brief look over at the Fox site found one person estimates 1 to 2% of Sterlingworths are ejectors. Any thoughts here on that point?
I will do a full tear down/reassembly because it is time. Anyway, another project and I already have too many projects on the go (only a couple are firearms)
Cheers,
Jack

Great find Jack! 32" barrels and an added bonus it came with ejectors.

Like Dave said in an earlier post, we knew it was going to live in your house! :cheers:

Post pics after you get 'er all cleaned up.

32" barrels and ejectors to boot- Yessiree
 

Wonder if it has 3" chambers- The Utica Sterlingworth 20 I own has 26" chromox barrels, DT and Ejectors- but 32" barrels- wow indeed. Fotos soon???:bigbye:

2 1/2" chambers F+ F+ chokes

Sear axle set screws getting a penetrating oil soak so I can get the sears out and finally have the butt stock removed.

Got time to mow the grass now.

Cheers,
Jack

Mowing grass is over-rated. Trimmed a few tree branches and played with the sear axle set screw. It was of course a buggered screw head and took some judicious work and had to grind a couple of my good tips but got it out without breaking half the head off. In its history, it had a sear replaced based on one looks more like a new sear and the other looks its 90 years. So, the stock is off.

Bob, you wondered about it being a replacement. I don't see any serial number like on the Parkers and don't know if there is any means to tell beyond that. If it is replacement wood, it was a long time ago. Typical oil blackened head. The checkering looks like well worn checkering does, so my guess, unless there is a means to prove otherwise, is that the stock is original to the gun.

For the stock guys who read this - is there a "home" recipe to de-oil the wood? Some method that isn't yet known to the State of California to kill me and all my progeny for generations to come.

Cheers,
Jack

congratulations
 

32 inch barrels and ejectors you should log into the fox forum and make them crazy. Ive got a 16 sterly with 28 inch barrel and ejectors that I really like. The only problem Ive had is the forend wood is very thin on the back with the ejector guns and it has a tendancy to crack. Also that woodscrew that goes to the back doesnt have much wood to grab and they have a tendancy to pull out.
Thats on the philidelpia models the savage has a better forend.

Mine is a Savage-Utica Sterly about 1936
 

A good friend has a AE 16 Fox with 28" Krupp barrels, DT, Ejectors, splinter forearm and has had that same problem- we reinforced the thin area inside with a coat of Acra-Glas- and wrapped masking tape around the wood screw threads for a tighter fit- problem solved. My 20 has a slightly "beefier" forearm and buttstock than my friend's Phila mfg. 16- Many of the pre-1913 LC Smith ejector guns with splinter forearm also had possible cracks due to the thin cross-section at the rear of the forearm wood- my 3E (made in 1911) started to develop a hairline crack- Acra-Glas and taping the screw slightly solved that problem- the extractor guns- possible not so much strain on the shoe of the forearm iron- just my guess.. My 20 Fox has the serial number under the trigger guard, stamped in the inletted groove just as on the Parkers- perhaps a later concept for Fox after they were bought out by Savage-Stevens in 1929???:bigbye:

[QUOTE=Francis Morin;45962]
My 20 Fox has the serial number under the trigger guard, stamped in the inletted groove just as on the Parkers- perhaps a later concept for Fox after they were bought out by Savage-Stevens in 1929???QUOTE]

the philly foxes I have stocked had serial numbers on the original wood.

Rick- pls check your PM on the PGCA- thanks
 

Check it out--:cool: