A wee Fox...

[Phil Yearout]

I have been casually looking for a 20ga A grade to match up to my 16; this'n c. 1914 surfaced and though it has 26" barrels and I'd have preferred 28" I couldn't walk away (and I did try!) given the scarcity overall, and sellers that typically seemed to be pretty proud of them .

This one was in my wheel house price-wise; just a shooter early A with snap-on forearm, F/M, and an easy-carrying 5lbs.13oz.. Great barrels, metal is good with no colors left but I've been told by folks who know a lot more than I that the colors from that era often disappeared pretty quickly. Has a couple of wood issues; I plan to try to get out with it a few times before season's end and then send it to Mark Larson to work his magic.

[C.O.B.]

Congrats, a nice Fox.

[Double Lab]

To me, a smallbore anything is nice. A 20 ga. Fox is very special.

[Angel Cruz Ortiz]

Nice Fox. I also want a 20 ga.

[Researcher]

Gotta love those early smallbores!!

[Harold Pickens]

Actually, I believe that your gun would be a "late" style, with that engraving pattern. The "early" A's had simple line engraving, like a VH Parker. You do have the early snap on forearm. I also have a 26" Fox A grade and a 28" A grade 16 from around 1916. The engraving style on our guns began around 1913. Great little guns

[tom tutwiler]

I've got one of those as well in 16 gauge. Second generation engraving but snap on forearm. Can't believe there were too many like that out there.

[Harold Pickens]

Both my A's have the latch type fore arms

[tom tutwiler]

Originally Posted by Harold Lee Pickens

Both my A's have the latch type fore arms

All 12 gauge Graded Foxes have the latch on forearm. Just the earliest small bores had the snap on forearm. I at one point had the 33rd 16 gauge A grade made and it had a snap on forearm and the early engraving pattern. My later A grade 16 gauge (320th made) had the snap on forearm and the second generation engraving.

[Researcher]

By "early" I meant it still had the snap-on/-off forearm.

The graded smallbores generally had the snap-on/-off forearm from their introduction into about 1915/16. My 1913 vintage A-Grade --



CE-Grade 200109 --



Nothing of course is absolute, as 200002 has the Deeley forearm --



From my observations the Fox & Kremer or F.T. Russell style snap-on/-off forearm was generally used on the 20-gauges up to near 200600 and the Deeley was firmly in use by 200700. The engraving had firmly gone to the Gough style by 200300.