Me too Charlie- I never weighed the 'project' 12 Fox HE I once owned, but I pattern tested it-it was Full in both barrels, and would obliterate pattern sheets at 45 yards and 36" circle- and shot right dead to POA.
I loved to use it off-season for crows and barn pigeons- like the tall birds the Limeys call "Archangels"--before steel shot became required, I shot the old Federal premium copper plated 3" No. 4's--my homage to my gunning hero- the late Nash Buckingham I guess. I was reloading 12 AA hulls, and they worked fine in my Model 12's- but that Fox was fitted so closely, that it would only close on factory new shells- once fired, whether reloaded or used as "snap caps"- the shell head may have expanded 0.0025" or less- and you could close it, but the top lever did not return to TDC--
I sold it- have an older 2E Smith that was rebarreled in 1927 with 32" Nitro Steel tubes, both Full choke and it has 3" chambers- but is NOT marked a LongRange- it's my favorite turkey and goose shotgun--and at 8 lbs. 4 oz. is a bit lighter than the Fox HE--
But if you ever win the PowerBall- I have a DU buddy who won a 12 HE that was "upgraded" by Pachmayr- August the patron came over from the Old Country- son Frank donated 50 of his father's personal shotguns to DU some years ago--one for each State- for a fund raiser/raffle- tickets were $100 a pop- and my friend won this fine gun- but putting false sidelocks on a boxlock, re-doing the buttstock in the more Germanic style, adding sling swivel clips, engraving the barrel breech and muzzle areas-- somewhat like the late Jack O'Connor's comment- something like wearing galoshes instead of Florsheims with a tuxedo--He would like to sell it- but he took a real bite in the kneecaps, as they valued it at $16,000.00 and he had to pay a capital gains tax on that--
Sooo- do you want a using HE Fox 12- or a "guilded lily"--?? Oh, by the way- that sweet 10 gauge Linder Daly with the 32" Krupp Flusstahl barrels has been sold- and me a day late and a dollar short again--
One advantage- IMO anyway- if you are a pass shooter on waterfowl (and crows and pigeons too) in having both barrels choked identically, especially with the two triggers I prefer on my double guns- you don't have to think about which barrel to shoot first- they are both the same--and I like to see my birds hit hard-
Hybrid Mode