Yeah, it didn't help that I was already a Fox nut and owned a 32" HE grade Super Fox myself, had hunted ducks with it by Trapper's Island in the Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA where Buckingham had often hunted, and had memorized everything about Bo Whoop and the story behind it. I was picking peanuts one day and got a phone call from a buddy in Savannah that knew the whereabouts of the gun. The call went like this, after we exchanged pleasantries: "Hey Stan, do you know anything about a Fox gun named Bo Whoop?", he said. "What do you want to know about it? I know everything that's ever been written concerning it. The serial number is 31088." I replied. "How would you like to see it in person?" were his next words. "Don't jerk my chain, Vernon. It's been lost for a long, long time." I answered. "It's not lost anymore." Vernon replied. "I'll be there the first day it rains." were my next words.
In the meantime I talked with Dave Noreen in WA and we decided on the things I needed to look for and measure, to try to determine if it really was the original and not a counterfeit. It certainly looked original to me and all the details checked out, which was later verified by Austin Hogan at Julia's. I decided to keep it quiet, as far as internet chatter goes, until Julia's broke the news. I think several AHFCA members, including Dave, manning a Fox booth at Beinfeld's show saw it the next January, when Julia's brought it to the show.
I consider the day that pic was taken to be the high point in my double gunning life, as far as seeing famous guns goes. It was humbling, and I was extremely grateful for the experience.
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