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This is my first post. Thanks to all for this great forum.
The back story on this firearm is that I bought this sawed-off (19 inch barrels) double barrel "coach gun" from my father who got it from a fellow club member of cowboy action shooting club. He got out of cowboy action shooting and was getting rid of the coach gun, so I bought it from him as a fun blaster to destroy milk jugs and the like. I had seen that it said Fox on the side and Philadephia Arms Co. on the barrel rib. Recently I noticed the barrels are coming apart from the ribs, which sent me to the internet, which sent me to this great forum.
Based on what I have found here so far, i think I have a sadly hacked (and probably salt blued) numbers matching Pre-Fox A grade. I guess i have to stop shooting it since the barrels are coming apart from the ribs. I don't know what I should do with it. I have seen in other topics that it is a $1000 job to get the barrels re-soldered and since they're sawed off it's not like it would be worth that money. I guess what I'm looking for here is advice. Is there any chance I could find a set of barrels and get them fitted? How much would that probably cost? Is this thing just good for spare parts? Other thoughts or ideas?
Anything is possible, but with less than 2000 Philadelphia Arms Co. guns made 116 & 117 years ago, the chance of finding a good set of barrels is extremely slim. While the Philadelphia Arms Co. guns are pretty scarce, there isn't much of a demand for them. A few collectors may feel the need to have one in their collections, but they are going to want something much more original. Parting out may make the most financial sense.
Could you share the serial number with us so I could add this gun to my table of observed Philadelphia Arms Co. guns?
Thanks for the response. Serial number is 751. I guess the barrels are not the same as the true "AH Fox" barrels and I would have to find Philadelphia Arms barrel set? That would be a REAL long shot.
Apart from the barrels being cut back, the buttstock is also not original. It is a homemade piece of pretty poor quality. And the whole frame has been hot blued as well. Given all of these things, the gun has been relegated to "parts status" in my book if the ribs are coming loose. Any effort in trying to repair it would be the definition of a labor of love.
The Philly arms guns are completely different in every way from the AH Fox guns. And they were only made for about a year and a half, with maybe 1500 guns being built if I recall correctly. So, finding any parts is difficult. But they do surface. I parted one out, including barrels, a couple years ago.
