Fox Collectors

The ad from the Lost and Found section of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that is reprinted on p. 147 of "Mr. Buck" specifically states: "LOST---Becker double-barrel shotgun in canvas case. Name Nash Buckingham on case and gun. ..."

Fowlgunner

[quote="Fowlgunner"]The ad from the Lost and Found section of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that is reprinted on p. 147 of "Mr. Buck" specifically states: "LOST---Becker double-barrel shotgun in canvas case. Name Nash Buckingham on case and gun. ..."

Fowlgunner[- Thanks= more information for the search for the truth- Would the shotgun also have AH Fox on the receiver bolsters on each side, or did Burt Becker get the receivers in the white from Fox. In his "Are We Shooting Eight-Gauge Guns" Nash Buckingham mentioned that Mr. Becker had been making Long Range 12 gauge shotguns at the Fox plant, based on an Askins & Sweeley patent apparently, for about four to five years before he ordered his shotgun.

Will the gun be at Vegas?

I had an opportunity to speak with a number of very knowledgeable Fox collectors yesterday that have studied Bo Whoop at the Vegas show. The consensus is the gun is the real Bo Whoop with it's third stock. Austin Hogan (the very capable editor of Parker Pages) has studied and measured the gun and will be writing a article for our spring newsletter.

It is the sweetest handling 10 pound gun i have held also. Oh to be in Maine this March

FYI - there's a short article on 31088 at Julia's in the new issue of Shooting Sportsman magazine, page 16. Silvers

Thanks Mr. Silver. I just read the article, and James Julia's own Mr. Wes Dillon apparently has authenticated this HE Fox 12 as being the first Becker/Fox that was missing since 1948. Oh, if only our guns could talk! I am predicting this storied shotgun will fetch over $300,000 at March auction. We shall see!

Frank, is that the March-April Shooting Sportsman, which I have not received? Jim

Yes Jim, that is the March/April issue. SS mag must use a reverse alphabetical mailing sequence. Frank

Silvers wrote:Yes Jim, that is the March/April issue. SS mag must use a reverse alphabetical mailing sequence. Frank

Just received my issue on Monday. They seem to take a while to get to Virginia.

There has been a lot of "back and forth" about who has the "rights" to Bo Whoop. I spoke with a representative at Julia's, concerning this, via e-mail today, and here is the gist of what they told me. Julia's is flat out guaranteeing that whoever buys 31088 at the March auction will have clear title to the gun. I mentioned the idea that the insurance company that paid Nash on his claim may have claim to it and they replied that they had been through this type of thing before and had found that no insurance company is willing to dig up documentation that they actually paid a claim on whatever item is in question that far in the past. Julia's has even called insurance companies that paid a claim on an item as recent as 10 or 12 years old, when they had discovered that the item was lost or stolen, and the company representative would be incredulous that Julia's would even think they would be interested in pursuing such a thing. Julia's assured me, in addition, that even if they did, the insurance company would only try to recover the amount they paid the original owner, and that that amount would be paid by Julia's if it ever happened..

Again, Julia's is guaranteeing clear title to A.H. Fox #31088.

Stan
Somm'ers in Jawja

As a new member, I humbly submit a big Thank You, to the broad and the members for this site. The resurrection of "Bo Whoop" stands as a testiment to our legendary friend of North American wildfowl, Nash Buckingham. I, like many of you, have only come to know this man and his gun by way of his pen and by association with some of his closest friends. Some of you have raised serious doubt in some minds as to whether this gun was truly Nash's. And rightly so! I don't think Nash would want it any other way. Regardless of the outcome, shotgunners around the world who never heard the name Nash Buckingham or "Bo Whoop" will learn of a more gracious time in our history and of conservation-minded man and what his life represented. Yes, like many of you, our HEs have provided a link to our waterfowling past and to a man none of us ever met and a time we all would love to recapture.

No need to reiterate points already made, but I will add reference to what Evan wrote in the 1973 book, The Best of Nash Buckingham, "Instead of the typical streamlined fox breech lever faired into the top of the action, this one had a distinctly un-fox look about it like the lever on a water faucet, the axis extending almost a quarter of an inch above the top of the stock (important). The right barrel had a light spot on the outside, about 13" from the muzzle as though it had been dented and straightened (Also important). And again, each time the reference was made regarding the reward for return of the gun, the term engraved was used and also that not only the name but the address was also engraved on the gun, as well as the case.

Lastly, Dr. William Farr "Chubby" Andrews shared an interesting story with me a few months prior to his passing regarding the resurrrection of "Bo Whoop" and I'm not sure where it fits in what we have learned thus far. I like that statement on this website; Share the Knowledge.

Respectfully,
Snipe Flats

Hello, Snipe Flats. Do you think G.B. Evans was referring to Bo Whoop 2, not Bo Whoop 1? I think Bo Whoop 2 had a Savage era top lever and they do look like a faucet handle!
Jim

As many glaring errors as I've found in George Bird Evans' The Best of Nash Buckingham, I wouldn't put much faith in anything therein.

Give us a page reference in "The Best" so we can read the full story. Did GBE ever see Bo Whoop? I doubt that he did.