Fox Collectors

Okay, guys, I'm coming out of the closet. Pun intended.

I was contacted by a friend of a friend in late September about this gun and was asked if I would like to see it and examine it closely before it was sent to Julia's for auction. You can imagine my reply. I spent some time recording all the known information on Bo Whoop with which to compare this gun when I got to see it. I spent a couple hours on Oct. 5, two months ago, with Bo Whoop. I was allowed to go over it with a fine tooth comb, disassemble it, photograph it, etc. I can find but one discrepancy in this gun and the original order card. The original buttstock was broken at some point in time, maybe upon falling from the car fender, who knows, but is with the gun. It has been repaired at some point, and shows some water damage in the wrist area. It is high grade wood however, and matches the original fore-end that is on the gun. The butt does not have a recoil pad, as was specified on the order card, but was checkered very nicely. The overall length is correct for the order card, though, and I believe it is the original buttstock to the gun. It is the straight grip, as specified, and has a slight "perch belly" . The gun has been restocked, and if it had not been we would most certainly not know of it's existence today. Its' story:

This gun was offered for sale to a gentleman over fifty years ago for $100 with the broken wrist. He declined because of the break, not knowing who Nash B. was or the history of the gun. He counter-offered $50 and the owner accepted. The new owner brought the gun home, where it languished in a closet, literally, for about fifty years. The gentleman's grandson inherited the gun, still broken at the wrist. He is the current owner. He is not a gun enthusiast, but didn't want to own anything broken, so contacted the gentleman who showed me the gun to help him have it re-stocked. A gunsmith was recommended who ultimately restocked the gun to a perfect match of the original dimensions. He is the one who noticed the markings on the gun and, knowing of the history of Bo Whoop, advised the owner what he had. I don't want to make the name of the gunsmith known right now to protect his privacy. The owner , last summer, decided to sell the gun and so, now, it is at Julia's.

Here is the data on what I truly believe to be the original Bo Whoop. It is in exceptional condition aside from the broken original butt-stock, which could be repaired by the likes of DT to unnoticeable condition, IMO. Other than the things which are evident in the photos I provided to Dave, I note these things. It has no safety, it has the Becker trademark inlay on the fore-end, it has XE grade wood, it has two old ivory beads in the proper position from the ends of the barrels, to match Nash's order, which have lost some of the ivory from over the brass bases, it has 3" chambers, It is engraved with two quail on the right side, two ducks on the left, and a fox in the oval on the bottom of the receiver. The left bore is .7405" with a .691" muzzle I.D.. The right bore measures .7410" and is .692" at the muzzle. Both barrels begin tapering down toward the muzzle at 8 inches back. There is some color left on the gun, it is dead on face, bores are very, very nice.

I am totally convinced it is THE gun we have all heard of for so many years, and read about. To hold it and ponder it's past was very humbling to me. I've done nothing good enough in my life to deserve the privilege I had that October afternoon. I was/is a highpoint in my gun handling life. Why do I believe it is the original Bo Whoop? Aside from the obvious, The conditions under which it came to light. If the gun were a counterfeit it would have never been sold for $50 originally, or have "lived" in a closet for the next 50 years. Also, the fact that the current owner did not even know who Nash Buckingham was, much less Bo Whoop, until told by the gunsmith.

I would like to commend the gunsmith who restocked this fine old gun because, he could have made the owner an offer at a fraction of the value, kept the history if the gun to himself, sold the gun himself for a fortune and the current owner would have never known the difference. I believe the gunsmith has to be an honest man.

I have a few more pictures I will try to post tonight that may be of interest to some, or all. Thanks for reading,

Stan

Thanks for sharing that Stan.
It is absolutely fascinating.

BoWhoop originally had a Jostam Hy-Gun recoil pad. Nash's "Marse Henry" gun 33050 had a bare checkered butt. 33050 was subsequently restocked with a pistol grip, recoil pad and had a safety added. Could the broken butt stock that is with 31088 be the original stock from 33050? Here are the two guns in their original configurations as pictured in the Derrydale eddition of Ole Miss.



Perhaps the original recoil padded stock for BoWhoop was damaged and Nash had the stock from 33050 fitted to the Whoop?!? All pure speculation.

Could be, Dave. There were no numbers on the old butt-stock. The repair to it was not what we would consider today a professional repair. The crack is very dark making it obvious, and four small diameter brass rods have been inserted in some type of glue from the head all the way down through the wrist. They would not be seen if the stock was on the gun.

There is just a perfect patina to the entire piece that is perfectly in harmony with the age and usage of the gun.

I should mention also that I made the decision not to mention the gun earlier, after viewing it, until it was received by Julia's. I saw how another member of our board was almost crucified for stating that he had seen it and that it was, in his opinion, the real deal. I felt that after Julia's announced to the world that they had it in hand it would be received much better than just coming from me. OBTW, I have absolutely no interest in the sale of this gun. I never even met the actual owner, just the mutual friend who was caretaking it and arranging the shipment to Julia's.

Stan

A couple more thoughts. in the Derrydale picture of BoWhoop, one can make out the two scallops along the front edge of the stock cheek checkering, typical of an XE-Grade stock.



The stock cheek checkering on the restock of 31088 has a straight leading edge. Stan, do you recall the cheek checkering on the broken stock with 31088? A couple of other small points are that to my eye in the Derrydale picture BoWhoop has a typical factory black forearm tip inlay while the lower gun appears to have an ivory tip. In this picture of Nash with BoWhoop it appears the tip inlay was missing --



Did the gentleman who restocked the gun add the ivory tip?

Stan thanks for telling us the story, truly amazing!! Dave your knowledge and eye for detail is also amazing. This is a great unfolding story. Dave the picture in our Fall Newsletter page 7 shows Nash with Bo Whoop and the ivory insert in the forearm is present. Are you thinking the original forend insert was lost and replaced with ivory?? Thanks

Stan, as others have written, thanks so much for sharing all this information. Your writing is excellent; we can use your skills for some Fox newsletter articles.

Our son in law and I recently talked about this and he had a neat comparison, closest he could come to Bo-Whoop's reappearance is if Amelia Earhart just flagged down a container ship that was off course near the isle where she was stranded over 70 years ago. Frank

Dave, Fellow Fox member David L. gave me a copy of the October 1953 American Rifleman magazine. Nash Buckingham had written a bird shooting article. On page 45 there is a picture of Nash with a Becker looking fox complete with an ivory forearm and straight grip. I know this was done after the Bo Whoop gun was lost but perhaps it was a file photo. Are you familiar with this gun? Thanks-John

Stan,

Thank you.

tjw

Thanks Stan: I now feel somewhat vindicated. My prediction is that Bo-Whoop will exceed $300,000. Any comments?

Best Regards, George

Well, I have again failed miserably at posting some other photos of the butt-stock and fore-end. Dave, I have e-mailed them to you (I think), if you would be so kind as to post them also. Thanks in advance.

When they are posted you will note that the cheek checkering is not of the scalloped style, and that the ivory inlay is in the fore-end, not missing. I do not think it is a replacement, Dave, it looks original to the fore-end to me.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I have been on pins and needles for the past two months waiting for Julia's to get the gun so that I could make what info I had known to my fellow members here. We all wait with bated breath for the saga of Bo Whoop to continue. Will fate place it in the hands of a private collector, or perhaps in the Ducks Unlimited Museum where all could view and enjoy it? Lord only knows.

Stan

Some of Burt Becker's work was a bit crude. I think that the barrel stamps on Bo Whoop are a good example. He should have engraved them, obviously.

Here are Stan's other pictures --

Ivory forearm tip --



This one showing the cast-off in the old broken stock --



Checkered butt on broken BoWhoop stock --



Side view broken BoWhoop stock --



So, it looks like BoWhoop had a hard life, as this is not the original XE quality stock shown in the Derrydale edition of Ole Miss.

Here is the picture John Albano mentioned from the October 1953 issue of American Rifleman --



I think I see a straight grip disappearing into the grass, so it is not BoWhoop II.

Further to Dave's posts on the broken stock, here's a XE straight grip (regular 12 gauge, not an HE). The cheek and wrist checkering patterns on Foxist's XE straight grip - also a regular 12 gauge with pics posted in the XE section - are very similar to those in this pic. If I'm following this thread correctly, the broken buttstock does not appear to be the original XE grade as specified on the record card. Is that correct? Actually its checkering looks a lot like that on a late Philly C grade straight grip. But of course a regular C grade stock wouldn't fit on the heavy Super frame with its increased width across the sides of the frame. Unless Bo-Whoop 1 is one of the few Supers built on a regular 12 gauge frame, which I doubt given its ~10 pound weight. More speculation, more questions.... Silvers