Fox Collectors

I have a 16 Ga. CE, early production. It has jeweled barre flats and cocking slide.
it appears to be original. definitely not done recently.
did Fox do this as standard on CE at any point? or was it option? or do yo think its non factory. the gun is all original.

Brian,
I have your guns litter mate, CE 303168. The barrels are not jeweled.John

Early guns of c and above typically have cross hatches on the flats, later guns are jeweled. Blued flats normally indicate re-blued barrels. Your gun looks perfect to me.

Bri,
I'm with Craig, they look good
t

I believe the barrels have been reblued but I don’t see evidence of cross hatching. Perhaps I don’t understand the bluing process. John

John the flats on your gun were polished bright after being re-blued and hence all evidence of jeweling is gone. Craig

John, the jeweling, also called "engine turning", on your gun can be replicated by a gunsmith that knows how, if you so desired. It's a relatively simple process that is done, in the simplest form, with a drill press, a jeweling brush, cutting compound and a cross slide vise.

I think jeweling is a beautiful addition to a high grade gun, as long as it's done sparingly and in the proper locations. I read once, somewhere, that the original purpose of it was to give the lubricating oil a better "purchase" on the steel, but I have serious doubts about that. There are places that are jeweled, on these guns, that do not require any lubrication. My opinion is that it was/is more of an aesthetic feature on some fine guns, BICBW.

Best, SRH

Craig, It’s early in the day and I have all ready learned something! The gun I bought was nicely restored from head to toe. It is a very nice little gun and one that I will enjoy hunting. Thanks for your reply-John

I might say Mitzie ran wild when he refurbished my early "banner style" C-Grade --

All that glitters is not gold!

Wowie!!!!