Fox Collectors

Question to the group, when were these made, and how can one tell whether they are just a standard SW with twin Ivory beads with an added recoil pad? Was there a particular pad that routinely came with these? Thanks

In McIntosh's book, if I remember correctly, he mentions these as being a standard SW with the twin beads and a Jostam no flinch pad.

Mike

And---- I believe, all were Savage era guns.

One of my Savage-era catalogs (sorry; no date shown) says the following:

The FOX-STERLINGWORTH DE LUXE

12 GAUGE 16 GAUGE 20 GAUGE

THE FOX-STERLINGWORTH DELUXE is the same as the famous Fox Sterlingworth except that it is equipped with a Soft Rubber Recoil Pad and two Lyman Ivory Bead Sights.

Furnished only in the following barrel lengths:

12 Gauge - 28" or 30" barrels
16 Gauge - 28" barrels
20 Gauge - 28" barrels

Barrels regularly furnished bored right modified and left full choke. Any other borings at no additional charge.

There is a second designation for the Fox-Sterlingworth De Luxe Ejector, under which is the following:

Same specifications and options as Fox-Sterlingworth DeLuxe except equipped with Automatic Ejectors.
The Soft Rubber Recoil Pad cushions the recoil and tends to eliminate "flinching." The Lyman Ivory Sights enable the shooter to more quickly "pick up" his target or bird.

No particular brand of recoil pad is mentioned.

Have a fellow who says he has a SW ejector 16 gauge Deluxe with 30" barrels for sale. Just want to be sure it is truly the Deluxe and not just as standard SW ejector that had a pad added. Just wondering how to tell for sure. S/N range is circa 367K.

A letter from Callahan is about your only sure thing.

Several thoughts if you you must decide on the 16 SW Ejector before getting a letter. I addition to the normal checks on mechanical function, bore and chokes, ribs, etc., look at the ivory beads carefully with a loupe or magnifying glass. Older ones are generally oxidized and discolored with brownish or reddish tint. Often you can see dark streaks in genuine ivory front beads. The mid bead should be exactly centered in the rib with no dings or damage to the matting. Both beads should be pressed in place, i.e., no evidence of screw threads in the rib. Pad should be fitted perfectly and look and feel old. If you can remove one or both screws holding the pad they should be blued steel with regular screwdriver slots, not phillips head and not plated bright. If you can remove the pad look for evidence of old screw holes with a different hole spacing. Silvers

P.S. it sounds like a neat gun with those 30" tubes and kickers!

16ga DeLuxe w/ 30" barrels? Not according to my catalog. Hmmm.

Fin2Feather wrote:16ga w/ 30" barrels? Not according to my catalog. Hmmm.

Are you saying no 16 Ga with 30"?? or within a certain year?
I bought a nice Sterlingworth 16 ga 30" with ejectors last summer right before I deployed.

or are you saying no SW Deluxe with 30". Mine isnt a deluxe.

Brian wrote:

Fin2Feather wrote:16ga w/ 30" barrels? Not according to my catalog. Hmmm.

Are you saying no 16 Ga with 30"?? or within a certain year?
I bought a nice Sterlingworth 16 ga 30" with ejectors last summer right before I deployed.

or are you saying no SW Deluxe with 30". Mine isnt a deluxe.

DeLuxe; I edited my post above - thanks. I'm just sayin' that according to the catalogs I have the 16ga DeLuxe was not available with 30" barrels. But maybe they did exist in other years or on special order?

Just curious. Do your catalogs show a standard Sterlingworth 16 available in 30" with or without with ejectors???
I dont have any of my catalogs here so i cant even look. you have my curiosity up.
Theres always new stuff about these guns.

The Sterlingworth was catalogued with all four barrel lengths (Brush 26", Field 28", Standard 30" and Trap 32") for most of its existance. The Fox-Sterlingworth DeLuxe was only catalogued during the Savage years and could be either a Fox-Sterlingworth DeLuxe or a Fox-Sterlingworth DeLuxe Ejector but were only catalogue with 28- and 30-inch in 12-gauge and only 28-inch in the smaller bores. However, in that they were not marked in any way and twin Ivory sights and recoil pads were always options, the only way to identify a DeLuxe is a letter. In reality, what difference does it make if the gun is a DeLuxe or a regular Fox-Sterlingworth ordered with a recoil pad and twin ivories???

However the gentleman who has this particular gun for sale has indicated that the reason it is priced on the high end, is a combination of condition and rarity because it is in his opinion a Sterlingworth Deluxe 16 Ga, ejector with the 30 inch tubes. I'd guess very hard to come by, but he wants over 3 thousand for it. It's probably worth that to some folks. Just have to decide if I'm one of those folks.

So tell him you checked with the Fox historians and it's likely a counterfeit.....and somebody devalued a really collectible gun by drilling another hole in it.

vaturkey
First let me say I have nothing to do with the gun that is listed on gunbroker. I have not been able to find a Fox catalog reference to a 30" Sterlingworth Deluxe but I do know that Savage did produce them. I have a 30" 16 ga standard "Deluxe" that letters as such. I have attached a copy of the letter from Roe Clark that describes a 16ga Sterlingworth Deluxe with 30" bbls. I did find a reference once to a 30" Sterlingworth deluxe in an old Department store(Montgomery Wards or Sears?) catalog from the 30's. If I can find it I will scan and post it on this thread. It is possible that maybe a retailer ordered a group of guns from Savage and included were a few Sterlingworth Deluxe's with 30" bbls. Paul