Fox or Parker??

[Bill Bates]

i may collect Smith & Wessons but i'm really a shotgun guy.

I own both A.H. Foxes and Parkers. Answering the question of which to own if I had to just go to one other is pretty simple for me. I'm upland game hunter and the choice is simple; Fox all the way. They tend to be lighter, more nimble with better handling characteristics than the Parkers in any given gauge or frame size.

If you go on looks I think the Parker has more elegant lines than the Fox. Of course if I'm just going on looks I might look to a higher grade LeFever.

As to the Winchester Model 21, for me they hold know interest. They tend to be heavy pigs that swing no better than a 2x4 held on edge. Other than being built as sturdy as a tank the 21 doesn't have much going for it. Of course that is just this old guys opinion and we know what that is worth.

The Foxes a 12 and 20 gauge AE

the 20AE butt

Momma with the Fox 20AE

My Parker GH 12 Gauge...a very late Damascus gun made by Parker in 1924.

 

[Stevie]

OHH!!...Too many pics of beautiful double-guns..

I ain't got my Sterlingworth yet..and not for sure it's even useable without some repair when I do receive it.

My Colt 1878 hammer-gun would probably restore..but it would be expensive! It was a beauty in her day...but extreme use and abuse plus corrosive ammo has taken a toll.

Damascus steel barrels on the Colt...and they are amazingly thin at the muzzle!!

I own yet another old hammer-double..a Crescent fire Arms with 'Armory steel' barrels..she ain't a high quality arm

 

[gregintenn]

Here's my little Ithaca 20 gauge. Light as a feather and locks like the proverbial bank vault.

 

[2152hq]

Fantastic! A Fox 16 ga. is my dream gun! That's gonna be a beauty. Love the heel and toe caps. And like you I'm not wild about the lightening bolts, but that's the only thing I don't like about Foxes.

If I had the funds right now I'd do exactly what you are doing and rework a Sterly--but I'd have to pay somebody to do it! Someday...

I kick myself every day for not snapping up every 16 gauge Sterlingworth I saw back when they were selling for a song.

Are you doing this work for other people or is this for yourself?

Excellent synopsis in your first post.

Thanks!
I did this type of upgrade/custom work and restoration full time for the last 25yrs. Part time for another 25 before that.
Trying to be retired now and do some of these projects for myself that have been on the sidelines for many of those years.
Though this 16 Fox is a newcomer, about a year ago. I just started this project this June.
The wood has been around in the shop for almost 20years though and that's a story in itself.

I still take a few jobs a year from old customers, but these are more fun.
No deadlines anymore unless I want to impose them.

I'll probably use this one for some duffer skeet we shoot most every week. I don't hunt anymore and haven't for many years. Someone will probably talk me out of it and that's OK too. That's what usually happens. A couple of people are already interested and it's only from what I've told them I was building.
I did shoot it after the restock to make sure everything was working OK and that got a couple more interested people.
I can always make another if I really miss it I guess. But that's never happened yet. Too busy making other things.

 

[Skeetr57]

Someone mentioned an Ithaca O/U. Ithaca never made an O/U, but they did import and sell both SKB and Perazzi O/U Guns. Remington and Marlin did make O/U guns. I have owned all of the makes mentioned, plus three that weren't - Syracuse, Iver Johnson and Tobin. My favorite is LC Smith, but I also admire the Fox and Ithaca NIDs. The one thing they all have in common is the rotary bolt lock up, which I believe is superior. I'm not a big fan of Parkers because I believe that they are not as well designed as some others, and are wildly overpriced for what they are.

 

[kscardsfan]

Love reading these posts, but I still can't afford to look at one lol.

 

[Jebus35745]

There are some real nice guns here and projects. 2152, you do great work and look to be right up there with Huges. Most here would love to be able to re-do a gun and have it come out half way decent. Good post cause I love SXS shotguns. Larry