Fox Sterlingworth 20 gauge value

canvasback said:
No less rational than the people who pay $25,000 USD for the Purdey I have. Or $25,000 USD for the Lindner Daly 20 ga I have. Should i send you a link to a thread on the gun? I was downplaying the money spent. It's part of a "matched set", one 16 gauge and one 20 gauge. The engraving alone on each gun is in the $12,000 to $15,000 Can and for engraving, that's a deal. Go to the US and check out top engraving costs.

And you are right....there are plenty of good candidates. But across NA the gun of choice for what AR15MEISTER calls, I think correctly, a resto-mod, is a small bore Fox. Not a Parker, Smith Ithaca or Lefever. Not English guns. A Fox. Again and again. Personally I'm knee deep into a resto mod of one (maybe two) pre WW1 Sauers. So I see value in other places. But THE brand name for a resto mod is a Fox small bore. And that trend is not going away.

People who spend more than $4000 cnd for a hunting gun aren't doing it for "rational" reasons. But that doesn't mean their reasons aren't valid or legitimate. We don't all drive a Vega. Some of us drive 'vettes and Jags. Not rational but nothing wrong with it.

Again show me a $6-700 Fox small bore and I'll be trying to buy it.
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I never said there was anything wrong with paying whatever one thinks a given gun is worth. Perhaps our difference of opinion stems from my attitude that I should get what I paid for my guns once I've decided to sell or they are sold by my estate. Considering that prices generally rise over time, that's not a particularly high bar. I do have some fine shotguns. And, as I age, I have a greater and greater appreciation for light, well balanced guns. This is pretty much the definition of a well made sub-gauge. I spent decades collecting American SXSs. These days, my tastes tend toward the likes of MacKay Brown. Expensive and rare as cat's teeth - but I'm not rational when it comes to these guns!
 
straightshooter said:
I never said there was anything wrong with paying whatever one thinks a given gun is worth. Perhaps our difference of opinion stems from my attitude that I should get what I paid for my guns once I've decided to sell or they are sold by my estate. Considering that prices generally rise over time, that's not a particularly high bar. I do have some fine shotguns. And, as I age, I have a greater and greater appreciation for light, well balanced guns. This is pretty much the definition of a well made sub-gauge. I spent decades collecting American SXSs. These days, my tastes tend toward the likes of MacKay Brown. Expensive and rare as cat's teeth - but I'm not rational when it comes to these guns!
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I think you've hit the nail on the head. I try not to be stupid about it but IMHO markets change over time. There is a whole lot of "collectible" stuff, like antique furniture, that one can't give away. Stuff 25 years ago people paid big money for. I'm not in the business of predicting prices.

I decided early on I wasn't getting in to vintage guns to make money or as an investment. It is for me, an enjoyable hobby that meshes with another enjoyable hobby, hunting. I'm happy when my buys work out over time, but not heartbroken if they don't. I don't waste my time/money going to Vegas, I don't have jet skis or snowmobiles. There is lots of stuff I don''t do or buy because after 64 years, I'm pretty clear on what I really find satisfying, not what I think I will. God knows I wasted enough money on crap for the first 45 years of my life. LOL
 
canvasback said:
LOL, I'm staying out of the ugly girl part of the discussion but I think the gun value part is quite interesting.

I'm certainly not trying to be "right". Any knowledge I have about the market comes from reading and asking questions and then considering what I've learned. And the worst thing one can do is rely on one's own, possibly outdated, assumptions. I think SW upgrades live in that middle ground between reasonably priced and perfectly good guns and the stratospheric costs of things like English Best. And it's a chance for a knowledgeable hunter to build the gun experience has taught him that he wants, not something off the shelf.

And, if the rest of the market is anything like me, it's because I love the process. But I love restoring a house......restoring my keel boat sailboat. It's the process as much as anything else. Hunting isn't rational. But it's damn fun. I've added, what is for me, a whole other layer of fun to the game by looking at guns as more than simply rational tools. I don't think I'm the only one and sometimes, fun costs money. YMMV.

Edit to add....a $300 M12 in 16 is a gun worth hunting with all day.
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Agreed. I do repairs to all types of firearms. I refinish wood and metal. I don't do any of it commercially because I enjoy the process and I don't want to compromise that. The research, the acquisition, the work, and using it once it's done are the best part.

I suppose my guess at the price was influenced by my personal pivot away from American doubles. No doubt in my mind that we agree on more than we disagree.

ETA: LOL. Yeah, Vegas, jetskis, and snowmobiles aren't on my agenda, either. Model 12s are great, but too heavy to hunt all day with my old paws.
 
Let's just say that the buyer and the seller are happy. This gun took a lot ou grouse and some rabbit. I sell it because I am not a collector and since I move to urban area, I don't hunt anymore. If the buyer is happy, I am. So I want to have the gun in the hands of someone who can appreciate it. I loved this shotgun...
 
straightshooter said:
Agreed. I do repairs to all types of firearms. I refinish wood and metal. I don't do any of it commercially because I enjoy the process and I don't want to compromise that. The research, the acquisition, the work, and using it once it's done are the best part.

I suppose my guess at the price was influenced by my personal pivot away from American doubles. No doubt in my mind that we agree on more than we disagree.

ETA: LOL. Yeah, Vegas, jetskis, and snowmobiles aren't on my agenda, either.
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I was just in Vegas twice in July. And my snowmobile is in the shop being tuned as we speak! hahaha.

The Fox small bores are very popular for "younger" ( I am 38 and started when I was around 33-34 I think) upland hunters to re-stock and refinish as a semi bespoke gun that they can hunt hard with. I just called a friend who is a hardcore dog man and woodcock guy and told him that I purchased this gun and he immediately wanted to buy it from me.

You can have this gun fully redone and stocked to your dimensions for just over half of a Beretta 486 T. Classic, American, fast and light. Macintosh said it was the perfect small bore and he knew them all. I know many others agree with him.


That said they are also popular for upgrades by rich American dudes who want something on the level of a CSMC gun but to their own custom taste. I have seen the CSMC guns at their office in CT when I was in the area on business. They are gorgeous. Chris's upgrades are on that level or beyond. If I won the lotto I would have one of each.....


I have no real idea on the market other than being a voracious consumer/user/lover of Fox guns. I have never sold a SXS yet. Just bought.

I agree with you that its nice to buy things to maintain their value or appreciate. I have done that with cars and watches and always bought with future value in mind. But a gun is a different animal to me. they are lifelong acquisitions. you hit the nail on the head when you said passion. There is no rational reason that I shoot insanely expensive and hard to find Kent Tungsten Matrix out of a 1924 Super Fox in a duck blind as opposed to walking into a store and buying a brand new Beretta autoloader that can shoot steel for 1/10 the cost. I just like my gun, I like using a vintage piece with soul and I kill as many or more birds than any of the other guys with 3 shots and auto's. I realize not everyone wants to spend their money like that, and I am sort of an outlier.



edit- I did sell a SXS .500 nitro double rifle. I shot it once and never wanted to do it again. it was a Sabatti. Nice rifle but wayyy too light. LOL.
 
Part of the gun sickness in my opinion. A lot of gun enthusiasts absolutely love to have something that is unique and no one else has one like it. Cost be damned for some of us anyway.
 
Mike Webb said:
Part of the gun sickness in my opinion. A lot of gun enthusiasts absolutely love to have something that is unique and no one else has one like it. Cost be damned for some of us anyway.
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So true! Since it typically lasts a lifetime, it could be considered terminal. :p But, how many serious afflictions involve so much fun and satisfaction?
 
Deerdr had a Philly A.H Fox Sterlingworth years ago sitting alongside a couple beautiful Parker's in his collection. All three were 20ga. He offered to let me take them to the club to shoot skeet with one day. Afterward when I returned them he asked my thoughts and we both agreed, though the Parkers were very nice guns they did not handle near as nice as the Fox. He says he has no regrets selling the Parkers but kicks himself to this day for selling the Fox...
 
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