budget sxs 311 vs Fox B

[Noreaster]

I've found a couple of SXS I can afford. Primary use would be pheasant hunting. My options are down to a Savage Fox B or Stevens 311. Which would you pick and why.
Thanks in advance
N/E

[eastbank]

what price range are you talking about? both will work but are a little boxey. maybe if you can hold out for a auction to come up with a good fox sterlingworth or other good double barrel in it, i bought three at auctions a well used 12ga but in very good condition for 350.00 and very light fox sterlingworth 16ga made right after savage bought fox in the late 30,s for 400.00 and a remington 12ga model 1900 with steel barrels in very good condition for 350.00. one thing to look at is the condition of the butt stock,getting any older stocks repaired can cost a arm and leg when done right. eastbank.

[jmr40]

I've owned both, I'd pass on both. They are essentially the same gun. The Fox B is a little nicer finished, but internally the same. All were cheap budget guns made 40-60 years ago. They were never made for a lot of long term shooting and most have pretty well been used up by now.

I bought the Fox new in 1973 for $150 IIRC made with money from mowing grass all summer @ $3/yard. The gun broke on the 1st dove hunt just a week later and never did work right. I owned it for about 10 years before giving up on it and trading it. In the 10 years I owned it, the gun literally spent more time in various gunsmiths shops than in my home.

I've owned a couple other 311's bought used over the years and all needed a gunsmiths attention to keep them running. The internal parts were just worn out.

I like a SXS as well as anyone, but if you have a used 311 budget, you will be far better off buyng a new pump for the same money or less.

[CajunBass]

I used to own a Sears/Stevens 311. First gun I ever I picked out and paid for myself. I had to have my mother order it from Sears way back when.

It was a good gun. Good enough for me anyway, but I didn't keep it but a few years before I sold it. It was muzzle heavy...very muzzle heavy, with it's 30" barrels. The barrels on them seem to be thicker and heavier than other doubles.

I used it for squirrel and deer hunting. It probably would not have been a good bird gun. But the guy I sold it to raved about every time I saw him for the rest of his life. He never mentioned any problems. I know he said he used it more for turkey hunting than anything else.

The 311 and the Fox B are the same gun as someone said. The Fox B was just a little nicer, but it had a single non-selective trigger. Personally I prefered the double triggers on the 311 so that tipped the scales to the 311 when the time came. I very seldom wanted to fire the tight barrel first, but with the twin triggers I could do it if I wanted to.

I've been tempted to buy one recently, but only as a nostalga trip. I see a lot of Stevens, but I'd like find a "Sears" gun like the one I used to have.

If I was going to buy either, I'd buy a Stevens, because of the double triggers I mentioned. And I'd only buy one if it was inexpensive enough. I see them both for around $350-450.00. My LGS has several Lefever Nitro's for less.

And JMR40 is right. A pump gun is more practical. But it's not the same.

[BigD_in_FL]

I own the Fox BSE, which is the fanciest version of these guns, bought new back in the 80's. It is heavy for bore size (20), VERY gritty trigger, and needed some serious gunsmithing after several years where usage was minimal.

Personally, If I had to do it over, I would not have bought one of these.

You can find older Sears SxS made by AyA in Spain for about $300 - if on good shape, it will last longer and be better built; otherwise - depending on your budget - decent used SxS guns that will handle and balance well start over $1000 - look for a used "Uggie" (Ugartechea) from Spain, or one of the S&W Elite Gold or their replacements, the Dickinson (sold through Cabela's and similar places) - they will be about $1400 or so but are VERY well made guns from Turkey. Another option, though not as well made but still serviceable will be the CZ versions from Turkey. For occasional use, they should do OK, but triggers can be gritty. If you can find a DeHaan version of the CZ in your price range, that would be better. He took the CZ and went through them and cleaned up everything they didn't.

[PetahW]

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If both were in about equal condition, I'd opt for the 311, just because it has DT's.

This is my 20ga Sears/Stevens 311





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[Noreaster]

Good info. Maybe I'll hold out a little longer. The guns I was looking at are in the $325.00 range.

[Noreaster]

No luck finding anything in my price range other than mentioned above. Is the Stoeger Uplander junk or an ok shotgun? For $370 I could get a Stoeger with fixed choke and double triggers.

[eastbank]

they are not a bad gun,wood is plain,but lock up nice. eastbank.

[BigD_in_FL]

You need to understand that SxS and, to a slightly lesser degree, O/U shotguns need the most handfitting of any shotgun type. These cannot easily be cranked out like a pump and no matter where they are made, labor costs money........unless you cut as many corners as possible to sell them at a certain cheap price point. Will the Stoeger work? Possibly some, maybe even most of the time......will it put the pellets where you are pointing the gun? Maybe yes, maybe no.....will the triggers feel like sand in a crankcase? More than likely.
For your limited budget, a pump would be a better choice from a quality perspective, but if you insist on a SxS you need to look used and a lot older....possibly guns from the 30s-60s from good makers that are still serviceable can be found will diligence. They might have some field scars, but most hunting guns weren't shot that much from those eras, so mechanically, they should be OK. I would hate to see someone buy a really cheap POS new gun with high hopes only to see them dashed the first time they go to shoot it and all it does is go "CLICK"............

[Noreaster]

Thanks. I have plenty of other shotguns, just been itching to get into a SXS.

[Ricklin]

I can recommend the Savage-Stevens 311's. They are a good gun for the money.
They can often be found "store brand" IE: JC Higgins (Sears) or Revelation (Western Auto) plus other variations.

If you are looking for a shooter the store brand guns usually go for less money. Same gun, the store brands may have a lower grade finish, fewer features, Etc.

I have 2 311's one marked JC Higgins, and one Revelation. THey are serviceable.

I call the 311 the workingman's double.

When buying these guns used pay close attention to the lock up, lever position, and the condition of the barrels.

[Boomer58cal]

I love my foxB.


Boomer

[OkieCruffler]

I keep hearing how these 311's weren't made to last. I have in my possession a 311 that my grandfather bought new in 1953. It was his only shotgun until about 1968 when he bought his first Greener. He was a prolific bird hunter, especially pheasant, and even tho he had nicer shotguns he still used that 311 quite often until he gave it to me in 1982. I grew up on 640acres of farm land overrun by quail (does anyone remember wild quail?) and rabbits. 3 ponds kept me busy daily during duck season. For my 13th birthday I received a clay thrower that I kept running pretty steady. I don't keep round counts on this gun but I think 1K rds a year would be a pretty conservative guess. Let's be even more conservative and call it 30K during it's 60year life span. That's a lot of rds thru a hunting gun and it's still tight as can be. Granted I did have to replace the springs about 5 years ago, that's a job I hope to never repeat. Maybe that's what folks mean when they say they weren't built to last.

[BigD_in_FL]

Okie - older ones weren't built that poorly, but ones from the 70-80s onward were. Times were tough, the pumps and semis had basically pushed the SxS to the curb and to keep price points low and sales up, something had to give - and that was the workmanship, especially on the internals. My gunsmith is now 85, has been working on guns since he was 5 (his dad was a gunsmith), and when I brought mine in for what I thought would be a routine repair, he commented on how crappy the inside was. He had to machine things to make them work properly again. So while that old one you have might be decent, most of the "modern era" do not seem to share that aspect.

[PetahW]

Originally Posted by OkieCruffler

land overrun by quail (does anyone remember wild quail?)

Oh, yeah ! In the late 60's / early 70's, there were so many that when I first encountered them, a few dozen were all running together on the ground, and looked like a black blanket, flowing through the woods - until they reached a field, where they flushed.

I was so amazed, I almost forgot to shoot !



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[CajunBass]

(does anyone remember wild quail?)

Oh yea. I remember them when I was a kid back in the 60's. I used to fish a pond in the neighborhood, that I had to walk a mile or so to reach. I'd flush a half dozen covey's along that lane some days. Scared the snot out of me most of the time.

I never hunted them, or even shot over them. There were only a few "bird hunters" in the area really. I was a squirrel and rabbit hunter. I had a yard full of "rabbit dogs", that is a bunch of dogs of questionable lineage, that would run through the woods, bark, and maybe trip over a rabbit once in a while. Except for old Tony. Tony was a real, honest to goodness beagle, and he was a rabbit running fool when he could pick up a scent that the other dogs hadn't messed up.

PetahW, that is a fine looking 311. I remember seeing those on the display board at Sears and in the catalog when I was an urchin. I thought that 20 ga looked great, but I HAD to have a 12 ga for all the deer I was going to kill with it.