You have the advantage in buying a gun for a project in you do not need to be too concerned with the amount of finish a gun has remaining. Most sellers will rightly expect top dollar for a high condition gun with most of its original finish remaining. A real nice condition Fox Sterlingworth 16 may have a asking price north of 2K while a gun that is in solid mechanical condition with little remaining finish will struggle to make 1K.
Look for a gun with good barrels and one that is on face. Do not buy one with lots of dents and dings in the metal, heavy pitting either inside the barrels or on the surface. Honest wear is fine and should be expected. Anything can be fixed but do not buy a money pit if you can avoid it. Have a good gunsmith look over your gun if possible when you get your choices down to one or two candidates.
If you post pictures of you guns here many can point out most of the potential flaws. Do not rush the purchase. There are thousands of Sterlingworths and more of them are well used than pristine. Which means your potential pool of guns to use is much larger than some one who just wants a high condition gun for a collection or as a nice shooter.
In your travels, while looking for your gun, do not pass on a few extras if you come across them. If you come across a set of barrels for a 16 or 20, that are in decent shape, buy them. Both the 16 and 20 are on the same frame. Having a second set of barrels can make a gun much more versatile. Fitting a set of barrels is not that hard to do. For ends are easier to find than barrels.
Search the net. You can look at more guns in a few hours on the internet than you will see in years in person. Plus gun found on the net are easy to link to here for a quick second opinion.
KY Jon;
Great comments and suggestions - very helpful.
Thanks;
