doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gunfight Friday - Round #2

There was at least one more. If you have been reading Shooting Sportsman magazine for a while you may remember the last page regular, "The Colonel". A 20ga Lefever "A" grade was his only gun...Geo

Ooops, I promoted him. The protagonist in the series was "The Major". If you are not familiar with the articles, I have a treat for you. The series by author Galen Winter, was published by CountrySport in 2002 under the title "The Best of the Major". Find it and buy it...Geo

I remember well ...he was living on some sort of annuity and always trying to scheme some extra cash from somebody....it was the first thing I used to read when the magazine arrived..don't know how I didn't know he shot a 20ga A Grade....

Nothing against the Ithaca, but the lines of a Fox, whether it is a Sterlingworth or graded Fox, appeal more to me. I would definitely take the Sterlingworth.

I like them both and have them in 12, 16 and 20 ga.. I do find it a lot easier to find a small bore in Ithaca NID that is affordable than a Sterlingworth. Seems like every seller thinks that Sterlingworth 20 ga. all start at two grand. I bought a 16 NID with 27" barrels for 200 in like new condition. Wonder why the bob job? It patterns imp. mod and light mod. which is excellent for upland game.

Everyone seems to choose the Sterlingworth for upgrades but I could see a nice NID as an option. Maybe after I move back East I'll see about having one done.

I never had any problems with the ejectors on my NID 16 gauge skeet. I've also not had problems with my ejector Foxes. However, I have a problem believing that the "Major" shot an Ithaca Lefever. I always pictured him with a side plated Syracuse Lefever. Tell me I'm right.

Nope...Geo

This here is the kind of horrible dilemma I LIKE to face! (What you call a "First World problem"....)

I'd have to go with the Ithaca because I believe in "over-engineering". Every time a B-25 or a C-47 flies over Long Beach, I refresh that belief.

I remembered the Major as shooting a REAL Lefever too . . . but I could well be misremembering. At any rate, I outrank him, so I MUST be right!

Further price comparison, 1936 A&F catalog, both the "basic" gun (DT/extractor). Ithaca Field, $43. Fox Sterlingworth, $42.85. Those guns were really priced competitively back then.

I've owned both. Currently have a Sterly 20ga ejector gun, weighs less than 6#. You will not find a NID 20ga that light. Both guns saw various "tweaking" to the design as time went on. IMO, the NID tweaks resulted in a nicer-looking gun with cleaner lines. (Lost the cocking indicators, stippling on the fences--and it's the version Steve Lamboy chose as the model for his Ithaca Classic Doubles.) Meanwhile, the late Sterlingworths got an uglier (IMO) blunt-nosed forend, lost the PG cap.

So for me, it comes down to when the gun was made. If you're talking 1926, Foxes still made in Philly, NID's with the snail's ears cocking indicators, I'll take the Sterlingworth. If you're talking 1938 Savage Sterly vs the last version of the NID, my vote goes to Ithaca. And, as Mark pointed out, on the used market you'll get a NID in much better condition than a Sterly for the same money.

Hard to add a whole lot to what has already been said, but this is a tough choice for me as I have both of these, both in 16 ga with 28" barrels. Both fit well, although the NID Field fits a bit better, a bit less DAH. It is the later version w/o cocking indicators.

Looking back to previous hunting seasons, I reach for the NID more often(when not using an early Model 31 in 16 ga with factory IC choke). It has more open chokes, IC and a light MOD, which along with spreader loads, makes a better New Hampshire bird gun IMO. It is a bit heavier that the Sterly but is still a light gun by my definition. That said, I agree with others that the early Sterly has better lines and that the NID can be a better value.

So, today NID by a little bit....tomorrow maybe the Sterly. Thats why I own both!

I seem to recall a rather robust discussion on the NID last summer as it relates to value in the vintage American double market. Most certainly would have drawn comparisons to the Sterlingworth and other makers field models.. I myself favor the Philly and early Savage era Sterlingworth's over the one NID I have owned. It was a 16 ga with 26" M/F bbls. Late 30's gun w/o indicators. The NID definitely felt stout and was around 6.5 lbs (probably a few oz more) which was heavy for me and noticeably more than my 16 ga Sterlingworth with 28" bbls. The NID, even as a late 30's gun had 3" DAH as well and I simply didn't shoot it well so we parted ways and I haven't looked back. great guns and value but, I'm a Fox man at heart I suppose. Love these threads.