A.H. Fox AE-Grade
- Category
- Shotgun
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.40 kg
- Introduced
- 1907
About
What it is, and why it matters
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade is a 12-gauge hammerless boxlock side-by-side shotgun, the automatic-ejector version of the A.H. Fox Gun Company's entry A-Grade built in Philadelphia from 1906. The 'E' suffix denoted factory automatic ejectors, which threw fired hulls clear while lifting unfired shells for reloading. Like all Fox doubles it locked the barrels using a barrel extension and a rotary fastener, wore genuine Chromox fluid-steel barrels and a select walnut stock, and was fitted with double triggers. Offered with 26 to 32 inch barrels in 12, 16 and 20 gauge, the AE-Grade was marketed as a rugged, honestly-priced field gun of superior workmanship.
Ansley H. Fox marketed his guns as 'The Finest Gun in the World,' and the ejector-fitted grades earned a reputation as tough, dependable field guns that thousands of American upland hunters carried afield. The AE-Grade sat one rung above the plain A-Grade purely by virtue of its automatic ejectors, making a used AE among the more sought-after of the affordable Fox doubles for shooters who wanted the convenience of ejectors without paying for the high-grade engraving.
AE denotes the A-Grade fitted with automatic ejectors, a $15 option over the plain-extractor A-Grade. Early Fox ejectors (Fox/Horne patent 921,220, 1909) were temperamental; the F.T. Russell design (patent 991,375, 1911) introduced in 1911 proved far more reliable. 16 and 20 gauges arrived in 1912. Guns could be built to a customer's chosen barrel length and chokes at no extra charge, so figures vary widely; 12-gauge weights ran roughly 6.75 to 8 lb (about 3060-3630 g). Weight and overall length here are typical-range approximations for a 12-gauge with 28-inch barrels. The A.H. Fox Gun Company was acquired by Savage Arms in November 1929, with Fox production continuing at Utica, New York into the early 1940s.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- A.H. Fox Gun Company
- Category
- Shotgun
- Country
- United States
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1907 to 1942
- Variant of
- Ejector grade
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 711 mm
- Overall length
- 1150 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.40 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Break action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Double trigger
- Capacity
- 2
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Case hardened
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 40 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Side by side
Hammerless boxlock
Double trigger
Automatic ejectors
Barrel extension lock
Chromox fluid steel barrels
Select walnut stock
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 622 12 Gauge shotguns | 3.40 kg | 3.29 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 570 12 Gauge shotguns | 1150 mm | 1150 mm | Near the median |
| Barrel lengthAmong 650 12 Gauge shotguns | 711 mm | 711 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 647 12 Gauge shotguns | 2 | 3 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the A.H. Fox AE-Grade
How much does the A.H. Fox AE-Grade weigh?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade weighs 3.40 kg (7.50 lb) empty.
What caliber is the A.H. Fox AE-Grade?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade is chambered in 12 Gauge.
How many rounds does the A.H. Fox AE-Grade hold?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade holds 2 rounds.
How long is the A.H. Fox AE-Grade?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade is 1150 mm (45.3 in) long overall, with a 711 mm (28.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the A.H. Fox AE-Grade?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade is made by A.H. Fox Gun Company (United States). It was designed by Ansley H. Fox.
When was the A.H. Fox AE-Grade introduced?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade was introduced in 1907 and discontinued in 1942.
How does the A.H. Fox AE-Grade operate?
The A.H. Fox AE-Grade uses a break action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/fox-ae-grade' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "fox-ae-grade", "name": "A.H. Fox AE-Grade", "manufacturer": { "id": "ah-fox", "name": "A.H. Fox Gun Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1906, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "77fe5356c0fd9f21e4a87f128cceccbca32bc3fda6c10065bf78c49a2a765015" }, "category": { "id": "shotgun", "name": "Shotgun", "description": "Smoothbore firearms designed to fire shot or slugs" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1907, "barrel_length_mm": 711, "weight_empty_g": 3400, "action_type": "break_action"}