Come on then you wise fellows!

[Nath]

A short while ago I was picking your brains over wingmaster 870 shotguns.

Now it just so happens that an Ithaca 37 has popped up, a light weight. 6lbs apparently!
A little over 24" and I have asked the guy to imform me of the choke detail.

I need your experiance please????

Nath.

Try this link,

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/ ... 12%20gauge

[deerwhacker444]

Ahhh,..an American Classic. While I don't own one, I've heard good things about them. I think they're a popular slug gun in the NE and I think John Browning had something to do with its design, so it's got to be good. Somebody who owns one will chime in shortly.

Looking at your link,..I wonder if it has mismatched wood. The forearm has checkering while the buttstock is rather plain.

After looking at Ithaca's Website, I doubt they would turn out one that didn't have matching checkering. I'd double check it for sure and make sure everything else is up to snuff.

[Nath]

Hmm, my rose coloured spectacles did not notice that!

N.

[win92]

Hi Nath.
The Ithaca's are a serviceable shotgun bottom eject much similar to the Current Browning BPS.
They are not as popular here in my neck of the woods as a Remington 870 which in my opinion is absolutley the best pump shotgun you can purchase. I believe some of them have an alloy reciever (Aluminum) and that accounts for the light weight. It is indeed a Browning creation patterened after the old Rem mod 17 if my memory is still working.
If you pick it up it's doubtful you could wear it out!!
Best regards Win 92

[Wind]

Hey there Nath - I've got a Remington Model 17 which was produced from about 1920-1 to 1934. Remington didn't sell them by the truck loads, so sold the rights to Ithaca in 1934. Ithaca changed the name to the Model 37 and sold them by the kazillions. Maybe different marketing (?). They are a light and handy shotgun, parts are still available and it should give you years of useful service. As far as down and dirty, in the mud dependable, the Remington 870 prolly has it beat. Mine is a 20 ga. and I love taking it for Quail in the creek bottoms on the dry side of Washington State. If you get it you'll enjoy it. Best regards. Wind

[Nath]

Thanks fellers

N.

[madman4570]

I have a 870/BPS/1100/835/ and the Ithaca 37 is FAR the best of em. Which year? I prefer the early-mid 1970s.
Get the 20' 12ga Deerslayer w/28" VR Modified barrel!(1972-1975)

[Nath]

I have a 870/BPS/1100/835/ and the Ithaca 37 is FAR the best of em. Which year? I prefer the early-mid 1970s.

Not sure on the year Madman, thats a fine collection! So why is the 37 best?

N.

[BigSky56]

They are the best cause they put the empties at your feet for reloading and if you are a switch hitter like I am you dont have hulls going across your line of sight when you cycle plus it feels good to shoot a browning designed gun. danny

[madman4570]

Nath,
Everything was forged and milled steel, or piano wire, or walnut.
Ok here is the Deal. I recomend the 1970s 12ga Featherweight not the Ultra.(its steel and not alloy) but still "very light".If you want a little less kick you can get that with ammo selection or installation of a Limbsaver pad.What are you using it for?
Its the difference between a Taurus Raging Bull----OK! Then a Ruger Blackhawk-----pretty OK, Then a Freedom Arms----Very OK


The Ithaca is the Freedom Arms! Thats the difference! Dont get me wrong the BPS/870 are ok but not nearly the gun of the 37!

Now if you are talking semi autos(I also have a Ithaca Mag 10)but I feel the Remington 1100 is the best.I have a LT1100 Skeet 20ga.Love it! Daughter/Wife loves it too!

But for one gun for bunnies to bear,I will take the 1970s 20" Ithaca Deerslayer 12ga.Mine shoots shot awesome, and will shoot slugs with a group size of less than half of the BPS/870(with there buck barrels on)If you want to shoot geese or turkeys at long distances though my Deerslayer with Remington Duplex 2,4s out to 40yds gets it done then get a Mossberg 835 12ga 3.5" XX full tube.Kills turkeys at 80 paces! Pal,for me if you just pick one up and just shoulder it you will know/then when you shoot it you really will know?????
A really good price for a fine Deerslayer 37 here is $275-$375
If I could only keep one gun of ALL my guns with the exception of those handed down guns(sentimental reasons)if would be the Ithaca 37 Deerslayer with the 20" smoothbore.

[mescalero1]

Used to shoot dove with a .20 guage Ithaca, belonged to a friend of mine, it disappeared after he died.

[milton]

Excellent shotguns!! I bought mine because I asked a gunsmith what he would buy.He said that he had worked on many different brands of gun over the years but only one Model 37 had been in the shop.The reason it was there was because it was an early one and someone had tried to remove the barrel with a vise and a pipe wrench!

[madman4570]

Let me say to the guys that own the Browning BPS(they are pretty) and the Rem 870 which in its own right is a FINE GUN also.I just think those older 37s were when they did not care a lick about how many they put out, but how much quality they put in!
Probably though any of the three mfgs will do you well!

[Nath]

Excellent shotguns!! I bought mine because I asked a gunsmith what he would buy.He said that he had worked on many different brands of gun over the years but only one Model 37 had been in the shop.The reason it was there was because it was an early one and someone had tried to remove the barrel with a vise and a pipe wrench!

How are the barrels removed guys?

Nath.

[milton]

No problem with the later guns but there is a serial number range that below that number the barrel has to be removed by someone who knows what they are doing,I will try to look up that number.

[milton]

Nath,look for a serial number above 855000.The guns earlier than this apparently had a non-removable barrel.The later guns had interchangeable barrels.

[Hobie]

I love my Ithaca Model 37. It stands guard over Mrs. Hobie which proves just how much I value it's reliability.

[Nath]

First class every one and thanks Big H, you guys are the tops

Nath.

[BigSky56]

Ive one made in 39 or 40 and the bbl is removable the 885 K # < different threads than what they use now. The 37 is a quick takedown design by JB. danny

[madman4570]

I love my Ithaca Model 37. It stands guard over Mrs. Hobie which proves just how much I value it's reliability.

Absolutely +++++++ 1 Yours is sweet Hobie! WOW!!!!!!!

[gamekeeper]

Nath, did you see this one? I know it's a lot further away from you but might be worth a phone call! BTW I like the Ithaca 37 too!

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/ ... +51&Filter

[Mike D.]

I haven't owned a 37, but have stripped them down and completely cleaned them for my BIL and a few friends. Rather a PITA. Me, I'll stick with the 870, thank you. MUCH easier to strip and clean after a season in the duck blind. Ditto for my Winchester Model 12 3". That one has had the 32" bbl shortened to 28" and choke tubes added.

[Barcelona Rick]

Nath...great shotguns..... at least the older ones. I carried one as a member of a special response team in the Navy. The barrel was really short but the action was very smooth. The LAPD and many other PD's used them for years. I would buy the all steel version....

jumbeaux

[madman4570]

Had my M37 since new in 1972.Shot over 30+ deer with it.(all types weather)all types small game/birds/turkey etc. NEVER EVER had it stripped down, and it shoots as good as day I bought it! maybe a few times a year I remove the barrel(like in 10 seconds)clean it.I then spray the whole gun down with lemon pledge wax and then wipe it down good.Then re-attach the barrel(another 10 seconds)I then put some black graphite grease on the slide tube/bar section.Good to go.Because I use this gun more than all my others combined I did do my gun in black Dura Coat!(It does kind of screw up the engraved scenes on the receiver sides a bit(gives it a crackel type look ) but this gun is used for everything.I used to put on it a black pistol grip when I was younger.(this is the gun that still goes on most our trips/Vacations.It just looks like a new black short barreled M37.This gun I think will last forever! Have the adjustable raybar rifle sights on it with Day Glow Archery paint coating so the sights glow in the dark after hitting them with a flashlight for 30 seconds.In case I run into a bear in the woods on the way to the deer stand at 5.30am.
This gun and my old Winchester M37 12ga are my two favorite guns.
I have a lot more expensive guns but none as good!

At Kittery Trading Post Maine a 90% Ithaca M37 w/28" Modified Vent Rib they are asking $265 but would take $245 (One of the best deals there is on a gun)http://www.ktpguns.com/interior.php/pid/28

[Pete44ru]

Nath - The Ithaca Model 37's were originally introduced as "Featherweight" models, due to lightness - but I can't recall any with 24" ribbed barrels, so the barrel might have been shortened on that one, removing the choke.

The rib looks like it's a solid rib, ILO the more common ventilated rib - so I't hard to say which was replaced, the buttstock or the corncob, but I would lean towards it having a replacment butt.

Except for some of the late 1980's models, made when Ithaca underwent a few ownership changes, all the barrels are removeable via unscrewing the knurled collar at the front of the mag tube towards the receiver after opening the bolt, turning the barrel a quarter-turn and pullung off forward,

It was only after the serial number posted above that different barrels/receivers could interchange easily/manually, w/o special fitting.
Before that serial #, while the barrels on the ones I've owned (three) were removeable, other/different barrels wouldn't interchange w/o the special fitting mention above.

The "corncob" forend wood was usually on the older and military/police/riot versions, and some iron-sighted DeerSlayer models.

My 20ga Model 37 Deluxe Deerslayer has a smaller receiver that's scaled down from the 12/16 ga receivers, and a 20" barrel - although Deerslayer models were offered in a choice of 20" or 24" lengths.



The advantages of the Ithaca, besides the light weight with standard length barrels (26"/28"), is that they are easily ambidextrous due to the downward ejection & bottom loading, and relatively weather-proof due to no openings save the bottom loading/ejection port.

They came with RayBar front sights - an early fibre-optic delta design, long before FO beads were introduced, and the Deerslayer models have a quarter rib, integral with the barrel (I believe) which has scope mount cuts in the scout position - also long before the "scout" idea became popularized.

They are excellent guns - but any operating method less than a vigorous "pump" can result in misfeeds - just like many leverguns.

They are/were popular with the military & police (older models) because they could be rapidly "slam-fired" during a confrontation/riot/battle by holding the trigger back after the first shot and pumping away as hard/fast as one could until it ran dry.

.

[Noah Zark]

The Ithaca 37 is IMO the best pump shotgun design made to date.

The 37 was made of steel. There were NO aluminum receivers produced. The "Featherweight" name came from weight-saving features in the strong solid-sided receiver. The 37 feeds and ejects from the bottom and the lack of a port in the side of the receiver makes for an extremely strong action.

The bolt tilts up into a recess into the top rear of the receiver for a positive, tight, lockup.

The 37 is typical of J M Browning designs -- intricate and involved but not "complicated" or difficult. It is an easy firearm to disassemble and clean, just a little more time-consuming and involved as compared to a simpler, less-expensive later design such as a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870.

One other feature is the lack of a disconnector on most 37s made prior to the mid-1980s. Hold back the trigger and pump the action to fire the weapon. Some will say it's wasteful of ammo, but with some practice it is very effective, especially at "inside the house" distances.

The 37 is exceptionally reliable, even when having been fired hundreds if not thousands of times over decades without cleaning or even lubrication. The 37 seldom breaks parts, either. I've replaced one extractor and one striker spring in about 35 years of 37 ownership.

I have five 37s at the moment:

- 24" Modified Vent Rib 12 ga, an excellent grouse gun
- 28" Full Choke plain barrel 12 ga, a good general waterfowl gun
- 18" Military and Police 12 ga, ex-PA State Police weapon bought at auction. Parkerized finish, was FILTHY when I bought it, but it emptied an 8-shot magazine full of shells as a test prior to cleaning.
- 18" DS Police Special 12 ga with 8-shot full magazine, made in the early 80s, still without a disconnector. As-new, it's our "bedroom gun."
- 18" Deerslayer 20 ga "youth gun"

I've owned Mossberg 500s and 590s, a couple Remington 870s, a Winchester 97 and a Winchester 12, and I will still pick up a 37 over the others any day. In fact, I no longer have any Mossberg 500s or 590s, Remington 870s, or Winchester pump shotguns. The 37s are all I need or want in a pump.

Noah

[madman4570]

Noah, 5-- Ithaca 37s ---you Lucky Man!

[soon 2 retire]

I've got the 20ga. "Ultrafeatherlight" made in the early 80's. It's got an aluminum receiver and tips the scales at about 5lbs even. I can carry it all day in the grouse woods. It's easy to carry pistol style while fending off wild roses with the off hand. I love it; kicks like a mule though.

Bob in NE Indiana

[Nath]

Thanks everyone and yes GK I have seen that ad' but no pics and far away,,,,,

Still waiting on info from the trader etc.

Nath.