Any Ithaca model 37 fans on here?

8

870-Lefty

Member
I just bought a 16 ga. Ithaca model 37 with a 26" barrel and deluxe Poly-Choke made in 1952. It looks like it has been used very little. Anyone on here use a 16 ga. model 37 for Pheasant? If so, how do you like it. Thanks.
 
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How ironic, I have been shopping for a Ithaca 37 for the last few days(actually for a good long while). I bought a brand new Ithaca 37 Featherweight in 16ga back in the early 1980's. I still have two old Wood Duck mounts on my wall that I shot with that gun. I'm looking for a mid 70s to early 80s vintage gun. 16ga would be preferred but a 12ga would do in a pinch. I want a 28" or 26" Mod choke barrel with vent rib. I found two today. One in 12ga and one in 16ga. IMO, the 16ga has refinished wood and it has a full choke barrel. Not really the perfect gun for me. The 12ga I found is a real dandy, near mint. 28" Mod with vent rib. All Org too...a must. I love the 37..one of John M Brownings best designs. I think the Browning BPS hit the Ithaca sales pretty bad when it came out. Tang safety, bottom ejection, 3" chambers.....but the BPS is no Model 37 Ithaca by a long shot. Just work the action and the proof is in the pudding. The 37 is slick as glass smooth, real quality.

Congrats on your new 37, enjoy it...it will serve you, your children and your grandchildren for life.
 
ITHICA model 37 lover here my first 1 was my grandpas i recieved as a gift from him when he was to old to hunt I love that gun best 1 i own
:10sign:
 
Onpoint,you are right about the BPS. I have a 12 ga. I bought for goose hunting yrs. ago. It is a nice gun but like you said,it is no 37. I bought a 1967 20 ga. 37 with 28" mod. barrel last yr.and it is as slick as snot on a door-knob!
 
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i have my dad's 1950 model 37 with poly. I also have a 1977 20gauge model 37 with vent rib. That old 37 was the only shotgun my dad ever shot. That old gun laid many a rooster and quail to rest. Even a couple of nosy coyotes over the years. Old gun has electrical tape and plenty of glue in the old busted stock, but still shoots straight.
 
I don't have one, but I have been getting the 16 ga Model 37 itch for a while. Don't need another 16 but since when did that ever matter? I'll probably have one before pheasant season in the fall. I've handled them and they are sweet. I don't want an new one. A old one from the 50's or 60's would be just the ticket.
 
The nice vent rib guns are bring $500.00 plus. I may go for a brand new one. I can't see buying one that's nicked up for near new price. IMO, some are asking way to much for used ones. A guy can find all kinds of well used ones for $300 or less.
 
My model 37 was found at a police auction in a near-by town.

Twenty inch barrel, 12 gauge, extended mag, some "special" police choke--supposedly better than improved for police rounds, rifle sights, and obviously a cruiser gun, slammed in and around cop cars for its entire existence.

Marked "PS/DS."

Great for slugs on deer. Heavy as hell with the mag fully loaded...I only did that once hunting. :)
 
Ithaca M-37

Last count I have bought 2 12 ga., 2 16 ga., 1 20 ga.
Both 16 ga. are 1954 - 1955 vintage. I.M.O. the guns manuf. before the 70-s
are much nicer than later guns. Better built.

Both 12-s & the 20-s are from the late 70-s early 80-s. They are OK.
After handling all, killing phez. with them the 16-s are my favorites.
One was 28" full (had opened to I.C.). The other is a 28" mod. choke.

I too have had an 870 Wingmaster for many years (12 ga.).

My fav. pump gun is def. the M-37.

I would like to purchase a 1950-s 870 16 just for grins.
They are lighter than the modern 16-s in 870.
 
As much as I love the 37 in 16ga. It would very tough to convince me to favor it over my Model 12 Winchester 16ga. It and my Sweet Sixteen Browning may be the two best repeating upland bird guns ever made IMO with the 37 16ga right there neck and neck. The only modern repeater I believe comes even close is the Benelli Montefeltro 20ga auto. I have one but I doubt it will last to be handed down generation to generation like the all machined guns of yester year, like those I have mentioned above. I have two 20ga A5 Magnums. which are fantastic guns but for one they are not 16ga's and they IMO are better Grouse guns then Pheasant guns but they will do the job when push comes to shove.
 
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I have owned 4 M37s and they were all fine, fine shotguns. One 12ga. was of 70s. vintage and had a ribbed 28in barrel of full choke. The other three were all 40s. to mid 50s. models in 16ga. with 28in mod choked barrels. Of these three, one is a 37R DeLuxe with solid rib barrel, checkered stock, and a smaller diameter checkered round forend.

Three grandsons now own the three 16 bores; when they were old enough to understand that Grandpa was giving em a gun I let them take them home with them. At this time I am without one, but looking for the right one to happen along.

The older 40-50s model guns certainly seem slicker and smoother than later models. At any rate a M37 Ithaca in good shape is a joy to own, and a fine hunting piece IMO. (Specially if it's a 16ga.:))

BobM
 
16s

ONPT,
I shoot occ. a Model 11 Rem. for Phez in 12 ga. You are right about the hump backs, as they are deadly. I have not handled a Sweet in the field yet.
Did handle one in a shop & will probably buy one sometime. Win. model 12-s built on the 20 ga, frame probably are sweet. Mod 12-s do not fit me w/o tuning. I bought a Benelli 20 ga. Monty about 8 yrs. ago & it is a nice grouse gun. Do use it some for Phez. but I like my pump guns when I wax nostalgic.
The Rem. model 11 dates to about 1921 & if it was not so heavy would be
a great old shotgun for Phez. No blueing left on it. I suffer from poor circulation in my hands (cold hands). When it starts getting cold out 20*F
& less my go to gun is the Citori 20 ga. as it has a large trigger guard & handles fat fingered gloves pretty well. I bought it before I was clued in about 16 ga. Citoris & 16 ga. in general.
 
I was a new engineer fresh out of college in 2003. An electrician working for me asked if I knew anybody needing a shotgun. My ears instantly perked up, asked what he had. He said he had an old Ithaca 20 guage that he bought from his buddy for $150. His buddy needed money, he had no use for the gun, so he was just trying to sell it for what he had in it. I immediately told him we were going to go look at it, we went to his house, turns out its a 1949 version. I went to the ATM, got the cash, and had a new shotgun, all on work hours. The buttstock had had a slip on recoil pad at some point and the finish was puckered up from holding water in it, but was still solid. I refinished the stock with Tru-Oil and have enjoyed the heck out of it. I wish it wasn't choked extra double full, but I still hit pretty well with it. I don't want to put tubes in it to screw up the original barrel, and an OEM barrel from Les Hovencamp is $200+.

I'm always on the lookout for a 16 guage with the same corncob forened. Found a mint one at a local shop for $300. Thought it was high, then thought better of it the next day, went back to buy it and it was gone. Still looking. Would like a 12 and a 16 guage to match my 20, corncob forends only.

For those interested, I found the complete tear down manual online, saved in a pdf version. The current manuals through Ithaca's website just go as far as removing the barrel, saying thats as far as you need to go. The manual I've got shows you how to dis-assemble down to the component level, lots of little screws to keep track of. After 8 years I tore it down completely, cleaned with brake parts cleaner, lubed up and reassembled. Smooth as greased owl crap now, not that it was bad before, but it is 100x's crisper in everything it does. Guess thats expected, assuming it hadn't been pulled apart in 60 years.
 
I have a 12 that I bought for cheap, refinished, added a ringed forend & a left-hand safety.. VERY nostalgic! That being said, it's a welcome addition to the collection, but I still hunt with doubles or semi's. 37's are GREAT shotties, however.
 
almost 10 years ago, i was traveling with a young lab on a sales trip in the fall,when it started to snow .... i was close to a town that i had hunted pheasants for several years.
Upon arriving in went to the local Scheels store, to just buy a GUN. Saw an 37 , and the price was right about 175.00 for this little 16 gauge gun... Took my young girl out the next morning real early to a roosting area, hoping to get us both a bird ,or at least her some flushes. In carrying that pre corn cob model 37 i thought this is the slickest pump gun i had ever seen. Since then i have sought out a checkered model in both 12 gauge, and 20 gauge. Since the Model 12 Winchesters are so expensive , these are REALLY an undervalued, and perhaps underappreciated pump gun. I use them for kids guns, and back up guns on long term trips!

No we just got cold,but she did smell some freshly rousted birds!
:)
 
#7 Ithaca

My first new shotgun was a new pre 64 Model 12 I bought for $99. Used it for many years & did quite well with it. Got into Rem. 31's & have a 12, 16, & a 20. Think they are slicker than the Model 12. Then bought a BPS 12. Liked it also, but seems kinda heavy, or am I growing weaker ? Got an Ithaca 37 from my father-in- law. Nice carry but felt I needed more than a 2 3/4" gun for shooting steel, or did I just want another shotgun ! Found a 3" Ithaca & it's kinda my go to gun now. Light, shoots & carries well, & a shorter stroke than the BPS. Kind of a rant, but I do like the 37's.
 
Almost bid on a 37 16ga the other day. Just wasn't from the era I was looking for. I'm looking for a early to mid 80s 16ga with 28" or 26" mod choked barrel. I had bought a brand new one back then and enjoyed shooting wood ducks with it very much. Just would like to have another one just like it.

Just a note, Ithaca 37's rusted real fast if not meticulously maintained. It's tough to find one that has not suffered from rust.
 
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Another website I go to has a thread 'fence post guns', where everybody was posting pics of their guns on fence posts. Started by the boys out west who had mountains in the background for really nice scenery. Here's my fence post Ithaca 37 overlooking the pasture behind the house-

DSC_6523.jpg
 
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