Gunsmith recommendation

Toad

Toad

Active member
Hi all.

I am looking for a recommendation for a gunsmith in the NE Kansas or possibly Newton/Wichita area.

From a very kind relative, I was given an old Ithaca 37 featherlight pump. It is a gun I have admired (and attempted to purchase) for years. It is pretty old, but as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...:D

The gun needs a couple adjustments to fit my needs. It is currently a full choke and I would probably like to open that up a bit. Also, it currently has a left-handed safety and I would need to flip that around.

I have heard that these are not too difficult for a good gunsmith, but I don't want to hand my new treasure over to just anybody.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris
 
The safety change is simple and you can do it. Look up a schematic of the gun and you will see how to do it. Almost no disassembly is required. However, as I recall, the safety cannot be switched or reversed and a right hand safety is required. Check me on this, because I am not positive on it. There are lots of old 37's that are being parted out, and a right hand safety should not be difficult to find. Not certain you can buy a new one.

On the choke modification, I would send the barrel to Mike Orlen. Go over to Shotgunworld and look him up on the gunsmithing forum. I have had him work on several double barrels and he does a great job, and very reasonable. Also known for 1-3 day turn around on choke work. You do not need to send the gun, just the barrel.
 
Gunsmiths

, Over the years I have used Doug Coffman of Lawrence for opening up chokes. He's always done a good job for a reasonable price. I've heard nothing but good things about him. He's busy so the turnaround takes awhile. Of course , there ies always the legendary Simmons in Olathe. Pricier but excellent. Doug did a model 37 for me some years back.
 
I too would recommend Mike Orlen. For what it would cost most places to open up the choke, Mike will tap it for choke tubes. He does great work and is very quick.
 
JW Customs

I would refer you to JW Customs in Salina Ks. He worked on my browing 12ga and never had a problem with it since good guy turn arounds not too bad either.
 
These are probably all good recommendations. Opening up chokes is not rocket science, but I would pick some one who does a lot of them. The right tooling to really do it correctly is fairly expensive, and the gunsmiths doing only intermittent choke work do not often have it. Orlen does hundreds of barrels a year and has it. So also will Simmons. The others recommended may also, but I don't know them. Less sophisticated reamers can do the job correctly most of the time, but not always. This is even more true if you have the barrel threaded for tubes. I really doubt you will find a smith who will match Orlen's price on threading the barrel.

As a baseline, I think Orlen charges $35 to either open the choke or thread the barrel for choke tubes. Tubes are about $20 each. Shipping will be $15 or so each way for the barrel.
 
I won't recommend a smith, but it sounds like the posters above have some good info.

Also over at shotgunworld there is an "I Love My Ithaca" forum. I even think there is a breakdown of the 37. If you can't find it, ask for it and somebody will email it to you.

Also, Les Hovencamp of Diamond Gunsmithing is often recommended for Ithaca specific work. He was formerly the head gunsmith at the Ithaca factory prior to it closing. Might be a source for parts or work in the future. I emailed him once about finding an open choked barrel for my 1949 version of a 37 Featherlight as I didn't want to take the original barrel out of original condition. Prompt response and he had some in stock, but pricier than I was wanting to spend a the time.
 
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