doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ithaca 37 vintage question.

Ted: Mine was the standard model, It may have been cheaper if I could have gotten out of the boonies,,MDC

What vintage would a model 37 16GA be with serial number 1020XX?
I just picked up a sweet little slick 16GA 37, That was my "go to" chukar gun growing up. For some reason I shoot them extremely well. Funny, the best run of trap scores I ever has was with get this: an Ithaca Model 37 12GA featherweight choked full - no rib.Gun was too long LOP for me, but I shot lights out with it. I literally shot that gun to death.

1946.00

Walt, as long as your helping guys with s/n's.
Could you tell me the date for these two guns?
They are both 16 gauge. 449221 and 66377.
Thanks, Dave

Ted: I have tried hard to be a double bbl. guy, but I keep coming back to the Model 37. I have five of these, two pre-WWII (these are my favorites), a 1948, a 1951, and a 1963. These are the guns I use now. Sometimes, I think I should just sell the rest of my collection because I am probably not going to use them much, but I then I think, what if I decide later that I want a double again. My other shotguns(non-Model 37's) are great to look at and pick up, but when it comes to carrying in the field and actually using, I am stuck on the Model 37's.


Ed Pirie
West Topsham, Vermont

Wow!! My 37 is circ 1946?? Its immaculate for that shape and now I dont mind that I paid 400 bucks for it. Its all original too.
Thats exciting

Ed,
Well, I'll confess to a similar sin-I shoot just about any design gun better on clay birds than a double. A few weeks past I put a new bead on a guys childhood 16 gauge Mossberg bolt action gun, and "tested" it by knocking 24 out of 25 clay pigeons out of the sky with it.

I really didn't want to shoot it that well. Yes, it was embarrasing. No, I didn't offer to buy it from him. Yes, people laughed.

My first repeater was/is a Remington model 17, purchased in 1977 for all of $50. Still have it, and, to date, it is the only gun I own that I have ever shot a Minnesota limit of grouse and woodcock with in the same outing. I own that Remington 20 (1931 vintage) with two barrels, a recent (yesterday!) new-to-me 16 Ithaca, (1957, it would seem) and a non featherlight 12 magnum (1995 King's Ferry gun) with two barrels.I recently sold an Ultra Featherlight version of the Ithaca in 16 to a guy who wanted it way more ($$$$$) than I did.

I am quite familiar with the Browning patent bottom eject/load pump. But, I feel nothing but repulsion for the BPS version of that design. I was never crazy about that diecast trigger assembly, or the way it sheads pot metal against the steel receiver every time it is removed for cleaning. The great majority of them, regardless of gauge, aren't svelte, or well balanced. Now, before anyone accuses me of snobbery, racism, or whatever, let me say, that is my opinion.

You like a BPS, fine. You keep it, too. Start a post about somewhere else about how great they are.

I still hunt birds with my doubles, but, more and more, I shoot a pumper at my local clays club. My results are consistantly better that way. I've got a variety of pumps, including Ithacas, a model 12, and others, even lowly Mossberg 500s, and they all work better than I can shoot, most days, anyway.

I'm not going to sell my doubles, just yet, But I'm not going to sell any more pumps, either!
Best,
Ted

449221 is 1952 and 66377, if it is indeed a 5 digit sn, is about 1942/46. A few confusing number in the war era. What is its configuration? eg pre or post war?

Walt,
66377 is on the barrel and the receiver.
Has a 26" mod. barrel, no rib, checkered forearm, PG stock, with the Ithaca black plastic butt plate.
449221 is exactly the same, except it has the corn cobb style forearm, and a Poly choke.

Does 66377 have a hand checkered slide handle? I think 1942 is it, the last year of civilian production.