doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Was Ithaca the best ?

I am posting a link to a early Gr4 as a example, http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=57156388 , the quality of this gun for a mid grade looks outstanding, was Ithaca possibly the best american maker early on ?

As far as I'm concerned Ithaca and Lefever ruled!

Sales figures say yes.

Nobody had nicer wood.

The skill of Joseph Loy certainly says so.

IMO the Ithacas were a little short on design, i.e. styling.

They were certainly as good as any. Still a bargin for buyers. They sold a LOT of guns and still do.

NIDs sell for a fraction of what a Fox or Parker sell for. In fact you can pick up a grade 2 NID in 16 or 20 for about what a Sterlingworth in the same gauge sells for. That is a bargin in my book.

Ithaca has never had a faithful following like Winchester or Parker, who forget reason when prices are mentioned. Ithaca buyers are a cheap lot and get a great gun for thier dollar.

They are getting scarcer. It's getting hard to even find a couple of nice ones at the regular show's, and the internet prices have gone crazy. Still the best bang for the buck. They may not have been the best back then but right up there. I like to think they are.

In answer to your question -

YES.

Look at the sales figures for Ithaca - marqued guns.

Total Ithaca hammerless production is approximately 363,000. Add hammer guns at approximately 46,000 and you get 409,921 guns, over 65 years, or 6306 guns per year ( 1883-1948) .

Total LC Smith hammerless guns 356,899. Hammer guns 82,488, making a total of 439,387 per Brophy. There does appear to be a plus/minus 5000 or so discrepancy somewhere, but giving LC the largest number, we get an average of 6276 a year of production ( 1880-1950) under various ownerships.

Parker ?

242,385 for all types from hammerlifter to the last Remington made boxlock . 1868 - 1942 averages 3275 a year. If you want boxlock top lever hammer guns, then there are 187,385 from 1888 to 1942.

There are more Flues Model Ithacas , with a production of 223,365 than there are total hammerless Parkers

The boutique also-rans?

Lefever, Syracuse, Fox ( in whatever gun of the month examined) , Tobin.

Not hardly.

The bulk of the Ithacas are low grade guns, built for service ,not parlor display, at a time when a dollar was a dollar, and reliability and utility were at a premium. I say "low grade", but there was never any doubt among the consu,mers of that era, that even the lowest grade was "high quality", even if it wasnt highly embellished. But Ithaca could also embellish and refine and "prettify" with the best of their competitiors, and produce arms of breathtaking beauty, even in the NID series.

There you have it in a nutshell.

Regards

GKT