doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ithaca Flues 12ga 1915 Field?

Someone was making replacements, I got a couple 12-15 years ago. If I can find the info I'll post it here but it's in the DGS archives.

Diamond makes them. They need polishing and hardening. So, they become a 200$+ repair on a sticky $400.00 gun.
I have a couple here.
I was just informing the OP about real life shooting a Flues in vintage shoots.
They aren’t a 200 rounds a week gun.
So you practice with a Dickinson, and shoot the Flues at the event.

Or, just send another to the recycler.

I shoot my grandpa’s 1915 16 gauge Flues a bit. I had the head of the stock glass bedded, which I do to all the shotguns I keep. This will give 100% contact between the stock and receiver making it much less likely to crack. I also shoot modest reloads at 1200fps in this gun. A few are 7/8oz, but most are 3/4oz. I like my Flues because it’s a family gun, but it does shoot and handle well. I just treat it gently. I have other sxs guns for pounding targets.

Hi guys. So I picked up the Flues. As I think I mentioned in a prior post, the entire action body, including triggers, guard, opening lever is partially black and partially just bare steel. I am assuming that somebody at some point painted it and it’s just flaking off but was wondering if that is true. Isn’t this supposed to just be all bare metal for lack of a better term

A couple pictures will reveal all, if you don’t have a separate photo hosting site, you can probably email a couple pictures to just about any member here, and they will post them for you.

When you say black, I start to think oxides. But, I know of no Flues models that were not case colored.
So, if there is black stuff flaking off the action, I am thinking old, hardened oil, or preservative.

I would expect black paint on the stock as well if it were painted.

Typically, original equipment Ithaca barrels were a very dark gray or black color, but I have never had any that flaked.

There hasn’t been an Ithaca thread on this site with any pictures in a long time, and I view the Flues as a seminal model. So maybe, now is the time to revisit the Ithaca Flues.

Ask away.

Well I had this all checked out by Diamond gunsmithing in Ithaca. They were very thorough and the guy there ( Les ) said it was a solid gun. Although he did say ‘ah, who the heck painted it’. 😀. Chambers checked out at 2 3/4. I found a nice load for it using Titewad, and 7/8 oz on Hogdon site. I just shot 2 rounds with it last weekend and was quite pleased with it. I really like the gun a lot! It fits me well and handles quite nice. I’m still gonna baby it and shoot it sparingly. But I know already that I’ll want to shoot it a lot more than I’ll be able to. 😀. Thanks to all for the help and info.

Hey folks,
I've uploaded 3 pics of the painted receiver etc.
Here is the link:

https://link.shutterfly.com/yj9tCytQcxb

The paint is not adhered very well. As you'll see from the pictures its' coming off.
I can pick at it with my finger nail where it smooth and it does come off.

Looking for any suggestions on how I might best and safely remove this? Especially from the engraving etc.
I don't want to take it apart unless I absolutely have to
I was thinking of a non MC paint stripper for the areas not near the wood. But I'm really not sure?
Thx in advance.

go back to les and ask him to remove paint; and then inspect and lube gun...

Up to 1915 the Ithaca No. 1 1/2 was a Damascus barrel gun with a basic frame, later years with a bit of zig-zag border engraving.



During 1915, Ithaca introduced the bold McGraw engraving across their line and dressed up the No. 1 1/2 with the bold floral engraving --



and added the option of Krupp barrels. Over the next five years virtually every Ithaca catalog showed changes to these entry-level Ithacas, as they phased out Damascus and Twist barrels. The No. 1 Special that had been made with Cockerill Steel barrels was dropped. The zig-zag border engraving began appearing on the No. 1 and the Twist barrels that had been a feature of the No. 1 were replaced with Nitro Steel barrels --



Finally, by late 1919 the No. 1 and No. 1 1/2 were combined as the New No. 1 --

Going back to your first post: You'll note from Doc Drew's and Researcher's posts that a 1 1/2 grade isn't a Field Grade. It's a couple steps up the ladder.

Good luck with your Flues. My very first American classic double was a 16ga Flues Field Grade. I only had 2 sxs back then. When #1 (a between the wars Sauer) broke down, my Flues temporarily became my bird hunting gun. The problem I had was that the stock had too much drop. When I'd mount the gun, I couldn't see the sight. As a result, I didn't hit much. But never had any mechanical issues with it. Shooting it at clay targets and calling for the bird with the gun mounted may allow you to compensate for a stock with too much drop . . . unless it's WAY off as far as fit goes.