I have always felt that far too many guns with unusual features are wrongly attributed to Ithaca assembly.
This. For all the reasons you gave, plus the company was struggling, and putting anything together to get it out the door. After Dan left in 1900, the company ramped up production numbers, and most was DS or H. There are all kinds of variations...even an H with Krupp barrels.
Among a circle of collectors who track Lefever info, the "Ithaca hallmarks" are only present on less than 2% of the guns we have noted.
NDG
