Shotgun barrel question - Ithaca Model 37

[Tim in New York]

I have had dad's 20 gauge model 37 since he passed 30 years ago. He must have got it around 1960. As far as I know, the barrel has never been off it. I thought it would be nice to have a set of these, so I just bought a 16 gauge model 37 (1947 vintage) on-line. It got shipped broken down as you would expect. The receiver end of the barrel puzzles me - it appears to be threaded, but there is no way it can screw into the receiver. Best I could figure was to slide the barrel into the receiver, then tighten the large screw at the front of the tube. The barrel seems to fit tightly but the threads do confuse me. Can anyone confirm that is the only way to install the barrel? I want to do a bit of test shooting with it but I don't want to damage the gun or me!

Thanks!

Tim

 

[teddy52food]

I have had dad's 20 gauge model 37 since he passed 30 years ago. He must have got it around 1960. As far as I know, the barrel has never been off it. I thought it would be nice to have a set of these, so I just bought a 16 gauge model 37 (1947 vintage) on-line. It got shipped broken down as you would expect. The receiver end of the barrel puzzles me - it appears to be threaded, but there is no way it can screw into the receiver. Best I could figure was to slide the barrel into the receiver, then tighten the large screw at the front of the tube. The barrel seems to fit tightly but the threads do confuse me. Can anyone confirm that is the only way to install the barrel? I want to do a bit of test shooting with it but I don't want to damage the gun or me!

Thanks!

Tim

Slide the barrel in & give it a quarter turn so it is in the right position. Then the nut on the magazine tube is turned CCW to lock it in place. To remove the 20 ga one ,screw the nut in until the barrel can be turned. Take off the barrel. If you want to check for a plug in the magazine turn it CCW being careful as it is spring loaded.

 

[BillinCentralMO]

That’s a nice gun. Have a prewar 20 I bought at a pawn shop for $100 in the ‘80’s. I was in college and that was a week’s pay. It is my go-to for the squirrels that come after our pecans. Are you going to buy a 12 gauge and complete the trifecta ?

 

[Tim in New York]

Thanks! Then I guess I have it put together correctly. I do plan to eventually buy a 12 ga of the same vintage - with the corn cob front pump grip. Being so close to the factory there were a ton of these around back in the day. I do know the quality went downhill after around 1970. One of my friends used dad's 20 ga for deer for several years until he got his one gun. It was a 12 ga deerslayer that he said came out of the factory one piece at a time.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

It was a 12 ga deerslayer that he said came out of the factory one piece at a time.

The day the barrel went home, I bet there were some raised eyebrows... "Uh yeah, it was giant sub day for lunch, and I'm taking home the leftovers."

 

[SkipperII]

I bought a Model 37 with my veterans bonus (I carried a sawed off one as my personal weapon in RVN). I loved that little, fast swinging, 12 gauge for trap shooting and hunting. I had a guy that kept pestering me to buy it. After about two years, I finally gave in. Big mistake,

 

[MeanGene1]

I have a Featherlite 12ga, very sweet shooting gun

 

[Buckhammer]

I have four Ithaca Model 37"s. 3 12ga's and a 16. 2 of the 12ga"s are Deerslayers with the corn cob fore arm that were made in the early 60"s. They both have Weaver scopes and are tremendously accurate for a smoothbore barrel. I have taken numerous deer with them out to and slightly beyond 100 yards with them.

 

[Hoenes]

I have a 12 ga. model 97 Winchester riot edition, AKA trench sweeper, that my dad bought from a highway patrolman in the 50's or 60's. There are only 5 numbers in the serial number. According to Winchester's data, that says it was made around the turn of the century.

 

[caterpillar guy]

A 97 is the old thumb barker with that slide coming over the front and of the stock by the receiver. If you had a hold of it there and opened the slide you could bark you thumb or anything rested there.

 

[teddy52food]

A 97 is the old thumb barker with that slide coming over the front and of the stock by the receiver. If you had a hold of it there and opened the slide you could bark you thumb or anything rested there.

If you hold the trigger back on the 97 it would fire when the forearm returned to the front. You could pump them empty in short time.

 

[kencombs]

If you hold the trigger back on the 97 it would fire when the forearm returned to the front. You could pump them empty in short time.

The early 37s were the same. Referred to as 'slam fire' by some.

97s also had no protection from firing when dropped on the hammer, even when the hammer is down. Friend of mine had a large hole in the rear door or his old Ford car. Loaded 97, with one in the chamber laying in the back floorboard while driving recklessly across a pasture. Big chug hole, gun bounced, BOOM.

 

[Mcrafty1]

I have a Winchester model 1300 pump action 20 Ga. that my wife bought me for a birthday present many years ago, it's a sweet little gun for birds and other small game, I don't use it for deer I just don't believe a 20 Ga. is appropriate for larger game when there's so many firearms available with way more knock down power. To each his own with that though. I've never tried the 'slam fire' technique with the gun which basically why I'm making this post..to see if anyone knows if the 1300 will 'slam fire' , I hope it wasn't designed with that feature.

 

[cleddy]

I have had dad's 20 gauge model 37 since he passed 30 years ago. He must have got it around 1960. As far as I know, the barrel has never been off it. I thought it would be nice to have a set of these, so I just bought a 16 gauge model 37 (1947 vintage) on-line. It got shipped broken down as you would expect. The receiver end of the barrel puzzles me - it appears to be threaded, but there is no way it can screw into the receiver. Best I could figure was to slide the barrel into the receiver, then tighten the large screw at the front of the tube. The barrel seems to fit tightly but the threads do confuse me. Can anyone confirm that is the only way to install the barrel? I want to do a bit of test shooting with it but I don't want to damage the gun or me!

Thanks!

Tim

This is off topic but would it be safe to fire modern -available 16 gauge shells in a Winchester 16 gauge model #37 break action shot gun. I don't know the age but it is hammerless. We thought 16 gauge was almost obsolete and useless but the major gun store has 16 gauge shell for sell.

 

[teddy52food]

I have a Winchester model 1300 pump action 20 Ga. that my wife bought me for a birthday present many years ago, it's a sweet little gun for birds and other small game, I don't use it for deer I just don't believe a 20 Ga. is appropriate for larger game when there's so many firearms available with way more knock down power. To each his own with that though. I've never tried the 'slam fire' technique with the gun which basically why I'm making this post..to see if anyone knows if the 1300 will 'slam fire' , I hope it wasn't designed with that feature.

The new 20 ga with the rifled barrel & sabot slugs are taking a lot of deer here in Mn. They are very accurate.

 

[teddy52food]

This is off topic but would it be safe to fire modern -available 16 gauge shells in a Winchester 16 gauge model #37 break action shot gun. I don't know the age but it is hammerless. We thought 16 gauge was almost obsolete and useless but the major gun store has 16 gauge shell for sell.

Could you have a gunsmith check it out? I would think it would be OK unless it shows a lot of deep rust pitting. Those barrels were proofed at a way higher pressure than a factory load will produce. Back when I didn't know any better I was loading 16 ga in a 97 Win with a powder measure I found in a bunch of gun stuff that was passed on by dad & grandpa. In later years when I got into reloading with a scale etc. I found those shells had almost double the powder they should have! No wonder they kicked! But it killed a crow at 75 yards too.

 

[cleddy]

Could you have a gunsmith check it out? I would think it would be OK unless it shows a lot of deep rust pitting. Those barrels were proofed at a way higher pressure than a factory load will produce. Back when I didn't know any better I was loading 16 ga in a 97 Win with a powder measure I found in a bunch of gun stuff that was passed on by dad & grandpa. In later years when I got into reloading with a scale etc. I found those shells had almost double the powder they should have! No wonder they kicked! But it killed a crow at 75 yards too.

I think I could. No rust at all in fact looks almost new. I believe my FIL said it was his youth gun (would explain the 3 - 4" recoil pad on the stock)and he lived to 97 years old. This is Hammerless and I have 3 -Single barrel & Double barrel 12 gage w/ hammers and never gave another thought about shooting Modern Loads. I did find a 16 gauge shell left with the gun with a big slug/ball in it. That I would not shoot. In Nebraska hunting deer with a shotgun isn't allowed. Only Bows ,Crossbows and Rifles"

 

[Mcrafty1]

The new 20 ga with the rifled barrel & sabot slugs are taking a lot of deer here in Mn. They are very accurate.

Slug guns are a different animal, I was thinking smooth bore firing buckshot, I don't advocate doing that unless you're trying to feed your staving family and that's the only weapon you own . But I don't disagree with you about slug guns with rifled barrels .

 

[560Dennis]

My dad broke tradition ,bought a Remington. The family was from Ithaca . I don’t know that much about them . Wish I did , don’t see many for sale so I think people hang on to the good ones

 

[Sbird]

Love me some M37's. Two of these I bought cheap in need of repair, the incorrect duckbill choke was a lot of work, I've never seen a gun with internal parts so worn. The counterfeit Nam era trench gun was a beautiful '62 30" that I bought for this project.