Ithaca 37, keep original or convert to EBS

[ScottsGT]

I'm getting the urge to buy/build a home defensive Evil Black Shotgun, just because.....
I have the opportunity to purchase an Ithaca 37 featherlite that has only about 20% finish remaining. Everything else appears fine. I'm thinking of cutting down the barrel as short as possable, but keeping it non NFA, Choat stock and foregrip and black or gray park job.
Or should I just step away from the Ithaca, let it go to a home that would appreciate it for what it is, and get a Mossberg already EBS'ed?

 

[GunTech]

I converted two 37s to riot guns, and think they are excellent in this role.

 

[ArmedBear]

I'd get a standard Mossington for an EBS due to cheap, readily available accessories and parts.

But then again, I'd want the Featherlite for hunting.

 

[Milkmaster]

I vote with Bear on this one. Don't bubba the 37.

 

[Cougfan2]

Keep the M37 and appreciate it for what it is. You can get a ready to Rock Mossy EBS for around $200.00.

 

[ScottsGT]

Yea, the more I think about it, all I'm wanting is a short 12 ga. that can be used for other purposes than long barrel work. Don't need to mount flashlights on it, or lasers. Got a lead on a Winchester 1897 that would fit the bill, and look good with my cowboy gun collection.

 

[goon]

I'd keep it original.
IIRC, the Ithaca was used in some shorter barreled configurations and was a reliable gun, so it would likely serve you well.
But there are more accessories for the 870 and Mossberg and spare parts will be more common. Any gunsmith could probably fix one for you if you break it.
Best of all, you won't have a nagging sense of guilt about hacking a good old gun.

OTOH, if you could find a short barrel for the Ithaca but leave the rest alone, why not get a great gun like that and get some use out of it?

 

[Skookumchuk]

I've got a Kings Ferry 16 gauge 37 that I bubba'd but only in getting a matte bluing job and in my carving a Gunstocks stock for some left hand cast and a few other doo-dads using a Leonard Mews design in Monty Kennedy's book as inspiration. (Only took three stocks over a year to get it right and I'm still not quite there).

With the standard 26 in. barrel, I'll use it for turkey. But I also got a Numrich 18.5 in. barrel and with that it is a great HD gun - much better balanced, handier, and slicker than my 870.

 

[ArmedBear]

I just bought my third Ithaca and I STILL don't have a M37 of any kind. Maybe I'm just envious.

If I found an inexpensive one, I'd snatch it up and find someone with a bluing tank. I'd love an M37, even if I don't need one.

Actually, I know someone with a bluing tank, but he's nowhere near SC.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Restoring the Ithaca will grant you much good Karma. I'm not fond of the idea of bubbaizing a 37, but they do make fine fighting shotguns.

What are they asking for it?...

 

[ScottsGT]

What are they asking for it?...

Somewhere in the $200 range...Not sure on the exact price yet. I did look at it closer last night. Has all the ducks engraved on the side of it. Would look kind of goofy having a EBS with a hunting scene engraved into it!

 

[Skookumchuk]

Would look kind of goofy having a EBS with a hunting scene engraved into it!

Yes, IMHO. Which is why I only had it matte blued, kept the wood but redid the stock to give it some cast, and blued the 18 in. barrel to match. I got it back from the smith who reblued it with the carrier upside down, which was a surprise when I first tried to cycle proving dummies through it, but after I fixed that little problem, the thing has never failed to cycle a round. 16 gauge buckshot is nearly the equal of 12 so they say, and it is now my go-to shotgun. My advice: don't tacticalize it, just get a short barrel and you are good to go.

 

[Slater]

Evidently Ithaca is making new '37's, but I don't know of anyone that owns one. They claim their new processes result in a better gun:

http://www.ithacagun.com/ourprocess.html

 

[Skookumchuk]

This is a topic over at Shotgun World. They may be having startup problems and may simply be pricing the new pumps too high. And it seems to me that it would be difficult to start a new company that sells only high-priced pumps. But I've got two of the King's Ferry 37s and despite being from their last years when things were getting kinda shaky, they both are great guns.

One thing if you decide to buy an extra short barrel instead of cutting the existing barrel - older 37s below S/N 855,000 (around 1963, I think) need to have barrels hand-fitted, which involves re-threading.

 

[charlietuna]

I recently acquired a Model 37 Ithaca w/26" Imp Cyl barrel. It's a 28xxxx serial number, which seems to be from 1949.

The stock is chipped and cracked, and I would like to get another/shorter barrel for it. I have a smith who does the barrel fitting; he just doesn't happen to have any. (It's been re-blued, BTW).

Besides Numrich (they don't list barrels), is there any other source for used barrels & stocks for the older 37's???

Thank You!

 

[Skookumchuk]

Besides Numrich (they don't list barrels), is there any other source for used barrels & stocks for the older 37's???

Don't know of any other source, but Numrich does carry them. Go to the Ithaca 37 section, ignore the numbering as shown in the exploded diagram, scroll down the parts list - which isn't alphabetized - to "barrels" and there they are. Pickings might be kind of slim, though.

 

[BamaHoosier]

I have a 37 M&P(with the 8-shell tube)and I put a rear pistol grip on it for home defense use.I agree with the guys about keeping it original.Mine wasn't when I bought it 20-something years ago.The only other thing I want for mine is a pistol-grip foregrip for the pumpslide,but apparently,they're non-existent now.Shoulda got it when they had it...again:banghead:

 

[Skookumchuk]

Hey, don't feel too bad. I had a chance to order from the factory one of the last Surefire Ithaca 37 forends made... and of course I passed.

But actually, I like my 16 gauge HD gun close to original. Only the matte bluing gives it away. But it matches my semi-matte tung oil finish on the wood and looks pretty decent.