I admit I am slightly obsessive and one gun I love, even though I am a 63 year kid, is the Ithaca 49 .22 Saddlegun which was sold from late 1961 to about 1979. I know a few things about the history of this firearm but what I am here for is to get information. I found this web site a couple days ago by entering the general keywords for "Ithaca 49 Rifle" and found an old information thread. However, I could not reply because I was not registered at THR so had to go out of the site to register. Now I cannot find that old thread from about 2-3 years ago. Anyway, in that thread an entry by someone who called himself Jagermeister replied to someone's question about the Ithaca 49. He had showed a page from some reference with a picture and a few paragraphs about the gun. Then it was said, I think in that information, or by Jagermeister that the gun is a simple single shot but there are a couple of things to know about disassembly or some parts can be damaged. So, I would like to have some instructions on disassembly and re-assembly of this firearm. Note that I have never dismantled a gun before but I have an inexpensive, worn 49 that I am willing to take a small risk with to learn about this gun.
To add a bit of information about this firearm I can confirm from ads in two different guns related mazazines that the Ithaca 49 first came out in late 1961 and the MSRP was $19.95. It was originally made with walnut stock and forearm but at some point the walnut furniture was dropped in favor of some very blonde wood. I was told by a gunsmith, via email, in Ithaca New York that he was a gunsmith for Ithaca for 28 years and that the blonde wood was elm wood as he remembers from what was marked on the boxes of wood coming in to the plant.
I had read one internet item that the Ithaca 49 was made by Erma Werke in Germany and then the wood was put on USA. The gunsmith mentioned above said that, No, the 49 was completely made in the USA but the Ithaca Model 72 Lever repeater was made by Erma Werke with the wood put on in USA.
I have seen a lot of mistakes made regarding the information about the receiver/frame of the Ithaca 49. Someone on the internet referred to it as a zinc alloy. Anyway, the frame is anodized aluminum. That is why it has a look and texture different from the blued steel barrel.
The 49 was made for so many years that I am guessing that many were sold as beginner's rifles and I assume there are a lot of used ones out there. I also see that Stevens made, or at least sold, an identical gun as the Stevens Model 89 for a few years after Ithaca discontinued their model. I wonder if perhaps there was some sort of agreement between the two companies in which Stevens perhaps put their name on a gun that they paid Ithaca to manufacture.
As additonal related information Ithaca came out a few years after the 49 started being sold with a Model 49R which was a lever repeater. This was only made about three years. I read in a circa 1971 magazine a report on the 49R by a gun editor tested it. He remarked that it was not a bad gun except that the tubular magazine was made of PLASTIC and each time the loading rod was pushed down some plastic was shaved from the tube. I also saw an entry somewhere on the internet that the 49R was a piece of junk. This opinion seems to have some credibility because Ithaca stopped selling the 49R and promptly replaced it with the Ithaca 72 which, as stated above, was made in Germany with wood put on in USA.
I am just now realizing that there were apparently two variants of the 49, not including the different types of wood used. The variants seem to be that one type has the phony tube magazine extending virtually to the end of the barrel so that that the forward barrel band is a one-piece unit which also includes the front sight. Then a second variant, which I have not seen, but have seen pictures are a 49 with a barrel that extends beyond the end of the phony magazine about 2-3 inches and may have a dove-tail of some type in the front of the barrel for a sight or ????
Can anyone answer my questions or elaborate further on the Ithaca 49? Also, I will, but have not yet joined NRA, just got back into guns after a 20 year lapse and would like to know if NRA has files on this firearm. Thanks very much for any information you can give me. I am also interested in compiling serial numbers on the 49 so I can try to ascertain dates of manufacture of various ones. Thank you again. I am Moe Wadle email me at moewadle@yahoo. com
To add a bit of information about this firearm I can confirm from ads in two different guns related mazazines that the Ithaca 49 first came out in late 1961 and the MSRP was $19.95. It was originally made with walnut stock and forearm but at some point the walnut furniture was dropped in favor of some very blonde wood. I was told by a gunsmith, via email, in Ithaca New York that he was a gunsmith for Ithaca for 28 years and that the blonde wood was elm wood as he remembers from what was marked on the boxes of wood coming in to the plant.
I had read one internet item that the Ithaca 49 was made by Erma Werke in Germany and then the wood was put on USA. The gunsmith mentioned above said that, No, the 49 was completely made in the USA but the Ithaca Model 72 Lever repeater was made by Erma Werke with the wood put on in USA.
I have seen a lot of mistakes made regarding the information about the receiver/frame of the Ithaca 49. Someone on the internet referred to it as a zinc alloy. Anyway, the frame is anodized aluminum. That is why it has a look and texture different from the blued steel barrel.
The 49 was made for so many years that I am guessing that many were sold as beginner's rifles and I assume there are a lot of used ones out there. I also see that Stevens made, or at least sold, an identical gun as the Stevens Model 89 for a few years after Ithaca discontinued their model. I wonder if perhaps there was some sort of agreement between the two companies in which Stevens perhaps put their name on a gun that they paid Ithaca to manufacture.
As additonal related information Ithaca came out a few years after the 49 started being sold with a Model 49R which was a lever repeater. This was only made about three years. I read in a circa 1971 magazine a report on the 49R by a gun editor tested it. He remarked that it was not a bad gun except that the tubular magazine was made of PLASTIC and each time the loading rod was pushed down some plastic was shaved from the tube. I also saw an entry somewhere on the internet that the 49R was a piece of junk. This opinion seems to have some credibility because Ithaca stopped selling the 49R and promptly replaced it with the Ithaca 72 which, as stated above, was made in Germany with wood put on in USA.
I am just now realizing that there were apparently two variants of the 49, not including the different types of wood used. The variants seem to be that one type has the phony tube magazine extending virtually to the end of the barrel so that that the forward barrel band is a one-piece unit which also includes the front sight. Then a second variant, which I have not seen, but have seen pictures are a 49 with a barrel that extends beyond the end of the phony magazine about 2-3 inches and may have a dove-tail of some type in the front of the barrel for a sight or ????
Can anyone answer my questions or elaborate further on the Ithaca 49? Also, I will, but have not yet joined NRA, just got back into guns after a 20 year lapse and would like to know if NRA has files on this firearm. Thanks very much for any information you can give me. I am also interested in compiling serial numbers on the 49 so I can try to ascertain dates of manufacture of various ones. Thank you again. I am Moe Wadle email me at moewadle@yahoo. com
