Ithaca M-37. My 1st one.

The Ithaca model 37 made a wonderful combat shotgun. I carried a 13" barrel version (made in-house by the NYPD) when assigned Bronx Central Robbery (we went after heavily armed robbery teams). Both the 13" and 20" versions we used had open rifle sights. The 20" had a full sling and the 13" had a safety strap covering the operating handle to keep officers hands away from the muzzle of the short barrel. I put slugs in mine.

Rich



Our unit used Ruger Mini-14s also.

I would expect that letting loose with 12 ga. slugs from a 13" barrel in the confined quarters of a concrete structure such as a public housing project would be quite dramatic.
 
Rich, nice pics, thanks. I remember when it was the thing to smoke a pipe, have a mustache and grow a head of dark hair over a flat stomach. Whut happened to us? :)

Slugs may be a definitive stopper. I know what they do to deer and many PH's in Africa used slugs and or double aught buck to follow up wounded big cats into cover.

Now if I had a big cat with a bank bag, a firearm of any size and malice aforethought in my face I think that 13' shotgun or "shortgun" would be the one I'd pick.
 
I would expect that letting loose with 12 ga. slugs from a 13" barrel in the confined quarters of a concrete structure such as a public housing project would be quite dramatic.

Well, in point of fact most of our "hostile" encounters took place either on the street or in and around a business. The only time I came close to really using my model 37 was when my two partners and I arrested four armed robbers who made the mistake of trying to take down a bank while we were just around the corner. Timing is everything.

Rich
 
The Ithaca M37 Featherweight is a very reliable Shotgun and is excellent for either right or left handed shooters since it ejects from the bottom. The only real negative I can think of is that because of the somewhat narrow stock, perceived recoil is sort of stiff with Buckshot and slugs.

If you get a hold of an older model, you MUST be very careful and cognizant of the fact that if you operate the pump while the trigger is squeezed, the gun will fite and continue to do so until you either run out of ammo, stop pumping or release the trigger. Ithaca DID make a replacement part that did disconnect the trigger so this could not happen, but I do not know if they are still available.

That said, it is a well built, reliable pump gun that is relatively compact.
 
Back in 1969, fresh out of the Army I wanted to go deer hunting with my uncle. Now you need to know that growng up in our house the only gun I was ever exposed to was an old model 27 winchester SS .22. Dad didn't hunt as he only had one eye as the result of a childhood accident. He wanted to, but he also knew he couldn't see well. (side note...after 6 tries he got into the Army in '43 by memorizing the eye chart, lasted 27 days at ft. Dix)
Anyhow, after my military exposure to firearms, I was hooked and wanted to hunt some deer. NY state at the time only allowed shotguns in the southern portion of the state, so a shotgun was in order. I bought a brand new model 37 featherlight in 12 ga for the princely sum of $109.00, about two weeks wages. It took three years but I did score my first deer with that gun. Hunted with that gun for many years, until I moved to the north country, where rifles were the go to option. I've had 30-30's, (prefer Marlins), 308's, even an old Marlin 38.55 since but that 12 ga was the winner. Hold it tight and recoil wasn't too bad, and it was accurate out to about 75 yards with Brenneke's.
Alas the old Deerslayer is gone but was replaced by my uncles 1957 model 37 in 16 ga , which now resides with my oldest son in MD. Rather spend time with my handguns and old Savage 99's now.
Good luck with your 37, and show us some pics of the restore
 
Ithaca 37 Question

Wasn`t this pump a Browning design ? Is the current BPS a (somewhat) faithful repro ? Thanks, John
 
Wasn`t this pump a Browning design ? Is the current BPS a (somewhat) faithful repro ? Thanks, John

Yes he did design the 20 gauge M-17 and sell it to REM. It was the basis for the Rem 31, Ithaca 37 and the Browning BPS per the following link. It is wiki, accuracy is probably close.

I think they may mean M 10 Rem, not the 31.

But there a few good REM collectors who can get to the bottom of this.

I have to appoligize as the only old Remingtons I touched was when I moved them to get a better look at an old M-12 Win. :o

With that said I would like to find one of the ball bearing action ones, cheap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_17
 
It was worth restoring.

But avoid armadillos. They can carry leprosy. Really.

I hear you about the possum on the half shell. I've read that. Thanks for being my straight man.

Leprosy? I'd bet Bubba would come apart at the seams if he saw the Ithaca now. :rolleyes:
 
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