Ithaca M&P Question

[BruceHMX]

Guys I found a nice 7 shot Ithaca M&P at a local shop today. It has not been re-parked. I own two riots that have the exact same finish. Stock is plain with no checkering. However, it has the game scene on receiver. It is CYL bore. This gun is straight with exception of game scene. Did Ithaca ever build these guns with that type receiver?

It's priced really right. Comments?

Thanks

 

[Nedroe]

Not Sure, but.....

I have heard that Ithaca used the recievers with scenes on 'em to fill orders quickly. I tend to shy away from them, unless they're cheap. These do not have scenes on 'em

Ned

 

[BruceHMX]

Thanks Ned it looks just like number 3 in your photo. Been around them long enough to know it has not been refinished. Stock has the same red tone to it. Would $300 be out of line for it? My door gun is the the standard riot with no game scene.

 

[Nedroe]

Ithaca 37 is...

without a doubt, the finest combat shotgun ever made. 7 rounder, I'd be a buyer at $300


Ned

 

[charlie sherrill]

Not long ago I looked at about 30 LEO turn ins at an auction and about half had the engraving. All were parked. I have a five shot with the handguard/bayonet guard that was delivered to my old PD in 1961. It had been kept in a locker until I bought it back in the 70's. It will remain in the family when I'm gone. I've got another that I picked up at an estate auction last year for $150.00. It lives by my bedroom door.

 

[Brian41]

I'd buy it fast at that price. I paid $400.00 a few years ago for one like Ned's bottom picture except it has extended magazine and is brushed chrome.
Great fun to hold the trigger back and fire as fast as you can pump. Hard on the hand with a pistol grip though after a few rounds of 00 Buck.

 

[G-Mac]

It's priced really right. Comments?

I love good deals....and being as I have a soft spot for Ithaca pump guns, I'd probably buy it...if it is, indeed, original.

 

[sipowicz]

I had the 7 rounder but sold it...like the 4 shot better...a little shorter and better balanced...

 

[JayCeeNC]

Bruce, I've seen Ithaca police duty shotguns with the game scenes on them. As Nedroe said, they might have used them just to fill orders quickly. The engraving appeared to be machine done, not hand engraved.

 

[jimmyj]

BEWARE!!
Ithaca Model 37. Wichester Model 1897 and Model 12, and Remington Model 10 has negative trigger disconnectors. SLAM FIRE-with the trigger back, the weapon will fire when a shell is chambered. Weak trigger return spring and/or poorly maintainance will cause ADs.
Many a squad room or patrol vehicle roof has had a "Skylight" installed because of this.

 

[cmort666]

I've got a blued Deer Slayer Police Special seven shot. It was my first modern firearm.

It's got the hunting scene. The finish is pretty bad on it. If I can ever get out of my current hellish job to one with more financial consistency, I'll probably send it to Ithaca, who've moved to Ohio.

 

[tom turner]

I own a 1969-made Ithaca DSPS that was bought at a surplus auction for shotguns from the old Florida Freshwater Fish and Game Commission. Is the M&P version the same as the DSPS?

Mine also has a modest game scene on the side, and it is still in its original parkerized finish. Sporting a 20" smooth bore barrel and a 4 + 1 round capacity, this light little sucker "kills at both ends!" VERY accurate too with the Federal brand "Classic" rifled slugs (1 1/2" 3-round groups, dead on, at 100 yards)!!!

Best of all, and as a lefty, it has the rare left-hander's safety!

The best $ 42.50 I ever spent (about 1995 or so)!

 

[Black_Talon]

If it has a game scene on the receiver, it's a DSPS.

If the receiver is unrolled, it's an M&P.

Both versions were made in the 7-shot configuration. Ithaca also did a lot of "custom" runs for various LE agencies, especially in the mid 1970's when they were aggressively chasing the LE market, so it's not uncommon to see mix-master types of LE M-37's floating around. Here's some I've owned over the years, each with some sort of LE provenance, whether by factory order or actual LE ownership:

 

[enfield]

My DSPS has a matte nickel finish, which isn't too good in some areas.

 

[Sebago Son]

Hey Bruce!

All good observations above. While I am not an Ithaca pump gun authority, I have handled and fielded many of them in the past. In my experience, the game scene engraving or lack of it appears intermittently in all of the commercial models of the Model 37. As I recall, there is more than one pattern of this engraving with the later type an acid etched, relief type similar to that of Remington's in the mid-90's on their 7400, 7600, Model 4 and Model 6. Of the two patterns, I think that the earlier type as seen in Tom's excellent photo to be the more tasteful. As I recall, the 20 gauge field model I just gave away also had this engraving. However, the folding stock featherweight police model I once owned did not.

Either way, the 7-shot Police Special you discussed would make a fine addition to your "Father and Son" battery, especially given the fact that you already own one. About the only thing I would do is change out the magazine tube spring just to be sure it's fresh.

$300 is a very good price in my view, especially if the gun has rifle sights and the correct recoil pad. A Good Remington 870 Police set up the same way would cost you this amount and more....

 

[AkSaber]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I didn't feel like making a new one.

I think it's sad that the Ithaca 37 is so obscure these days, what with Remington and Mossberg. It confuses me because the Ithaca 37 was so popular back in the day, yet the company couldn't keep its head above water.

Now that is the most awesome shotgun collection I have ever seen. Especially the one at the top, it's a work of beauty. Everything you need, and nothing you don't.

 

[ithaca66]

Ithaca, did use those game scenes to fill orders quickly a well cleaned and oiled slam fed model 37 will never fail you. $250-$350 depending on condition and location. Would be an oustanding purchase for anyone.

 

[AkSaber]

Ithaca, did use those game scenes to fill orders quickly a well cleaned and oiled slam fed model 37 will never fail you. $250-$350 depending on condition and location. Would be an oustanding purchase for anyone.

No doubt. Why does classy stuff like the Ithaca have a difficult time finding its way to Alaska?

Something else which bugs me, the new 37s made in Ohio, have a fixed barrel and not a removable one. I mean the design worked wonderfully for over 65 years. Why fix something that wasn't broken in the first place?

 

[2152hq]

None of the Sandusky mfg 37's are available as a TD?
I don't know anything about them but assumed (bad thing to do) that they were a standard Ithaca TD system.
The early 37's didn't have interchangable bbls off the shelf (that came later in production), they had to be factory fitted. But they were still able to be taken down.

Perhaps something to do with mfg costs and/or liability protection.
Neither are cheap to field in the USA.
Wondering if they redesigned the so-called 'slam fire' trigger disconnect on the new 37 as Browning did on their Japanese made M12 and M42 repros to avoid mishap lawsuits.

They don't exactly price the new ones in the modest range I'd expect for a 37,considering the number of NY production guns around and what they can be bought for (looking at their website and retail prices).
But they are a nice looking group and it's good to see an old maker's name still alive and not just in name only.

 

[sipowicz]

Everyone today wants pistol grips and vented barrels and custom stocks...guess the Ithaca has gone the way of other dependable items that worked perfectly for the job without any tinkering...like a good old fashioned revolver.