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Is Ithaca still making guns?

16K views 75 replies 22 participants last post by  RandyWakeman 
#1 ·
A dealer sent them multiple inquiries for me regarding having a M37 20g made back in January...no replies. On their website all the M37's in 20 and 28g say Out of Stock, has been that way for a while. Are they down because of covid or is there a another reason?
 
#3 ·
Keep calling. I ordered a new gun from them last summer and it took about 5 weeks to get confirmation. Covid has slowed them down a lot.
 
#4 ·
chairman said:
Why not call or email them.
I have emailed, as has Dealer placing potential order for me...no response. I haven't called because I'm in another country and can't personally purchase a firearm, has to be done through a dealer who can import/export which is why I was letting the dealer handle all the communications, that way theres a paper trail if an order was placed.
I can live without the Ithaca though so if it's too much to ask them for a reply then I'll buy something else.
 
#6 ·
I can live without the Ithaca though so if it's too much to ask them for a reply then I'll buy something else.
I am going to get hung for heresy here, but if you are in another country, you might want to pass on a new Ithaca and see if you can locate a higher condition old one in the configuration that you want.

New Ithacas sometimes have too tight chambers, have feeding issues and need sent back to the factory

YES YES YES I personally know someone here in the Akron Ohio area that went through that ordeal, got so perturbed about the gun not feeding, jamming, dumping shells that he took it and traded it in at a significant loss. While he could have gone through the process of sending it back to get worked on,

for you being outside the U.S. and and the issues you will face, you just might want to reconsider.

That is my opinion.

BTW the older (pre-Ohio built Ithacas) that I have and have had, have all been wonderful shotguns.
 
#9 ·
There was also a design change that the Ohio company has perpetuated. The original design of the magazine tube had a bushing pushed into the end. It more controlled the handing off of the shell the shell stops and subsequent feeding. Somewhere along the line the design was changed to a roll crimp to keep the magazine shell follower inside the tube. This allows the shell to rattle around and makes the shell stop adjustment hyper critical.

Back when I built the 16ga for my wife and machined a bushing to go into the mag tube I bought from the company here in Ohio, it was much easier to adjust the shell stops.

Additionally when I asked the service people what they did about the internal shoulder that the tube bottomed out against, they told me they reamed it out on people's guns they worked on, thus increasing a tolerance beyond the original design.

When I was rebuilding restoring for myself, I haunted eBay, gunbroker, old gunshops/gunparts shops looking for new old stock or guns that were parted out to get a stock of the old style ones.

I still have a couple in 16ga and I had 1 new old stock 12ga mag tube that went to a fellow forum member in a deal.

It is worth it's weight in well, it is valuable because of what it is.

It is that design change that causes the feeding issues in the newer guns (in my opinion based on experience)

The issue with shells are tight chambers and a design that was perfected before today's cheap a** shells.
 
#14 ·
Specklebelly said:
ohio mike said:
I'm sure that's very annoying. However they do use Cheddite hulls. My solution is to load my own in either Federal or Remington hulls,problem solved. :D
I agree that is a solution but a $1000 shotgun should probably take whatever you feed it.
That is exactly why I said above

I am going to get hung for heresy here, but if you are in another country, you might want to pass on a new Ithaca
 
#16 ·
It is not whether or not Ohio built Ithacas have problems (we know that there are intermittent issues with the Ohio built guns) it is if you get one of their guns that has a problem and live in a foreign country which the OP says he does. His profile says "Great White North" (I assume Canada) and he posts about having to go through an importer, the paper work, getting a gun across the border and dealing with the Canadian government and their rules.

(My buddy lives in Alberta, you wouldn't believe what they are subjected to).

So when you live in say Canada and the gun has an issue, then it becomes a problem trying to get a tomato stake corrected into being a working shotgun.
 
#17 ·
Yes I'm in Canada. I previously owned a beautiful 28g 37 but sold it on a whim to get something else (which i greatly regret now) and had zero issues with it...my main objective was just finding out if they are even up and running again after all this covid stuff. Like I mentioned in first post they simply aren't responding in any way. Yes I know.."pick up the phone!"...I can hear you all yelling it from here haha
 
#18 ·
buckmark525 said:
Yes I'm in Canada. I previously owned a beautiful 28g 37 but sold it on a whim to get something else (which i greatly regret now) and had zero issues with it...my main objective was just finding out if they are even up and running again after all this covid stuff. Like I mentioned in first post they simply aren't responding in any way. Yes I know.."pick up the phone!"...I can hear you all yelling it from here haha
I really enjoy mine even though it doesn't like the cheddite hulls and hopefully you can get one soon.
 
#22 ·
The reason why their barrels are polished differently is because the vent rib lugs are machined integral to the barrel. That makes polishing them in a different way than barrels that are fully cylindrical.

The advantage is that the lugs do not have to be silver soldered on, so the barrels stay straighter.

The disadvantage is having to polish around them.

The ones of us that did the shop tour saw this.
 
#23 ·
Dr Cook that is true, the ribs are cut directly on the barrel.

The real core issue is that Ithaca was taken over by a tool and die shop. Tool and die makers know their business, but not necessarily firearms. They make the barrels that way not because it added something super awesome to the gun, but rather that they lacked the machinery to make and solder on the ribs. They also lack the tooling and know how to roto forge barrels. It's a work around.

The same applies to the way they fit the choke tubes, they stick out a bit. A tool maker would reason that was a sensible way to fit a tube if it were a piece of tooling, but on a shotgun it looks terrible and is not how any other shotgun is done.

I also have my own fabrication shop (not shotguns obviously) and I have made work arounds myself in a similar concept for the same reasons, lacking certain machinery.

Yes, they make a big deal about the dovetails holding the rib on and how little the bore deviates from center. but lets face it, suppose you had a rib or bore that deviated .0001" in its entire length?? So what. It's a shotgun.

Anyway, i have owned 3 of the new Ithacas and yes I found them to be very smooth in operation. I just couldn't stand the ridiculous way the barrels were made, nor did I care for that crappy laser cut checkering. I am glad they're being made though, parts and service availability is always a plus.
 
#24 ·
The choke tubes are fitted "proud" of the muzzle so a
gunsmith can remove stuck tubes with out damage to the muzzle.
Remember there are owners that will clean the choke tube every ten years
weather they need it or not.
This was told to us during the shop tour.
I thought Ithaca was making use of the best of todays technology.

They have CNC machining center's and wire EDM machines.
But they still use hand finishing where needed.
 
#25 ·
The choke tubes on my Ohio Ithaca aren't proud of the muzzle. I would have requested a return if they did (however I had not heard of that being to help the gunsmith ((which sounds iffy))).

Were the ribs soldered on in the old days? Does it matter whether the barrels are Roto forged now? It's something that sounds nice but which method really produces a better barrel? As far as checkering, I'll take laser cut over the ugly pressed checkering that was used for years.

I like my '49, '52 AND my '20. It's nice be able to use steel and 3" shells though.
 
#26 ·
There is room for improvement in the Ithaca Model 37 as supplied, but not much. We are picky, and don't like the fact that the Briley chokes don't always fit perfectly flush with the muzzle, allowing a sliver of silver to jut out on the modified tube for example. It is cosmetic, not of functional importance as our patterning was able to show . . . but it isn't right. Flush chokes should be flush, or slightly recessed. Either Briley is making them too long, or Ithaca is ordering them too long. It needs to be fixed. We also found the Ithaca owner's manual, with overly dark pictures and lackadaisical text, to be one of the most poorly offered "manuals" we have seen in recent history. Please dispose of properly. While the basic stock dimensions have been changed to our satisfaction, the buttstock is a bit too thick for our tastes and could use a little slimming up overall-- particularly in the pistol grip area.

Worthy of note is the Ithaca's "solderless" barrels. Where in most shotguns, the barrel lugs that the rib attaches to are soldered or even glued on, the Ithaca barrels have integral, machined in lugs that are a work of art. While on the subject of barrels, it is also worth noting that the Ithaca Model 37 has a threaded receiver and threaded barrels, just like always. It is more costly to produce, of course, than the slip / slop barrels you find on most pumps and semi-autos. However, it is a superior mechanical lock-up that helps account for the exemplary accuracy found in Ithaca Deerslayer models, for example. You won't easily find a bolt action rifle with a barrel that isn't threaded and headspaced, and if you want your shotgun to shoot as accurately as a rifle slip-fits can be considered lacking. The Ithaca barrels are positively located by metal against metal, not slip-fit with a loose magazine cap against wood, plastic, or a welded-on barrel ring. This is part of the appeal of the Model 37, along with its "from a solid block of steel" receiver. It is all likely far stronger than it strictly needs to be, but that is part and parcel of what build quality is all about.

One of the benefits of dealing with a moderate-sized company like Ithaca is that the current Ithaca is well-suited to accommodate custom stock dimensions and upgraded wood. We've seen some of the high grade walnut examples from Ithaca-- and they are breathtaking. The tested gun was Ithaca's standard grade, still a very nice piece of walnut with distinct mineral streaks, the forearm and buttstock evenly matched in grain, color, and tone. As the importance of shotgun-fit is hard to ever-estimate, it will be a godsend to many shooters to learn that Ithaca is happy to take care of custom work right at the factory for them.

This was my impression back in 2008 and it hasn't changed.
 
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