It’s a Turkish shotgun, what could possibly go wrong?
Like the old saying goes hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Perhaps a clue as to how things will go was when 2 days after I paid $390 it was on sale for $325 and now MidwayUSA has it even cheaper at $299. And those bastards would not adjust the price and no returns. Anyway, putting my anger aside I was excited to get my first ever shotgun and even more excited it is a “clone” of the famous Ithaca 37. The PA37 looks like the original model 37 albeit a bit heavier with a thicker grip. The pump action feels smooth and shells loaded easily in the mag tube but only 4 shells and not the stated 5. The bead blasted nickel finish is attractive and seems durable. So far having it a month the barrel, mag tube, and heat shield are still a nice matte silver. The main receiver is turning into kind of a dirty brownish color. Using a lead removing polish cloth the receiver cleaned right up. I used some renaissance wax after the cloth for an added layer of protection.
The stock and foregrip are solid Turkish walnut and the black color is uniform on both. The wood to metal fit is not seamlessly smooth but is a solid tight fit. At the range the the PA37 shoots where you point it. The trigger pull is about 9lbs with no slop and there are 3 interchangeable chokes, full, modified, and cylinder. The choke tubes are labeled with dash marks but using the Paul Harrel dime fit test it’s easy to determine which tube is what spread.
After the first 10 shells the reality that this is a Turkish shotgun set in. The bolt would not lock with certain shells, other times after firing, the shell would become stuck in the chamber and the PA37 becomes exceptionally difficult to pump. Often the slide would lock but the slide release would be stuck and not release. That’s an issue if you need to clear the chamber without firing. Lastly the recoil pad is like the original Ithaca and offers very little recoil absorption. After those first 10 shells I had a bruise and my shoulder was a bit tender in spots. But I’m also a big baby and should have held the PA37 tighter.
So me being me, and a garage gunsmith at heart, I took it all apart. It disassembles just like the original 37 (except for one part). The bolt that holds the stock on is a 12mm metric and not a 3/8 like the original bolt. Once apart I noticed the slide disconnect was roughly finished and uneven. The yoke slip was too tight, the barrel notches for the bolt extractors were rough, one of the two screws that held the recoil pad on spun freely in the stock, and the extractor teeth were a bit notchy. Another observation was that the chamber was a bit rough and sticky feeling and the magazine follower needed to have the diameter of the magazine spring opening expanded to allow the magazine spring to seat properly. That cured the issue with only fitting 4 shells in the tube. Now it holds 5 properly. I removed all the notches and rough spots, polished all the integral parts including the chamber, cleaned, lubricated and reassembled. And then off to the range. Oh and I changed the recoil pad to a Limbsaver Classic Precision Fit model 10013 that, with some customizing of the screw holes on the pad, fits the stock perfectly. Now after shooting no bruise on my shoulder.
After all that the PA37 ran like a well put together piece of equipment. I did notice that using Fiocchi Field Dynamics Steel Dove shot causes the shell to stick in the chamber making the PA37 very difficult to pump the action. The issue has only been with that one particular shell. Remington, Federal, Winchester, and even Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 00 buck shot functions with no trouble.
So just when I was basking in the enjoyment of having a worthy Ithaca 37 clone I encounter a potentially fatal design flaw on the PA37. A part called the right positive shell stop came loose. Not just loose it broke the peened metal lip edge of the post that held it in place. This is where the design flaw comes in. On the genuine 37 the part is held in with the trigger housing and on the Turkish PA37 it was pressed fit into the receiver. This part naturally wants to back out from the natural cycling of the gun. Press fitting the shell stop post to the receive only holds the post firmly but the shell stop itself (based on this Turkish 2 piece, post and shell stop design) is held in place by a very thin peened metal lip. After about 200 cycles of live and dummy shells the abuse was enough for the part to fail completely. To say I was crest fallen was an understatement. Without this part the PA37 is relegated to being only a single shot because without it shells are not able to cycle out of the mag tube properly. For those that are unfamiliar with the part here is a basic description. The part works like a cantilever. Holding and releasing a shell is operated with the pump. When the pump is pulled back the bolt inside the receiver pushes down one side of the shell stop and this stops the shells from loading more than one and jamming. Then when the pump is pushed forward the bolt inside the receiver pushes forward on the opposite end of the shell stop allowing a new shell to ready for the next reload. Using a punch and hammer I removed the post from the receiver. With a dremel, took off some material from the shell stop to allow the post more room to be peened. Then reattached the shell stop to the post and peened it. Now the shell stop can move freely on the post.
After reattaching the shell stop to the post I needed to figure out how to attach the part to the receiver. The goal was to make the PA37 better and figure how to attach the part like on the original Ithaca. The genuine part is shaped to have a portion rest against the trigger housing. After some bending and a little metal tape for some extra bulk on the PA37 part the issue is solved. It is now held in with the trigger housing like the original Ithaca 37. After function testing 100’s of times with dummy rounds it was off to the range for a real test. At the range I ran 34 shells through it without one issue. I shot everything from Winchester to Remington to Federal to Fiocchi and all types from birdshot to buckshot to slug. I even threw in some mini shells. They don’t cycle properly and get flipped around when chambering. If you hold the PA37 upside down when cycling the mini shells will mostly work without having to align them manually. I was very happy to have it working and more importantly working properly and reliably. It does have some oomph with certain shells but the new recoil pad I added makes a huge difference compared with the stock pad. It is a blast to shoot and it is shooting with no issues…so far.
Panzer Arms PA37 pros and cons:
Pros
- Classic Ithaca 37 design
- All steel construction
- Turkish walnut furniture
- 3 Interchangeable choke tubes included
- Disassembly and reassembly is identical to the genuine Ithaca (except for the right shell stop)
- Customer service is excellent. I sent an email about the broken part on Sunday and Nick from Panzer Arms had a replacement part in the mail the next day and I received it on the Wednesday.
Cons
- Disconnect was uneven and roughly finished
- Chamber was rough and sticky feeling
- Magazine follower to narrow to seat the magazine spring properly
- Positive shell stop poorly designed and a fatal flaw without a proper fix
Conclusion:
If you are looking for a reliable out of the box, shoot everything shotgun, in a classic trench style the PA37 is not for you. You will be better served with a mossberg 590 retrograde. However, if you are someone that doesn’t mind gambling and have some aptitude when it comes to basic gunsmithing, and you really want an Ithaca 37 clone then the PA37 maybe worth a look. Just hope for the best and be prepared for a Turkish shotgun.
