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Ithaca Model 37

clays
I have acquired 2 Ithaca Model 37s. I would like to know the year each was made, I believe they are from the early 50s. The first serial number is: 18758x and the other is: 18436x. I appreciate any help you can offer.

Thank you,

John
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9 comments

Date Votes
  • clays
    I have an Ithaca model 37 ser# 425XXX can anyone tell me the year it was manufactured? Also there is the number 4 beneath the serial number that I was told designates the barrel choke but what barrel choke would 4 be if this is how Ithaca designates the choking. Any help is appreciated.
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  • charliemeyer007
    Correct. There are at least 5 pumps shotguns that will function that way.

    IIRC the Remington 10 and 29 will operate that way. Winchester 97 and 12 plus the Ithaca 37 complete the 5 I know.
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  • 11b6r
    Yep. Winchester 97 would also do that. The Ithaca 37s made up to 1975 would do that- after 1975, some would, some would not.
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  • Zinderbloc
    Some might think "slamfire" was a defect, but it was not. It was done on purpose by the factory, under the belief that the police/military might need a shotgun that will unload all its rounds in a few seconds.

    I once witnessed a shooter nearly kill his buddy when he pumped an Ithaca while holding back the trigger. Lawyers in the 1970's convinced the factories to discontinue this feature. Good riddance, IMO.
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  • Ambrose
    I had an uncle who had a 16 ga. 37 for a pheasant gun and he always fired it that way!

    I have several 37's, all but one made from pre-war to 1956 and those will slam-fire. The odd one is a 1982 and it does not slam-fire but, in my opinion, is even more stupid in design: If the trigger is held back when the slide is moved foreward, the hammer rides foreward with the breech block and does not fire but the gun is now uncocked! There is no trigger interrupter as on Remingtons, et al.
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  • clays
    quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
    I had an uncle who had a 16 ga. 37 for a pheasant gun and he always fired it that way!

    I have several 37's, all but one made from pre-war to 1956 and those will slam-fire. The odd one is a 1982 and it does not slam-fire but, in my opinion, is even more stupid in design: If the trigger is held back when the slide is moved foreward, the hammer rides foreward with the breech block and does not fire but the gun is now uncocked! There is no trigger interrupter as on Remingtons, et al.


    So, I guess I will have to load & fire it to find out if the hammer is riding forward.
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  • Ambrose
    So, I guess I will have to load & fire it to find out if the hammer is riding forward.

    That will work but you can also, with the gun empty, hold the trigger back an slowly ease the slide foreward. You can hear and feel the hammer strike as the action locks if it's an earlier one.
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  • clays
    quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
    So, I guess I will have to load & fire it to find out if the hammer is riding forward.

    That will work but you can also, with the gun empty, hold the trigger back an slowly ease the slide foreward. You can hear and feel the hammer strike as the action locks if it's an earlier one.

    Thanks, I will give that a try
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  • TriumphGuy
    It's interesting that firearms designers thought this "feature" was O.K. I would never trust that the breechblock would get fully locked before the hammer lights off the round. I guess there's enough delay in firing pin travel, primer ignition and power burn to keep things together. I would never attempt to do this, even with low pressure shotgun shells. A sear/trigger dis-connector makes any manual repeater work the way's it's supposed to, not silly, dangerous rapid fire mode.
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