Any Ithaca 37 Love in Here?

I love the lively handling qualities and light weight of the Ithaca, they almost feel like a repeating version of an H&R Topper single shot.

No other pump gives me as much confidence of hitting with a quick point shot as the 37.
 
Brutus said:
Good pics gwhysow.
I have only seen that most recent photo the officer with the kevlar helmet.
I do believe there were other photos of him on the subway platform(?) And IIRC he holds a shotgun with a bead sight. I could be mistaken, but I think his shotgun appears to have a 13 tube.
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Updated my post with another I had bookmarked. Cool guns for a lawless time. LAPD and LASD have some great Ithaca tales, but they're all 18 and 20s. All studs to me, but then again, I've never had the pleasure of owning a 14.
 
gwhysow said:
Updated my post with another I had bookmarked. Cool guns for a lawless time. LAPD and LASD have some great Ithaca tales, but they're all 18 and 20s. All studs to me, but then again, I've never had the pleasure of owning a 14.
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A fella could do worse with a 20 inch DSPS friend.
In 2008 I plopped a wild boar through the heart with a single Brenneke and it's iron sights 70 yards. Worked so well my partner and the landowner thought it was just almost too boring. That's a pretty good compliment really....
 
Brutus said:
Yes sir full agreement here.

I would definitely concur a DSPS with rifle sights front and rear w/14 inch barrel is a rare one.

I have only seen pics of it and within the hands of NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers.

Edit: Your 14 inch DSPS, can I safely assume the rear sight is LAPD wedge type sight?

Just curious.
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I wish it were the LAPD rear with its low-profile simplicity -- but it's the other style, the longshank flattop. The consolation is elevation adjustment and a slightly longer sight radius. All three of my Ithaca's have this type of rear sight.

Speaking of the LAPD, they had a couple lotteries for officers who were serving (or in academy) during the period when the Ithaca 37's were in use. Winner got to buy a retired duty classic at a great price.

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(Last pic from the 70's/ 80's TV show, Police Story)
 
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department during an incident at a 2002 gang funeral.

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I wonder if LASD still has them in inventory?
 
My DSPS's:

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Sorry for the small small image.
The image hosting site I've always used is now charging a fee, so I tried a new one and this seems to be the best result I can get.
 
barrett50cal said:
That’s true, or at least plausible, and not even necessarily a consequence of their various closures, as those same mismatches are documented in Roger Rule’s Rifleman’s Rifle on the Winchester M70. I have copies of both books, my copy of the Ithaca book is signed by Walter Snyder.

So no argument there, except to say that the barrel has the model designation and the receiver has the serial number (for 37/87’s made after 1963), so for there to exist a ‘98 M87, it would require a pre-‘96 King Ferry barrel (they stopped stamping the M87 designation in 1996) mated to a receiver whose serial number corresponded to a 1998 DOM. In other words, if a mismatch occurred, then the barrel sat around the factory for 2 years after its manufacture. There were no upheavals at Ithaca in the years spanning 1996-98 (not until 2002, and then the big move to Upper Sandusky in 2005) so although the scenario is not impossible, it’s perhaps unusual.

Also it’s worth noting that the older 37’s with serial number block lower than 855000 corresponding to 1963 DOM had the SN stamped on both the barrel and receiver, as barrels were non-interchangeable without custom fitting and checking for headspace.

I currently own three Ithaca 37/87’s:
- 1966 blued 20” DSPS M37 with rifle sights and short mag tube
- 1980 parkerized 20” DSPS M37 with rifle sights and full-length mag tube
- 1994 parkerized factory 14” DSPS M87 with rifle sights.

The last one is rare — I’m told the only one exported to Canada, but I have no way to verify that claim so I take it with a grain of salt.
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Your DSPS 87 14” with rifle sights was imported by a company called Spartic Arms & it was part of a contract that ended up being cancelled by the end user, the shipment had in excess of 50 shotguns and all got sold off commercially & I owned one for several years and regrettably sold it

gadget
 
gadget said:
Your DSPS 87 14” with rifle sights was imported by a company called Spartic Arms & it was part of a contract that ended up being cancelled by the end user, the shipment had in excess of 50 shotguns and all got sold off commercially & I owned one for several years and regrettably sold it

gadget
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Was that the drunk that drunk himself to death? There was a bunch in a storage locker in Edmonton that Bud Haynes sold. It was all part of a estate of the Ithaca dealer at the time. I bought a bunch of them and they went cheap. I paid $86 and $75 for a NIB 14" M87 barrel.
 
Thanks for the pics, and the info. I've long been tracking and storing pics and info on the DSPS and M&P models. Would love to throw together a fun guide in the future. This a nice little nugget. Do we know who the end user was for the order?
 
Can-down said:
I'd never even heard of the 14" length option.... what's the choke?
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IIRC, mine mike out to about modified choke.

Edit: In Walter's book these 14 inch and full stock Ithacas were referred to as M87 "P.D. Special" (Police Department?)
Of course in the USA these are requiring almost the same paperwork as the Stakeout. But this model was only available in 12 gauge and in 1988 cost the same as the Stakeout, $490.
 
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gadget said:
Your DSPS 87 14” with rifle sights was imported by a company called Spartic Arms & it was part of a contract that ended up being cancelled by the end user, the shipment had in excess of 50 shotguns and all got sold off commercially & I owned one for several years and regrettably sold it

gadget
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Great to know, thanks for that info!
 
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