Cleaning Ithaca 37 - What else do I need to know?

[ninepointer]

I'm now the owner of my first Model 37. Should I be pulling out the guts from time-to-time like I do on my 870? What sort of action maintenance & lubing is needed to keep me and my Model 37 happy?

 

[sir_springer]

I believe caution is due. Read an article recently, in which it stated that the action was "timed". I assume this would mean that feeding/ejecting problems could occur if reassembled without attention to this.

Might be worth a phone call to find out more about this...

http://www.ithacagun.com/ithacaservice.html

Or, because millions of these were sold over the years, a good gunsmith might be able to shed some light on this prior to stripping it down.

Own one myself, great shotguns!

 

[madtrapper143]

To get the guts out of your 37 you have to pull the butt stock. It's not a big deal once you have done it a time or two. There is lots of info on the net for this. Under normal usage you should only have to tear it down about every 2 years. I have cleaned several with complete tear downs and did not notice any timing issues when re assembled. One thing you can do without alot of work is unscrew the mag cap all the way off and remove and clean the follower, mag tube inner and spring. My uncle hunted with a 37 for 40 years plus and all the cleaning it got was a wipe with an oily rag at the end of the day. It never failed him.

regards, Darryl

 

[sir_springer]

Dad bought his Model 37 in the late 50s, and did a considerable amount of duck hunting with it up until the late 60s. It sat mostly unused until I inherited it about 15 years back, and sat a lot more in my gunsafe. I'm certain the first time it's ever been stripped down was last year when I had the metal work completely gone over and reblued, with a new stock and forearm added. Like you said, all it ever got up until then was a going over with an oily cloth once in a while, and the barrel cleaned. Never, ever, when called upon, missed a beat in all that time.

Looks like this now...

 

[ninepointer]

One thing you can do without alot of work is unscrew the mag cap all the way off and remove and clean the follower, mag tube inner and spring.

Yep, that's as far as I took it; cleaned up very nice . I expect my 37 to see a lot of shells on the trap range, but little or no exposure to rain, mud or balsam needles (I'm always finding balsam needles inside my 870.) I guess the absence of a top opening makes M37's much less prone to the accumulation of foreign matter.

 

[Brutus]

I use mine for slinging slugs. It shoots very well with brenneke's or fosters.
You just have keep in mind, the LAPD wedge type, non-adjustable rearsight, is zeroed for 25 yards.
With practice, no problem. Last critter demised @75 yards from one shot to heart/lungs.

 

[madtrapper143]

When I used a canoe to hunt ducks (25 years and 30 pounds ago) I always got wildrice in my 37. I carried the Ithaca upside down between my knees as I paddled into the rice beds. Regardless it never failed.

regards, Darryl

 

[Grouse Man]

Remove the butt, and then either use a pressure washer, or use spray brake cleaner or soak it in Ed's Red and then hit it with a brush and compressed air.