Got my Norithaca M37 today

Claven2

Claven2

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Well, the shotty finally arrived. It's a bit crude, but I am actually VERY impressed with how overbuilt & solid it is and also how much machining the Chinese actually managed to do and keep the price at (reportedly) $100 US wholesale! (They retail about $199 canadian).

The main differences between in and my real Ithacas are:

1) the mag tube is 1 round longer.
2) The screws are all of lower quality with shallow slots.
3) The barrel is locked in by dual opposed locking lugs, while on an original it is held on my interrupted threads. I have no idea if the Chinese design is as durable as the Ithaca design, but I doubt it. Barrel is electropencil serialized to the receiver so I imagine it was at least fitted.
4) Real ithacas have a pivoting cartridge interruptor that cams on the bolt's forwar movement. The Norinco design instead uses a recessed interruptor pushed out of the way by the closing bolt. This was necessary as the Chinese adapted the design from the single action bar of the Ithaca design to a dual action bar setup. I have NO IDEA WHY as the original design worked fine and would have been easier to manufacture...??? It's going to be a challenge to fit an Ithaca forestock to this gun...
5) The Norinco does not slamfire :( The good news is a real Ithaca trigger group WILL drop in - YAY! Slamfire here I come! (I have a spare trigger group somewhere in my parts bin, I think...)
6) the receiver markings are prominent and UGLY. I may file them off and discretely re-stamp them somewhere less obvious and then bead and park the gun - we shall see. Depends if this one feeds OK or not.
7) the sights are direct copies of Reminton shotgun rifle sights. OK, but ghost rings would have been better.
8) Threads are exposed once you tighten up the barrel nut. Cosmetically unfortunate, but should be OK.
9) The stock is BUTT UGLY. I'm replacing it anyhow.

More to follow when I get around to it. BUT - overall the gun isn;t as pathetic as I thought it might be from reading the few threads on here about it.
 
somewhat different from the real ithaca eh? but your happy and you see the differences. you knew at $199.99 CDN it couldn't be the same, but a new gun is never, ever a bad thing, CONGRATS
 
Well, I would NOT buy one of these to "get a cheap Ithaca". I have a real ithaca and am very happy with it. This clone is more just a project gun than anything else. If it feeds though, it's probably as well made as a Remington 870 express and it's cheaper.
 
good . i've got 2 model 37's myself . one's my fathers 1948 and it's never hiccupped. the others is a 1976 28" v.r. mod. barrel, 2 stocks ,1 shortened with pad and a 26" deerslayer barrel. trying to dump it. $450.00 no takers. ithaca just don't seem to hold value. your "real" ithaca must be an older one to slam fire.
 
Yeah, my "real" one is a 1958 featherlight. Corn cob forestock, plain field butt with the original bakelite buttplate. No checkering. It's a 28" plain (no vent rib) barrel with the day-glo front bead. It does slamfire :)

I really like it - my favorite shotty (and I have many). The lack of a vent rib and the early slim wood and small forestock make it VERY light and easy to carry. People don't realize it, but the VR models really are a good bit heavier.

When I first picked up my M37, it had an aluminum trigger group that also slamfired as the early non-VR featherlights often came that way to lower the weight. I replaced it with an early steel trigger group out of a VR model which I then put the aluminum trigger group into and resold for the same price ;) Aluminum on a gun = CRAP in my books!

The only thing that would make an early Ithaca M37 better would be if they could be made to work as reliably with 3" shells, though the Model87's, if anything, have shown me that they don't :( Oh well. I generally only use 2,3/4" shells anyhow.

As for retaining value, I see alot of early Ithacas in really rough shape so of course they don't sell for alot. I also know that some of the stuff put out by the King Ferry iteration of the Ithaca name in the 80's was of dubious quality with sub-par fit and finish, cast parts, etc. and it somewhat cheapened the brand. I look on those guns as the "870 express" of the Ithaca line, whereas the early guns are all "wingmasters".

Supposedly the latest stuff being made by the new Ithaca Gun is up to the early gun quality level, but only time will tell.

I think the biggest single factor lowering value of ithaca shotguns in Canada is that there is only ONE guy in Canada stocking Ithaca parts. He's in Ontario and REFUSES to sell parts to other gunsmiths. Everything "requires fitting" according to him and he insists you ship him the gun and pay ridiculously exhorberant rates for repair.

If/When Ithaca gun ever gets off its butt and puts new models on Canadian shelves and if/when they sponsor factory warranty service through more than one cranky old skinflint gunsmith, the brand's popularity will improve in the premium pump gun market IMHO.

Until that day, I will not complain about being able to buy inexpensive used ithaca shotguns ;)

On that note, if anyone has an old ithaca with a cracked or even missing stock set, poor finish, etc. that they want to sell cheap, let me know! I'm looking for another vintage ithaca fitting that bill to use a spare stock set on and to convert it to a riot gun, including parkerized finish, etc. but the price would have to be right ;)
 
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for a long time ithaca like a lot of others didn't use diconnectors so "slam fire". your ithaca sounds like my oldtimer corn cob forend, plain 28" barrel, mod.choke, but my front sight is a brass bead. 1 distributor in for ithaca in ontario.Hmmmm.sounds like he'll have his own way for a while. i'm redoing a 1903 ithaca lewis sxs. sending it out to wilcox gunworks for a new butt stock and forend. i'm putting full length briley insert tubes in it , to change it from a 12 ga. to a 28ga. as long as the gun is tight , head space is okay, you can shoot your old damascus,but it ain't cheap. removed all the old bluing. it has a really beautiful chain link damascus pattern on the barrels,the reciever has the usual snipe, grouse , duck engraving and etching all around the edges. going to leave it that way and finish with duracoat clear and put some gold inlay in the engravings. kind of a project gun as well. actually it's a christmas gift for my son. your right about vent rib models being a good bit heavier. i've had very good results with poley choke ribs of aluminum,attached with their own epoxy. i've never had one returned because it's loose. makes the gun a lot lighter and much more easily installed.i really don't see too many ithaca 37's or any other pump for that matter in my shop, compared to our beloved gas semi auto. if people ever learn to keep them clean we'll all be losing some cash . HeHe. have good day
 
Yeah, I know what you mean. Seems most shotgun repairs these days are to Jam-o-matics, particularly the less expensive ones like Stoeger P350's. they are alot of gun for the money, but like anything with alot of moving parts, if you don't properly maintain it...

On another note, I ran 50 rounds through the norithaca this morning. Only one failure to feed and it was my fault. I was purposefully short-stroking it a bit to see if I could make it crap out. It fed on that round but didn't extract.

So far it seems like I beat the odds and got a decent clone. The dual action bar thing is still throwing me for a bit of a loop though, as is the bayonet mount barrel. Just doesn't seem normal to shoot an Ithaca (even a clone thereof) sporting a barrel that doesn't use interrupted threads!
 
maybe you didn't beat the odds. i really think most items out there today are as well built as they ever were and most better. i know we don't like to talk that way but i think it's true. pre '64 win. mod. 94's. i've had a hell of a lot more pre 64 mod. 94's in my shop than anything after '64. most of the changes they made were improvements i think. guns were never cheap and hunting and shooting is NOT a cheap sport. my dad paid over $100.00 for his mod. 37 in 1949. as far as guys talking about cast parts as opposed to machined parts, well the steel used for machined parts had to be cast at some point.for $199.00 i think you got great value. your only hang up was when you short stroked on purpose!! shoot it all weekend!! as time and money will allow. HeHe. my wife just came out to go to work and she agrees that all guns cost $50.00 and the ammo is free! yeah right. have a good one
 
Hmm... well some testing today proved unfortunate. I tried fitting an Ithaca M37 trigger group the the Norinco. If you mill off the guide ribs at the front of the Ithaca trigger guard to replicate the mill cuts on the Norinco guard, it will install. Unfortunately though, the Ithaca hammer does NOT have the primary hammer hump that the Norinco hammer has.

As a result, the bolt carrier doesn't push the hammer down fast enough to clear the disconnector projection on the hammer out of the way of the bolt carrier arm and it binds on cycling. The only way I can figure to make it work would be to swap the disconnector arm and retrofit the Norinco hammer with the arm catch, but no garantees.

I've given up the slam-fire idea for the time being due to this setback :(
 
you could get another ithaca trigger group and modify it for the norinco, thereby saving your original? but then again this is why you got the norithaca to begin with. have fun. P.S. why do some people spell ithaca -ITHICA.
 
Claven2, I don't want to be negative here, but I bought one of these from Marstar a while back. Every second shot, the gun would jam and after fireing 5 slugs, the barrel shroud fell off the gun. Oh yeah, the pistol grip was'nt the most comfortable when shooting 3" slugs with the stock folded. But then again, 3" slugs will tend to make most shotguns less then comfortable ;) I finally decided to send it back to Marstar to exchange it for a 18,5 870 clone, and that one is a POS also. Beside the SKS, the 1911 and the M305, I would stay clear of any other Norinco product. Send it back before the warrenty runs out and get your cash back to buy the real deal. My 2 cents.

Regards,

Roadwarrior
 
Roadwarrior:

1) I didn't buy the mall ninja model and I didn't get the gun from Marstar. I bought the normal Ithaca riot gun clone without all the K-mart gear.

2) I have owned many Norinco guns over the years and your assertion that they are junk is unfounded. My Norinco 1911 is my favorite hangun after some customization. And yes, I have stock handguns costing 5 times as much to compare it to.

3) 75 rounds downrange so far on the Norithaca and not a single jam yet except once when I short-stroked it on purpose to see if I could MAKE it jam. No fail to feeds yet.

4) I have several "real" 870's and a "real" Ithaca model 37. I don't buy Norinco guns because I can't afford more (I'm an employed and licensed Mechanical Engineer and I live quite comfortably, thanks), I buy them to use as beaters and have fun with.
 
Claven2 said:
Roadwarrior:


2) I have owned many Norinco guns over the years and your assertion that they are junk is unfounded. My Norinco 1911 is my favorite hangun after some customization. And yes, I have stock handguns costing 5 times as much to compare it to.

4) I have several "real" 870's and a "real" Ithaca model 37. I don't buy Norinco guns because I can't afford more (I'm an employed and licensed Mechanical Engineer and I live quite comfortably, thanks), I buy them to use as beaters and have fun with.
Click to expand...

2-Please read my previous post carefully, I did not say that they were all scrap...
4-I was not insinuating that you were too poor to buy the real deal...

I'm glad that you are satisfied with your purchase, I did'nt mean to "rain on your parade". I just shared my experiance.

I do own a Norc SKS that I love! :)
 
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