Ithaca M37 vs Mossberg 590

try both and just buy whatever feels best in your hands, or even better try and fire both and buy whatever feels best. I have a model 87 defense, and love it, love the bottom ejection too. i believe they are a little on the expensive side tho, i picked mine up used but in mint shape for around 200$ plus the price of a new stock 100$ from ithaca. parts are alosr harder to find for an ithaca too...... i would go for an 870 tactical if i were to go new...just my 2cents
 
I can live with or without the slamfire feature.
Be warned though, there are 4 types of trigger groups for M37/87 shotguns.
Slamfire (M37 until 1975, excluding military sales), non-slamfire (Post 1975 and the Model 87), and thirdly, the lesser known LAPD trigger, one cannot even move the fore-end back until the last shot trigger pressure has been removed. (police department option from the factory) But with this LAPD model at least, one does not waste a shell as all you have to do is release the trigger and press again to shoot, assuming a live round is chambered. With the second non-slamfire model, if you have not released trigger pressure and pumped it into battery, one has to release trigger pressure AND pump the action again to bring a new round into battery, possibly ejecting a live round that one could not fire,
(and wasting precious time) THEN ready to fire.
Then there's the real wildcard, triggers modified to slamfire, regardless of year of manufacture. (or military surplus)

I've discussed the slamfire feature with Ron Sharp at length. He discourages this use with older shotguns especially. His thoughts on this, the linkage to do so is rather weak compared to a Winchester 1897 or "newer" Model 12 that also slamfire by design. With an older worn out M37 Ithaca, one could possibly have an out of battery discharge purely due to worn out parts.

Please don't have an bad accident trying to prove/disprove these words!
 
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good call

i considered doing this to my ithaca m87.... wasnt really serious about, just dont like the disocnnector i find its a pain in the ass. good info brutus, now i will definitely not bother doing this.


Brutus said:
I can live with or without the slamfire feature.
Be warned though, there are 4 types of trigger groups for M37/87 shotguns.
Slamfire (M37 until 1975, excluding military sales), non-slamfire (Post 1975 and the Model 87), and thirdly, the lesser known LAPD trigger, one cannot even move the fore-end back until the last shot trigger pressure has been removed. (police department option from the factory) But with this LAPD model at least, one does not waste a shell as all you have to do is release the trigger and press again to shoot, assuming a live round is chambered. With the second non-slamfire model, if you have not released trigger pressure and pumped it into battery, one has to release trigger pressure AND pump the action again to bring a new round into battery, possibly ejecting a live round that one could not fire,
(and wasting precious time) THEN ready to fire.
Then there's the real wildcard, triggers modified to slamfire, regardless of year of manufacture. (or military surplus)

I've discussed the slamfire feature with Ron Sharp at length. He discourages this use with older shotguns especially. His thoughts on this, the linkage to do so is rather weak compared to a Winchester 1897 or "newer" Model 12 that also slamfire by design. With an older worn out M37 Ithaca, one could possibly have an out of battery discharge purely due to worn out parts.

Please don't have an bad accident trying to prove/disprove these words!
Click to expand...
 
Well, I ended up going with the Mossberg 590A1. Why? Cause I saw it on sale :).
But anyway, I'm pretty happy with it and I think I made the right choice.. it's nice being able to do a combat reload on this thing from the ejection port. It doesn't have that old-school look that I like about the Ithaca... but it's badass nonetheless.
And no, the lack of a slamfire feature definitely doesn't bug me.
 
Good to hear you made a choice (or it was made for you), and even better that you're happy with it. Now, the next time you've got some spare dough laying around and can't decide between a Remington and an Ithaca, you can get the Ithaca... =P

How's the shooting? Did you get it new, or from someone on the EE?
 
smartbomb said:
Well, I ended up going with the Mossberg 590A1. Why? Cause I saw it on sale :).
But anyway, I'm pretty happy with it and I think I made the right choice.. it's nice being able to do a combat reload on this thing from the ejection port. It doesn't have that old-school look that I like about the Ithaca... but it's badass nonetheless.
And no, the lack of a slamfire feature definitely doesn't bug me.
Click to expand...

Hey I was talkin to you in the about the HD laws. I own a 590A1 too. There really awesome! Hope you like yours!
 
pope_face said:
Good to hear you made a choice (or it was made for you), and even better that you're happy with it. Now, the next time you've got some spare dough laying around and can't decide between a Remington and an Ithaca, you can get the Ithaca... =P

How's the shooting? Did you get it new, or from someone on the EE?
Click to expand...

I got it new. And yep, next up is definitely the Ithaca...
Might pick it up in a month or two.
 
I have a Winchester model 120 (30" full, 5+1), a 870 express super magnum(26" mod, 10+1), and an old Ithaca 37(18" open, 4+1), and they are all fun pump shotguns.

I'm truly not sure which I would take into a combat/self defense situation given the option. I'm a surgeon with the Winchester (used to shoot birds for vineyards... ~10000 shells through my dad's 120, about 1000 now through mine :), The Remington and Ithaca both have great histories in bad places. The 14" magazine extension on my 870 full of shells adds 1.5-2 pounds to the gun and the Ithaca is light and fast.

Hard call, so many shotguns, and unless it's just a goofy design, it's more about which one you are the most practiced with.
 
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