Ithaca Model 37 Tactical Build

One way to distinguish the 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge from a 3 inch capable 12 gauge for the 37 Ithacas is this experiment carried out carefully:
Ensure your shotgun is unloaded, take a 2 3/4 inch shell, ensure the bolt is slmmed home into battery on the empty chamber. Reverse the gun as if to reload the bottom feed/eject port. Take your 2 3/4 inch shell and just place it on the bottom side of the bolt/bolt carrier. Make sure it's gently pushed back against the trigger mech & housing.
If it's a 2 3/4 inch only receiver, when you want to lift the shell out of it's resting spot, an average adult can only get his finger nail on the front of the rim to just catch the end and lift it out with the same hand.
With the same technique using a 12 gauge 3" receiver, (Again, same a before, with the 2 3/4 inch unfired shell)
with the shell pushed back against the trigger mech/housing, one has about a 1/2 inch gap, and one's fingertip easily can reach in there to lift the shotgun shell out with the same hand.

This works on the 12 gauge variants, I only have one 20 gauge 2 3/4 inch M37, and with this little trick, I get about a 3/8 inch gap. Kind of in between the two differing 12 gauges. So.....

Anyways!

PS: Congrats you got it to work Robpeckford. Nice Ithaca buddy.........enjoy!
 
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Brutus, I'm grateful you replied. I've learned more from your recent two posts here than surfing several Ithaca inclined sites looking for answers.

... and with your above posts, I've concluded I indeed have a 3" receiver with a 1976 manufacture serial number 3715###xx. The gap with a 2-3/4" shell installed as you've described is about 5/16".

Very much obliged to return the favor, if I can, some day. :)
 
No problem friend. I don't mind helping out when I can.
As an aside, from the Ithaca Featherlight Repeaters book, Ithaca company played around with magnum receivers as early as 1973.
So yourself getting an early one, before full production, is not impossible. Especially with companies going in and out of financial hardship, spare parts being used on non-catalogued shotguns (mix-matched guns, to meet production deadlines) almost seem the normal routine, with this nice repeater, than with any other American made shotgun.
Example: I have a factory Ithaca Deerslayer Police Special (marked M37 2 3/4 inch only on the barrel) mated to a 3" magnum M87 receiver. (shipped in 1990) A fine example of my previous statement.

Have a great weekend!

PS: I date your shotgun as definitely 1975 manufacture according to this book.
 
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Brutus said:
... PS: I date your shotgun as definitely 1975 manufacture according to this book.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the next number is a 4, (37154###x) bringing the date to 1976. Or at least according to the date chart I found on-line.

1976 ---- 371536501 - 371602000
 
Rob, that does look pretty good... definitely a whole lot slicker than mine, for now at least ;) Are you planning anything else with it, or is that the way it's staying for the time being?

As for updates on my build... not many. I've been working on the pistol grip recently... I've figured out the basic mount for the pistol grip, and the machinist says it should be doable, although that was based on my description, not the actual mockup. I've been doing it with offcut from aluminium flashing though, so right now it's really rough and flimsy, and I can't actually test the angle of the grip. But, I'm going to try and transfer the design to some wood right now, so hopefully I'll have something new to share by tonight.
 
pope_face said:
Rob, that does look pretty good... definitely a whole lot slicker than mine, for now at least ;) Are you planning anything else with it, or is that the way it's staying for the time being?

As for updates on my build... not many. I've been working on the pistol grip recently... I've figured out the basic mount for the pistol grip, and the machinist says it should be doable, although that was based on my description, not the actual mockup. I've been doing it with offcut from aluminium flashing though, so right now it's really rough and flimsy, and I can't actually test the angle of the grip. But, I'm going to try and transfer the design to some wood right now, so hopefully I'll have something new to share by tonight.
Click to expand...

I Want to do a lot with this m87 ithaca. however my budget and parts availability will hamper this. a side saddle would be nice as well as a mag extension... however due to the lug under the barrel this is not possible without changing barrel. I would also like to see ghost ring sights on her too... but really said and done i could just go buy an 870 tactical for 479$ with everything on it ... from factory.... new... and keep my ithaca....so she will prob stay like this for now.....plus i also just bought an sks..... never fired with 200 rounds for 180$ not a bad deal eh?
 
That sounds like a decent price... I know there's a shop selling SKS's here for $199 a pop, or about $300 if you want 1500 surplus rounds with it. I keep considering getting one, but haven't really felt the urge yet. Maybe that'll be my next gun...

As for getting a Remington or Mossberg instead... yeah, I agree, if I'd gone that route it probably would've been cheaper too... so far, between the gun, two rails, and a cheap laser sight, I've got a grand total of $263 into this build. Not too bad, if I was going to leave it at that, but I'm still looking at a folding stock, heatshield, ghost rings, and some paint. My goal is to get it done for under $500, but who knows what the final price tag will be. Besides, part of the fun is building something other than a Remington or Mossberg... I consider it a bit of a challenge to prove that the Ithaca can still be a formidable tactical shotgun, even with the lack of parts.
 
Alright, not much to say, but here's a little update:

I bought a little laser sight of a fellow CGN'r a few nights ago, and it arrived today. I don't have the Weaver rails mounted yet, but I had to see what it'll look like after that's done, so I rigged this up...

Ithaca_Laser_Preview.JPG


Ithaca_Laser_Preview_Closeup.JPG


Yes, those are rubber bands holding the rail onto the barrel, and no, I'm not that Bubba... I just wanted to see how it all looks when I'm holding it. I'll properly mount it when I get to that stage. The laser has to sit pretty far back from the muzzle though, as I don't want it to get covered in powder from the vents in the adjustable choke. The other possibility would be to build some sort of baffle where the lower vents are, either to force the gases out to the sides, or to block off the lower vents completely... then I could either slide the laser (and eventually flashlight) further forward, or even mount it under the choke itself.

The big metal grille that the gun is laying on is what I'm planning on making a heatshield out of... I don't so much like the "normal" heatshields with the large holes in them, and this material should have enough holes to let the heat out without allowing skin to come into contact with the barrel. Besides, I can't argue with the price... I found it tucked away in my garage yesterday.

So, work on this is a bit slow thus far, but it's coming along. Assuming I've got some time over the next few days, I might try filling in the hunting scene on the side of the receiver with some Bondo and seeing if I can get it smoothed out nicely.

I probably should add that I think I'll leave the original wood furniture on it for the time being... I've realized that getting the custom made pistol grip and folding stock, while still the goal for this build, is going to take a lot of time and a bit of money to do right. Right now I'm stressing a bit about getting it done quickly, and rushed work leads to mistakes... screwing something like this up has the potential to make it go terribly wrong. Who knows, maybe Ithaca will release their new Police version soon and I'll just buy one of those stocks.
 
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OK...

I know it is not an Ithaca 37, but it is a chinese copy of it. These are a few pics of my Stevens 350 Security. Enjoy.

shotty1.jpg


shotty2.jpg


shotty3.jpg


The flashlight attachment I just got and put on today.


Matt
 
Nice... I like the ghost rings. Did they come with the gun, or did you get them put on after?

I may have to do the same thing with the flashlight... have it off to the side of the barrel. I'd rather not, as I don't think it'll look as nice, but it might be better than having the barrel, laser, and flashlight stacked on top of one another in the front. Did you get the mount with the light, or was that separate too? Looks good.
 
The Stevens 350 Security comes with the ghost rings and front fiber optic sights. For $269 it is a steal!

I bought the light seperate. Got the moount for about $9 on Ebay.

Thanks,

Matt
 
That is cheap... not much more than I paid for mine, and having ghost rings sounds like a bonus. How does the action feel? I've heard some comments that the Norc M37 clones aren't all that nice, so I'm curious about the Stevens version (unless they're made by the same company).
 
I haven't had a chance to take it to the range, but it is smoooooth. Feeds and ejects some pretty ratty empty 2 5/8 paper hulls I have laying around with no issues so I am assuming feeding and ejecting modern stuff will be a breeze.

My experiences with pums is limited to a Norc 1897 I had before this, but it is really good to me.

THanks,

Matt
 
That's good to hear... I wasn't sure if the Norc and Stevens were both manufactured in the same plant, so maybe not. I don't know if I'd get a Norinco pump though... I think most of the big-name manufacturers are relatively cheap anyway, so you wouldn't get huge savings from buying a clone. I still want a Norinco 1911 9mm clone though... I can't afford to spend enough to buy a decent version, and apparently the Norc design is identical to the other manufacturers (albeit with rougher machining), so parts from one brand will fit on another. A little bit of work and I'm sure I'd have a decent shooter that would be on par with one costing two or three times as much.

In other news... Choate got back to me in regards to their pistol grip and side-folding stock for the M37, but both of those are currently a no-go as they apparently have issues shipping to Canada. They told me that they're working on getting an exporter, but no luck yet. I'm also following up on a lead from a fellow CGN'r who used the side folding stock from a Norinco M37 clone on his Ithaca, but I haven't heard back from the retailers about whether the stock is available on its own. So far, it looks like if you want the Norc side-folder, you've gotta buy the gun and take the stock off yourself.

Finally (this is probably the biggest news), Ithaca contacted me early in the week about OEM pistol grips, like on the Stakeout... apparently they don't have any, so they told me to contact Choate. However, Dark Alley Dan posted that Ithaca video link soon after, so I sent off another email to them asking about the stock on the new tactical model. Today, I got one of those generic replies, but they also gave me the contact info for their Canadian distributor. I emailed the guy not too long ago, asking about the new stock and Canadian availability, so I'll post the outcome as soon as I know... hopefully it all works out.
 
Alright, so it's been a while since I've really done anything, but I thought it might be time for an update.

I've stripped the original lacquer off the stock and forend... I know some people will be disappointed in that, as I've had a couple people PM me about buying the wood furniture, but I decided to just go with what I've got for the time being, and this is what I have. I'll be restaining it and putting a satin clearcoat relatively soon... I need to go speak with one shop about stains first, as I'm aiming for a relatively dark look.

However, I also stripped the bluing off of the barrel sling mount... after searching online, plain white vinegar seemed like the best bet, so I decided to "sacrifice" the sling mount to test it out. Not going to bother with before pics, but here's the "after" shot:

Stripped_Bluing.JPG


The three pieces on the lower part make up the sling mount, and I've got the shotgun (with original bluing) above it for comparison. The bluing on the mount was the same as that on the magazine tube, but after two hours in white vinegar you can see the difference. It's not completely gone, but I'm planning on painting the pieces, so it doesn't have to be ideal. Another hour or two in some fresh vinegar and it'd probably be spotless.

Having said that, I want to do the receiver in the same way so I can fill in the etched scene on the sides and sand it all smooth before painting. My concern is, the stripped metal has a dull look to it (it's likely oxidizing). I've never taken apart an Ithaca receiver, and I'd rather not bollocks it up by doing something wrong, so has anyone else taken apart a receiver that can give me some pointers? Or is this something I shouldn't do?

If I can't do that, would it be possible to simply dip the entire receiver/magazine tube assembly into white vinegar, allow all the bluing to come off, and then pull it out and submerge it in oil to prevent it from rusting? I'm planning on painting the outside of the receiver, but if I can't take it apart before stripping the bluing, then I'm a little concerned about the internals jamming on me due to lack of protection from oxidation.

If worse comes to worst, I'll just suck it up and try to strip the bluing using a cotton ball dipped in vinegar, but I have no idea how long that'll take...
 
Muriatic acid will remove the bluing and any rust without damaging the metal.

I'd protect the metal with something better than paint. Parkerizing is supposed to be easy, biggest problem is getting a tank big enough for the barrel.

I have an Ithaca that I wanted to remove the engraving from as well but I've decided against it as I've heard I could remove the hardened portion and weaken it. I think that I'll fill it in with something like durafill and then put a coating over top.

Stripping the receiver is no big deal, just do a google search for the manual. Just sucks that you have to remove the buttstock to do it.
 
Thanks for the replies...

Leg: The reason I used vinegar is that it's relatively weak and not harmful to to human skin, not to mention being "eco-friendly". I know there are other methods for removing the bluing, but this was cheap, easy, available, and seems to work well. As for damaging the metal... I don't know. I have no reason to believe it does, but I don't know enough about the chemistry to make that call.

As for parkerizing... yes, I would prefer that. Ideally, I'd like to get it Duracoated, but not until I can afford getting it done the way I want. For the time being, I'm just trying to get some stuff done to it so's I can more-or-less finish it off and take it back out to the range.

I was planning on using some JB Weld or something of the sort to fill in the scene on the sides, then sanding it flush with the original metal. That's the main reason I wanted to remove the bluing from the receiver: To make sure I could get the filler to stick. It might not make a difference, but my understanding is that anything on the surface of the metal reduces the chances of the filler taking hold, and it might loosen and "pop out" sometime in the future.

I'll take a look for the manual, and I've removed the buttstock to sand it down, so it's not an issue for me, although the bolt is a bit of a PITA to remove.

Sherlock: I haven't really decided on the finish yet... all I know is that I'm after a relatively dark tone. I'm planning on staining it, probably with an oil-based stain, and I wouldn't mind simply using some sort of oil sealant or something. I don't know much about woodworking other than what I picked up in highschool, which I can't much remember now. I'm after a satin look too, so perhaps an oil would be the best bet...
 
If you want a stainless look I could sand blast it for you and then you use a matte clear coat from CT that is for alloy wheels. Very tough and totally heat resistant with a great final look. I'm thinking of doing my HP-9 like that. Here's a 10/22 done that way. As for the stock, stain to the shade you want and then a can of spray satin varathane will give a nice tough finish
Kim
PC140005.jpg
 
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