Actually, Ithaca did market some of them. They are near clones to the early Tikka's and the model numbers are very similar. I also have one in 30-06, and without having the rifle in front of me, I would say it is a model LSA 65. That was the long action model number. The short actions were LSA 55. I think the Tikka's were LSA650 and LSA550 IIRC.
I bought mine through Zellers in 1976 for $329 and it came with a a cheap Bushnell 3-9X40 scope and mounts. It has a DBM that holds 5 rounds. The wood is very low grade hardwood, and the steel is very low lustre blued. All I can say bad about it is that it has cheap wood and blueing.
It has a Wundhammer palm swell in the pistol grip. The barrel is fully free floated, the trigger is adjustable and breaks cleanly at three and a quarter pounds from the store. There is no take up and no creep and no overtravel. Plus the thing is an absolute tack driver. I credit that to the excellent trigger and the quality of the barrel on the inside.
Mine has a fairly long leade, and the mag is similar to the 300 Magnum model, so you can load them to just off the lands. No problem getting 3050 fps with 150 grain bullets, and still keeping the groups under an inch.
It served me well from 1976 -2001 -- 25 years. My wife liked it so well that I had a Smith cut the stock down to fit her, put a Decelerator on it, and she is now killing things with absolute precision. My oldest daughter and her killed deer last year at 200 yards very cleanly.
The rifle was made by Tikka for Ithaca, but all the stamping says Ithaca. If your friend wants to sell the rifle, and the price is right -- grab it! If it's anything like mine, you'll love it for what it does. If you decide to not take it and it's still for sale, let me know. I'll take it. I love mine -- well -- my wife's.
