New Ohio made Ithaca 37 Featherlights?

M

Max-4

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Hey, I have been reading a lot about the new Ithaca 37 Featherlights that are now being made in Ohio. I am a sucker for a nice wood and blued steel gun that is made with care and craftsmanship. I don't mind overpaying for a nice gun if I can be assured it has great fit/finish and it will last a lifetime. I am on the lookout for a 12G, 3", 28" gun that could serve as a "do-it-all" waterfowl, turkey, upland shotgun.

Here in Canada the Ithaca 37 Featherlight 12G, 28" vent rib barrel will cost you $1375 plus tax, over $1500 after tax. This seems to me like a ton of money for a blued and walnut pump shotgun. I am not interested in a used gun I will be buying new. Is the Ithaca really worth this much coin or would I be paying hundreds of dollars for the name in import fees? Would I be better off buying a brand new Remington 870 Wingmaster 12G, not sure what their fit/finish and overall quality control has been lately. What do you think?
 
I'm not sure what you have against buying used, but I would do neither of the above. There are lots of really nice model 37s out there in the used market of equal or better quality. If you want modern options like choke tubes, you'd still be ahead by buying a nice used gun and sending it out for tubes. Just my opinion. FYI, I have a 20ga model 37 that's old as the hills. I bought it for $130, had is bead blasted, hot blued and the barrel cut back a bit. I had a Brownells choke tube thing soldered on, refinished the stock, and away I went. I have about $300 into it.
 
They are nice but for the money in a 12 ga I'd go browning bps. You can get 2 for the price of one. I love my old Ithaca and would love a new 28 ga but again I'm not paying that kind of money for a pump
 
The new Ithaca M37 is a quality product particularly the 28ga. However, it's quite expensive as a pump gun.

dilly said:
If my budget was $1500 and I wanted a do-all gun, I would buy a new Beretta auto.
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True! A Beretta or Benelli semi auto will be best value for that kind of money spent.

brybenn said:
They are nice but for the money in a 12 ga I'd go browning bps. You can get 2 for the price of one. I love my old Ithaca and would love a new 28 ga but again I'm not paying that kind of money for a pump
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I concur......a BPS will be very well finished given the price range.

Max-4 said:
Would I be better off buying a brand new Remington 870 Wingmaster 12G, not sure what their fit/finish and overall quality control has been lately. What do you think?
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Personally, I would highly prefer an 80/90s era Wingmaster. I don't care much for pump guns but I have owned a couple (still own an Upland version i.e. 870 LW 20ga Special Field) and the superior build quality is evident compared to recent makes.
 
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the new deer slayer realy got my attention at the range day we had a while ago . got to shoot one in 20g slug gun and all I can say is wow best shooting slug gun I have ever shot . three slugs all in the same hole at 100 yards . but at about 1400$plus a good scope another 300$ or so .it does put a damper on things Dutch
 
brybenn said:
They are nice but for the money in a 12 ga I'd go browning bps. You can get 2 for the price of one. I love my old Ithaca and would love a new 28 ga but again I'm not paying that kind of money for a pump
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What he said ^^ +1 Browning is making a very nice gun at less than half the price, I've got a12 gauge upland special that's the nicest pump I've ever owned, for under $800 after taxes. Having said that, it may very soon be for sale, have to make room for a new o/u!
 
brybenn said:
They are nice but for the money in a 12 ga I'd go browning bps. You can get 2 for the price of one. I love my old Ithaca and would love a new 28 ga but again I'm not paying that kind of money for a pump
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I said the same originally when the 28ga came out but eventually broke down to complete my set of model 37's and handed a grand over . Worth it yep after I shot it
 
I'm going to be looking at $1500 after tax for a 12G, 28" vent rib barrel. I know you only buy it once and it should last a few lifetimes but I want to know if the Ohio guns are any good? I've heard the older guns that were made in New York are great for fit/finish. The new company is claiming that by doing all of their stuff on CAD systems and using advanced tool and die machines they have amazing tolerances and fit and finish is second to none. Are these new guns as good or better than the new York made guns.
 
Max-4 you can rest assured that the Ohio guns are better built to more exacting tolerances than any Ithaca that was built in the Kings Ferry era of manufacture. In fact Ithaca was seeking and adapting cost cutting in manufacture as early as 1965. The best Ithacas ever built before Ohio venture were the pre war guns. But these guns were not really steel shot friendly and did not have 3" chambers. That alone makes them less versatile. I will suggest that you buy the gun you want, make a vow to keep it and hunt it for the rest of your life. Break the cost down over the years of service and you will have a bargain. You will also have a gun that others will remark about i.e.: "that guy sure can swing that old Ithaca 37" "Max and that 37 are pure death" I can't follow my own advice since I am a shotgun junky and I am constantly trading and changing shotguns and my shooting skill (low) reflects that. Take a look at Shotgun World under I love my Ithaca all kinds of favourable info on the Ohio guns.

Darryl
 
Max-4 said:
Hey, I have been reading a lot about the new Ithaca 37 Featherlights that are now being made in Ohio. I am a sucker for a nice wood and blued steel gun that is made with care and craftsmanship. I don't mind overpaying for a nice gun if I can be assured it has great fit/finish and it will last a lifetime. I am on the lookout for a 12G, 3", 28" gun that could serve as a "do-it-all" waterfowl, turkey, upland shotgun.

Here in Canada the Ithaca 37 Featherlight 12G, 28" vent rib barrel will cost you $1375 plus tax, over $1500 after tax. This seems to me like a ton of money for a blued and walnut pump shotgun. I am not interested in a used gun I will be buying new. Is the Ithaca really worth this much coin or would I be paying hundreds of dollars for the name in import fees? Would I be better off buying a brand new Remington 870 Wingmaster 12G, not sure what their fit/finish and overall quality control has been lately. What do you think?
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I used to own one of the new Ithaca defender (or whatever they called them) models. Excellent quality, smooth operation, beautiful wood. However I paid like $650 for it. There is no way that this shotgun would be worth twice the price of the new Wingmaster though. Look for a used Ithaca. You can always order new wood from the factory plus there is not that much that can go wrong with the pump shotgun anyway. They will easily last a lifetime if properly maintained.
 
I really like the ithaca 37's and would love a new one but the cost is hard to swallow for a pump. I have handled some new manufacture Remington 870 Wingmasters and I own a few of the old ones from a 65, to a 80 and an 88 and I would say the new ones are still an exceptionally high quality gun. I wish Remington had kept the 870 and 11-87 Special Purpose or SP in their line up, my father has a first year 870 SP that is stamped Wingmaster Special Purpose and is Identical the my same year Wingmaster except for a matte finish on the wood and an actual parkerizing job as opposed to bluing. I dream of finding one with a 26" barrel either wood and parked or original mossyoak bottom land.
 
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