The bead was reinstalled
Which barrel to keep, and which to cut
- Thread starter mikeystew
- Start date
wheelin_ca
CGN Regular
- Location
- Simcoe County Ontario Canada
i was in the exact same position... i cut the full choke at 19" and kept the mod. threw a set of truglo sights on the cut barrel rib and call it a slug gun, the 28 mod is my duck barrel.
my suggestion is pattern the barrels first to see which shoots better... in my case i would have kept the full choke as a turkey barrel if it shot tighter.
my suggestion is pattern the barrels first to see which shoots better... in my case i would have kept the full choke as a turkey barrel if it shot tighter.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Cut the fixed full choke barrel to 20”, get a set of rifle sights soldered on and thread it for chokes. Keep the 28” fix mod for wing shooting and use the 20” for everything else.
I like this idea the best too, but its also the most expensive option. Between the cost of sights and mailing the barrel both ways to and from a Smith, plus the cost of work. Worth as much as the entire gun with both barrels almost.
If we had a local gunsmith I'd be much more tempted to go this route though.
Hmm, not really. I like the option of having both short and long barrels. A long barrel is preferable for bird hunting and trap, skeet or whatever. The short barrel would be more handy for carry in the woods.
If the gun weren't a late 70's, 37 featherwight limited to 2.75" shells i could see it adding value. I'd be into it for probably close to $800 by the time I was done with it though, and that's without refinishing the rough wood on it. Might be a stretch to think I'd ever get that back if I were to sell it.
What i am considering is cutting the regular barrel back, just moving the bead back on it for a wildlife protection barrel, and holding on to the ribbed barrel until the next time I happen to be traveling to comox, dropping it off to the gunsmith there to get the choke either opened up or threaded for tubes. Would take a lot of the sting out of the investment.
In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for iron sights for the smooth barrel that won't break the bank. I had a quick look last night and wasn't able to find anything decent that wasn't worth more than the barrel.
Be careful with 2 barrels on an Ithaca 37 especially if it’s an older one. They never came from the factory in a 2 barrel package as far as I know. They aren’t usually interchangeable like a 870 and often somebody will just pick up a used second barrel not knowing. I’d have to check but I believe both the receiver and barrel were stamped with the serial number so you know which one is the original, could be wrong on that.
The barrel attaches to the receiver with interrupted threads so you put it in, then turn it 90 degrees with your hand and it should feel like it’s tightening down like a nut on a bolt. It should stop tightening when the lug is perfectly aligned with the magazine tube. If the barrel isn’t the correct one for the gun it will either not turn all the way to be indexed with the magazine tube or not be seated all the way against the receiver and it would be dangerous to shoot. I think the newer production ones fixed this by standardizing the way the threads were cut.
You could in theory have a second barrel threaded correctly for a specific Ithaca receiver to have a second but I’m guessing with yours somebody just had one laying around that they thought they would throw into the deal. I had 3 model 37’s years ago and none of the barrels would go on any other gun correctly
The barrel attaches to the receiver with interrupted threads so you put it in, then turn it 90 degrees with your hand and it should feel like it’s tightening down like a nut on a bolt. It should stop tightening when the lug is perfectly aligned with the magazine tube. If the barrel isn’t the correct one for the gun it will either not turn all the way to be indexed with the magazine tube or not be seated all the way against the receiver and it would be dangerous to shoot. I think the newer production ones fixed this by standardizing the way the threads were cut.
You could in theory have a second barrel threaded correctly for a specific Ithaca receiver to have a second but I’m guessing with yours somebody just had one laying around that they thought they would throw into the deal. I had 3 model 37’s years ago and none of the barrels would go on any other gun correctly
If the serial number is on the side of the action (855000 and up) it is a newer style and barrels for it interchange. Those barrels are not numbered.
It was very common to use iron sights off a Remington 700 for other 'projects'. Mostly because they are so common and cheap and easy to refit.
It was very common to use iron sights off a Remington 700 for other 'projects'. Mostly because they are so common and cheap and easy to refit.
He said it was made in the late 70’s
For sights, Williams wgos bases are pretty good. I got a front and rear for about 50 bucks from Elwood Epps a while ago. They sell a bunch of different sizes for different barrel diameters
Thanks for this, gives me a direction to look. I'd much rather try to find older "used" sights for this project.
And yeah its a 1979 based on the serial number, both barrels are "roto-forged" barrels from the same general era, no serial numbers on them. I'm not sure which one is original to the gun however.
I might be mistaken, I was referred to him by gone fishin in Nanaimo and only spoke with the guy on the phone, but for whatever reason I thought he was in Comox. Entirely possible they said coombs, which would actually be much better for me.
Either way, I dont have his info anymore but if you call gone fishin Nanaimo they could give it to you. But I have a funny feeling I've got it wrong thinking he was in Comox.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Sent you a DM
How have the truglo sights held up you for you? Which ones do you have on there?
I checked some of them out online, some look kinda cheap, not so sure they'd hold up. But I am considering the gobble dot (man I hate that name though. ) magnum pro or whatever they're called. Just because they fit within my skill level for installation and seem fairly robust and fully adjustable.
Looking at sight sets from a remington 700 also for the other option, but man they're more expensive and would require either soldering, d&t, or JBweld'ing them to the barrel. (i heard the gasps). 2 of those options are beyond my skill level.
I got the gun today, nice looking old unit. I forgot how nice the triggers are on these things, man, it just breaks like glass. And the action is so slick, hold it straight up and push the slide stop and she just drops right open. Lovely. Im honestly not even that upset that its not a slamfire model. I've owned one of those in the past, was a thing it could do... never did slamfire it after the first time i tried it. Kind of a pointless feature really. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that. Please don't try to convince me otherwise.
Wood is pretty rough on one side and the bottom with a lot of finish missing, might re-finish that with some tung oil or something. Otherwise, the metal parts are blemish free and quite nice.
The 30" barrel is humorously long. Good grief lol, I've never owned a gun this long, she barely fits in my safe hahaha, has like half inch clearance going through the door.
For this reason alone, I'm half tempted to cut the long one. It will have to print significantly better than the moderate choke to keep it over the regular barrel.
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