My buddy, who is not at all a gun guy, fell into some firearms he's looking to sell. Knowing I like all things that go bang, he emailed me pics of the guns he's looking to sell. I've been looking for a HD shotgun for a bit now, mainly looking at 870 riot guns. He has a Ithaca 37 Deerslayer Featherlight, with what looks to be a 20" bbl. His pics weren't great, but it looks to be in good shape, used, not abused. I haven't seen the gun outside of the pics, so I don't know if the barrel is rifled or not. (I have no use for a rifled shotgun barrel) I'm struggling with how much to offer. I don't want to rip anyone off, but I still want to get a good deal myself. What do you guys think is a fair price?
Ithaca 37 Deerslayer
- Thread starter jcalys
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Vicious-Peanut
Member
Looks like they became rifled in 1988. Sorry, I cant help with the price.
go to http://www.gunbroker.com and type in 37 Ithaca, you will get a good idea from what they are bringing on there.
or look here:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=116883686
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117061765
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117122132
or look here:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=116883686
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117061765
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117122132
The Deer Hunter
Member
Most of the prices I see on Gun broker are ridiculously inflated.
I don't know a lot about Ithica guns, but from what I hear they make a good pump shotgun. I can say that $250 isn't an unreasonable price for a good, working shotgun.
I don't know a lot about Ithica guns, but from what I hear they make a good pump shotgun. I can say that $250 isn't an unreasonable price for a good, working shotgun.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Around here, $250-300 for one in great shape....
Kinda depends on age - but in general, the $200-$250 range, maybe more if it's in really good shape.
Check the barrel and see if it's rifled. Even if it is - you should be able to get a decent price for a non-rifled barrel.
They are really nice guns, I can't say enough good things about 'em. They're an absolute joy to carry in the field. Very light, and very easy to handle. If it's a smooth bore, it would make a great HD gun.
Check the barrel and see if it's rifled. Even if it is - you should be able to get a decent price for a non-rifled barrel.
They are really nice guns, I can't say enough good things about 'em. They're an absolute joy to carry in the field. Very light, and very easy to handle. If it's a smooth bore, it would make a great HD gun.
fiddleharp
Member
While you'll get plenty of good advice here, if you want to fall into a nest of extreme Ithaca fanatics, go here: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=59
If you tell them a serial number, they can tell you what year the gun was manufactured.
I've gotten a huge education in all things Ithaca 37 in the last week.
If you tell them a serial number, they can tell you what year the gun was manufactured.
I've gotten a huge education in all things Ithaca 37 in the last week.
glockgod
Member
If it's really old it probably won't be rifled,that's a fairly recent development for shotgun barrels. My guess is it's a smoothbore. Had a 37 once with a 20" barrel-damn nice gun!
The Pre-63's were not designed with interchangable barrels. It's a pain because to change barrels, you have to have the old barrel removed, and the gun has to be retrofitted to accept new interchangable barrels. This can get pricey - but it is a 1 time cost.
You should be able to tell straight away by the serial number. It's not that 1963 is the magic cut-off year, but rather anything with a serial number BELOW 855,000 is non-interchangable. Anything above is interchangable. Just so happens that serial came up in '63.
One other thing to be aware of - is because of the technology at the time, just because the barrel is interchangable, does not mean it will be 100% easy. Tolerances have gotten a lot tighter and production more consistent over the years - so if you take an old (say '64) M 37, and try to put a new barrel on it - it might be tight going in, and take a bit of patience and/or work to get it on. They'll still fit - it just might be a tight fit the first time you try to put a new barrel on. Best bet is to start to put it on, as it gets too tight, take off again, start over - repeat.
In some rare cases - you will not be able to get a new barrel on an old gun - but this is somewhat rare. The closer in age difference between the barrel and the gun, the less likely this is to be. Newer guns are also less likely to have this problem.
Aside from that - one of the things that i think makes this a particularly capable HD gun - is the "fanfire" capability. Basically - after you take the first shot, hold the trigger back, and as soon as you lock the pump forward, it will fire again. As fast as you can work the pump while holding the trigger, it will spit out shells. Part of the reason why some LE still employ it for "riot gun" duty. Long distance or precision work might not be so great with this, but in short distance "drop the bad guy" situations - that's a pretty nice feature to have.
If you're looking for an HD shotgun - it is a good choice. Even if this one you're talking about doesn't work for whatever reason, check gun broker and local shops. There's a few variants, including the police model, out there - that will absolutely make for great HD.
monkyboy1975
Member
If it is that old, you will not have to worry about changeing barrels, as it will be a smoothbore. That would be the perfect shotty for HD.
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