Ithaca 12Ga. Mod51 Should I buy?

[PDshooter]

Have the opportunity to buy a Ithaca 12GA. Mod.#51 Vent Rib. My cost $150.00 bucks. You see the owner left it in the case for 10yrs. You guess it ! RUSTY should be Re-blued! Is it worth it?

 

[Gordon]

These autos didn't work that great. If it was a mod 37 I'd say go for it , but not this model.

 

[Ron L]

My son was given one of the Featherweight models, no vent rib on the barrel. It's been problematic. For one outing, it was essentially a single shot. No wonder it was given to him. Maybe if the price was right and you could get a smith to give it a good going over, it may not be bad. For general hunting, it might not be a bad SG, but I wouldn't trust it to HD. There are better semi auto's out there.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Had one for about 24 hours. Sold it at a profit, new owner loved it for rabbits and squirrels. Old gunsmith friend says they're tempermental, but haven't seen it.

 

[scotjute]

I have an American made Ithaca auto, but no vent. barrell. D0n't remember the model #. Paid $250 for it about 10 yrs. ago. It works ok. Occasional the bolt would fall out when manually cycling it.
Can you get a replacement barrell for it? If so, gage what that would cost. I personally wouldn't spend a fortune renovating one, but do think they're good shotguns.