Ithaca M37 extraction problem

[killchain]

Hello guys, maybe you can help me out.

I got ahold of one of the old riot gun Police Department Ithaca M37's in 12ga, 2 3/4in chamber. It's in great shape, but I have a problem.

When I fire a shell and go to cycle the action, the action is real tough and more times than not the extractors will slip off of the shell, and try to double feed another shell into the chamber behind the shell that's still there.

It does this almost exclusively with the $20/100 shells Winchester birdshot rounds you can buy at Walmart. However, when I fired some Olin 00 buckshot military contract rounds, none of them stuck and it fired flawlessly.

I've heard that polishing the chamber could help with this... but I think the extractors are bad. Could anyone recommend a fix, or maybe guide me to an instruction manual to replace them and/or a place to buy the parts?

Thanks guys.

 

[Milkmaster]

First I would take the barrel off and make sure the chamber itself has no old rust, plastic, or gunk in it. Lots of people clean the barrel squeaky clean and forget the chamber itself. You could always use a little steel wool and oil on it as well while you are cleaning it. Let us know what you find!

 

[mnrivrat]

The chamber cleaning and inspection is the first thing to do. A light polish can be done, or some folks turn the chamber into a near mirror finish.

Inspection of the extractor jaw can be done with the barrel off, and you can also check spring tension at that point.

New parts if needed can be found at places like Numrich Gun Parts.

Some guns will never reliably extract those cheap low base shells that do not conform to the needed contraction after being fired.

 

[desidog]

I have a Ithaca 37 DS Police Special too. Great gun.

+1 inspect chamber.

I'd get a wire 12ga brush and put it in the chalk of a power drill, and then run it in the chamber a bit to polish it up.

While the barrel is out, you can take a better look at the extractors too.

 

[Youngster]

The steel components seem to be fairly soft on these guns, I wouldn't be surprised if the extractor hooks were rounded off just enough to cause problems in conjunction with a dirty chamber.

 

[Black_Talon]

It does this almost exclusively with the $20/100 shells Winchester birdshot rounds you can buy at Walmart.

To me, this is the key clue in your post.

Those cheap promo Walmart shells are made with steel bases, which cause much harder extraction than normal brass-based shells. The steel swells on firing and doesn't spring back nearly as much as brass does. The Winchesters seems to be the worst, followed by the Federals, and the Remingtons work the best. Try some shells with brass bases and I'll bet your extraction problem goes away completely.

 

[killchain]

To me, this is the key clue in your post.

Those cheap promo Walmart shells are made with steel bases, which cause much harder extraction than normal brass-based shells. The steel swells on firing and doesn't spring back nearly as much as brass does. The Winchesters seems to be the worst, followed by the Federals, and the Remingtons work the best. Try some shells with brass bases and I'll bet your extraction problem goes away completely.

It very well may be. Other rounds I used went through the shotgun just fine. Also, someone mentioned that the extractors might be rounded... I did check that, they are still sharp and don't look very worn. However, when I applied pressure to them with my fingers they did feel a bit spongy.

But I will polish the chamber and/or try a new box of ammunition and report back. Thanks a lot for the advice!

 

[killchain]

I took a power drill, put a 12ga bore brush on it and polished the chamber as suggested. It didn't -fix- the problem, but it sure did help!

I'm going to try a bit of metal polishing compound next and see if I can slick it up enough for the cheapie shells to work in my M37. So far so good. Thanks for the advice guys, I'll report back after I polish it some and try it out again.

 

[killchain]

Happy to say she polished right up and shot that cheapie ammo like a champ. Thanks for all of your advice guys!

 

[chas08]

Try some shells with brass bases and I'll bet your extraction problem goes away completely.

Good luck finding real brass based hulls these days without paying a premium price. Most of the ones that look like brass are brass washed steel. Hulls of today are crap compared to hulls of yesteryear. But glad to hear you solved your problem. I have two 37's a 20ga & 16ga. They are sweet.

 

[oletymer]

Soft metal? Youngster, you need to learn more before making an uneducated statement.

 

[Snarlingiron]

Those cheap promo Walmart shells are made with steel bases, which cause much harder extraction than normal brass-based shells.

Just to reiterate what has already been stated, but brass bases are NOT the norm anymore. Take a magnet to those shells that you think are brass and you will quickly find out that in today's world almost all of them are steel with a brass plating. You can also take a pocket knife (or file) and make a cut into them and you will see the steel beneath the brass.

 

[Youngster]

Soft metal? Youngster, you need to learn more before making an uneducated statement.

Sorry but that's my observation, my '37 is much quicker to scratch and wear on all parts compared to my other shotguns, IMO a relatively soft and easy to machine grade of steel, or at least a lesser heat treatment, was used in these guns to help offset all the extra machining and hand work they required.