#Ithaca 37 shotgun stocks full

Not many shotgun manufacturers can say that. Whether choosing the standard Model 37 or the lighter Featherlight series, know that youвЂ™re shooting a finely crafted, USA-built, slide-driven shotgun with a lineage spanning a century. There have even been Home Defense, Deer Slayer, Turkey, WomenвЂ™s/Youth, and Waterfowl variants. Over the years, the Model 37 could be had in the bread-and-butter 12 gauge, built for over 100 years, as well as 20 and 28 gauge. In fact, the Model 37 has been claimed as the longest-running production pump-action American shotgun. On our South Dakota pheasant adventure, we saw more than one scarred Ithaca in window gun racks, each of which has bagged countless birds over the years, a testament to the gunвЂ™s longevity. Though they are some of the most proven classic slide actions on the market, Ithaca Model 37s in perfectly serviceable condition sell for a bargain even today. The Ithaca Model 37 is a workaday pump thatвЂ™s at home in just about any conditions. The Model 37 Deer Slayer could even be had with a rifled slug barrel. LaVernвЂ™s shotgun shows off the standard, plain field barrel, though some were fitted with a slightly pricier ventilated rib barrel, with length choices in 24, 26, 28, and 30 inches. Many used the standard pistol grip style, but the company offered straight, English-style furniture as well. While synthetic variations were produced later, the most common 37s wear hardwood stocks.

The solid receiver is engineered from a single block of American-made steel, and the 37 is fed by a tubular magazine. One of the most important design innovations is how the Model 37 loads and ejects via its port on the underside of the receiver, making it more friendly for lefties. Choose from bores like 16, 20, or 28 for pursuing upland birds in style, or go with a standard 12 gauge for a do-all shotgun. Be it standard or Featherlight, there is a Model 37 suitable for almost any shooter. The shotgun entered production in 1937 вЂ“ thus the numerical name вЂ“ and has been a consistent companion for both bird and deer hunters ever since.ДЇew upland hunters who favor slide actions can resist the allure of the olвЂ™ Model 37. The Ithaca Model 37 is a time-tested shotgun design that, like so many others, can be chalked up to John Moses Browning. It kicks pretty well, and none of the little great-grandkids want to shoot it yet, but IвЂ™m pretty proud of it.вЂќ Well, he bagged 23 birds, and, he said with a smile, вЂњthe gun has never failed me. He wanted to see how many pheasants he could harvest with a single box of 25 shells. Still wondering about the quality and durability of an Ithaca Model 37? LaVern says one of his proudest memories with that shotgun happened when he was picking corn with the gun in tow. Though the gun is no museum showpiece, the memories it carries are worth the gunвЂ™s weight in gold. The butt pad is a simple polymer plateВ вЂ“ no rubber recoil pad here.

#Ithaca 37 shotgun stocks full

ThereвЂ™s a fixed full choke, brass front bead, and bird-scene engraving on the receiver. With uncheckered hardwood stocks, a plain barrel, and blued finish, that pump action was destined for both work and enjoyment. The gun he chose from the rack of his local shop was a standard 12-gauge Ithaca Gun Company Model 37. He saved his graduation money and purchased the Model 37 before finishing high school. He has been a hunter since an early age, and when he bought his Ithaca new 60 years ago, little did he know the stories it could tell today.

Their farmland covers some of the stateвЂ™s most desirable pheasant hunting habitat, a fact not lost on LaVern. At almost 78 years old, LaVern is the patriarch of South DakotaвЂ™s Koupal Angus ranching family.