"The definition of value"  according to their ads in American Rifleman. Savage just isn't making a persuasive argument here. A $300 12 ga. 5 shot magazine vs a $350 Remington 870 Express Synthetic 7-Round. Why would you buy the Savage/Stevens gun?



The photos lead me to believe you couldn't add a magazine extension.

ETA: The plain bead sight model has a MSRP of $250. The one pictured above has ghost ring sights.

Because you can deal with the 5 round capacity. We're all super elite T1 operators who can reload a shotgun in 0.4 seconds...obviously.

Super elite T1 operators only use shotguns for breaching.

Looks like an Ithaca copy, real older Ithacas can be had for that price if your lucky, not much more even if your not.

Jezbus....the comb on that stock is rediculus.

Ithaca 37 knock off.

Apparently there was also a ChiCom (Norinco ) knock off being imported a few years back stamped: YL12-1J4

Curious if Savage is making these in house.

Don't know why Savage brands them under the Stevens Arms name.

It is bottom ejecting while the 870 is not. It has dual action bars, which while not a super cool feature are a sign that corners were not cut. It doesn't look like a bad gun, and I've never seen any gun actually sell for msrp. I'd buy the one pictured for $250 if I didn't already have a tacticool 12 ga.

The Ithica 37 could be fired by holding the trigger back while pumping (no disconnect). I wonder if this one can?

I haven't gotten my hands on one yet, but I'm fairly certain those are the Chinese 37 clones simply rebranded for Stevens.

And no, you can't add a mag extension to an Ithaca 37 design. Even the current Ithaca Gun Company 8-shot offering is poorly executed in my opinion. Best bet is to find an older M&P, I picked up a nice one last year for less than $400.

FIFY.... as of the Houston gun show where I bought mine last month.  

See how it shoots.

Sounds like they are made in China from all the forums I could glean info from.

Bottom eject is nice, especially for left-handed shooters.



I agree with you about the magazine, should have gone full-length for a "tactical" model.



I love my old Ithaca, but I'm not running out to buy one of those.

It's decent-cycling, from what I can tell. Almost loose though...

Yeah, it's Chinese. Got a close look at one at my neighborhood Big5. They also had the ghost-ring model on sale for $215, IIRC....not too shabby for an inexpensive pump gun with a ghost-ring rear sight and fiber-optic front.
I checked up, though, seems 5 in the mag isn't necessarily a guarantee. At least, the one I handled could only get 4+1 loaded up (with 2.75" dummies). There was another inch-and-a-quarter or so available in the tube, so maybe by f*cking with the mag follower and spring some, another round could be made to fit, like some have discovered...

But yeah, at MSRP, I'd rather look for an 870 on sale.
On sale, it might be an okay "starter" pump gun for someone interested in HD.

Gotta echo that these I believe are Chinese Ithaca 37 clones sold under the Stevens brand.  I remember looking into these when I was looking for a parts gun for my Savage 69 RXL.  Savage-Stevens was selling their own Ithaca 37 clones (Savage 69, Savage M77, Stevens M67), which can be found for pretty cheap (my unfired 69 RXL 12ga was about $150).

I can say my 69 RXL is not as smooth though as an Ithaca or my Mossberg 500 for that matter, and parts for the older Savage/Stevens shotguns can be hard to come by.  Too bad, too, because I actually really love my 69 RXL  I understand the 77e is a great gun, but trench gun and Vietnam memorabilia collectors like to snag them, and the 67e shoots about the same as the 69 RXL.  I can't say about the newer guns, because I haven't shot them, but I hear they are...ok, but not as good as the competition.

For the same price, I'd look for an Ithaca 37, Mossberg 500, Maverick 88 or an 870.

I'd bet money on it. Just checked IAC's website (former importer of the 37 clone, they called it the 372) and they're no longer offering it.

I've heard good things about the 97 copies and have seen their 870 clones run well a class, but I personally wouldn't get one with the offerings from Remington and Mossberg being so affordable. You can get a Maverick 88 security with 20" bbl and 8 round magazine (ie poor man's 590) for under $250. Saw one NIB at the last show for $199.

How about the 20" barrel 8 shot M37 MSRP: $469 from the (new) Ithaca Gun Co. now in Sandusky, OH (wtf?!)

http://www.ithacagun.com/images/defense_gun/Defense%20Specs.jpg

That's the one I referred to as "poorly executed" earlier. For whatever reason they decided to do away with the 37 style barrel/receiver/mag tube interface in favor of a non-removable barrel fixed to the receiver. No idea why they went that route, but deviating that much from a time proven design is enough to make me suspect of the whole thing.

Several places are selling this shotgun for less that $250.  Not a bad price IMHO for someone who need a decent knock-around gun.