Talk to me about the Ithaca 37. I recently bought one, a Featherlight (at least that's how the barrel is marked), on a whim since I wanted a retro style shotgun and it felt nice. I'm considering cutting or replacing the barrel with a shorter one so I'm curious about barrel interchangeability, I've heard older model were not. This one is 37132xxxx serial number range, so newer or older? The barrel seems to be in noticeably better condition (practically new) whereas the rest of the gun shows more finish wear. I'm somewhat hesitant to cut the barrel it so nice but it is just a plain 26"-28" IC barrel so it's nothing fancy. Just planning on using it as a truck gun.

ETA: also, is there any difference between the Featherlight receiver and the regular 37?

IIRC the Featherlite had an aluminum receiver and was much lighter than a regular Model 37. Dad had a Fetherlite in 16 guage that we fought over as teenagers. It was a damn sweet pheasant gun. Light weight, pointed naturally and reliable as the sunrise.  


I don't know which one of my brothers got that gun. There are 8 of us boys, so it could be anywhere.

I never heard of an aluminum receiver.  All of them in my family are forged steel receivers but the gun is still very light.  Seems like 7 lbs. or less depending on ga. and model.

Barrels are tough to find for most guns.  For some reason, over the years Ithaca changed the size/width of the grooves/rings in the receiver/barrel.  I have about 5 or 6 of the 12 ga. guns and none of the barrel interchange.  My brother bought one for one of his guns a few years ago hoping it would fit and it didn't, but it did fit one of mine.

Its a John Browning design.  Very sold, very tough.  Every one in my family owns at least one (including my mom - dad got here a 16 ga. years ago) and nothing has ever broken on any of them.  Years of turkey, squirrel, rabbit, quail, grouse, deer, duck and goose hunting.  Great guns.

Actually, the "Featherlight" is the standard model 37. Ithaca did offer an aluminum receivered model but that was the ULTRA Light.

This one is definately a steel receiver but is quite light.

A 3 million serial number gun would have interchangeable barrels. The early guns had removeable barrels but they were fitted to the receiver. I believe the changeover serial number was about 855,000.

Model 37's are sweet shooting guns. They are wonderful for upland game hunting and make dandy guns for informal skeet or sporting clays. They point great are built better than anything on the market today. Really, only the Winchester Model 12 and Remington 31 were in the same league as far as construction quality.

A 26-28" improved cylinder barrel is super useful for just about any kind of shooting that the Ithaca 37 excels at. It would be a shame to cut that barrel. If you want to cut something find a full choke barrel. BTW, vent ribs are in fashion, but they don't help you hit birds any better. The plain barrels work just fine and are lighter.

The Featherweight IS the regular gun. Ithaca made an Ultralight with an alloy receiver but they're pretty  uncommon. The Featherweight is really the better gun.

I love Ithacas...they are one of my favorite shotguns. And being a lefty, the bottom ejection is great. I have or have had a couple of the standard Featherlights, and I still have an ultralight. Its a 20ga with an English stock. My dad bought my brother sister and I all one when we were kids. Can't tell you how many rounds have been through that gun, or how many pheasants I've shot with it. I also have a slug barrel with it, that is pretty accurate for a smooth bore.



I wouldn't cut your current barrel if you can help it. If you look around, you should be able to find another barrel for it.

Ok, I think I'll leave it as is for now and look for a beater/shorter barrel since it will apparently take other barrels. I was leaning towards cutting this one but it just to pristine to hack yet.

Also, some of the older ithacas don't have the trigger disconnect...you fire the first round and hold the trigger to the rear, and it will fire as fast as you can work the pump.

Guy at the local gunshow has a few nice 37's. I have been thinking about picking one up for a while. He has a 12 and 20 both priced at 375. Tempting

The 12's are nice but the 20's are REALLY nice.

This one does not have a disconnector

I wouldn't mind picking up a Ithica 37 Trench gun (one of the 1,420 that were produced and sent out), they only blue book for $15,000.... besides that they look amazing at least the two I saw.

Ithaca M37s are awesome!

As previously stated, the 37s are all Featherlights. They are a very lightweight and svelte, sexy gun. They are very simple, but built out of great steel and just about bombproof.

To the OP, if the barrel fits the gun well, send your barrel to Guncat to have it cut. Also, your SN looks to be a 1973 vintage number (from Walter Snyder's book 1973 = 371287501 – 371366000). Of note, in 1969 when they got to the millionth SN they added the model number (37) in front of it, hence the 371xxxxxx SNs.

Prior to 1963 Ithaca matched their barrels to the receiver and both were marked with the serial number. Its not the end of the world is the two numbers don't match, there "might" be some "possible" headspace problems; something a good smith can check for. Sometime in 1963 Ithaca changed gears a bit and supposedly the barrels were all interchangeable after that. Not necessarily so, I've come across a bunch built after 1963 that could use some "fitting" ...they still work fine though.

As cool as the 37s are, there just doesn't seem to be a big demand for them; they can still be had off places like gunbroker for a couple hundred bucks (my 1956 vintage 16ga was $111). Just gotta keep your eye out.

They do have a few drawbacks. There is NO port-loading a 37. You can try all you want, but in the end, its always much faster to just put the shell into the magazine and pump the action. Watch all the youtube vids you like and talk to and watch all the know-it-alls regarding the 37… you simply cannot easily drop a shell into the chamber. Also, being so lightweight, they tend to heat up real fast with any amount of shooting. You'll never hurt the gun this way, but don't burn yourself. Lastly, also a lightweight "thing" ...they kick! Most of the older guns only had a butt-plate ...and they're lightweight. The pop pretty good where some shooters prefer a heavier 12ga 870 to a 20ga Ithaca.

In buying these awesome ole shotguns a couple things to look for... if it's a pre '63 gun, do make sure the barrel and receiver serial number match, its just a lot easier this way. The guns are extraordinary well built with high quality steel, but in order to be so lightweight the steel can be a bit on the "thin" side in places like the barrel. If the barrel has any significant pitting, pass on it. Its usually not worth the hassle. Also, the wood in the wrist are of the stock cracks on a lot of guns, again, unless its an extraordinary acquisition, if the wood is cracked beyond what you can repair or want to pay to have worked on, pass. Factory Ithaca stocks can be tough to come by and when you find them, they're usually pretty spendy.

With that said, go forth and find wonderful old Ithaca 37s at inexpensive prices.

...and because its arf.com and we need pics (OP, no pics?) ...a few of my beloved 37s



L to R: 1940 vintage trench gun/project, 1941 riot gun, 1943 riot gun, 1956 16ga, 1961 20ga, 1969 vintage factory trench gun, 1970 riot gun and 1971 riot gun. There are a few others that didn’t make the pic, but y’all get the general idea.

Of note, the 1971 gun on the far right has a factory SKT (skeet) choked barrel, first time I'd ever even heard of that.



Ithaca did make a number of "riot guns" with 20-inch FULL choked barrels intended for and marketed to corrections type folk.

The older guns from the 40s had the serial number stamped in the face of the wrist area of the stock.



Here are a couple that don't match from 1942. This is one of those unicorns McGavin mentioned above; WWII Ithaca M37 trench gun. There were 1422 made (1420 went out into the field and two went to a couple different ordnance officers for "inspections" and whatnot). After the war the military only "supported" the Winchester Model 12 and Stevens 520 and 620. Who knows what happened to those 1422 shotguns, but they are supposed to be the pinnacle of a collection along with the WWI Remington Model 10 trench gun.



Apologize for the long rant, I just get all kinds of excited about shotguns, Ithacas in particular. Hope it helps someone.

Well, if you insist . . .

This is one of three Ithaca 37's I own (but the only one I have photos of). It's an Ithaca 37 RD which means it's supposed to have deluxe wood and a solid ribbed barrel. It definitely has nice lumber but it's got a plain barrel. The weird thing is that the plain barrel is serial number matched to the receiver. I'm guessing that a previous owner special ordered an extra barrel from the factory and that the original ribbed barrel got separated from the gun over the years. This one has an improved cylinder barrel. A nice bird gun for sure but all I've ever done with it is take it on a few dances around the skeet field.











As mentioned above, bargains abound in the the Ithaca 37 world. This one was a Gunbroker.com $300 "buy it now."

Ithaca is still in business under different ownership. You can call them about ordering parts and warranty service.

Model 37. Back in 1960 the NYC PD  bought  many of them. the first order was for 800.Dont know how many more were purchased , but it was the official shotgun.Each gun would group slugs in a 3" circle at 50 yards offhand.Clay bird qualification was ten out of ten for Expert. One exception wasfor Detectives and plainclothes men,they were issued Stevens Double Barrels.......