Posted this on Sigforum but thought some guys here might appreciate it.


I stopped by a Cabellas yesterday as I was passing through and saw this puppy in the circular as I walked in; I was immediately intrigued. I have always liked the Ithaca 37 Riot gun since it's day as the NYPD patrol Shotty. For those who are unfamiliar with the platform the model 37 is a pump action 4+1 12G shotgun with a bottom eject design. This gun is an obvious clone of the 37 but with some nice upgrades. With a sale price of $219 I knew off the bat that I was lookiing at a Chinese made rifle, it is stamped MFG. By Sun City Machinery LTD in PRC. I don't know if this has any ties to Norinco or Hawk but from what I can tell the build quality is a bit nicer then the stuff I have seen from those two oufits in the past. I have a few 870's and a Benelli but am something of a riot gun fanatic so I went ahead and bought it. At first glance it seems a lot better built (quality and fit & finish) then the Chinese made shotguns I have seen in the past, It is made intirely of steel, no plastic or alloy components aside from the furniture.

In the past I owned one of the Hawk 98's which was a decent 870 clone but this one blows it away. The finish is very nice and the furniture is not sloppy like some of the cheaper Chinese stuff I have seen. The stock and forend are coated with some sort of soft touch rubber-like material that is pretty nice. One of the obvious changes made to the original design is the ghost ring sights. The front post is protected by two steel wings and has a green fiber optic insert; the rear is an LPA style sight made entirely out of steel (no crappy screws like on the Hawk 98.) The action is very smooth but the trigger pull is very heavy. It has a standard cross bolt style safety that could be larger. The Mag spring seems a bit weak and will probably need to be replaced. I have not gotten the chance to shoot it yet but I will put it through it's paces sometime this week and update this review. For now here are some pictures....

Waiting for the AAR. What did you give for it if I may ask?

It was $233 out the door.

I have one and agree that it's very well made and a step above  the Hawk 982, Pardner Pump and 870 Express. It's on par with the 870P fit, finish, stock and machining. The action is smooth as silk right out of the box. They are a hell of a deal even without  the nice LPA style sights.

GC

Will it slam fire like the older M37's?

No... it wouldn't have been approve for importation under the sporting law if it could.  It has 5+1 capacity with standard length shells. The fifth shell is very hard to insert but with a little coaxing it will go in but there is barely enough room in the mag tube for it though. They should have made the mag 3/4" longer.

It's a very high quality Ithaca 37 copy and a hell of a deal.


GC

I couldn't get the 5 shell in there even if I smacked it wth a hammer. Isn't this gun sold as a 4+1?

Not an Ithaca clone... M37's only have a single action bar.

I broke mine down, internally it's basically identical, as it is externally except for said upgrades.

Disconectors aren't on the 922(R) list. Pump shotguns don't count on 922(R) either. Actually I found out that they do.





It certainly looks better than those crappy defense models that the new Ithaca puts out.





 

Here are the range pics, The first pic is of 5 shells (Remington Express 2 3/4 00 Buck) @ 25 yards. The second pic is of 15 shells @ 25 yards. The action was nice and smooth but the mag spring needs replacing ASAP, I will give Wolff Springs a shout. Otherwise the gun functioned great and was very soft shooting. I added a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad which made the full power 12 Gauge loads feel like birdshot. The extra weight from the all steel construction doesn't hurt either. The fiber optic front sight made for a very nice clean sight picture. All in all I feel the gun is well worth the $219 I paid.

5 2 3/4 00 shells @ 25 yards



15 2 3/4 00 shells @ 25 yards

It's more than well worth what you paid for it. A set of LPA sights would cost as much as the shotgun. The LPA rear sight is made of aluminum not steel like the one on the Stevens 350.

If this shotguns was manufacture in the US it would retail in the $500 to $600 price range  


GC

The Norinco 1897's slamfire, so how would this be different??

Probably some stuff with liability. The Chinese could care less if you sue them.



 

Thanks alot Duster!

Because of you and Max100, I now have one of these beauties en route from Bud's Gunshop.

I hope mine shoots as tight as yours does at 25yds.  That would make me a very happy camper.

So does anyone know about parts compatibility with the Ithaca 37?

I just posted about this in the GD forum to see if anyone else has seen them.

They are $269 at my Cabelas.

How hard is it to get parts for these?? Does it come with a warranty?

Why wouldnt you be able to combat load this shotgun?

I have always liked the 37's, and always wanted one for a range toy. but couldnt see spending the money on an original. I would pay 300 bucks for this, and not even think twice.

Just out of curiosity, OP, would you feel safe using this firearm as your H.D. weapon?

I think he means port load.





I would use it as an HD weapon. 4+1 is still an effective amount for HD.





 

I love Ithaca M37s....that seems like a hell of a deal for a cheap range copy!

It's a very high quality copy. You would be surprised if you seen one.


GC

Damn, MSRP for the bead sight version is only $249...

That's even cheaper than the used real Ithaca 37s.



 

except for the right side action bar it sure looks like an Ithaca M37.  Two bars vs. one is over rated in my opinion.  We've hunted with ours in heat, cold, rain, sleet, snow, etc. in IL, ND, TX, WV, AR, VA, MI and TN.  My dad's been hunting with his since 1953.  He bought one for me in 1969 and it still works, too.  Both of my brothers have them.  We have 12's and 16's and have never had one break or jam up.

If you wear heavy gloves you will "set one off" now and then in the winter if you're doing some fast shooting on grouse or rabbits.  

I bought M37's for both of my sons because we've never had problems with ours.

That is an interesting looking gun.  I like the synthetic stock/for end and heavy parkerized finish.  That should be a great hard duty/hard condition gun.

Oh man,I want! I' like to retro it,though. Would it be possible to put wooden furniture on it? Like 37 furniture?

Oh man,I want! I' like to retro it,though. Would it be possible to put wooden furniture on it? Like 37 furniture?

Mine finally came to my FFL via the BBT today.  Will check it out tomorrow.  I have a stack of buckshot ready to go.

That's the first thing I thought.



 

I just bought one at Dicks Sporting Goods in a combo. Ghost ring and fiber optic sight on the 18.5 inch barrel and a vent rib 28 inch.

I picked it up this Friday and am taking it to the range with my boys on Sunday. Very nice and seems tight. Had a little trouble removing the barrel the first time, but got it loose. Front handguard seems a little loose, but we will see. Trying it with slugs and Winchester partition gold sabots, and then so,e buckshot and birdshot at metal poppers.

Will let you know how she works and shoots.

I looks like you would have to remove the rear ghost ring sight to use the vent rib with its bead sight, or possibly just leave it on and see if it interferes with the sight picture. If it does, then I will remove it.

Only $279 for the combo with both barrels and with tax and all after the discount for taking the survey and a Dicks discount card, only $290.


My 13 year old can't wait to take it to the trap range and the shooting range and test it out. He thinks its his already.

It uses the Winchoke type choke tubes according to the manual, and I will have to see if any other style stocks and accessories will fit this one.

Well, We shot the 12G Security model today at the range. Pretty heavy trigger and plenty of recoil considering I took heavy field loads and regular 1 1/2 oz hollow point slugs and some buckshot.

The first slug hit about 1 inch off of dead center at 25 yards. The field loads and the buckshot went a little to the left as did the 3 or 4 more slugs that I shot on the move, but none more than 2 or 3 inches off of the dead center. Trigger will take a little getting used too and I will be taking it apart to polish and work with it.

The fiber optic sight is very easy to see and fast to acquire.

My 13 year old son shot it and the slug definitely has some kick to it. I also fired a couple of sabot Winchester partition golds and they were in the target center as well. This combination will work extremely well for the whitetail deer around here.

Next week, we will take it trapshooting and let you lnow how it fares there, with the 28 inch vent rib.

Me too. Parked shotgun + walnut stock =

Would look good with my Ithacas Thanks for the pics and review. I'll have to keep this in mind.