**UPDATE** Ithaca 37 Deerslayer Barrel Issue

[scotchblade]

I wanted a "vintage" model and just scored this beauty, made in 1969.

20" smooth bore barrel, rifle sights, beavertail forend with finger grooves and what seems to be the harder to find 20 gauge.

I already have a couple of 12 gauge shotguns, so this will be a very welcome addition.

I have read many great reviews and can't wait to put it through it's paces. Ithaca 37 owners, please chime in with anything I should know.

Cheers!

[Chaos47]

Looks like a very nice example.
Biggest thing to be aware of is the lack of a disconnect and therefore its ability to slamfire.
This can be a safety issue if someone is not aware of it and has a habit of holding triggers back to fire from the reset.

Although yours is close to the years that they started putting disconnects in. So you may want to dry fire it and check to see if it has one or not.

[Steve_In_29]

Nice

Make sure to always work the action with authority to avoid jams.

[bsg]

Looks like a very nice example.
Biggest thing to be aware of is the lack of a disconnect and therefore its ability to slamfire.
This can be a safety issue if someone is not aware of it and has a habit of holding triggers back to fire from the reset.

Although yours is close to the years that they started putting disconnects in. So you may want to dry fire it and check to see if it has one or not.

i believe it was in 1975 or shortly thereafter that Ithaca began putting in the disconnector.

OP… nice looking example.

[scotchblade]

Thanks for the comments. Holding the trigger and pumping (with authority) could be fun. Of course, I'll be sure to check it out thoroughly before doing anything.

[Chaos47]

Yup slamfireing is a blast

[scotchblade]

Uh oh. Inspected the Deerslayer today. Yes, it slam fires.

But a piece is missing from the barrel. Remnants of the missing piece are there along with a small hole. I'm not sure what this part is called - it attaches to the magazine nut in some way.

To make matters worse, this is not a part that Numrich sells separately. It is part of the barrel. The pic shows it clearly, mine is missing.

I think I am screwed, but before I pack it up and ship it back, I thought I'd see if there is any hope.

Cheers!

[deadcoyote]

This is random, but I'm up outside of Eureka. I've got a 15 round box of winchester 20 gauge slugs kicking around. you can have em if you live near here.

[SVT-40]

The pic you posted shows the cap nut retainer ball and it's pin.... Looks okay to me. Does the ball move in and out when you press on it? If so it's good. The ball moves against the mag cap, which has corresponding recesses.

[scotchblade]

The pic you posted shows the cap nut retainer ball and it's pin.... Looks okay to me. Does the ball move in and out when you press on it? If so it's good. The ball moves against the mag cap, which has corresponding recesses.

Thanks, I wasn't clear. My barrel is MISSING the cap nut retainer (barrel lug). I can see that it used to be there.

It would be very unfortunate if this missing part is a deal breaker, but from what I gather, the cap nut retainer is part of the barrel. Not a something you can order on it's own.

[scotchblade]

99.9% certain I'm out of luck. The lug is welded on at the factory.

Return to sender.

[Chaos47]

Posting the photos for the OP to make them easier to compare:
(Note you won't see them unless you are logged on)

Reference photo of part in question that is missing:


OP's actual shotgun:


Hmm yea thats not good. That definitely is welded or brazed on by the factory..
Ithaca is still around... but under new management.. I have no idea if they work on the older guns still. But its probably not worth the cost. But I guess that depends on how much you got it for originally. (and how much they are willing to refund for not disclosing the issue)

Sorry man that sucks to have to return it..

Might want to look into Winchester M12's as well. They slamfire, are able to be taken down, and hold 1 more shell then a m37. But you loose the bottom eject benefit of the m37 if you are a lefty. But gain the ability to throw a shell in the top port.. But you would definitely loose the deerslayers rifle sights advantage...

[Khromo]

I recently bought a new barrel from the new Ithaca Gun Co.

http://ithacagun.com/index.html

Click on "Factory Service" and then "Ithaca Barrels". Nice looking barrel, fits well on my receiver, not too expensive. Might not be worth it on a used deal, but maybe you and the seller could split the cost.

Good luck!

[Chaos47]

On the Ithaca website at least the current dearslayer does not seem to have that part either...



Compared to a normal version which does...


Maybe you should put a call into the factory.. or find an ithaca forum


It might have been removed at some point to use an aftermarket tube extension.

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=1&t=359533

[kilrain]

On the Ithaca website at least the current dearslayer does not seem to have that part either...

The Deerslayer and Defense models that the current iteration of Ithaca are making have a fixed barrel, therefore no need for the lug/foot on the barrel to bear against the magazine tube to retain it in place. They are very well made guns based on the ones I've seen.

FYI.