Ithaca M37 12 ga Defense Model Questions

[Yippee-ki-yay]

Hey y'all,

I recently inherited an Ithaca 37 from my deceased grandfather and have been looking up history, market value, popularity, etc recently. Was curious if anyone else has one of these, or has any knowledge regarding this shotgun? I've heard a lot of hyperbole about how nice of a shotgun it is, but was wondering if anyone could give me some information since there is not a lot of centralized info on this model. Not looking to sell, but as this is a family heirloom I would love to become more familiar with its history, etc.

Some specs on it:
1981 Defense model
20" parkerized barrel? (I think?)
12 ga.
serial later than 850,000 (removable barrel)
bead front sight
capable of 'slam-firing'


Any thoughts?

 

[Garys]

I have one, it's a nice shotgun. The LAPD used the Ithaca 37 as it's standard patrol shotgun for a long time. Mine is a Deer Slayer Police Special. Mine is Parkerized with Pachmayr stock and fore end. I bought it from a fellow NESer and he told me he'd had it about 20 years and never fired it. The unique thing about the Model 37 is that it fires and ejects from the bottom, unlike other shotguns. From what I read, this was one of the reasons that LAPD used them. It allowed officers to keep a lower profile when reloading. I don't know if that's true, but it's what I read.

The only thing I'd like to change on mine is the furniture. I'd just like to have wood instead of the polymer, but that's personal preference.

The Ithaca has been in continuous production since 1937.

 

[Mike-Mike]

I have a few 37's . 16,12,and new 12. Great guns. 1915 Browning design. They are very reliable and smooth operators. Most older 37's take 2 3/4 shells only so keep that in mind when feeding it.

Oh and one more thing. If you hold the trigger in you can just pump it and it will keep firing. Unlike the new 37.