Can the safety on a Deerslayer II be switched to be southpaw friendly?

Is this a mod. that needs to be done by a gunsmith?

ken613 wrote:Can the safety on a Deerslayer II be switched to be southpaw friendly?

Is this a mod. that needs to be done by a gunsmith?

Not sure what the official ruling is on this, but I'd be happy to let you know that I (an inexperienced Ithaca lover) "think."

The safety, the part itself is different (right-hand vs. left-hand). The trigger has to come out of the trigger pack in order for the safety to come out, so partial disassembly of the trigger pack is required (I figure ya might as well take it all down at that point and clean everything). I've done it on a couple occasions now to clean parts that have probably not been cleaned since they were assembled decades ago. Its not rocket science. I figure if I can do it, anyone can.

For disassembly it does take a second pair if hands to get that first little pin out, but the rest can be done by one person. I have found that the last part of reassembly is best done inside a giant, clear 4mil trash bag so when I launch the main hammer spring and the little cover plate it is trapped inside the bag and doesn't shoot across the room.

Check out the Ithaca website for the part, they do have it.

If you use a second pin punch, you can use it to hold/guide the hammer and/or the trigger in place while you disassemble/reassemble the trigger group, then use a small thin screw driver to hold the plunger in place while you slide the safety in place.

ch139 wrote:

ken613 wrote:Can the safety on a Deerslayer II be switched to be southpaw friendly?

Is this a mod. that needs to be done by a gunsmith?

Not sure what the official ruling is on this, but I'd be happy to let you know that I (an inexperienced Ithaca lover) "think."

The safety, the part itself is different (right-hand vs. left-hand). The trigger has to come out of the trigger pack in order for the safety to come out, so partial disassembly of the trigger pack is required (I figure ya might as well take it all down at that point and clean everything). I've done it on a couple occasions now to clean parts that have probably not been cleaned since they were assembled decades ago. Its not rocket science. I figure if I can do it, anyone can.

For disassembly it does take a second pair if hands to get that first little pin out, but the rest can be done by one person. I have found that the last part of reassembly is best done inside a giant, clear 4mil trash bag so when I launch the main hammer spring and the little cover plate it is trapped inside the bag and doesn't shoot across the room.

Check out the Ithaca website for the part, they do have it.

Welcome to the Ithaca Owners Forum ken613 !!

If you are going to change the safety, look around for one of the Williams oversized safeties. It is a great addition making it very easy to push it off rather than trying to hit the tiny OEM safety.

I was looking for some other parts from Numrich Gun Parts corp, and noticed they still have some lefty Williams big head safeties in stock. I think they were less than $5 + shipping.