Ithaca Model 37 Trench Gun

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:58 am
Yep!!! It is a beautiful thing!!!
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:30 pm
USPS wrote:Your Item's Status
Your item was delivered at 12:26 pm on October 01, 2011...

The money has arrived at the Seller's location!

I hate the wait.
PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:45 pm
Post a range report once you have that beauty in your hands...!!
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:06 am
Its here!

Picked it up today...

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:37 pm
That is among the most beautiful things I have ever seen! :shock:
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:04 am
Finally got out to shoot the little trenchie today. Friend was in town, so we headed to the skeet range to see what kind of damage we could do. We were only able to shoot two rounds each, but both got to use the little M37 and it went through two boxes of shells without issue. Got a lot of funny looks from the old skool sporting shotgun crowd.

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PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:26 am
Man, thats just awesome, I love it!
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:54 pm
Can anybody tell me what the buttplate design was on the WWII version of the M37 Trenchgun?

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:57 am
Does anyone in the industry make a copy of the heat shield/ bayonet mount?
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PostPosted: Fri May 24, 2013 3:52 pm
g.g.ands wrote:Can anybody tell me what the buttplate design was on the WWII version of the M37 Trenchgun?

There was only a handfull of M37 trench guns made for WWII (1422 of em IIRC) and after the war the military said they were only going to support the Winchester Model 12, Stevens 520 and 620. I imagine the number of those WWII M37 trench guns still alive is very low. Point being, there are not a lot of pics out there of them let alone of the butt plate. One might think that the "normal" Ithaca M37 butt plate used in 1942-43 would be the same used on their WWII trenchies. I couldn't tell you for sure though, my 1943 gun has a recoil pad. The only couple pics I have been able to find of what appears to be a WWII Ithaca M37 trench gun show only a side profile of the butt plate. Of note, the stock and forend are smooth and "ring-tail" as opposed to checkered like other M37 of the era.

these are just pics gleaned off the internet...

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mike263 wrote:Does anyone in the industry make a copy of the heat shield/ bayonet mount?

East Taylor LLC builds a great one if not a tad expensive. I got one a couple years back for a project and sadly the entire project still sits in a small pile of parts unfinished. Their bayonet mount and heat shield is a good one though, it is pretty much exactly the same as the "real" trench gun mentioned above; a very good piece. Problem is (as I see it anyway) they also build repro mounts for Winchesters and now the Remington Model 10... I see more projects in the future. ;)

This is my East Taylor mount...
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PostPosted: Sat May 25, 2013 12:01 am
g.g.ands wrote:Can anybody tell me what the buttplate design was on the WWII version of the M37 Trenchgun?

...right after I made the above post I got to doing some digging and found some more pics online. These are from a 1942 vintage Ithaca M37 Trench gun Serial Number 578xx.

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...and the money-shot you were looking for.
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PostPosted: Sat May 25, 2013 6:57 am
That is a good looking gun.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 7:28 am
Image
Pictured above is the Ithaca Trench Gun as issued in Viet Nam. 20" barrel, no heat shield attachment. I remember seeing a few, (damn few!) trench guns in Viet Nam in '69-'70, maybe two, and I don't remember what they were. Neither had heat shields, both were pump guns with 20" barrels and slings like the Ithaca pictured above.





Ithaca Model 37, trench gun, riot gun, Ithaca, shotgun


Ithaca Model 37 Trench and Riot Gun

Though not nearly as famous as the Winchester Model 1897, Ithaca’s Model 37 served with distinction in multiple conflicts.

By Rick Hacker (RSS)
April 18, 2011




The United States Army had been using smoothbore shotguns since the Revolutionary War, although the formidable weapon didn’t come into its own until World War I with the introduction of the Winchester Model 1897 “trench sweeper,” a 12 gauge, 20-inch-barreled pump-action scattergun. The weapon was so devastating, the German government unsuccessfully petitioned to get it banned from combat.

The Model 1897 went on to fight in World War II, but by then guns and parts were wearing out and replacement armament was needed. One of the most unlikely—yet obvious—candidates to carry on the effectiveness of an open-choked, short-barreled shotgun for close-range military use was the Ithaca Model 37, which, sharing a link with the Model 97, was based on the Remington Model 17, both John M. Browning designs.

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Up until this time, the Ithaca Gun Company, located in western New York, was known for finely crafted double-barreled sporting smoothbores and superb single-barreled competition shotguns. Founded in 1883 by William Henry Baker, this well-respected company had become a favorite of such luminaries as trick shooter Annie Oakley and John Philip Sousa. But in May 1937, Ithaca introduced the appropriately named Model 37—a single-barreled pump shotgun.

Patented by factory manager Harry E. Howland, and working with Ithaca designer Nestor Smith, the gun was ready in May 1932, but production was halted due to patent infringement. It seemed the hammerless new Ithaca repeater ran afoul of mechanisms used on the hammerless Remington Model 17 as well as the older, exposed-hammer Winchester 1897. Although the Model 17 was discontinued in 1933, the patents did not expire until four
years later.

Ithaca Model 37, Model 37, Vietnam, shotgun, Model 37 in Vietnam
The Ithaca Model 37 served in a variety of wars, including World War II. Here it's seen in the hands of a G.I. in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army

The Model 37 was a much more efficient design than the Remington 17, although both shared the dual bottom loading- and ejection-port feature. But, the Ithaca was lighter and used fewer parts. Its short-stroke pump was faster, a reversible cross-bolt safety made the gun adaptable for southpaws and unlike the Model 17, the Model 37 was brought out in 12 gauge. A 16-gauge version was introduced in 1938 and a 20 gauge came a year later. Although Ithaca’s commercial firearms production was halted by World War II, it was the Model 37 that brought Ithaca into the government’s arsenal.

By 1940, with war raging in Europe but the U.S. remaining out of the fracas, the Ordnance Department nonetheless realized the need to shore up its lagging supply of combat shotguns. At that time, the Ithaca Model 37 was one of only six commercially produced smoothbores deemed suitable. As a result, an initial order for 1,420 Ithaca Model 37 trench guns—with factory-fitted 20-inch, open-choked barrels, ventilated steel heat guards, lugs for the M1917 bayonet, sling swivels and without the standard Model 37’s takedown feature—was placed in November 1941. One month later, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

Rather than being Parkerized, these six-shot, World War II-era Model 37s sported finely blued steel and were stamped with a U.S. Ordnance bomb on the left side of the receiver, along with the “RLB” initials of inspector Lt. Col. Roy L. Bowlin, Chief of the Rochester Ordnance District. Although these Ithaca wartime guns were catalogued as “Riot Guns,” according to “U.S. Infantry Weapons of World War II,” by Bruce Canfield, “By the time of World War II, the trench guns were officially designated as ‘Shotgun, Riot Type, with Bayonet Attachment and Hand Guard.’” However, as the Model 37’s combat role continued, a number of smooth-barreled riot guns—sporting 18-inch barrels without trench-gun fittings—were also drummed into service.

Aside from some clearing operations, the open battlefields of the European theater were not conducive to the close-range limitations of the Model 37. But it was different story in the Pacific, where jungle fighting soon put these scatterguns in demand. Plus, a number of were issued for guard duty on military bases. Nonetheless, Ithaca’s Model 37 World War II trench gun tenure was relatively short-lived. After completing its initial contract order of 1,420 units, the company turned its manufacturing capabilities to the M1911A1, making its World War II trench guns an extremely rare collectible today.

The Model 37 trench and riot guns came into their own when called back into action during the Vietnam War. The effectiveness of these six-shot, hand-held firestorms was heightened by the fact that the Model 37 did not have a trigger detent. Thus, by holding the trigger back, the gun could be slam-fired as fast as a “boonierat” could work the pump. The first volley of shots cleared out the brush, vines and spider holes, while the rest of the magazine eradicated whatever—or whoever—was left.

No wonder Model 37 trench guns were issued to the infantry squad’s point man. It was also a favorite weapon for detonating land and water mines, and was frequently carried by the bow sentry aboard watercraft. They were adapted for the same M7 bayonet as the M16, and some guns issued to the Special Forces were stamped USSF on the receiver. A few were even outfitted with shot spreaders that widened their patterns horizontally. Approximately 22,500 Parkerized Model 37 trench guns were produced during the Vietnam era. These guns were stamped “U.S.” on the right side of the receiver along with a “P” proofmark on the barrel and receiver. Many were rebuilt after Vietnam.

In 1987 Ithaca Acquisition Corp brought back the Model 37 as the Model 87, and in late 1996, Ithaca Gun Company resumed manufacture of Model 37. Today, the Ithaca 37 exists in a number of guises, but the glory of the Model 37 trench and riot guns lives on in the revamped Model 37 Defender. Thus, the gun that first served in World War II is still making a mark on the law enforcement and home-defense front today.



Tags: history, Ithaca, military, pump shotguns, self-defense, World War I





Warboats.org

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Ordnance Notes -- by Bob Stoner GMCM(SW) Ret.

ITHACA Model 37 Shotgun


The Ithaca "Homeland Defense Shotgun" is identical to the guns used in Viet Nam except
for the installation of sling swivels. Photo: Ithaca Gun



The Ithaca Gun Company produced its first shotgun in 1883. In 1937 the company released its newest creation: the Model 37 Repeater. The Model 37 was a pump action shotgun based on the Remington Model 17 pump shotgun. The Ithaca was an improvement on the former design because it emphasized simplicity of form and function. The Model 37 has remained in continuous production since its introduction. It has been produced in a bewildering number of finishes, calibers, barrel lengths, smooth bore and rifled barrel configurations, and stock and forearm configurations. It's simplicity and reliability have earned it the respect of sportsmen, police officers, and the military.

Simplicity: the Model 37 has the fewest parts of any pump shotgun. Reliability: the gun is easily used by right or left handed shooters because, unlike other pump shotguns, it loads and ejects through the bottom of the gun. The double-fingered shell carrier provides positive control of the round, from magazine to chamber. The barrel is attached to the receiver by an interrupted thread. It is easily removed for cleaning by unscrewing the knurled plug on the end of the magazine tube, turning it 90 degrees, and pulling it off the receiver.

Shotguns have been used in combat by American troops since the Revolutionary War. While the tools of war have become more fearsome in their range and the number of rounds they can shoot, the shotgun is still an awesome adversary at short range. The Model 37 can put 54 pellets of 00 buckshot (.33 caliber) down range as fast as the trigger can be pulled and the forearm cycled. (Once the trigger was pulled for the first shot, the disconnector allows the gun to fire all the ammunition in its magazine by merely cycling the forearm.) In this regard, it puts your average submachine gun to shame.

Ithaca 37 combat shotguns used in Viet Nam were either riot guns (18-inch barrels) or trench guns (20-inch barrels). The stocks and forearms were wood and the exposed metal parts were Parkerized (manganese phosphated). The caliber was 12 gauge and the barrel was cylinder bored (without any choke or restriction) for maximum shot dispersion. Capacity was 6 shots. Trench guns had a barrel shroud or ventilated handguard over the barrel and could mount the M-7 bayonet of the M-16 rifle. Sling swivels were provided for the standard 1-1/4 inch web rifle sling. Sights consisted of a brass bead mounted on the end of the barrel and a flat, grooved sight plane milled into the top of the receiver. The forearm latch (bolt release) was located at the right front of the trigger guard and the safety was located at the rear of the trigger guard. Shotguns procured for issue to U.S. forces during Viet Nam were in the 9XX,XXX serial number range.

The point man of Navy SEAL teams liked to carry the Ithaca M37 for the firepower it could bring to bear in the jungle where engagements were usually fought a point-blank range. The Navy also made up some modified Ithaca M37s for its SEALs. The magazine tube was extended almost to the muzzle of the 20-inch barrel and its latch lug was repositioned. The trench gun ventilated handguard was not used. The modified M37 could now carry two additional rounds for a total of eight. A shot spreader (commonly called a "duck bill") was attached to the end of the barrel. The shot spreader's purpose was to flatten the shot group exiting the barrel from a circular pattern to an oval pattern. The shot spreader gave more coverage of the target at usual engagement ranges. These guns are now quite rare. Since the end of hostilities in Viet Nam, combat shotguns in the military inventory have been augmented by militarized versions of the Mossberg 500 and Remington 870. Nevertheless, the Ithaca M37 was a proven, useful tool. They are probably still in the racks of Naval Special Warfare armories.

Ithaca Model 37 Specifications:
Length . . . . approximately 43 inches (depending on barrel length)
Type . . . . . pump action shotgun
Caliber . . . 12 gauge
Feed . . . . . tube magazine - 6 or 8 rounds
Sights . . . . brass bead front
Weight . . . . approximately 7 pounds

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 6:27 am
Very good information.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:07 am
krag96 wrote:Image
Pictured above is the Ithaca Trench Gun as issued in Viet Nam. 20" barrel, no heat shield attachment.

Ithaca Model 37 Specifications:
Length . . . . approximately 43 inches (depending on barrel length)
Type . . . . . pump action shotgun
Caliber . . . 12 gauge
Feed . . . . . tube magazine - 6 or 8 rounds
Sights . . . . brass bead front
Weight . . . . approximately 7 pounds

1977cutcher wrote:Very good information.

Some of the info is not correct. In the image above the gun appears to be a Stevens 77 not an Ithaca 37. Also, in several occasions the info mentions the gun being a 6-shot. "Normal" Ithaca tubes only hold four shells IIRC... +1 in the chamber = a 5-shot. Not trying to be a Nazi, just want to make sure the info out there is correct. There's a few other things in there, but those are the most glaring.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 8:12 am
I thought of the 6 shot myself, but the old military buckshot loads were 2 1/2" shells, not 2 3/4". I haven't loaded any yet, but I have some 2 1/2" hulls to try.

Just passing along some interesting articles. The Gov't bought more '37's during the Viet Nam conflict than they did during WWII.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:59 am
Hello:
I have a genuine m-37 trench gun. My father bought it from the CMP in the late 50's. The serial # is lower than the supposed "block: of numbers issued for these guns. The Gov. moved in and bought and converted m-37's still on the line BEFORE the contract model (beginning sometime in February of 1942). Contract work started with deliveries in May/June of 1942.
Gun has all markings, etc. except a sling.
These appear to be extremely rare. Number bought in this manner is unknown to me.
Barrels from commercial m-37's will not fit.

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PostPosted: Sat May 03, 2014 10:28 am
1942 mystery gun. Other than the buttstock, is it original?
Attachments
Model-37.jpg
What is this? I got the gun 10 years ago at an estate sale. The buttstock was missing, so I know this part isn't original. It has a Cutts Compensator that looks factory original.
Model-37.jpg (191.63 KiB) Viewed 42809 times

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PostPosted: Sun May 04, 2014 8:13 pm
During WWII sporting guns where bought by the military to train bomber plane gunners. They would put the gunners on flat bed trucks and drive down the road while shooting at clays. I suspect it is possible this gun started out as one of these guns. The conspirator and re- finished would of been added after the gun was released from service.

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PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 11:11 am
1977cutcher wrote:During WWII sporting guns where bought by the military to train bomber plane gunners. They would put the gunners on flat bed trucks and drive down the road while shooting at clays. I suspect it is possible this gun started out as one of these guns. The conspirator and re- finished would of been added after the gun was released from service.


I saw one for sale in the 1980's. Wish I would have bought it!

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:45 pm
g.g.ands wrote:Can anybody tell me what the buttplate design was on the WWII version of the M37 Trenchgun?



I can't say for sure this was WWII issue, but about 30 years ago I bought a milsurp M37 buttstock from Numrich. It came with a Parkerized steel buttplate, which may still be in my shop somewhere.

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:36 am
I'd love an M37 trench gun but that's a dream that will never materialise. I live in England and our laws dictate that pump action shotguns must have a barrel that's at least 24".
I have an 1897 that someone has previously cut done to 24" and I also have one of the few remaining parkerised DSPS with a 24" barrel that were imported in the early 80s. I love that gun and I'd like to know how many are left. Gun laws have changed since then and some will have been surrendered and others restricted to meet the newer laws for shotgun certificates (we have a 2 tier system here for general firearms ownership)
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