I have a question for vintage Ithaca 37 owners, if you grab the barrel of your 37 firmly with one hand, and grab the receiver firmly with the other hand, and twist back and forth in opposite directions, clockwise and counterclockwise back and forth, is there supposed to be any play, even a tiny amount in that barrel to receiver fit? Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

Actually, though I asked this question for vintage 37's, I'd also be happy to know if the new current manufacture 37's have any play. Again, thank you!

Obviously from the designers view, the goal is no play. Action opened or closed? Sounds like the mag cap stud is undersized a couple thous. or barrel lug hole is oversized a few thous. Good question tho'

You are going to get some play,especially if you are really cranking on them. There is not a "hard threaded" lookup like there is on a Deerslayer 2, which has a NON-removable barrel.

I checked 2 of mine (both in above average condition) and yes there is a little wiggle.

Has nothing to do with any parts being out of tolerance, it is basically due to manufacturing tolerances and mechanical advantage, ie; twisting.

The design was put together for shooting "shotshells". Shooting shotshells imparts no radial motion/torque to a barrel, so the barrels had to be "tight enough" to do the job. Later in the design life of the Ithaca 37 and the advent of rifled slug barrels, there would have been torque applied and the barrels will rotate a bit until they can't. Of course on the Deerslayer 2 and 3 's, there is no barrel rotation, due to them being hard screwed into the receiver.

drcook wrote:You are going to get some play,especially if you are really cranking on them. There is not a "hard threaded" lookup like there is on a Deerslayer 2, which has a NON-removable barrel.

I checked 2 of mine (both in above average condition) and yes there is a little wiggle.

Has nothing to do with any parts being out of tolerance, it is basically due to manufacturing tolerances and mechanical advantage, ie; twisting.

The design was put together for shooting "shotshells". Shooting shotshells imparts no radial motion/torque to a barrel, so the barrels had to be "tight enough" to do the job. Later in the design life of the Ithaca 37 and the advent of rifled slug barrels, there would have been torque applied and the barrels will rotate a bit until they can't. Of course on the Deerslayer 2 and 3 's, there is no barrel rotation, due to them being hard screwed into the receiver.

Agree 100%
without the gun in hand to see for ourselves just how much play there is, I "assumed" there might be an issue with mfg. tolerances or been subjected to Bubba Gunsmithing Services in the guns past..

The early guns, pre-855,000 serial nbr, have the least chance of having any radial play in one direction only. That is locking them into the gun.

If you look at the bottom of a pre-855,000 barrel, there will be a "witness" mark. Everyone that I have seen has it. From what I can tell from prior machining experience, and the presence of that mark, they screwed the barrel in, put the mark there, and then used it for positioning in the fixtures for cutting the barrel takedown thread reliefs and soldering the barrel lug on.

If everyone was real careful doing each and every operation, the barrel would rotate into position, the shoulder would bump against front face of the receiver and bottom out and not have any more play. That would be in a perfect world, but once again manufacturing tolerances come into play.

Post 855,000 barrels, having simple parallel "V" grooves will spin all the way around in the receiver and never tighten up from turning. The mechanical lockup of the different parts allow a little play.

Both of the ones I checked with on (the above post) were post 855,000 and the play was minimal, the barrel lug, magazine cap lookup was doing its part. I didn't get any of the pre-855's out of the safe to check.

A trick I do on my takedown BPCR rifles is to wrap a layer of THIN teflon tape on the threads. That prevents metal on metal contact and there is no loosening up from wear, NOT that we have seen any really worn out Ithacas !!!!

It would also help tighten up the lockup.

I am thinking of trying this on my Ithacas, to see how much it interferes with cleaning them.

My apologies for not being more clear, I do not yet own an Ithaca 37 but when I do buy one, I am wondering if some rotational play will be normal.

Apparently on Mossbergs and Remington 870's this play is pretty much standard in about half the shotguns, from what I've heard from Mossberg and Remington owners.

My own Moss and Rem 870, both new, do have a very minute amount of play, if you twist back and forth and use some strength you can hear a faint metal to metal "clack clack clack" but it sounds faint, muffled, and the play is so miniscule you can see no movement, only hear the faint clacking sound, and trust me, I have to put some muscle into it.

If and when I buy an Ithaca 37 (can you believe an Ithaca 37 was my first choice but I still do not have one?), and I find a tiny amount of play in the barrel, I will know not to reject the gun as this is normal.

Now to figure out which Ithaca 37 to buy! I wanted a 37 but decided against it as a first shotgun because I was on a limited budget so that ruled out a new Ithaca. A used Ithaca was ruled out because I wanted zero worries about age or potential breakdowns. The Moss 590A1 no frills model was only $450, a new Ithaca 37 is some $700 or $800 and you bet I want the wood stock!!


Thank you for all the responses and taking the time out of your day to provide me with such informative answers, I truly appreciate it, thank you!

Mister_Ithaca wrote:Now to figure out which Ithaca 37 to buy! I wanted a 37 but decided against it as a first shotgun because I was on a limited budget so that ruled out a new Ithaca. A used Ithaca was ruled out because I wanted zero worries about age or potential breakdowns. The Moss 590A1 no frills model was only $450, a new Ithaca 37 is some $700 or $800 and you bet I want the wood stock!!


Thank you for all the responses and taking the time out of your day to provide me with such informative answers, I truly appreciate it, thank you!

Even with a new gun, you cannot 'rule out' breakdowns. A shotgun is a multi-part mechanical device and is always subject to wear and/or failure. I would trust a new or used Ithaca 37 over most any new gun, and if anything does fail, parts are readily available and usually easy to install DIY.
Bill

roadkill wrote:

Mister_Ithaca wrote:Now to figure out which Ithaca 37 to buy! I wanted a 37 but decided against it as a first shotgun because I was on a limited budget so that ruled out a new Ithaca. A used Ithaca was ruled out because I wanted zero worries about age or potential breakdowns. The Moss 590A1 no frills model was only $450, a new Ithaca 37 is some $700 or $800 and you bet I want the wood stock!!


Thank you for all the responses and taking the time out of your day to provide me with such informative answers, I truly appreciate it, thank you!

Even with a new gun, you cannot 'rule out' breakdowns. A shotgun is a multi-part mechanical device and is always subject to wear and/or failure. I would trust a new or used Ithaca 37 over most any new gun, and if anything does fail, parts are readily available and usually easy to install DIY.
Bill

If I have to worry about "breakdowns" even with a new Ithaca, I better get two just in case one breaks down...

Mister_Ithaca wrote:

roadkill wrote:

Mister_Ithaca wrote:Now to figure out which Ithaca 37 to buy! I wanted a 37 but decided against it as a first shotgun because I was on a limited budget so that ruled out a new Ithaca. A used Ithaca was ruled out because I wanted zero worries about age or potential breakdowns. The Moss 590A1 no frills model was only $450, a new Ithaca 37 is some $700 or $800 and you bet I want the wood stock!!


Thank you for all the responses and taking the time out of your day to provide me with such informative answers, I truly appreciate it, thank you!

Even with a new gun, you cannot 'rule out' breakdowns. A shotgun is a multi-part mechanical device and is always subject to wear and/or failure. I would trust a new or used Ithaca 37 over most any new gun, and if anything does fail, parts are readily available and usually easy to install DIY.
Bill

If I have to worry about "breakdowns" even with a new Ithaca, I better get two just in case one breaks down...

My comment was not about Ithaca's, it was about ANY shotgun, new or used. I don't worry about
breakdowns, in a well-cared-for gun they seldom happen - but it is always possible. But hey, two is always better!