Ithaca Model 37 Troubleshooting

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:27 pm
Having trouble with your Ithaca Model 37? Then post up your problems here...

.410
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:01 pm
No problems with any 37s I've used over the years but I do usually pull the butt stock off and epoxy bed the recoil area at the back of the trigger guard frame to prevent stock splitting that seems to occur all too often for such a nice shotgun.
Rex
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 8:51 pm
Interesting. Great idea on the epoxy bedding!
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.410
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:29 pm
Frank Vallone of Sycamore Hills Designs is the real authority on bedding the butt stock of a model 37.
Rex

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PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:22 am
I've had problems with my M37 since the day I bought it back in February. The gun has been sent in for warranty work once already, and I'm trying to get it sent back in again. However, email response times have been horrible. I sent my initial email on Jul 12th with NO response. Sent another email on August 10th. Got a response Aug. 17th. Emailed again on Aug 22nd, and now have yet to receive a response. I'll copy/paste a portion of the initial email to explain what is going on with the gun. Hopefully I can get a faster response from someone on a Forum.

I sent in my M37 for warranty work back in February, and had it returned to me in March. The invoice number was 10529. I hadn't been able to get out to shoot the gun since it was returned to me until yesterday (this was the thesis semester of my Master's degree program). As you may remember or can see on the invoice, the gun was sent in because it was misfiring and the invoice states "readjusted headspace; retimed carrier and replaced spring shell stop; gun shot ok 10 rounds; Je.R." When I took the gun out yesterday I had the exact same problem I was having back in February. I loaded 3 shells, the first shot went off normally but the gun misfired when I pumped it and also dumped the third shell out of the magazine. Since purchasing this gun I have now put exactly 4 rounds through it with 2 of those being misfires.
I'm no gunsmith, but here is the best description I can give of what's happening when there are no shells loaded. If I press the action release, the forend comes back and then locks into place back in the forward position normally. If I dry fire the gun, the forend does not lock back into its forward position and the trigger remains as though I just pulled it and safety will not engage unless the forend is pulled all the way back. However, if I do this VERY slowly the forend will lock into the forward position after a dry fire.
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:38 am
I apologize for the slow email response times and will do all I can to expedite the process for you here. There should be a response from Ithaca Gun Company regarding your Ithaca Model 37 shortly.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:31 pm
Used my new 28 gage for first time lat Saturday for opening day of Dove season. Gun jams with each shot. Very disappointing. Hope they can fix quickly.
NEXT: Got fabulous help and the gun is as smooth as silk and is wonderful now. I love it and it is deadly on dove.
Last edited by bhenderson312 on Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:33 pm
Well give us a call tomorrow and if you don't get through let me know! Sorry to hear that it was giving you issues on your first day out with it.
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:00 pm
Sorry to hear about the problems guys...hopefully it will be sorted out quickly now that Mr.Honovich is carrying the ball...

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:11 pm
I inherited a vintage 16 ga model 37 and took it to the trap range and found that it jams after a few loads. It won't eject the spent shell. Any comments?
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:52 pm
Have you tried doing a tear down, inspection and cleaning on it yet?

Ithaca Gun Company
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 7:34 pm
First off I will say we stand behind ever product we make 100%. Every firearm that leaves the factory goes thru a ridged testing procedure. Proof test round, function test at least 5 rounds of different loads, visual inspection. Well nothing is perfect - we try. I would put up our turn-around time on warranty repairs against any manufacture out there.

bhenderson312 - please call the service department and they will get you a return shipping label via UPS (at our cost).

dsayer - first a couple of issues (I'm traveling now & have spoken to all involved at the plant). You received it back in March and waited till June or July to test it? That's the last time you phoned the plant and spoke to the service department. Second I had our IT department check thru all emails for your reply as posted above, nothing, I also reviewed my account as I get copied. As I posted above contact the service department and a return shipping label will be sent. As our warranty is stated it will be repaired or replaced!

Mike
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:42 pm
Wow! If everyone could be this involved with their product...

Well done!
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"No free man shall ever be procluded the use of arms."
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.410
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:49 am
Does the spent shell stick in the chamber? Could be that a brush with a little brass wool on a short rod with an electric drill might polish a lot of "stuff" out of the chamber and help, also clean the extractors good with an old tooth brush.
Rex
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 5:25 am
Here is a good check to see if your extractors are in good condition.

Take a spent shell or dummy round (NOT a snap cap)
Remove the barrel and close the bolt shut
Place the shell onto the bolt face and press it tightly against the bolt. it should snap into place.
Now let go. the shell should stay in place.
Give it a light tug, it should stay in place.
If the shell falls out, you either have a worn/broken extractor or a broken/failed spring. Most likely the spring has blown.
--Jim
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:48 pm
Great idea Raven. Cudos to you for sharing.
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.22LR
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:32 pm
Sounds like your vintage 16 ga. needs a trip to the gunsmith for a teardown and cleaning.

Copper BB
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:32 pm
I have a Model 37 Featherlight 16 gauge pump. It occassionally gets jammed with high brass shells and always seems to get jammed when I'm shooting low brass shells for trap and skeet. It's serial number is 186xxx, so I'm assuming it's faily old, maybe from the 40's. Anyone have this issue? Is it time to send it in for service?

Thanks,
Larry

.22LR
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:02 am
Please tell us more of what is happening? Does the shell stay in the chamber or is the shell pulled out.
When the extractors pull the shell from the chamber, as the bolt moves back the rim of the shell hits two cuts in the shell lifter. These cuts are the ejector, the bolt moving rearward wih the spent shell hits the cuts and is flipped downward and out. As the bolt reaches full rearward travel the lifter moves down to pickup the next fresh shell.
Lastly the 16 Gauge model 37 is one of the nicest upland bird guns ever made. Take care of it once your problem is solved you will find it is a joy to shoot and carry.
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:21 pm
Welcome to the Ithaca Owners Forum larryz22 !!

Copper BB
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:43 pm
Thanks for the welcome shooter 13! Jaguarxk120, when the shell gets jammed, I can't open the receiver at all and eject the shell. I try to push the button in that is by the trigger guard and it won't move. The entire mechanism gets jammed. I have to push on the button very hard and also push the pump down and after a few minutes, it finally opens up and releases the spent shell. I didn't notice any markings on the brass. I have shot Winchester low brass and they are terrible and I never bought them again. The Remington high brass were shooting fine, but now it jammed.

I checked the serial number and the gun is from 1948.

Copper BB
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:45 pm
Thanks for the welcome shooter 13! Jaguarxk120, when the shell gets jammed, I can't open the receiver at all and eject the shell. I try to push the button in that is by the trigger guard and it won't move. The entire mechanism gets jammed. I have to push on the button very hard and also push the pump down and after a few minutes, it finally opens up and releases the spent shell. I didn't notice any markings on the brass. I have shot Winchester low brass and they are terrible and I never bought them again. The Remington high brass were shooting fine, but now it jammed.

I checked the serial number and the gun is from 1948.

.22LR
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:01 pm
larryz22 wrote:Thanks for the welcome shooter 13! Jaguarxk120, when the shell gets jammed, I can't open the receiver at all and eject the shell. I try to push the button in that is by the trigger guard and it won't move. The entire mechanism gets jammed. I have to push on the button very hard and also push the pump down and after a few minutes, it finally opens up and releases the spent shell. I didn't notice any markings on the brass. I have shot Winchester low brass and they are terrible and I never bought them again. The Remington high brass were shooting fine, but now it jammed.

I checked the serial number and the gun is from 1948.


Hi, larryz22! It sounds like the problem may be something in the action mechanism rather than a tight chamber or something of that nature. One quick check you can perform is the following:

1) With the gun unloaded, rack the forearm to cock the gun. Turn the gun upside down and look at the position of the tip of the action release lever in relation to the internal slide. it should look like the picture below, with the tip of the action release lever tucked up and behind the internal slide. There should be a small amount of play between them. Pull down the release lever on the front of the trigger guard and the tip of the release lever should drop below the internal slide, allowing you to work the action again.


Image


2) With the gun cocked, pull the trigger. The position of the action release lever should now be as shown in the next picture. The tip of the lever should be below the internal slide, allowing the action to be cycled again. The hammer should now also be visible at the rear of the internal slide. There are two springs controlling the action release lever. I'm thinking that the large shaped wire spring that pushes the release lever tip down as the hammer comes forward may have broken or become displaced, making it impossible to cycle the action until the lever gets shaken loose and drops down by gravity or some other means. Of course this will never happen if the gun is held upside down as shown here. ;) Maybe something else is going on, but it only takes a few seconds to check this possibility out.


Image

Copper BB
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 7:07 pm
I checked these functions as you stated above and the gun does function like that. I do believe the issue is with the release lever. I had another guy at the range look at it the day it happened and he thought that it might be with the release too, but wasn't sure. Do you think it's worth sending the gun to Ithaca? Have you ever sent a gun in for repair?

Thanks.

.22LR
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:02 pm
Ooops, missed your reply! I haven't ever sent in a gun for repair, and I don't know what Ithaca might charge for something like this, however I'm sure Ithaca has parts available. I just took my 1938 Model 37 completely apart, and if your 1948 model hasn't been apart before, then it's probably about time it got a good internal cleaning. It's a bit intimidating, but you can probably get to the bottom of the problem without a complete disassembly.

Remove the barrel, unscrew the magazine nut, remove the magazine spring and cup, undo the clamp screw in the yoke and remove the yoke, turn the receiver upside down and using a screwdriver push the slide stop spring over and remove the forearm assembly. Remove the butt plate and remove the butt stock bolt with either a 3/8" socket extension, or a large screwdriver. Remove the butt stock. Remove the locking screws from the carrier screws and the trigger group screw. Remove the carrier screws and the trigger group screw. Remove the trigger group, slide, bolt, and carrier from the rear of the receiver. You should be able to diagnose the problem at this point without further disassembly.

A schematic and parts list can be found at Numrich Gun Parts here:

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Products.aspx?catid=12440

There are also instructions and parts lists at the Ithacagun website:

http://ithacagun.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5&zenid=4c7897c4644e4b71544909db13583e0d

I found that the Ithaca website had better prices on a lot of the parts than either Numrich or Brownell's, but it probably varies by which part you need. If it's what I was conjecturing, the upper slide stop spring, it's a $2.00 item. Shipping and handling will probably run more than that!

http://ithacagun.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=73

If all that seems like too much trouble you could call Ithaca and get an estimate, or check with a local gunsmith, but an early gun like yours is certainly worth fixing. :!:
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