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kgb
PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:39 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Nebraska

The 20 is starting off well. 2 of the first 3 shots connected, a clean miss (never caught up to it), hit one that dropped a leg and centered the third. That last bird was maybe 25 yards away and seemed too close for a Full choke but it was not shredded. 7/8oz Federal game load of 7.5s likely doesn't hold tight like a target shell might. I'm happy with the combination.

Was easy to find that 3rd bird, and following up on the winged bird the Rufous Doofus picked her up out of my sight. He came running in and as soon as I told him Good Boy he dropped her in the open and went back to hunting. Might have been a response to my missing the first shot. He'd pointed in some hip high grass and as I approached the bird flushed from between us, curving away behind me. I thought Beem was pointing a different bird and didn't turn to square to the shot, but that was the one and I shot behind. I've done worse.



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Bore, n. Shotgun enthusiast's synonym for "gauge" ; everybody else's synonym for "shotgun enthusiast." - Ed Zern
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Brewster11
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 12:41 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
Posts: 1301
Location: Western WA

Quote:
If you ever did get a jam just loosen the barrel nut at the end of the yoke twist and take the barrel off and anything in there can come out easy enough.


Thanks, that sounds much simpler than M12 when the jam prevents removing its combination barrel/magazine.

So what can a 16ga Featherlight be expected to weigh? Our very early 2 1/2" M12 16ga plain barrel comes in right at 6 lbs or maybe a tad under. I encountered a 20ga Featherlight the other day that was closer to 5 1/2 lbs. And the M37 appears to have a shorter magazine tube than the M12

We can easily see why the American double gun industry dried up when the repeaters came out. The handling of a light pumpgun in our very humble but contrary opinion might be equal if not superior to a double gun because there is only one barrel, and at a fraction of the original price.
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16'er
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:21 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Tappahannock, Virginia

Cabelas has a 37R listed on GI...

http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/shotguns-16-gauge/ithaca-model-37r-featherlight-slide-action-shotgun-16-ga.cfm?gun_id=100945618
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Cheyenne08
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:50 pm  Reply with quote
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16'er wrote:
Cabelas has a 37R listed on GI...

http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/shotguns-16-gauge/ithaca-model-37r-featherlight-slide-action-shotgun-16-ga.cfm?gun_id=100945618


I sure hope one of our members get that one!

Dale

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Ohio Wirehair
PostPosted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:30 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jul 2016
Posts: 546
Location: Ohio

kgb wrote:
The 20 is starting off well. 2 of the first 3 shots connected, a clean miss (never caught up to it), hit one that dropped a leg and centered the third. That last bird was maybe 25 yards away and seemed too close for a Full choke but it was not shredded. 7/8oz Federal game load of 7.5s likely doesn't hold tight like a target shell might. I'm happy with the combination.

Was easy to find that 3rd bird, and following up on the winged bird the Rufous Doofus picked her up out of my sight. He came running in and as soon as I told him Good Boy he dropped her in the open and went back to hunting. Might have been a response to my missing the first shot. He'd pointed in some hip high grass and as I approached the bird flushed from between us, curving away behind me. I thought Beem was pointing a different bird and didn't turn to square to the shot, but that was the one and I shot behind. I've done worse.


What pray tell is the linage of your pooch?
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fourtrax
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:21 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 04 Jun 2009
Posts: 827
Location: N. Shore, mn

Great thread.

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kgb
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 7:44 am  Reply with quote
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Ohio Wirehair wrote:
What pray tell is the linage of your pooch?


OW, I don't have his papers at hand right now but he's from Clearcut Kennel in Culver, MN. First red dogs they had, one of 2 in the litter, in 2006. They were from one of Dean's dogs and a female from Springset. Or his female and a Springset male. Just this past year they had another pair of red Gordons and both went to the same home.

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Bore, n. Shotgun enthusiast's synonym for "gauge" ; everybody else's synonym for "shotgun enthusiast." - Ed Zern
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Gil S
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:48 am  Reply with quote
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I had one of the most expensive M37's ever made when you consider government costs in recovering it from the spoil area in the late 70's. In the dark, Rip turned over the canoe when we were paddling out to set dekes out. We couldn't find my gun. He claimed I never put it in the canoe. I knew better. A hunting buddy, Dale, was a Huey skipper at Hunter Army Airfield at the time. I called Dale and told him where I expected the gun to be and if he could "test fly" a Huey that day, to look in the spoil area near Light Bulb for any straight line about 40" long in the pluff mud. Bingo, he spotted it. With a man on the skid, he lowered to the gun. Too much prop wash. He returned to Hunter, got a light observation chopper and repeated the process. With less prop wash, they recovered the gun. The bluing disappeared when I cleaned the gun. Back then, if one didn't have an M-37, one had the A5. Rip used an old beat up A5. As popular as the 870 was elsewhere, I didn't see many in use around here with the handful of serious duck hunters (trailer ramp tramps) I knew and hunted with here in the low country. Here is the gun back in the 70's. We had the ducks in those days.
[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/52961_600x400/] [/URL]
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Brewster11
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:00 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
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Quote:
I had one of the most expensive M37's ever made when you consider government costs in recovering it from the spoil area in the late 70's.


Haha, that's a great story. I bet you have some other good ones...

B.
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Gil S
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 1:55 pm  Reply with quote
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I remember the hunt which the above photo memorializes. My friend David owned the remnants of a 200 year-old ricefield on the SC side of the Savannah River near Savannah. If one enters Savannah, GA. in Google Earth one can see the banks, canals and other ditches of the old ricefields clustered along the river for miles which can be seen from space, most of which appear on the SC side of the river. The canals and ditches run at right angles. Anyhow, on this particular day, it was Jimbo, David, Billy, Tom and myself who were going to hunt the potholes in the old fields. It was an afternoon hunt, with temps dropping and the dark clouds of the windy front approached as we prepared to leave the landing by boat. We had two boats and I was in David's boat; Jimbo, Billy and Tom were in the other boat. David tried to start his boat. It wouldn't start. He incredulously said "Hmm. Same problem I had the last time and I couldn't start it then." "Did you take it in for repair?" "No, I thought it would be better by now." My jaw dropped. "Gil, get in Billy's boat. Jimbo will ride with me". I couldn't get in Billy's boat fast enough. Well, David couldn't get his started. Billy, Tom and I had an incredible hunt as wave after wave of big ducks rode the front into our area. It was blacks and mallards all afternoon coming into our blocks against the wind. Gil
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kgb
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 12:49 pm  Reply with quote
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3 for 3 yesterday with the 20, I promise the 16s will continue to get used afield as well. Sorta wish I'd have had one of these when I was a kid.


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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 1:50 pm  Reply with quote
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Hey Gil S and others -- do you know if the wood for a Model 37 will fit on a Remington Model 17? I suppose they both need to be 20's for that to be possible, though. Thanks for any info/experience there.

Tony
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Wolfchief
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 6:57 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 782
Location: Indiana

I have a 16 ga. 28" Browning BPS with the Invectors and bottom ejection, like the Ithaca, that I am learning to love. Been shooting skeet with it and last weekend, shot a 25 straight. My question is: anyone here own one of the newer Ithaca 37's with the Briley chokes? My local gun shop has a nice brand new 20 gauge, 26" VR for sale, with the F-M-IC chokes, that has been sitting around now for over 30 months. I work part time at this shop, and can buy it for $725. List price was originally well over $800.

Would the $725 price be considered a reasonably good deal on a new M-37?

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3crosses
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 7:07 pm  Reply with quote
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I have a new 37 in 28 gauge. It would be a bargain at that price. A 20 maybe. I have a 1956 16 gauge and a 1948 20. Love them both. The new 28 is as light as them. I don't think the new 20 gauge is.
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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 10:03 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

Gil what a great story, all of it! I know of an Ithaca 37 that went up the Savanna River, but I didn't need to recover it, and it was mine. Well it had an ordnance stamp on it and was in the armory locker on board but no one dared touch it. They all knew it was mine. I called it my bomb 37 for the ordnance stamp. Pretty close to what I grew up with but no checkering on the buttstock and that funny looking bomb stamp. It was 12 ga. and ate buckshot during qualifying. I even qualified from the hip with it one year which rather upset the Gunny Rangemaster.

Took a gator freighter the USS Hermitage LSD-34 up the river in the 80's back when we were experimenting with joint service ventures. Had a SEAL team, Marine Recon, Army Combat Engineers with floating bridges, and Army Special Forces on board. Who ever was in charge in DC forgot to figure in the height of the mast and the bridge over the river in Savannah and we had to sit 100 yards from the bridge waiting for low tide to make it under it. A tractor trailer driver crashed his rig into the bridge when he saw us sitting there and blocked traffic for hours.

That river is shallow for a sea going vessel, sucked up mud like crazy. I was butt hole and elbows keeping the Engineer Plant on line and the Main Engines running. Once we got under the bridge it got worse although guess the other services were successful. We were lucky to keep the lights on and the ship running. What a ride. Thanks for the memories. All good at this point in life.

Your correct about the 26" IC being hard to find, been looking for a second one for more than a year now with no joy. Even with polychokes and cracked stocks they don't show up often. One in good shape is really hard to find. Of all the guns I own mine is the last one that I would ever sell. Harvested 14 grouse so far with it this year.


Wolfchief wrote:
I have a 16 ga. 28" Browning BPS with the Invectors and bottom ejection, like the Ithaca, that I am learning to love. Been shooting skeet with it and last weekend, shot a 25 straight. My question is: anyone here own one of the newer Ithaca 37's with the Briley chokes? My local gun shop has a nice brand new 20 gauge, 26" VR for sale, with the F-M-IC chokes, that has been sitting around now for over 30 months. I work part time at this shop, and can buy it for $725. List price was originally well over $800.

Would the $725 price be considered a reasonably good deal on a new M-37?


IMO yes. I have a BPS waterfowl but not fond of it then again I grew up with a 37. 25's are no problem with the 37 for me in skeet, but have only broken 50 with my 687. It is such a mental game LOL. 3 on 8 is common but I am the worlds greatest choker at 49. Used to be 24's.

I have a 12 ga. Ohio made 37 with 5 chokes now, you can order additional chokes from MPC Sports for it fairly reasonable. Including Skeet. Got my Ohio made 12 for $600 NIB but that is fairly rare. It is worth the $725 for a 20 if your primary focus is skeet. They are heavier than the old 37's which is a good thing if your breaking clays. Or the duck blind. I upgraded the wood on mine and it is also my duck gun. No need for black synthetic or camo the ducks don't flare from the AAA wood. Johnson paste wax on the metal and your good to go IME.

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