![ithaca 37 shotgun were to get a wood stock at ithaca 37 shotgun were to get a wood stock at](http://bmdgunstocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_6615.jpeg)
So check them out carefully and get a gaurantee of not only safety, but also, reliablility with a return/refund agreement before you finally plunk down the cash for that old gun with lots of apparent wear and no finish left on it. They were shot hard and put away wet as often as not. Most plain grade hunting models were not pampered like a fine double gun would be. Pumps were the utilitarian guns of this pre-1960's era just as they are today. They can be very problematic from years of wear, tear, and plain old neglect. Many of these older guns have seen better days. Plan on paying multiples of the price paid for the typical old worn clunker, and beware of the old clunkers on the rack as well. The best often end up as an investment unused in a gun safe, so finding a good early one is not easy or cheap. The 16 gauge guns have always been scarcer and in more demand by collectors. The pre-1960 guns are also excellent if you can find one in good enough condition to be reliable. I have a couple of the post-1960 16 ga, model 37 guns and they are perfect for the job. Once you get the gun fixed up, you will have an excellent upland pump gun.
![ithaca 37 shotgun were to get a wood stock at ithaca 37 shotgun were to get a wood stock at](https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7694/27655785922_b792f25e82_c.jpg)
So you need to specify which era gun you have when buying replacement stock. However, the stocks of the pre-1960 guns are a bit different than those of the post 1960 guns. The later guns I've measured are far more uniform externally and for all intents and purposes, are the same size frame from the outside. This had nothing to do with strength or structural integrity. If there was any reason for removing more steel from the 20 ga frame, it was to reduce the weight of the gun a bit more. the widths of these frames are about the same. I've personally measured a few early 16 ga frames that were the same size as the 20 ga guns and a few that were several thousanths bigger in height. Measuring a couple of pre-1950 frames of either gauge will not produce enough data to prove this argument one way or another. More draw filing and less finish machining was done to bring them into tolerance so they differ a bit from gun to gun more than later guns. The recievers of the oldest model 37 guns were forged differently than the post 1960 frames. I think the misconception of two different frame sizes for the 16 and the 20 comes from the wider range of exterior dimension tolerances that were allowed on the earliest guns. Actually, from the few measurements I've taken, I've seen more difference gun to gun within each gauge group than I have between the groups themselves. I've heard it both ways that the earlier 16 and 20 ga guns had slightly different receivers. The forends are not interchangable, because they are routed differently to fit the different barrel and magazine tube diameters. The 20 ga stock will fit the 16 and vice versa. It is not suitable for the smaller ga guns.Ĭontrary to popular belief, the Ithaca 16 and 20 ga. The 12 ga stock has a bigger diameter at the grip end where it abutts the reciever. the 12 ga is a slightly bigger frame developed from the original design for that gauge alone. Ithaca bought the patent rights and found out they could modify the internal dimensions of the existing frame to work for both the 16 and 20 ga guns. The 37 started out as the Remington 17, which was soley a 20 ga gun.