is a ithaca 37 20ga. deerslayer worth keeping ?

T

troutbuzzard

Inactive
i recently scored a great deal, a mint winchester 9410, a new ruger 96 and a pre loved ithaca 37 deerslayer 20 guage from my fathers friend. i know a lot of people say keep it keep it keep it, bare in mind i allready own a 37 12ga. wich never gets used., i want a nothing out of pocket project gun preferably a rem. 870 20ga. because of aftermarket choices. my question is this, is a mediocre 37 worth a mediocre 870 ?
 
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A bit lost with your post but here goes. I don't see a 37 and an 870 in the same light. I would not cut or dork with a 37 to make a project gun in any way. Though they ran side by side in the same era back in the day, the 37 had more machining and old school manufacture about it. I understand that "new" 37's are out there, but the old ones have a bit of "special" about them, to me anyhow. I just restored one cosmetically this summer for a pal, and was much impressed with the old gun.

By contrast, 870's are a dime a dozen, and the various models are still being made. The Express Models, used, are pretty affordable. An Express, or a beater Mossberg 500, would make a better project gun in my opinion. MOre accessories too.
 
I'm with the last post! Ithaca is a far better gun for the long run! I hunted for years with my uncle's Model 37 Featherweight, but when he passed it went to another and I've been searching for a replacement. The 870 's are a dime a dozen, so don't alter the Ithaca!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe a company is (or trying to) resurrect the Ithaca's. If so, I only hope they make them like the originals and not just the name.
 
thanks guys for your imput on the 37, im sorry if my initional post was confusing. i have no intention of messing with the 37, i know the quality and i know that a lot of people revere them but i have no emotional attachment to the 20ga. i have a 12 that was my dads that i will never give up. i take it from all your info. that i could take it to a shop and trade it for an old 870 pretty easily. i have a wingmaster 20ga. that i bought when i was 16 and i love that gun thats why i want to stick with the 870. thank again for the help
 
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While I'm at it, I see the Win 9410 as a candidate for the "pointless gun" title, and if I were going to move one from your assortment, it'd be the 9410.

It's novel, it's different, but I can't see it's purpose.....keep the pump guns, get rid of the half breed.
 
i agree the 9410 is pretty pointless but it looks good sitting next to my 32 special saddle gun and my 336, even the ruger 96 kind of fits in allthough i think that gun is preety pointless also.
 
If the Ithaca's serial number is after 855,000 a second shot barrel can be fitted for it. That barrel will move the deer slayer into a very fine bird gun. The handling of a Ithaca 20 gauge is second to none. Keep it!

The Winchester 9410 doesn't eat just takes up a small amount of space and is worth more as each day go's by. Don't sell it.
 
If the serial nbr is before 855,000, then there is a little bit of a premium on the gun depending on the condition. it all depends on what it is.

can you post up some of the details and a picture or 2 of it ? just because you say "deerslayer" doesn't just mean "deerslayer" there were different grades of deerslayers.

I would need the ser nbr, just substituting xx as the last 2 digits, we don't need the whole thing, and a picture, then I can get into my book on Ithaca 37's and figure out what it is
 
As a rule the sub gauges (16, 20, 28, and 410) do not have the same production that 12 gauge guns do.

So there are less guns out there for sale. A dealer would welcome a Ithaca in trade for a 870 Express since he will give less than 40% of book value for the Ithaca.
 
"i take it from all your info. that i could take it to a shop and trade it for an old 870 pretty easily".

Yah, you could. But you take a gun like that to a shop and you'll likely come out way behind. Every dealer's intent is to make good money on both ends of the deal (just like car dealers). You know the drill: "No one wants an old gun like that Ithaca. I'll be lucky to sell it for $100. But this old 870? Now that's a classic...can't keep them in the place, the demand is so high!"
 
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37

You have a sweet shotgun that is perfect for a left handed shooter as well as a right handed shooter.

The feather weight in 20ga is a fine first shotgun for some lucky youngster.

Hold on to it.
 
i believe the 37 is not an old gun, the serial # is 3716948xx and i could not find out to post pics. so i will try to describe it. first of all i think its in pretty poor shape it looks like this gun hunted thornapples and rock piles its whole life lots of scratches, some deep, hole in the stock from where a sling stud was ripped out now filled with clear epoxy, blueing not so good, surface rust on the mag tube and the front red sight piece ( foeget what its called ) is missing. its very apparent that this gun has been neglected. as far as converting it to a bird gun i have a 1100, 870, silver mallard, bc miroku, auto 5 (light 12 and sweet sixteen) and my favorite is my winchester 101 20ga. all are good bird guns so i dont want to go that rout. im lucky because my dad is a gun junkie so i usualy get the spillovers fron his safe. i just want to build a tactical 20 guage with little or no money out of my pocket to play with.
 
i forgot to mention that i have no intention of selling any gun. the first rule my father tought me was never sell a gun but sometimes a trade is ok.
 
the only problem with trying to build a tactical 20 out of the 37 is the severe lack of anything cool to put on it. even something as simple as a scope mount you can find them for a 12 gauge 37 but not a 20 not to mention a collapsible stock, pistol grip or a Picatinny railed fore grip. you could fill a dump truck with cool stuff for an 870 that's why I think I want to go that way
 
While I'm at it, I see the Win 9410 as a candidate for the "pointless gun" title, and if I were going to move one from your assortment, it'd be the 9410.

It's novel, it's different, but I can't see it's purpose.....
Click to expand...

Not so novel; Marlin did it ca. 1930.
 
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