Hold the trigger back and close the action, if the mechanism "fires" you don't have a working disconnector.
Also, every Ithaca 37 that I've ever had the good fortune to make bang does specifically this -- as if it is a design feature.
It is a design feature, or rather, a feature the design lacks. Many of the pre-WWII designed pump guns simply lack a disconnector. I know the early Winchester model 12s don't have one, and the final production guns do. I was unsure if this was the case with the Ithaca 37s or not.
While a disconnector is needed with a semi auto to prevent full auto fire, with a pump, its not a needed feature, just one that is nice to have to help prevent accidents.
The only problem with a pump gun having no disconnector is when a user thinks it does and it doesn't.
I saw my little brother almost blow his foot off because of that. We were loading up the camper for a trip, and some pigeons landed on the barn roof. We had permission to shoot them off the roof, PROVIDED we didn't hit the roof. So my brother steps into the house to get a shotgun.
Does he get his own Hi Standard 20ga pump? (which has a disconnector)???
NO!
he comes out with MY old Winchester Model 12! (which has NO disconnector), stuff a couple shells into the tube, and racks action to chamber a round....BANG!!! blew a fair size divot into the ground right next to his foot.
NOT KNOWING it would fire, he had held the trigger back when he pumped the action. I retrieved the gun, and we...had words... also a couple of "stupid slaps" to emphasize some points, among which were, using my gun without permission (relatively minor offense), using MY AMMO without permission (much more serious in our household), and worst, using a gun he did NOT know how to correctly and safely use! (crash and burn offense!)
Took more than a little time for him to be forgiven for that bit of stupidity. Dad WASN'T HAPPY!
Dad was and NRA Hunter Safety Instructor, and both of us had helped with, and sat through many of his courses over the years.
IF you know the gun doesn't have a disconnector, then you know what you should do and what not to do. But if you don't, and think it does, that's a BAD THING.