![]() ![]() A 16-gauge version was introduced in 1938 and a 20 gauge came a year later. Its short-stroke pump was faster, a reversible cross-bolt safety made the gun adaptable for southpaws and unlike the Model 17, the Model 37 was brought out in 12 gauge. But, the Ithaca was lighter and used fewer parts. The Model 37 was a much more efficient design than the Remington 17, although both shared the dual bottom loading- and ejection-port feature. The Ithaca Model 37 served in a variety of wars, including World War II. Although the Model 17 was discontinued in 1933, the patents did not expire until fouryears later. It seemed the hammerless new Ithaca repeater ran afoul of mechanisms used on the hammerless Remington Model 17 as well as the older, exposed-hammer Winchester 1897. Howland, and working with Ithaca designer Nestor Smith, the gun was ready in May 1932, but production was halted due to patent infringement. But in May 1937, Ithaca introduced the appropriately named Model 37-a single-barreled pump shotgun. Founded in 1883 by William Henry Baker, this well-respected company had become a favorite of such luminaries as trick shooter Annie Oakley and John Philip Sousa. Up until this time, the Ithaca Gun Company, located in western New York, was known for finely crafted double-barreled sporting smoothbores and superb single-barreled competition shotguns. One of the most unlikely-yet obvious-candidates to carry on the effectiveness of an open-choked, short-barreled shotgun for close-range military use was the Ithaca Model 37, which, sharing a link with the Model 97, was based on the Remington Model 17, both John M. ![]() The Model 1897 went on to fight in World War II, but by then guns and parts were wearing out and replacement armament was needed. The weapon was so devastating, the German government unsuccessfully petitioned to get it banned from combat. The United States Army had been using smoothbore shotguns since the Revolutionary War, although the formidable weapon didn't come into its own until World War I with the introduction of the Winchester Model 1897 "trench sweeper," a 12 gauge, 20-inch-barreled pump-action scattergun. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |