# This old 12ga



## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

So this is a gun my father purchased new in 1946 when he got home from the war. It was purchased in a hardware store in Monette, AR. It has had a hard life. I remember this as the gun dad regularly took on our many duck hunts when I was growing up. Story is he loaned it to a friend in the late 1950’s and the friend lost it in the St. Francis river bottoms. He and dad found is covered in mud a week or so later. In the early 1970’s my brother loaned it to a buddy and he accidentally stuck the end of the barrel in the mud. Tried to clean it out but didn’t get it all. His next shot put a swell in the end of the 30” full choke barrel the size of a half marble. It sat in a closet in my dads house for ten years or so.The blueing was badly worn and the buttstock was a shitty replacement. in the early 1980’s dads birthday was coming up and I got the gun and sent it to Ithaca. They were back in business at the time. They replaced the buttstock. The one on it was replaced with a terrible fitting stock when dads buddy lost it in the bottoms. They reblued the gun and replaced the barrel with a ribbed and threaded barrel with five chokes..
I will never forget the look on dads face when I gave him this gun for his birthday. That’s one of the things you can give someone that has everything.i only wish I had some before pictures. The transformation is unbelievable. The corncob fore end is original.
Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight pump gun
This gun kills on both ends.
I sure miss my dad.


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

What a treasure. Awesome restoration, but more importantly, great sentimental value. Great job dude!


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

I have the 37 in 20ga. First shotgun handed down to me. Killed a lot of small game with it.


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

I had a 20ga model 37 dad bought me in the 1970’s. It was stolen out of my brothers K-5 Blazer shortly after dad gave it to me. I would pay dearly to have that gun back. It had a fancy fore end, not like the old corncob.


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Mine has the ole corncob.


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

That’s cool. 
If I remember correctly, dad said he paid about $40.00 for his 12 ga model 37 in 1946


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

You know you can hold the trigger and the gun will fire as fast as you can pump it. I’ve heard it was used in Vietnam because of that feature.


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## Stoker1 (Feb 17, 2014)

One gun I truly loved was dove hunting with Daddy's gold trigger Sweet Sixteen Browning auto. Probably the smoothest, easiest to handle shotgun I've ever swung to my shoulder.


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

Stoker1 said:


> One gun I truly loved was dove hunting with Daddy's gold trigger Sweet Sixteen Browning auto. Probably the smoothest, easiest to handle shotgun I've ever swung to my shoulder.


The Browning A-5 is a historic gun. Sweet 16 is highly collectible these days.


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## nb&twil (Oct 2, 2007)

Man, what a cool shotgun! Thanks for sharing. 
Makes me think of that old saying, "if these walls could talk." Can you imagine if that gun could share its stories?


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Great post, I have an old model 37 I bought off a guy a long time ago, I wish that thing could talk


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## H2OMARK (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep, I have one of almost the same vintage in 16 gage that I inherited when Dad passed a year ago. Mine has the old weaver style choke system which I always thought looked cool. I hope to never modify it and remember the good times had with dad hunting the old fence lines in North East Indiana. RIP dad.


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

The action on the old 37's were smooth as ice cream.


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

Emerald Ghost said:


> The action on the old 37's were smooth as ice cream.


You can hold this old gun by the pistol grip with your finger on the bolt release and shake it up and down and it cycles..


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## duckhunter (Oct 8, 2007)

Beautiful shotgun and great story thanks for sharing.


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Boardfeet said:


> You can hold this old gun by the pistol grip with your finger on the bolt release and shake it up and down and it cycles..


Mine does the same thing and we still shoot it regularly. I used to "race" my buddy with a sweet 16 semi. Lots of memories with that 37.


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

Nice gun and good story. I have my grandpa 12 ga l c smith. Kicks like a mule but it has won a lot of turkey shoots. Almost not fair. It’s long and knocks the centers of a target out. It’s going to my grandson. He loves to see it every time I get him.


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## Flounderpounder (Oct 3, 2007)

The only thing cooler than the gun is the story that comes with it.


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