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Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 41 Location: Gainesville,GA

I took my m37 to a pheasant shoot recently and experienced an unexpected problem. the gun is around 40 years old and apppears to have had little use. I was using Fiocchi golden pheasant loads and found that it did not extract the spent shell. I cycled the gun and ended up with another
shell in the mechanism halfway beteen the magazine and the chamber. I had to take the barrel off and pry the shell out . This further decreased my limited ability to bring down the birds! I guess the cause was an incomplete pull on the slide but have fired a couple of hundred remington (lighter )loads through it without any problem. Comments??? I will be will be taking it apart for a full cleaning.

Canam
I have had the same problem with fiocchi hulls ( in 16 of course!) in my 37's. Also in a Rem. 31. I just don't like em cause they don't work. Simple answer for me was I don't use em anymore ! Ain't the gun its the shell.

Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Ohio

I have had the same problem with one of my 37s . Only not with Fiocchi shells . I was using Winchester target loads and they would hang in the barrel on extraction , switched to some remington loads and everything was fine , then back to the Winchesters and the problem came back .
some 37s are just picky about what you feed them

Member Joined: 14 Feb 2007 Posts: 110

Just a suggestion: I once experienced the same. And I couldn't explain until I duplicated this by not fully retracting and extending the forend (aka halkcocked). 37s are extremely smooth and I think the "non-clunkiness" can actually allow a user unknowingly to let this occur.

Also, be aware of the "slamfire" ability of the old Ithacas - ie firing with the action only with a pulled trigger.

Don't be discouraged, Ithaca 37s are the best out there and I hope this helps.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

Polishing the chamber helped mine quite a bit, but, it STILL doesn't like Winchester loads, the Australian ones with the steel base are the worst.

If the extractor spring on the lower extractor gets weak, it'll do the same thing with other shells. Keep it clean, too.
Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 602 Location: western pa

My DAD has trouble with his37 when he shoots reloads. Near as I can figure, the magazine tube clearance is so tight that the rim of the brass, on less than pristeen shells ,drags enough to make it jam on the reloads. He never seems to have trouble with factorys. When you have it apart, make sure the mag tube is good and clean.

Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 41 Location: Gainesville,GA

My M37 has the riot gun stlye trigger. Will the hammer fall on the live shell stuck midway in the cycle? (between the magazine or chamber)

Do you mean that the gun does not have an interupter cam and will slam fire if you hold the trigger back and slam the forend foreward? This is different than a sear that lets the hammer follow the bolt forward. Many older Ithaca 37s have not interrupter and will slam fire. I think every one built after 1960 does have one unless it has been modified.

If your hammer is not staying cocked, the gun might or might not fire. It depends on how fast you close the bolt. The hammer will remain in contact with the back of the bolt and may not generate enough power to hit the firing pin hard enough to set the primer off.

If your hammer is following the bolt, its a job for a qualified gunsmith. Your sear, hammer, or both are worn and need replacing.

At any rate, it probably would be best tosend the gun to a qualified smith for a once ovver and repair. The feeding and timing of these older pump and auto repeaters can be a bit tricky to figure out. One problem will usually lead to another. Most qualified smiths with experience have seen the problem you are having and know the correct repair. They can also usually identify any other contributing issues and can fix them better than most of us. I'd look there, get the gun fixed, and then enjoy it without the problems and worries.

There is on old thread on this subject, maybe two years ago. In 2003, I bought two Ithica's in 16 gauge. I had extraction problems from the start. Those guns would not extract Fiocchi, low brass Winchesters and B&P shells. B&P has changed their 16 gauge shell and may not be a problem any longer.If you will look at the empty shell from those brands, you will find a little bulge in the brass(steel) head. This corrisponds to where the barrel is cut out for the extractor.My thoughts on this is that pressure is allowed to get around the base wad and exerts pressure on the brass and pushes it out where it is not supported by the barrel. I think this allows the extractor to slip off the head during extraction. Someone suggested that the chamber might be rough. I took a cylindrical hone and opened it up .003 in. It was slick as glass. This still didn't solve the problem. I was convinced it must be mechanical. Being an old machinist, I couldn't wait to tear it down. I bought a repair manual at Gander Mountain for a few bucks.
The problem was obvious. The lower extractor spring was weak and the extractor itself has a radius that doesn't allow it to grip the rim well. I took the bottom extractor out and changed the angle making more of a sharp hook. You will have to do whis with a stone as the extractor is hard. I also stretched the spring to make it stronger. I also used a stone to cut the groove deeper in the block the extractor rests in. I also filed the cut out on the barrel to allow the extractor to rest higher on the brass head.All the things I did allowed the extractor to grip the brass better.Since I did this I have not had any problems extracting any brands of shells.