Shotguns

The Ithaca double-barreled shotgun. That says it all. I don't know for sure just what it was, but the Ithaca had it in spades back when Americans hunted with doubles. The Ithaca name held its own from the late 1800s until World War II, despite competition from prestigious makers like Parker Brothers, A.H. Fox and L.C. Smith.

The name of the gun, of course, belies its place of manufacture Ithaca, New York, an upstate community named after the island in ancient Greece. Doubles were made by Ithaca from 1880 until 1948. However, for practical discussion, World War II ended the traditional period when America hunted with doubles. Side-bys may be seeing a revival now, but following World War II, repeaters ruled the roost for the remainder of the 20th century.

In addition to doubles under its own name, Ithaca also produced a lower-priced double called the Western Arms Corp. Long Range Gun. Production began in 1929, and the line was discontinued in 1946. But none was made between 1941 and 1945, so for practical purposes, WWII ended the Western-double era. Concurrently with the Ithacas, there were doubles made in upstate New York, noting other communities also named after cities from antiquity such as Utica Fire Arms Co., which made some rather nice guns in the early 20th century. But that's another story.

Although some of the fancier Parkers, Foxes and L.C. Smiths were astronomically pricey for the time, so were some of the higher-grade Ithacas. Which brand name was best back in those days probably had as much to do with who was talking as anything else. All of those companies made some superlative guns. Most were boxlocks, except for the L.C. Smith, which was a sidelock affair.

The gun featured in this article is Ithaca's 16-gauge side-by-side Field Grade with double triggers and extractor rather than ejectors. In other words, it's the basic Ithaca hunting gun with 28-inch barrels and 0.012-of-an-inch restriction in the right barrel and 0.016-of-an-inch restriction in the left barrel. This translates into a fast-handling, 7 1/2-pound upland gun. Roughly speaking, the choking on this gun could be considered Improved/Cylinder and Modified (even though by today's standards it is a rather tight I/C). Checkering is tastefully done, albeit a rather functional level of coarseness that one would expect on an honest hunting gun.

The serial number on this specimen indicates it was made in 1936, right in the depth of the Great Depression. There were 2,300 Ithaca doubles made that year, one of waning years for the company. For example, there were but 5,400 more of them made from 1937 until the end of production in 1948. There were only 120 made during the final year. Of the various Ithaca doubles, this one is the New Ithaca Doubles (NID), introduced in 1925 and made until manufacture of Ithaca doubles ceased in 1948.

Historically, there were the original Baker Model Ithaca doubles that were produced from 1880 to 1889, followed by the Crass Model Ithaca guns that were produced from 1892 to 1903. Then there were the Lewis Model Ithacas that were made from 1904 to 1906 and the Flues guns from 1908 to 1926. The New Ithaca Doubles, of course, were made from 1925 to 1948. Also, there were Ithaca Magnum doubles made from 1932 to 1942 (1,000 in all), and there were the Ithaca Knick Model single-barrel trap guns that were made from1922 to 1944.

In addition to the Field Grade, there were, in ascending order of price and degree of "fancy," Grades 1, 2, 3, 4E, 5E, 7E, $2,000 Grade, prewar $1,000 Grade and Sousa Grade (the bandleader actually assisted in the development of this model, of which there were only 11 ever made, including one in .410 bore). The various grades were produced in 10, 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410 bore. Barrel lengths ranged from 26 to 32 inches.