Battue, I usually see your point of view and agree with it. Not this time back in 00 or 01 I got a e-mail from the New Ithaca gun company and was asked to take part in a "what do you want in guns from us survey" I replied a 16 ga with corncob(ringtailed forend), vent rib, screw in choke tubes , decent walnut, and a sunrise style recoil pad, as well as the fit and finish of the 50-60's guns. A month or two later they replied that they had tallied the survey results and were going to make a run of 16's. 400 would be Ltd Classics as described above and 200? would be Deluxes featuring the mid 70's style extended forend. You Had to put up a $150 deposit and send an FFL for shipment too your local dealer for 4473 work. They advised a 6 month time est. I reserved the #269 for myself and paid the deposit. True to there word about 6 mnths later I received notice the gun was soon to be shipped and I needed to remit the balance, I did and 2 wks later my local dealer called and said it was in. They did a great job nice wood and good execution of the work. The grip angle didn't come close to the originals, the choke tubes were Colonial brand which work fine but are not to be used with steel shot(disappointment and 1/2 right there). It shot well and I shot it well but I've shot so much with different shotguns that isn't a real problem for me, you know what I am talking about. But the gun did not even begin to compare worksmanship wise to the early and 50-60's guns I'm talking about like a 37R great polishing ,mirror blue, on the money wood to metal fit etc. To get a gun as well built today like my old 37R brand new you would IMHO have to spent $2-3K+ because of the hand finishing and TLC put into those old guns. 2 yrs later that LTD Classic went down the road to make someone else happy and I still have my 37R which makes me happy everytime I pick it up. Magnum Man
Last edited by Magnum_Man; 08/20/14.
