Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Winchester Model 12/Ithaca 37

Morning All,

I have an Ohio Ithaca 37 and love it! I was wondering if the Ithaca 37 can still be in production on modern CNC machining why can’t the Model 12 be built in the same manner? I wish a new 16 gauge model 12 could be purchased... we can all dream right?! I wonder if the general population would take to the Model 12 again.


Respectfully,

Upland

Not many bought the ones Browning reissued years ago, probably even less would today.

The time is ripe for picking up nice old steel shotguns at discount prices. A5s, M12s, 37s, they all seem to be getting cheaper and harder to move.

The Model 12 12 Gauge is heavy. Heavy is out with this generation. It is a pump. Semi Autos are the current favorite. The Browning copies didn’t do all that well and were good shotguns.

The 16 ga is the best of the bunch for the uplands, light and quick, but still a pump. The16 as good as it is, only hangs on with those who appreciate what it could be.

Combine it with the fact there are millions of originals out there to be had and I doubt you will see it happen.

I have a Winchester model 12, 16 gauge from 1953 and an Ithaca 1938 model 37 Skeet 16 gauge. Both well made guns and both 26 inch barrels but I much prefer the Ithaca. It balances like an English double and I shoot it as well as any of my O/U's. That doesn't take anything away from the model 12. It's a great gun and I'd love to find one of the heavy ducks with a 32 inch solid rib. But as an upland gun I prefer my Ithaca 16 or my Browning Lightning Citori 16.

Likewise as others have said, I would pick a 16ga M37 over that of a 16ga M12. I would have scant interest in a new production M12 since it is not too difficult to find to a used M37 in 16ga if anything were to happen to the one I already have.

the cost to tool up and the loss of skilled machinists would kill the plan before the first gun left the factory.
remember singer sewing machines?
some were made in 1922 and still being used in homes throughout the world. why?
they were made to last forever.
and because of that, singer went out of business as the market for a new one shrunk.
there are over 2 million m12's out there. many are still operating. those that like them have them and have their fill. and as it was mentioned, people today don't want a good sewing machine, theyd rather have a throw away ordered off amazon.
people don't make things to last anymore. so it is with m12's.
I got mine. im happy. I cant kill it.

Well, you can buy a brand new 16 gauge Ithaca 37 if you want to.

FWIW, on the Ithaca website, they don't show or indicate a 16 gauge offering, however, if you download their Model 37 Specifications, those charts do indicate 16 gauge being offered.

Also, Winchester quit making the Model 12 "back when" because of the high cost to do so, and stsy competitive.
The majority of Americans want CHEAP, sportsmen are no exception. Maybe Browning/Miroku would offer some limited runs once in awhile (??).

All good points on why we won't see new production.

When you bring up the 37 versus the 12, we can share opinions, but don't have to agree.

When I get too old and crippled to carry my M12 Featherweight 12 ga with 26" barrel, I can always try a 37. Good option.

Roundoak, that Model 12 you have is a beaut !

I have a Model 12, 20 gauge that looks just like your Model 12. It was my father's, and before him, my grandfather's. Made in 1916, originally choked full, I had it opened up a bit.

TraderVic,

My Featherweight has a 26" barrel and choked improved cylinder. Are you sure your 20 gauge is a Featherweight? I have posted a pic of a my Field Grade 12 gauge that shows the take down difference on the magazine. The Featherweight has a knurled knob on the top of the tube instead of the "pin".

Mine is not a featherweight, but a standard field grade 20 gauge. 25" factory barrel. The kind of shotgun one can easily carry all day.

Glad to see the activity on this post. It may come as surprise to most that I’m twenty three and have a deep appreciation for these older shotguns. I picked up a Heavy Duck model 12 today in good condition for under four hundred dollars. Original finish, 30” barrel, full choke, with the original red Winchester pad on it. Gonna crack some clays with it tomorrow!

Winchester tried the cheap route but insulted its followers by doing so.
when all their hand made guns switched to cnc assy line tin can guns in 1965.....people bailed out of the Winchester club when the first model 1200 and 1400 hit the market.
so, if weight is an issue with a model 12....just get a model 1200. and its going to be inexpensive too.

The model 12 worked well enough back in '62.


The 37 was still working in '94.


The 12 is long gone, the 37 will never be for sale.

Dan you was a stone killer even in yer church shirt back in 62. What kind of assault vehicle is that behind you?

Looks like an old Valiant (Plymouth?)

Is one of those Ford Fairlane things, vintage 1960.

Purchased in OK and then it went to Guam in '63. Then to Florida and became my first set of wheels around '66-'67.

Cool old pic Dan. Where abouts in OK if you don’t mind saying? I’m a 4th generation Okie, lots of bird shooting back in the day down here, sadly the party is about over for anything but dove and sky carp in my neck of the woods.

Of course we’ve traded our quail for those black hairy creatures you wingshot in your second pic. I generally rifle them but have been known to shotgun one when birding.

Midwest City. We hunted dove NW of OK City and along the Canadian River. Squill, bunnies and quail to the NE. Broken Bow for deer. Lake Tenkiller was our fishing hole.

Hard to beat a Model 37 in 16 or 20 ga.

My stomping grounds are a stretch to the SW of there Dan. Broken Bow is a car piece down there, was there earlier this month, it’s still a wild and wooly place.

Good stuff Dan, back in 94 when you took the picture of the hog, pumps were all that were used in our circle in NE Ohio. City All pump manufacturers were represented. City fella's with automatics were suspect. You posted a picture of your grandfather a while back and i believe you said he was a LC Smith guy. What is your opinion of double guns? I have shot 3 pigs with a rifle but never a shotgun, what might you be using in that 37? Slugs, Buck?

doesn't really matter which gun..it boils down to the nut behind the bolt.
heres a nut behind his bolt. a model 12 bolt that is...

The Ithaca spews #3 buck and #8 shot with aplomb. Pigs and quail make good table fare.

I like SxS doubles have 1 each in 20/16/12 and an O/U 12 for clays. Had a fine little .410 for a spell but the fit wasn't good so it went down the road.

I already had a 1928 M12 30" full choke that I had converted from a field gun to a trap gun by adding a vent rib and a trap stock set. It was my Dad's and I used it to take my first bird on the wing. When I could no longer shoot lead at ducks and geese, I figured converting it to a trap gun and using it was better than having it sit in my gun cabinet. Just a couple weeks ago I was offered another M12 converted trap shotgun. This one is a 1954 and while I didn't need it, I bought it anyway and already shot a few rounds of trap with it. It was in good condition with a nicely figured stock on it. Though I have a Krieghoff KX5 for singles trap, I still love to shoot these M12s and I don't care about collector value, resale, or any of that. I will use them until I no longer can't and I don't care if my wife or son only gets $200 for them when I'm gone. They are worth so much more than that to me.

i have a mod 12 in 12ga and a 37 in 20ga wouldn't sell either one! looking for browning auto 5 might want in 16ga

I have several 16 ga, 2 M12, one deluxe with a poly choke that I can shoot like it is an extension of my arm, and the other is a solid rib full choke from the mid 30’s. I also have a M37, but have yet to hunt with it. I have 2 A5 standards, one of each of the safety configurations. A Rem M31 that doesn’t get near enough play and a M11. I love the gauge and hated when the Herter line of shells went away when Bass Pro took over Cabela’s. I would watch the sale and pick up several flats shipped to my door for sub $6 a box.

While I appreciate all of the designs, I reach for the A5 first and then the M12.

Though I am mostly a double man, there are two early Ithaca Model 37 in 16 gauge in my safe. Never owned a Winchester M12 but have examined a few at shows and in gun shops but never found the right one to come home with me.

I have had a number of 12s and 37s... and they were okay, but the sleeper to me is the Remington 31. 12, 16, and 20 I think they are the best old pumps made.

Model 12 in 16 is my favorite shotgun. I have a couple, it still doesn't point as well for me as my early 870 Wingmaster corncobs. Still need one of those in a 16.

Good looking shotgun Bob, but you got it on the wrong shoulder. I've got Model 12's in 20, 16. and 12 gauge. I prefer the 26" modified 16 gauge of the three. Also have a 37 in 16 gauge, good gun also. That being said, I really enjoy doing a little dove hunting with the model 42 I bought from Nathanial a few years ago. Wish it wasn't choked so tight, like most old .410's , it's full.

that's funny..........lol!

Bob, I've got a buddy who is left handed. He does everything left handed, so at a young age when we were both kids he naturally shot a long gun left handed. He really struggled with a shotgun as far back as I can remember, so I laid back and was watching him shoot one day. He had a just ungainly mount on the shotgun, and I realized he was trying to line up his right eye over the stock of the shotgun when it was mounted left handed. Neither one of us really noticed this before, it was how he shot since a kid. I showed him how to check for eye dominance,and it turned out he was right eye dominant. Took biggest part of the fall that year, but I convinced him to try and shot right handed. After several fall hunts and a little time with clay bird thrower, it became second nature to him and he became a much better shot than he ever thought he could be. This was the only case I ever was aware of a left handed person being right eye dominant. Don't know if it is rare or not. Just a little good humor ribbing about being left handed earlier.

im a dominant left eye.
yet....I shoot pistol right handed. all I do is turn my head a little and patch my right eye. works great. heck it got me distinguished pistol.
but shotgun.....its left all the time.
either eye...when it time to see the dinner on the table, both work perfectly!