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What are the pros & cons of Browning BPS vs Ithaca 37? Which one would you prefer & why?

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I own both.
M37 is lighter
BPS is stronger and has tubes.
I use to use my 16 ga M37 for upland, until I got my double. I still pull it out once a year and kill a couple birds with it for my dad, he left it to me.
My 3 1/2" BPS is my go to waterfowl gun. STONE reliable and doesn't throw hulls all over the wetlands.
Both are smooth good guns that dont feel flimsy or cheap like a 870.


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I have a bps in 20 and 12 gauge and like them, although my OU and franchi affinity get more play.

I like the top tang safety and universal RH & LH use. Steel parts are good and I have never had any issues.

You can tell the difference and quality if you have done cheaper remingtons and mossbergs. No issues with BPS.

Brownings can be found on the rack for less money than a 37 and parts will be available forever.

Got to love a all steel gun.


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I’ll take the Ithaca Model 37 all day long I’ve that heavy ass BPS and twice on Sundays. 🤠

The Model 37 is the slickest pump gun ever made.

Last edited by chlinstructor; 04/10/20.

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I've had model 37's for close to 50 years. Never had a problem. Although I have had and still have other shotguns I shoot a 37 the best. Having said that I've always wanted to try a BPS because they seem to fit me quite well. As others have said the BPS is heavier. I don't think you could go wrong with either. As always with shotguns buy the one that fits you best. Have fun shopping.

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I have both as well, the Ithaca is much lighter and for me handles better. I use the Ithaca for upland game and the Browning for ducks and geese. It handles steel shot better and has choke tubes. Both are solid shotguns, and they are friendly for my Left handed son to use. Never have had any issues with either. In general the Browning's are cheaper and easier to find.

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I think that smithrjd got it all right. If you're mainly an upland hunter, you want the Ithaca (we used to say "legs kill grouse, not shotguns" and an extra pound can sure tire those legs out over a long day fighting snow and brambles). If you're an upland hunter who sometimes hunts ducks, still get the Ithaca. If you're mainly a waterfowl and/or turkey hunter, get the Browning.


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One sad thing to think about is that lead shot will not be around much longer.
After buying a couple boxes of Bismuth for ducks and public land pheasants to use in my M37 it gets expensive.
The vintage M37's can not take steel.


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Top tang safety of the BPS for the win !

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The safety on a 37 can be easily swapped to LH operation without modifying or replacing any parts. Just an FYI for any lefties thinking about trying one.

I’m a 37 man, they handle and carry wonderfully in the uplands. They are pretty rugged and simple guns as well, not a whole lot to go wrong.

That said the BPS is a tank, really built to last and nearly impossible to tear up.

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Some of the newer production 37s can have choke tubes. I have an Ithaca made in Kings Ferry 16 GA 37 that I purchased new sometime around 1999, originally came with a 26 in IC barrel, then ordered a 28 in barrel with tubes, so have more versatility. The 16 GA gun made in Kings Ferry were still on the smaller reciever too. If you're walking around it a lot nicer to carry than a 12 ga gun.

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Ithaca in Ohio can sell you a barrel for an older NY gun that has too much choke for steel.....Ithaca for the balance win....however, with wear they can start dumping live rounds out the bottom....Again Ithaca in Ohio can fix it easily.....


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Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
One sad thing to think about is that lead shot will not be around much longer.
After buying a couple boxes of Bismuth for ducks and public land pheasants to use in my M37 it gets expensive.
The vintage M37's can not take steel.



The vintage 37's can use steel with modified or less chokes....

Lead is banned for the marshes, but in the uplands it will be here at least until there is an equivalent priced alternative....However, for as many boxes that most shoot in the uplands today, the extra cost of the alternatives is minimal when factored into ones overall hunting expenditures....How many years would a case of bismuth-250 shells-last the average upland hunter????

Last edited by battue; 04/11/20.

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Originally Posted by battue
Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
One sad thing to think about is that lead shot will not be around much longer.
After buying a couple boxes of Bismuth for ducks and public land pheasants to use in my M37 it gets expensive.
The vintage M37's can not take steel.



The vintage 37's can use steel with modified or less chokes....

Lead is banned for the marshes, but in the uplands it will be here at least until there is an equivalent priced alternative....

Lead is already banned on federal and many state lands for everything. South Dakota has banned it on all public land.
It would be a cold day in hell when I shoot steel through my 1950 M37 even though it has a mod choke.


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Lead shot is banned on SD public land, but not on private land, walk-in land or along roadways.....

Your choice obviously, however cold day or hot day, modern steel loads will not hurt your 37 with a Mod choke.....It's been proven.....



Last edited by battue; 04/11/20.

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I've had both but don't hunt with pump SGs anymore. Like the 37 for carrying, but overall like the BPS better. Like the higher rib and for any hunting that does not involve more carrying than shooting the weight of the BPS is not an issue. If it was purely for lots of walking with upland birds, rabbits and such I like lighter weight so it would be a 37.


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Wackum....

How many boxes of shells do you normally shoot in a year upland hunting.....

Last edited by battue; 04/11/20.

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Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
One sad thing to think about is that lead shot will not be around much longer.
After buying a couple boxes of Bismuth for ducks and public land pheasants to use in my M37 it gets expensive.
The vintage M37's can not take steel.


You write the below and yet willingly follow the government decree on outlawing lead shot on public land....
This place never ceases to educate.....


Originally Posted by whackem_stackem
We are seeing the most draconian measures enforced at all levels of government that we've ever seen in our lifetimes, and yet rather than being alarmed by the things going on, so many of you applaud.

People are being arrested for spending too much time outside, and you applaud. Pastors are being arrested for daring to hold church services, and you applaud. A child's birthday party is raided by police, and you applaud. A young woman is ticketed for going on a leisurely drive alone because it's deemed "non-essential travel", and you applaud. A parade of school teachers and administrators who wanted to drive through neighborhoods and wave at children is busted up by cops because they were "nonessential," and you applaud. A lone paddle-boarder in the ocean on a beach without any other people around is arrested because he's violating quarantine orders, and you applaud.

People are being denied life saving medical treatments because they're not a priority right now (not "essential" as deemed by the government) as the entirety of our medical system is focused on one thing, and you applaud.

Businesses are beings forcibly closed and padlocked and owners arrested for refusing to shut down, and you applaud. Dairy farmers (and soon, other farmers) are being incentevized to stop dairy farming and to sell their herds, and you don't seem to understand the implications.

You're being told to use hotlines and online forms provided by your local governments to report your neighbors who don't obey, and you comply. You scold people day after day for not obeying government edicts, and if any of us dare to question what's happening, you lecture about how we're a danger to society and and we just don't care about people dying.

You've somehow managed to convince yourselves that the people whose lives are affected by a virus are MUCH more important than the people whose lives are being destroyed (and in many cases, leading to death) by the effects of a worldwide economic shutdown and impending worldwide depression the likes of which no one has ever seen before.

At what point will you start QUESTIONING what's going on? How far does the government have to push before you're jolted awake from your slumber? How far are you willing to go with this?

If they told you to load your families onto train cars so that you could be taken to Virus Protection Facilities for your own safety, would you do it?

YES. Yes, you would.That much has become painfully obvious to me. And the whole time, you'd be shaking your finger and yelling at those of us who refused, accusing us of being "a danger to society" and "not caring if people die."

But they don't have to load you onto train cars and take you to Virus Protection Facilities, or force you to comply, because you do that voluntarily. They control your mind. They control you through fear. They control you by convincing you that the world is a scary dangerous place, but they're here to protect you, care for you, and keep you safe, just as long as you OBEY.

They know that as long as you're locked inside your comfortable home with Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a cell phone, while dangling a $1200 check in front of you like a carrot on a stick, you'll comply. No force is necessary for the majority of the herd.



YOU ARE IN IMPRISONED, willingly, and you're too blind to see it.



Originally Posted by whackem_stackem

Lead is already banned on federal and many state lands for everything. South Dakota has banned it on all public land.


Last edited by battue; 04/11/20.

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BPS is heavier; I like the 37, as little as I actually get to shoot at birds the lighter weight/more recoil does not matter

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I know that one can shoot steel in a Model 37, and my 20 gauge has a MOD choke. I will still use lead when I can, and will go to Bismuth when I need to. Trap ranges still allow the cheap lead target loads, shoot more of those than anything else. I like the Browning, but it is a tool for the job. The Ithaca is something more special..

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