[ShotgunPro]

I know before everybody starts talking "SHMEG" about this thing, it being a Chinese import and all, I have always wanted an Ithaca Model 37. Academy had a SWEET deal on these last week and couldn't pass it up. Besides, Savage has an awesome warranty and customer service, I'm not worried about it. They are hard to find in good shape and the new one's are too expensive for what the build quality and fit and finish are concerned. This thing is actually a better 37 in most respects. It has dual action bars instead of one, it has ghost ring sites that are actually made of metal, steel to be precise, and are actually pretty strong and very usable. The front has a very solid fiber optic blade that has protective wings and is soldered in place on the barrel and not removable, no big deal. The finish is a grey-black phosphate and will not hold up as good a parkerizing or most bluing, but taken proper care of should last a long time, I'll use the snot out of this thing in a couple of years and then do some really cool DuraCoat project on it. It comes with some very nice touches for the money. It comes with sling studs! Yes the drop on the stock is pretty steep but believe me when I say it feels really good shouldered, I could do with a little shorter length of pull, but I can address that later. The internal machining is not the greatest but I took it apart stoned, sanded and polished most of the friction surfaces and this thing is SLICK! Out of the box it was not bad, but after I cleaned it before going to the range I noticed alot of excess shavings coming out of places so I decided to delve a little into it. Enjoy the pics. By the way most Ithaca parts will work with little or no fitting.

 

[ShotgunPro]

I haven't been able to find a shotgun that has really caught my eye enough to keep for extended periods of time. Most of the time I shoot with gloves on for a number of reasons. 1 being I have little girl hands. 2 being that weapons get hot. 3 I have clammy hands 99.9% of the time and it can cause issues in regards to surface rust if not being covered with a very light coating of oil. I've had a Winchester 1300, Remington 870 tactical 6 round 18.5" bbl, and a Mossberg 590 special purpose 8 round 20" bbl. So far I've sold every shotgun I've ever owned. I find shortcomings in each, with the Winchester being my favorite of the three. The only thing I can come up with after owning the trio is to pick one a modify it to what suits me. To clue you in I was trying everything to avoid having to add a bunch of aftermarket parts.

The Winchester 1300 was a hunting gun, plain and simple with a 28" bbl. What I wanted was a short barrel for home defense so rather than purchase another barrel I sold it.

Next came the Remington 870 and I enjoyed the easy break down, but man did this thing like to collect surface rust like a bad mamma jamma. Ultimately I decided I wanted a shotgun with ghost ring sights or atleast simpe rifle sights. So I sold it too.

The last shotgun I owned was a Mossberg 590, being the special purpose it had ghost ring sights, a larger capacity and slightly longer barrel. The length of pull on the stock was too long for my stature and was probably the #1 reason I sold it. The damn thing just wasn't comfortable to shoulder. Not to mention 8 shotgun shells in a tube magazine can get pretty heavy to lug around.

Long story short I'm glad you did a write up on the Stevens 350 shotgun. I think sometime I will be purchasing yet another shotgun and hopefully one that I can keep for a longer duration of time and be satisfied. It may very well be an "import". Considering it's likely to be thrown in my trunk or leaned in a corner being neglected I'm thinking a Savage or H&R import could fit the bill. My plan upon purchasing is to tear it down and duracoat it.

Once again thanks for the write-up and pictures!

 

[ShotgunPro]

Congrats on the new purchase!

 

[ShotgunPro]

my wife just bought me one

 

[ShotgunPro]

What's the going price for one of these boom sticks?

 

[ShotgunPro]

my wife just bought me one

My wife bought me one too for xmas 06. But mine is the YL12-1J4 with plain rifle sights. I had a Benelli slug gun that was almost 10X the $134.00 OTD she paid for mine and it is twice as accurate as that Benelli was. The barrel to reciever fit has ZERO play to it and throws slugs like you would not believe. The gun is unreal for what it is. 100% machined steel and the metal is of superb quality. Unreal the little commies can make such a great quality gun, ship it across the sea and sell it so flippin cheap, just unreal.

I would not hesitate a second to tell anyone to jump all over one if they had a channce to. Only downfall is the gun is heavy being all steel.

Strong, reliable, ACCURATE and so affordable. Whats not to like about this gun?

 

[ShotgunPro]

Haven't shot it yet but it feels solid. I paid 241 for mine. Looking for a good sling, rail system, and collapseable stock. Any suggestions? I don't want to overcomplicate the thing. Maybe a shell rack too. Generally I like the shotgun but I don't like the length of the stock.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Haven't shot it yet but it feels solid. I paid 241 for mine. Looking for a good sling, rail system, and collapseable stock. Any suggestions? I don't want to overcomplicate the thing. Maybe a shell rack too. Generally I like the shotgun but I don't like the length of the stock.

call these guys. Even if it is not on the site, they can help you out. Not many different stocks for the chicom M37 copy.

Marstar Canada: Classic Collectible Militaria Since 1985

 

[ShotgunPro]

thanks; I'll look into them.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Buds has the Savage Branded for 255 or the Interstate Arms rollmark for 200

 

[ShotgunPro]

I was able to pick one from gabagun.com shipped to my FFL for only 228 and it was the one that comes with the Ghost Ring Sight model. Here is a quick video on it.

 

[ShotgunPro]

I hope you got a better one than I did.. I put maaaaybe 75 rounds through it before the extractor stoppped functioning. I would literally take one shot, it would freeze up I would unload the damn thing and then jerk on the pump ridiculously hard w two hands to dislodge the spent shell. Its been at savage for two months now its ridiculous. I'm about to say screw it and get a mossy 500 and tac that thing out. I digress.... again I hope you got a better one.