I just picked up my ithaca 37 saturday, used. Year 1975. In comparing it to my dads, neither barrels are stamped. He bought his brand new in 1975 with the slug barrel on it. He went to a gun show a few years back, and found an ithaca barrel that fit perfect on his gun, and has been using the 28" mod. Choke barrel, no problems.

 

For giggles, i unscrewed my 28" barrel and put his slug barrel(deer slayer barrel), and it fit perfect on my gun. It is just because they were both made in 1975, or just accidental that they are interchangeable?

 

I read somewhere that if the barrels arent stamped with a serial number, they can be swapped. Don't know if i believe that.

 

Any thoughts/inputs?

 

Thanks

All barrels with receivers marked with S/N 855,000 and above will interchange with each other. Barrels made for S/N's prior to 855,000 will not interchange with each other. Interchangeable barrels came about in 1963. Then you run into other issues with later guns made in King's Ferry, NY and Sandusky, OH. Some interchange, some do not. 

 

http://www.ithacagun.com/ithacabarrels.html

 

 

You misunderstand. Receivers under serial number 855,000 (I think that number is correct) are NOT interchangeable. Above that serial, all barrels ARE interchangeable (unless you have a newer deer slayer where the barrel is permanently pinned in place.

Dang it Parker beat me to it. And with better info.

Dang it Parker beat me to it. And with better info.

Don't feel bad. That happens to me a lot here in the shotgun forum. In the handgun section, it Pizza Bob that gets the drop on me.

So interchangeable barrels came out in 1963, both these guns are 1975, but under serial number 855,000.

 

I'm just trying to learn the difference.

They should both be over 855,000

 

http://www.ithacagun.com/pdfs/serialnumbers.pdf

 

Says that 1975 corresponds to #381000001-381030000

 

Also shows that 855,000 happened in 1963 (#820001-867000)

Well that makes sense now. I was reading my serial number as 381,xxx.

 

I had a brain fart.