Ithaca Wood
 

Just ran into this Ithaca grade 4. Gun is a mess but wood intact. One of the nicest I’ve seen on an early Ithaca.

Ithaca used very nice wood on their grade 3 and higher guns. They typically always used american walnut.

I love my Ithaca 4E 16. It has nicer would then my DHE 16

Pretty nice wood on my 1941 vintage, 16-gauge, 26-inch, No. 4E NID --

Attachment 79025

Attachment 79026

but it is a chunk at 7 pounds 2.6 ounces. My new to me December 1940 vintage, 26-inch barrel, 16-gauge, 1-frame, VHE-Grade weighs 8.8 ounces less.

yes, the ithaca's are heavy. I have 11 16 gauge shotguns and the Ithaca is the heaviest of all. But if I could only keep one 16 gauge shotgun it would be my Ithaca 4E 16, I shoot it better at both clays and hunting than any other 16 on I own

Hmmmm, my Ithaca guns (Flues and earlier) are easily among my lightest. And they do have nice wood in the mid-grades and higher.

Curious James, what is the problem with the rest of the gun. I used to have a grade 3 12 gauge with chain-link Damascus barrels, foolishly I sold it, but I never shot it anyway

More Ithaca Wood
 

From top to bottom:
1)4E NID 20 ga, 32" VR
2)4E NID 20 ga documented 2 barrel set(26 & 28")
3)5E NID 12 ga, 32" VR
4)4E Flues 12 ga, 32"

Even though these guns have obviously had some lip stick applied over the years it still demonstrates the quality of Ithaca wood IMO.

I had a late 1935 vintage New Ithaca Field Grade, 16-gauge, with 28-inch barrels, and it only weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces.

Ithaca did make some very light weight guns in the early years of the Flues model. By the mid-1920s, Ithaca had beefed up their Flues doubles quite a bit. In the 1912 through at least 1915 Ithaca catalogues they give their smallbore weights as --

16-ga 5 3/4 to 6 1/4
20-ga 5 1/4 to 5 3/4
28-ga 4 3/4 to 5 1/4

In the July 1919, Ithaca catalogue --

16-ga 5 lbs. 14 ozs. to 6 1/2
20-ga 5 1/2 to 6
28-ga 5 to 5 1/2

In the December 1, 1919, Ithaca catalogue --

16-ga 6 to 6 3/4
20-ga 5 3/4 to 6
28-ga 5 1/4 to 5 3/4

In the 1925 Ithaca catalogue --

16-ga 6 1/4 to 6 3/4
20-ga 6 to 6 1/2
28-ga 5 3/4 to 6 1/4

Thanks, Dave, I knew that the early Flues guns were advertised as light in weight. I went back and checked my Flues models (not the NIDs) and here's what I have:

#4 20 gauge 6 lbs.
#1 12 gauge 6lbs. 14 oz.
Field 16 gauge 5 lbs. 14 oz.
Field 12 gauge 6 lbs. 7 oz.