Ithaca flues

[Mike Franzen]

Picked up a nice little Flues 20 gauge yesterday. Very light and locks up like a vault. Built in 1910 this is going to make a great little bunny buster.

[OH Osthaus]

nice

and that is one spiffy gun store you shop at

[Mike Franzen]

That's the lobby of the Hyatt at Rupp Arena

[Researcher]

In the early years of the Flues, before The Great War, Ithaca Gun Co. built their small bores very light weight --



Beware of thin barrels and frame cracking!!

[Mike Franzen]

I have checked for cracking in wood and metal with a magnifying glass and the gun is sound. The barrels appear to be in very good condition. They ring and have a mirror finish. There were 4 minor dents which were easily removed. I'll weigh her later today and see just how light she is. I don't know much about these guns but looking at examples online I saw many were Damascus and case colored. This one appears to have blued steel barrels and blued frame. Any thoughts on that?

[Researcher]

99.44% sure it left Fall Creek Water Power Lot No. 6 with a color case hardened frame, and being a 20-gauge most likely chambered for the "standard" 2 1/2 inch shells of those days. What grade is it?

[Mike Franzen]

It's probably the lowest grade they made. Here are a few pics. Wonder what the S over 20 means?

[Dean Romig]

Mike, from your pictures it looks to have been case color hardened and now has a bunch of dark "patina".

[Mike Franzen]

There is no trace of any case colors I can find. I wonder if it's steel barrel or Damascus. Guns made after this one had dam bbls. But again, I see no patterns.

[High Brass]

I've got a lot of doubles suitable for bird hunting but found that I usually grabbed my Flues 16 when going out. Great guns. My 16 weighs 6 lbs. even with 30 inch barrels. Your 20 is probably lighter.