Ithaca NID 3E 20 gauge

[Brian Hornacek]

I picked up (bought) a Ithaca NID 20 gauge 3E today with SST, BT FA, Ejectors, Monte Carlo stock, vent rib and 30” barrels. The gun is in fabulous shape, I think there were 43k NID’s made. Any opinion on rarity of this guns configuration or any knowledge would be great.

I am a long way from Walt’s book.

Brian

[Steve Huffman]

You say you picked it up . I hope you bought it !

[Brett Farley]

Brian, fantastic gun and with all the bells and whistles!!! How is it choked?

[Brian Hornacek]

I had no way of measuring it, looking at the muzzles and visual wall thickness i would guess 1/2 and full.

[Mike Poindexter]

All Ithaca doubles I have seen are numbered on the barrel flats 0-4, 0 being Cyl and 4 being full. FWIW

[Stan Hoover]

Very nice Ithaca there Brian,

Per Walt’s book, there was approximately 45,000 NID’s. The Grade 3 is my favorite, there were less Grade 3’s produced than Grade 4, and the duck in the circle (oval on the earlier models) on the floor plate are just very neat to my eyes.

In my opinion, you have a rare configuration there, Grade 3E , 20 gauge, fully optioned, and 30” barrels, that IMO is a sweet Ithaca!

About 2 years back, Randy Roberts made me aware of a Grade 3, fully optioned, and with 32” barrels that slipped away before we could pick up our phones:cuss:

PS, I was also going to ask, is there choke designations stamped in the forward most part of the barrel flats, 4 Full, 3 IM, 2 M, 1 IC? Not all NID’s were stamped with choke designations.

[Dave Noreen]

Sweet!! From 1926 through 1934, the No. 3 was the lowest grade offered with the options of a beavertail forearm and a vent rib. The 1935 Ithaca Gun Co. catalog dropped the No. 1 & the No. 3 and began offering the option of the vent rib and beavertail forearm on the Field Grade and the No. 2. That is also the time they dropped the cocking indicators on the NID. I have however seen a handful of No. 1s without indicators and have such a 28-gauge. I've not seen a No. 3 without indicators.

There were a few over 45000 regular frame NIDs and just under 1000 Magnum frame NIDs. According to the breakout Ithaca did back in the 1960s there were 24 Magnum-10s made in No. 3, five 28-gauges in No. 3 and seven .410-bores in No. 3. No counts for the common gauges.

There are three NID No. 3s on GI right now, two 12-gauges and a Super-10.

[Brian Hornacek]

All Ithaca doubles I have seen are numbered on the barrel flats 0-4, 0 being Cyl and 4 being full. FWIW

I have had Ithaca’s numbered as well, this one is not

[Randy G Roberts]

About 2 years back, Randy Roberts made me aware of a Grade 3, fully optioned, and with 32” barrels that slipped away before we could pick up our phones:cuss:


That one a 20 gauge as well if you recall Stan. The only Grade 3 twenty with 32" barrels I have came across. I have seen 2 Grade 4 twentys with 32" barrels. Nice gun Brian, hope it has that fabulous Ithaca wood.

[Stan Hoover]

[QUOTE=Randy G Roberts;353352]That one a 20 gauge as well if you recall Stan. The only Grade 3 twenty with 32" barrels I have came across. I have seen 2 Grade 4 twentys with 32" barrels.

Yes Randy, I do remember that being a 20, I still wonder where that gun went?

I’m not sure that I’ve ever handled any 32” 20 gauge Ithaca’s, will there be one staying in your new Gun Room Randy:corn:

[Randy G Roberts]

Actually it's been there for a while. 4E fully optioned.

[Dave Noreen]

My fully optioned No. 4E 20-gauge with 30-inch barrels has no choke markings. They measure .038" and .042" which is a lot for a 20-gauge. Over the years I've recorded half a dozen or so long barrel, fully optioned, 20-gauge NIDs, most in the 457xxx serial number range, several with no choke markings. A 32-inch No. 7E 20-gauge that Julias sold some years ago --

103363

A 32-inch No. 5E 20-gauge --

103364

[Stan Hoover]

Dave,

I’m not sure that I’ve read or heard about most of the Grade 3’s having cocking indicators, maybe I forgot.
I looked at the Grade 3’s that I have and it seems you are right like usual, they all have cocking indicators except I have 1 16 gauge and the 10 gauge magnum that do not.

This 3E 16 is in the 436,000 range and was shipped in 1936 to George J Ellis Drug Company of Glasgow, Kentucky. This gun has single non selective trigger and one of those dreaded English Grip stocks, some people fondly call these ugly stocks (straight grips):)

[Randy G Roberts]

Dave mine is in the 455xxx range and lacks the choke markings as well. I recall the 7E 20 at auction. At the time I believe most everyone believed it to be the only one thus the selling price of some 77K, going off memory but I think that's close. Suddenly some short time later another surfaced which brought about a third the price of the first one. That gun had some unusual markings on the flats that may have hurt the price. You probably recall or have pictures. I have never seen a 5E 20 configured as such, what a gun that would be.

[Dave Noreen]

I made a mistake above. That No. 5E barrel flat I pictured is actually a 26-inch gun --

103366

[Brian Hornacek]

If you search and poke around a 32” 20 ga pops up that Pat M had on GI not too long agp, what i like about Pat is he puts the asking price in his ad so its there to see vs just sold…$9500