Ithaca Trap

[jeffery c]

Does anyone here know anything about the history and making of these post 1948 when the Ithaca doubles were discontinued? I remember requesting a catalog from Ithaca when I was a kid in the 70s and the single barrel trap was still a prestige catalog item then. First off, when did they finally end? Second off, it occurs to me that in a sense, these are the final direct legacy of the American double heritage. What are everyone's thoughts in this regard?

[Bob Jurewicz]

Walt Snyder's book indicates final production in 1980 with #240405737.
In 1969 three (3) numbers were added at the beginning of the usual six (6) number sequence.
This reference also indicates a special order Dollar Grade #240405728 was completed on 1987 for sale at the 1987 Grand.
Bob Jurewicz

[jeffery c]

Thanks, Bob. What was annual production like then? Pretty low I imagine.
That catalog I saw would have been in the mid to late 70's. For legacy guns there was also the Winchester 21 which lasted later yet and sort of has never been out of production, although it only goes back to the 30's vs Ithaca goes back to the 1800's.

[Bill Zachow]

My lawyer handled Ithaca’s bankruptcy back in the mid/late 80s. He was paid with the second to last Knick 5E produced. It had hung in the President’s office. He also got one of their special 10 gauge semi autos. Sadly, I sold them both.

[John Davis]

Jeff, are you inquiring about the Ithaca SBT or the side by side?

[jeffery c]

SBT, is what I was wondering about. I have the idea from serial number charts that double barrel guns ended in the late 40's. Although, I saw for sale a year or so ago on GI a seller stating a double he had for sale had been made years after that for a company executive, or something like that.

What I was thinking was the fitting and making of the SBT has a lot in common with the making and fitting of the doubles and in a sense was a continuation of that production.

[Researcher]

The engraving log of Bill Mains and Jacqueline Favre who did the engraving from 1971 to the end (240405496 to 240405739) is reproduced in Frank Conley's book The American Single Barrel Trap Gun. There were 228 guns done by them. About fifteen serial numbers were skipped. Either those guns were not built or shipped to other engravers. No guns were built from December 11, 1973 to May 21, 1975. The last gun on their list is 240405739, shipped back to Ithaca 6-9-82, a No. 5E.

To my eye the Knick is pretty simple and I'd think the parts could be belched out by a CNC machine, and with a little hand work on the sear notch, they could be made pretty cheap. But then Ljutics don't come cheap and they look like they were made in someone's basement to me.

[jeffery c]

Originally Posted by Harry Gietler

I new Bill back in the 60s and 70s up to the time He moved to Las Vegas. He worked at a gun shop called G&R Tackle. He was a very nice guy. I watched him many times as He engraved many fine guns. He also had a line of custom high quality knives. Harry

I wonder how Ithaca found him, Harry? I suppose at some point, only making twenty guns a year, having an in-house engraver didn't make sense. Did he ever discuss how he came to work for Ithaca with you?

[Bill Murphy]

I was manning my tables at the Easton, Maryland gun show many years ago, a bunch of nice side by sides on the tables. An older gentleman and a companion hung out in front of the tables showing much interest. One man asked about one of my guns and I handed it to him to examine. His comments lead me to say, "You seem to know a bit about these guns. My name is Bill Murphy." He replied, "I know a little, and like them a lot. My name is Bill Jaqua, glad to meet you, Bill."

[ArtS]

Originally Posted by Harry Gietler

Yes. He worked for G&R at that time .Ithaca put out their engraving by bid. The owner of the gun shop was lowest bidder and got the contract.The knive part of G&R was called Heritage Knives and Bill did the engraveing on them. Harry

Bill died relatively recently. The official biography by his family is an interesting read. Google his name.

It is my understanding he also did the work on the later Ithaca double revival. He was a fixture on the trapshooting circuit and best known there. He had a trailer equipped for engraving and did onsite work at shoots. One of his specialties was custom grip caps which he could turn out quickly. He was trained as a goldsmith and often included it with his engraving. I have a very early Beretta S2 I purchased from a member here that had very nice and tasteful gold work added to the original engraving pattern to enhance it. The rest of the gun was refurbished. It is stunning work and one of the best handling game guns I have ever used.