doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ithaca's Other Model 51

Those of us who were knocking around guns in the 1970s will well remember the Ithaca M-51 Autoloader. But there was a M-51 well before the autoloader. Harry Howland mentions in his personal notes that an over-under shot gun design was started in 1938. War issues, etc. delayed the work until 1951 when the one and only tool room over/under was completed and named "M-51." The gun was sold with the museum collection in 1976. It bopped around a bit then went under ground. It surfaced again during Eric Neill's time as Ithaca Gun President and was sent to a shop to determine if a single trigger could be fitted. As Ithaca Acquisition went into bankruptcy, the gun was lost again. It recently re-surfaced and has returned to the fold. It won't be lost again. The new Ithaca Gun Company is about to release their new Phoenix over/under (I had the opportunity to shoot it and it is great!) but I thought some of the Ithaca fans would like to see a few photos of the first Ithaca over/under gun, the M-51.



Some technical details: Twenty eight inch extractor barrels, no rib. Choke top IC, bottom, cylinder via the brass Galazan drop in guage. Modern dimensions on the stock. I will probably test shoot the gun but it will remain a 'museum' item.

Walt, great. I enjoy seeing guns where they should be.

Very nice, double triggers-------could almost bring a person around to over/unders!

Very nice Walt, typical Ithaca, clean lines, no frills, and most likely rock solid performance. All the frills could be hand for more coin on most Ithacas, but I love the simple lines of the field guns as well. Too bad production never came to be on these, it looks very nice!

I agree but wouldn't be nice if the new Ithaca Gun Co, would offer the Phoenix in a Sousa Grade??

or maybe a 7 Grade??

Walt, thanks for those pics!!!!
That M-51 however loses its appeal after seeing pics of those high grade NIDs!!!

Walt:

I gladly will swap one of my M-51's for that ratty thing you illustrated earlier. I am willing to make this sacrifice in honor of all you have done for Ithacadom. I dont even LIKE over-unders.

"New guns for old".

Contact me for my shipping address.

Oh, if you need to make some more room in the gun safe, you can send me a 7E NID as well.

Regards

GKT

Interesting. How does it lock up? When it's closed (like on the first two pics) it looks sorta like Superposed, but when it's open, it doesn't look like anything I've seen before. Are the locking part(s) slide forward into the indention(s) visible on the side of the monoblock between the barrels?

I thought at first it looked alot like the Marlin model 90, so I compared it to my Sears/Marlin Ranger/90 - 410 from 1939, about the same era. They are not even close to the same. The barrel lug, extractor,forend latch,the metal at the front of the forearm wood, everythings different. Very nice looking gun.
Tom

There sure isn't much about the Phoenix on the Ithaca website. Where is there more information? The Shotgun Life article is not much help.