Re caution, especially with older guns . . . I recently acquired an Ithaca Flues Grade 4E 20ga with some unusual features. 24" barrels with a swamped rib and 2 3/4" chambers. I requested a factory letter from the Cody Museum. Barrel length matches the letter. I was hoping that if the gun left the factory with 2 3/4" chambers (sold in Feb 1920) the chamber length would have been noted. 2 1/2" chambers would have been standard on an Ithaca 20 back then. Neither the gun nor the letter is marked 2 3/4", which it measures. Factory chokes are noted as 2 and 4 (F/M) and they measure within those ranges for a 20ga. It's easy to load up light 20ga reloads, but I am somewhat hesitant to do that in modern 2 3/4" hulls. Even though the Claybuster 3/4 oz wads make it easy to load 3/4 oz. I'm thinking about the gun mostly for grouse and woodcock hunting. So far, I've shot it only with RST 2 1/2" shells (including spreaders) which is one way to deal with the tight chokes. It could well be all original, longer chambers and all, making me hesitant to tamper with it.
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