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Posted By: setterspell Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/28/12 08:43 PM
I've been considering a Ithaca grade 1 floral in 20ga.w/extractors. Every screw is buggered but beyond that the 26" bbls (choked 2&4)have decent bluing, bores are great,action is tight, wood is solid w/original bp,checkering fair, cc is faded but nice. Without pictures, would anyone venture a guess as to value? thanks
Posted By: skeettx Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/28/12 08:51 PM
$100.00 without pictures

Welcome to the site
Really hard to give a quote
If screws are boogered, what else is wrong?
Also What Ithaca? NID? Flues?
You have a serial number range?
Mike
Posted By: setterspell Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 12:03 AM
Sorry, its a Flues in the 380000 range. Really, just the screws are the only problem I can see.
Posted By: Mike A. Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 12:51 AM
What I think Skeetx is getting at is "WHY are the screws buggered?"

Often when screws are screwed, it is because somebody has been screwing around in the interior of the gun, and usually there was a reason for that beyond the mere curiosity of the "hardware challenged." Like something wasn't working right and Bubba went in to have a look.

And the repairs that screwdriver-challenged people do often aren't the best work. Needs investigation; can be an indication of problems to come.
Posted By: skeettx Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 01:13 AM
OK, thanks

I suppose this will be a shooting gun and not a setting around the safe gun?

The Flues will need a diet of soft ammo, mine has short chambers.

No chance on pictures??

Any clue on the asking price?

Can you shoot it BEFORE you buy it?

Mike
Posted By: setterspell Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 01:40 AM
Mike A.- Agreed on all points. Many curious boys have screwdrivers.
skeettx-yes , a shooter. not much sense in restoration of this grade imo. hope to get pics in a few days.
Posted By: KY Jon Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 02:45 AM
Without knowing what, if anything, was "fixed" on the inside you are buying a gun which may need a little more fixing. That said I would not go much above $700-750.00 depending on the over all rest of the gun condition. If it had 28" barrels I would go more but short barrels are out of fashion these days.

Screwed up screws are alarm bells to many of us. Just like top levers to the left of center. When you come across a gun with alarm bells going off do not be afraid to walk away. Think of it as a project gun and hope it turns out to be just a shooter.
Posted By: Kutter Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 03:03 AM
Damaged screws aren't in themselves all that bad. Look for signs that the thing has been apart if you're concerned that BillyBob has been inside adjusting things.
If every screw on the gun is twisted, his further skill to take things apart couldn't have been much better.
It's usually easy to see if the things have been apart with some careful looking over.
Breaks in the old wood to metal fit and put back together again are a big clue. Scratches from prying with the one and only screwdriver, punch marks (nail) to drive pins out, etc.

How is the gun mechanicaly now? Is everything operating manualy as it should?,,Safety, triggers, top lever, etc.

You could almost make a living just fixing screw slots on quality guns. People just have to test them out with the one size fits all 'driver.

Many time nothings been disassembled past a simple forend or top tang screw being taken out. It doesn't lead to anything for the un-informed and they stop there,,but first they have to make sure all the screws are good 'n tight.

Don't immediately dismiss a gun just because the screw heads are damaged. Give it a closer look.
Posted By: Mike A. Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 04:20 AM
Gotta admit I have a soft spot for the decoration on a Grade 1 or 1 1/2. Not sure why I like it (and The Ideal); bad eyesight--can't see the "finer things"?
Posted By: Recoil Rob Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 06:51 AM
I, too, liked the Grade 1's. I still have the 12E NID at top, the bottom 16 I sold some years ago.

Posted By: Big Oak Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 01:52 PM


Recently purchased a grade 1 16, NID (1927,like pics above)
decent shape,bbls need to be reblacked,for 475.00,It is not
as nice as an example as the pictured NID's I'm happy with it for the price.
Posted By: Claybird Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 02:48 PM
I have a 16 ga NID in excellent condition. It was made just after the war, within the last year or two before production was discontinued. Oddly, it is absolutely plain. No engraving. Not even the word Ithaca or the gauge stamped on the barrel. I didn't like the wood, so I had it restocked (straight hand plus semi-beavertail forearm) by a local gunsmith who was in charge of wood for Steve Lamboy's Ithaca Classic Doubles. I still don't understand why there are no markings.
Posted By: Mike A. Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 03:41 PM
I had an NID 12 ga. 26" that had the Ithaca factory markings on the reciever, but no marking on the barrels. And no serial numbers, nor any sign it ever had them*. Bought it at a small gun show about 40 miles from Ithaca. Guess where that came from?

(*I occasionally watch cop shows and am always amused by the "the serial numbers were filed off" line, especially on tiny S&W snubbies and Raven .25s. SOMEBODY out there in criminal land is a MASTER filer.....and what's left of the gun when the Master is done?)
Posted By: Chuck H Re: Ithaca Grade 1 (floral) 20ga. value? - 01/29/12 08:36 PM
The similarity to the LC Smith Ideal grade engraving is something that makes me wonder if there was some connection by engravers.
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