I have recently received an Ithaca Flues sxs 12g that once belonged to my Great-great grandpa. its in bad condition. Most obvious is a 3" section of the left side barrel missing about 7" from the muzzle, said to have been blown out after unknowingly plugged with mud. After that the gun was tossed into a garage until the early 1950's when my great grandfather said he wanted it from his father (original owner).

It has been a family story piece since then. Now I have it and it has always meant a lot to me. So, I would really like to have it restored and become shootable again.

I removed the butt stock and inspected the parts in the mechanism that I could see. Everything seems to be in order ACCEPT, there is a broken piece for the right side trigger I would guess its the sear. It engages the trigger. Anyway,
that and the barrel are the 2 mechanical problems that I can see that are obvious.

I would like to find someone that can restore this shotgun to working and maybe even add some subtle embellishment to it.

I know of Doug Turnbull, and Im sure they could do an awesome job, it would just take me several years to save up awesome money for it.

Im looking for more of the metal work and gunsmithing work.

I can do the stock work my self, but I do have another question to you guys that may know.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET THE FOREND OFF THIS SHOTGUN???? I don't see any type of release or screw or anything. I read one comment online somewhere (didn't feel it was reputable) to "pull up this direction and slide that direction" all vague! and I don't want to pry on anything and brake something.


Thank you guys for your help.

Daniel

Can't help you on the restore. If there is no visible release then every SXS I've owned (never an Ithaca) the forearm and barrels simply pull apart. Grasp the barrels in front of the forearm. Pull the front of the forearm away from the barrels. It should be spring loaded. To reinstall place the rear in contact with the action and rotate the front towards the barrel. It should snap in place as it makes contact with the barrels.

Thanks Ramrod,

that worked. I was just scared to brake something. I appreciate it.

I still need to know who is a reputable restorer with prices a working man can afford.

And I would appreciate it if anyone knows if a barrel can be replaced or if they both have to be replaced as a pair and what kind of cost that involves (?$400, $800, $1000, $5000, $100,000 or a million dollars?) Im just completely in the dark

Try David Yale in Yellow Jacket, Colorado. He restored a family heirloom shotgun for me about 10-years ago and did a really nice job for a very fair price.

J. DAVID YALE
P.O.BOX 277 14386 COUNTY RD U YELLOW JACKET, CO 81335 USA

Phone: 1-970-5652-4225

Thanks Loud-n-boomer I'll give him a call



I'll try to get some pics posted on here for you guys of the shotgun we are discussing

The customer is king, but a TRUE AND HONEST gun repairer will tell you not to bother.

No matter what you do it will always be an Ithaca. Grandad's that's sure, but always and Ithaca.

And the sad fact is that you will spend so very much more that it is ever worth. Thousands in some cases.

It cost just as much to make new barrels from scratch for your Ithaca as it does a Purdey. And sadly your Ithaca is no Purdey. But that work per hour won't be ANY less expensive.

My adavice would be to spend just a few dollars on a deep and glazed box typr frame and hang it on the wall in your "den" or "study" or office.

Any honest and true gunsmith who takes money to repair (unless you are lucky enough to find one with a set of replacement barrels CHEAP) is a scoundrel.

What Enfield said. You'll easily spend few thousand dollars trying to have that barrel replaced.

I have a set of 30" 12ga Flues barrels if you are interested. They are solid and you can have them fit, refinished and serial numbered to the gun for a lot less money.

PM me if you are interested.

Recoil Rob.
Thanks for the offer. I am interested. that would really help make this restoration go much smoother.

pictures of the Ithaca Flues 12g

I agree with you guys it is no Purdy. So some should cover your eyes, because this thing has had a hard life. But, it still have value to me.

You could easily spend $4000 "restoring" that gun and in the end be left with a gun that has little connection to the history you are trying to capture.

IMHO, have it professionally cleaned, stabilize the rust, and hang it on the wall. Then, find another shooter Flues to hang next to it ready to hunt with low pressure shells.

Just my $0.02

Jim

Having been through this exercise, I will disagree with the other posters. We have my wife's grandfathers Remington 1910 that was restored. Yes it cost a lot more than the gun is "worth" to restore it. However, it is worth it to my wife to be able to hunt with the same gun her grandfather hunted with, rather than one like it. If you can get another set of barrels, I would cut the original set back to just behind the damaged area as long as they are longer than 18 inches, fit the new set as well, and have a semi-inletted buttstock fit, finished and checkered. With the above, I would guess you will be at about $2500 if you only do minimal metal refinishing and are looking to get it back to good shooting shape.

To have a barrel set tubed costs around $2500, last time I checked. The only thing that makes any sense on something like this is to have an old set of barrels fitted. To have one of the wood companies turn a stock, fit and finish, would likely be around $1000. You might find someone local to do the fitting and you could finish it yourself. Someone like Classic guns or Ahlmans would case color the action for around $250. Figure the same amount to have the barrels reblued.

Honest truth is that you will be in for around $4000 to 5000. The gun is probably worth about $400-500 in decent shape. Doubles are way down, and the Flues was never up due to looks and weakness in the design. A lot of them crack, so have it checked first before you commit any money. I recently bought a reconditioned/restored 20 gauge Flues (probably twice the price of a 12) in a local shop for $25 and took it straight to another shop to trade and only made $125 on the deal.

Here is a link to a nice looking 12:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=254788403

to give an idea of values.

If it were mine I would take the route mentioned above. I would have the barrels shortened to around 22", have the trigger repaired, get a local woodworker or craftsman to repair/ reinforce/refinish the stock and call it good after having it cleaned up and checked by a gunsmith. You have got to remember that a lot of the "character" of the gun is in the wear it was subjected to by the people who owned it while they used it. Stuck in my gun safe with all my custom rigs is an old Ruger 22 automatic pistol with ugly holes drilled in the top for a scope mount, rust spots and no blueing. I bought it 38 years ago for my father to use on his trapline, and there is no way I would ever touch the finish or modify it.

I bet Gramps wouldn't mind a bit if you chopped the barrels, fixed the broken sear and called it good. I'm guessin that's what he would have done. I know my grandfathers both would have told me, "Don't waste your money, kid."

I think what I may do is if I can get some used barrels I may do all the work my self. It will be a personal project.

Get a parts gun or two.
Refurbish your GF gun with the extra parts.
Keep track of the original parts if you ever want it returned to all original.
You could shoot it with the blown out barrel if it were tubed to 20 or 28 gauge. Those tubes are removable.

Kolar Tubes

Briley Tubes

Paxton sells Kolar Tubes

thats an awesome idea. I like the idea that If I restore this shotgun with some replacement parts that I could shoot modern shot shells in a sleeved tube like a 20g or something.

Very cool thanks SR4759