Ithaca Shotgun Designed To Fit And Benefit Women

Shooting Industry, Oct, 2001 by Lisa Parsons-Wraith

Many manufacturers recognize the benefit of aiding women who enjoy shooting, and that women are important contributors to strengthening shooting's future. While manufacturers are often at a loss as to how to attract the support of women shooters, Ithaca Gun has developed a brilliant plan to provide women with a much-needed firearm -- the woman-friendly shotgun.

Ithaca Gun is introducing a series of shotguns designed to better fit women than the usual youth/women's shotguns often found on today's market. And Ithaca has designated a percentage of its shotgun sales as a donation to the NRA Foundation's Women's Program Endowment, which aims to further women's involvement in hunting and shooting.

"As women are becoming a larger part of our shooting sports user group, we, as an industry, have a responsibility to assist their entry, not simply with proper product, but with training and resources needed to be successful as well." said Robin Sharpless, Ithaca's director of marketing and business development. "No organization does this better than the NRA Foundation.

"As a nonprofit 501c 3, the NRA Foundation uses its resources to support existing programs delivered by many organizations, and as such is a very efficient way to see our donations put to use quickly and effectively."

Women's Model 37

Based on Ithaca's ever-popular Model 37, the first NRA Foundation Women's Endowment shotguns are offered in 16 and 20 gauge. Both versions feature a straight, English-style grip instead of the bulkier pistol grip. The stocks are American black walnut with cut checkering on the grip and forend. To assure the best possible fit, Ithaca hired a custom stock designer to create a gun designed to fit a woman in the 5-foot, 5-inch range. If your customer needs a more customized fit, Ithaca also has a custom stockmaker on staff who can meet any shooter's needs.

The NRA Foundation Women's Shotgun has all of the features found on Ithaca's 2001 guns. These include receivers with "knuckle cuts" to reduce sharp corners on the lower front end of the receiver, and lengthened forcing cones. The trigger plates and trigger guards are fully polished, as is the slide-bar assembly. The hammer, extractors, slide and carrier are milled and fitted to each gun by hand. There are also new recoil pads. The shotgun's bottom ejection makes it more weatherproof than conventional pump guns and provides easy handling for left and right-handed shooters alike.

The Women's Endowment model comes with three interchangeable choke tubes: full, modified and improved cylinder, along with a special tool to make changing tubes an easy task. The 16-gauge shotgun weighs 6 pounds, while the 20 gauge weighs a mere 5 pounds, making both guns more comfortable for women to carry during a day in the field.

This shotgun is also eligible for Ithaca's lifetime mechanical repair insurance. For a one-time payment of $50, owners of Ithaca Model 37 shotguns manufactured by Ithaca can insure their shotgun against the cost of future mechanical repairs. The plan covers functional, not cosmetic, repairs to the shotgun's action, barrel, magazine tube and nut. It does not cover normal wear from use or intentional abuse. The plan spans the original owner's lifetime and covers the cost of parts and labor required in order to restore the shotgun to its original factory specifications.