Ithaca Flues Shotgun

So, in comes another old double shotgun with a similar customer request. They want it inspected for use and, in this case, both barrels are going off at the same time with one pull of the trigger. Not good! This time the shotgun is an Ithaca Flues double chambered in 16 gauge. The serial number had a distinct "S" over it, placing this shotgun as a Grade 1 Special and two grades above the field grade. The serial number lists this shotgun as having been produced in 1916.

Since Ithaca reportedly didn’t introduce a 2 3/4" chamber in the 16 gauge until 1934, this shotgun undoubtedly has 2 9/16" chambers, unless it has been re-chambered somewhere along the way over the past 103 years. Right now, about the only good news is that the barrels have not been cut down but the overall condition of the shotgun was not very good.

There was lots of surface rusting present on the barrels inside and out, one fairly It had to be the wrong bit type as these are just wood screws and wouldn’t have been that difficult to remove, provided the right screwdrivers had been utilized. Notice the small, sharp, protruding edges of the receiver corners where they meet the stock? They act like little wood splitters when the gun is fired and eventually will break away the wood on top of the buttstock, as this one did.

According to Ithaca records, this shotgun was produced in 1916. deep dent on the right barrel, and both bores were pitted heavily with rusting still going on inside. Measuring the barrels, I found that they are 28" long with the original steel front sight bead still attached, choked full (left) and modified (right.) The front trigger fires the left barrel and the rear trigger fires the right. I decided to do a little research on the Flues shotguns, mostly for the benefit of my customer but also to include here.

History tells us Ithaca made various models of double shotguns between 1883 and 1948. There were the Baker & NIG models, the Crass & NIG models, the Lewis & NIG models, Minier & NIG models, Flues models, Lefever models, and a few others as well. The earliest models were the Baker & NIG guns, with the Crass & NIG models coming shortly thereafter. The Flues models came from Emil Flues, a gunmaker from that early time period. Based on serial number records found, there were roughly 405,456 made.

Then, Flues serial numbering jumped to nine digits beginning in 1969 and up until 1980. The older model guns became very popular during their time, and most notably, the Flues model became a favorite among shooters and hunters. As popular as these shotguns are, there are some drawbacks to owning them today. First, as previously stated, prior to 1934 the 16 gauge guns were chambered with 2 9/16" chambers.

The 12 gauge guns also had short chambers early on; if you own one of these, it must be checked and that means with a chamber gauge and not alive 2 3/4" shotshell. Why? Because you can chamber a 2 3/4" shotshell in these old

When looking at a matching numbers gun, you will find the serial number (or the last four digits) on the barrels, forend, receiver, under the trigger guard, and on the forend iron. Look for this when documenting a serial numbers-matching shotgun. short-chambered guns. The problem is that the live shell is not 2 3/4" long when unfired, so it will fit.

But if you fire that shotshell, you are taking great risk to injury or worse because upon firing the crimped hull opens up after firing but cannot fully open up due to hitting against the shorter forcing cone (smaller diameter) in the chambers, creating pressures the gun was never designed to handle when produced. In fact, even if you shot a 2 1/2" shotshell with today’s modern smokeless loading data, that pressure alone could open up Notice the barrel lock retaining spring and button (middle of the receiver).

Remove these now before they become lost as they are not attached to the receiver. Also note how the sear springs are toed inward and that the sear legs are also bent inward. The long, curved front edge of the safety slide presses up against the back of the barrel locking bolt. When opening the shotgun with the top lever, the cocking plunger will push the barrel locking lug rearward and move the safety button to the SAFE position each time the gun is opened/cocked. the barrels.

Worse yet, as in the case of this shotgun, the deep pitted bores and rusting has reached "an unknown depth" in the barrel steel, so much so that you could potentially blow the barrels with even the shortest, lowest pressured and made-for-black powder-guns ammunition available today. There seems to be a great fascination about hunting with these guns from yesteryear; a nostalgia thing I guess.

But knowing how these guns were made during that time period tells me that they really are not for hunting or shooting anymore. They are for collecting and admiring and should be pulled from the hunting and shooting gun line-up just to be safe. I often ask my customers, "Is it worth the risk of an eye, or a few fingers, or your life to pull the trigger on Old Betsy"? To me, it is not.

And in the case of this shotgun, not only due to the deep rust pitting and dent in the barrel, but my chamber gauges measured these two chambers at 2 1/4" long! How can that be, you say? It could be the chamber reamer was past its full service life before being pulled, or it could be whomever chambered this shotgun didn’t make sure it was chambered to at least the going length of the day at 2 9/16".

This is actually the first Flues double gun I have ever had in the shop with that short of a chambering and in both barrels, too. If you get one of these in your shop, remember that "mechanical shooting condition" does not mean "take her out and shoot away!" Explain all the issues associated with pulling the trigger on modern shotshells with your customer so they are fully informed. If they decide to shoot it, they are on their own.

You just don’t want them to say, "My gunsmith said it was in great shape and that I can shoot it." With that horse beat to death, let’s get back to the shotgun on the bench. There is nothing wrong with making sure an old shotgun works as it is supposed to. In this case, it was dangerous as both barrels were reportedly discharging with one pull of one trigger. Which trigger? I never got an answer on that.

If the gun isn’t repairable or if the owner wants the gun to work mechanically while ensuring it can’t discharge even with live ammunition loaded, remove the firing pins and store them separately for future use. This will ensure that no one shoots the gun unintentionally and injures themselves or someone

Relieve tension on the top lever spring before unscrewing the set screw retaining it or risk stripping the threads—or worse—breaking it off. This could also happen when reinstalling it, so be careful here. The hammers will be under heavy spring tension when removing them, so be prepared. else. In the case of this shotgun, I found that one of the sear springs was loose and out of alignment and that was causing the doubling.

Once the sear springs were tightened and aligned properly to the sear legs, it worked just fine. And a deep cleaning made it feel smooth as silk again during use. Disassembly To disassemble an Ithaca Flues completely, open the action and look to be sure that there is nothing in the chambers. Once clear, close the action and remove the forend assembly by pulling downward from the front of the forend. It is held in place by spring tension. Once removed, open the action and lift the barrels off of the receiver.

This is typically as far as you will need to go for routine cleaning and lubrication. If replacing the firing pins, disassemble the shotgun further. Since I had this in for repair, I completely disassembled it as it was full of old black powder residue, gunk, and surface rust. To disassemble the forend assembly, remove both wood screws that secure the forend metal to the wood forend. Once those are removed, wiggle and lift the forend metal out of the wood.

Remove the forend latch (flat) spring by removing the forend latch spring screw. Once those are removed, drift the forend latch pin out from right to left to complete the disassembly of the forend unit. To disassemble the barrel assembly further, begin by turning the barrels upside down and remove the large set screw. This screw retains the extractor to the barrels. When removed, withdraw the extractor rearward out from the barrels.

With the barrels still upside down, remove the small set screw to allow removal of the cocking lever and cocking lever coil The firing pin screws are shown, along with the barrel locking bolt straddle block and barrel locking bolt straddle block screw. Once the screw is out, push the barrel locking bolt rearward to remove it from the receiver. spring assembly. The assembly will be under spring tension, so hang on to the cocking lever so it and the coil spring comes out in your hand.

This completes disassembly of the barrels. Moving on to the receiver and buttstock assembly, begin by moving the top lever a little further to the right while using a punch to depress the round barrel lock trip seen inside the bottom of the receiver. This will allow the top lever to be returned to the closed position, or the top lever will now be in line with the tang. Next, use a block of wood to cover the firing pin holes in the receiver and pull the triggers to release the hammers.

The rear trigger fires the left barrel and the front trigger fires the right barrel. On this particular shotgun, the left barrel was full choked and the right barrel was modified. With the hammers now lowered, begin by easing the top lever over to the right just enough to access the wood screw located underneath and unscrew it a couple of turns but not so much that the top lever catches on the screw when released. Turn the receiver over and remove both trigger guard wood screws.

Unscrew the trigger guard from the trigger plate. You may need to pull the front trigger rearward while unscrewing the trigger guard to have proper clearance so the trigger guard doesn’t rub against the front trigger while unscrewing it. Unscrew the smaller-headed machine screw that secures the trigger plate to the receiver tang. Once this screw is out, remove the large-headed screw from the trigger plate ahead of the trigger guard screw hole.

The trigger plate will be under spring pressure from both sear springs and the barrel lock retaining button and coil spring. If the trigger plate doesn’t want to come loose, reinstall the trigger guard and use it to wiggle the trigger plate loose from the receiver. As the trigger plate is pulled away, make sure

The barrel locking bolt straddle block is in position in the receiver. Once aligned properly, the screw will be installed and tightly secured in place. to pull the barrel lock coil spring out and the barrel lock retaining button that it sits in as they can fall out. Set these aside for now. Turn the receiver back upright and move the top lever to the right enough to remove the wood screw under the top lever. This will allow separating the receiver from the buttstock.

With the trigger plate now fully removed, begin disassembly of that unit by first removing both sear springs. Unscrew the two screws that secure the flat sear springs to the trigger plate. I marked these as left and right. Note how the two springs are seated on the trigger plate. When reinstalling them, make sure the springs are placed directly underneath each sear leg. These two sear springs will be "toed in" a little on the trigger plate and that is why.

Next, remove the triggers by first unscrewing the trigger spring stop screws attached to the side of each trigger. Once those screws are removed, drift out the single pin that retains both triggers to the safety slide bridle. With this pin removed, pull the triggers downward and out of the trigger plate. Remove the safety slide by drifting the safety slide pin out right to left, then pull the safety slide out of the safety slide stud.

With the safety slide out of the way, remove the trigger (wire) spring by removing the screw that secures the safety slide bridle to the trigger plate. Once the bridle is removed, the trigger spring drops out. You can increase tension on the trigger spring legs during reassembly if the triggers feel sloppy in the trigger plate. This completes disassembly of the trigger plate unit. Moving on to the receiver, begin by removing the safety assembly.

Remove the safety slide button spring by unscrewing the safety slide button spring screw. Note where the screw secures the spring to the receiver before removing it as the slot in the spring is longer than necessary and the spring needs to be relocated in the same position when reassembled. With the safety slide button spring loose, drift the small safety slide button cross pin out (right to left). This pin secures the safety slide button to the safety slide Under that, the top lever cam.

Once the screw is removed, the top lever can be removed from the top of the receiver. button spring. Once the pin is out, lift the safety slide button out from the top of the receiver tang. The safety slide button spring comes off at the same time. If you didn’t remove the barrel lock retaining coil spring and barrel lock retaining button, do that now. Again, they are loose in the receiver so they just drop out. First we’ll remove the sears. Scribe an "R" for right and "L" for left on each sear leg before removal.

With the receiver upside down (preferably clamped in a padded vise), drift the sear retaining pin out of the receiver from right to left. Each sear will come out as the pin is drifted out. Next, mark both hammers with an "L" for left and "R" for right, and drift the receiver pin out that retains them from right to left. Keep in mind that someone has already been inside of this receiver so the receiver pins may have been installed incorrectly at some point.

Look at the ends of each receiver pin and drift them out accordingly. Typically, the small end of each pin is where you will place the drift punch to remove them. As you drift the pin out, the hammers will be captured by the drift punch. Keep your thumb with pressure over and on each hammer while removing the drift punch so you can capture the hammers and coil springs. Once the hammers are removed, pull the hammer coil spring assemblies out. Each spring will have a hammer spring plunger attached to them.

The hammers have legs on the front that engage with the cocking lever attached to the barrel assembly; you won’t find cocking rods in this shotgun. With the hammers and springs out of the way, access the firing pin retaining screws. Unscrew each, being careful not to damage the heads as they are set screws and easily bent or damaged. Lubricate them liberally if they are not easily unscrewed. Once the retaining screws are removed, the firing pins

drop out of the receiver. You will notice that there are no firing pin return springs. During reassembly of the firing pins, make sure you don’t seat the screws too deep as you can pinch the firing pins to the frame if you do. Just seat the set screws so that they capture the rear of the firing pins and allow for free movement of each pin. With the receiver still upside down, remove the large-headed screw in the middle of the receiver bottom.

This screw secures the barrel locking bolt straddle block to the barrel locking bolt. This screw will be very tight, be careful not to damage the screw head slot. Once this Shown is a hunting dog scene above the "Ithaca Gun Co. Ithaca, N. Y." stamp.

Also, note the front of the hammer legs in the receiver cutout that engage with the cocking lever in the barrels. screw is removed, use along brass punch to drift the barrel locking bolt out of the receiver rearward by tapping on the punch from the front of the receiver where you can see the front of the barrel locking bolt. Once it is pushed rearward and freed up, pull the barrel locking bolt all the way out from the rear of the receiver.

With the barrel locking bolt removed, the barrel locking bolt straddle block will fall out or can be lifted out of the receiver. You will see a stud on one corner of this straddle block, and it connects to a hole in the top lever cam. When you reassemble this straddle block, position it in place with the stud pin inserted into the top lever cam hole, then insert the barrel locking bolt from the rear of the receiver until it is aligned properly.

Install the barrel locking bolt straddle block screw, making sure it is tight. You might want to place a drop of red thread locker on this screw as you don’t want this screw coming loose during use. With the receiver still upside down in the padded vise, use a small screwdriver or punch to compress the top lever cam coil spring inward enough so that you can unscrew the top lever cam coil spring retaining screw from the receiver.

Take spring pressure off this screw when removing it so you don’t strip the threads or bend the screw. With the screw removed, pull the coil spring out of the receiver. Remove the top lever cam screw from inside the middle of the receiver and work the top lever back and forth until you can free the top lever from the top of the receiver. Turn the receiver over and dump out the top lever cam. Make note as to how it was in place before removal. This completes disassembly of the shotgun. Reassemble in reverse.

Reassembly Tips After cleaning and during reassembly, use quality grease to lubricate the moving parts inside. I like Krieghoff brand grease and their spray oil. The grease doesn’t set up and harden over time and the spray oil they sell is very light and penetrating, leaving a thin film of protection on whatever you spray it on. Use a small brush to apply the grease to all moving parts in the action and it will feel much smoother when reassembled.

Plus, it will add a layer of rust protection/prevention to the internals as well. When reinstalling the barrel locking bolt assembly, begin by placing the barrel locking bolt straddle block in place, inserting the corner pin on the block into the top lever cam hole. Then, insert the barrel locking bolt from the inside rear of the receiver.

Once it gets through the receiver hole and the barrel locking bolt straddle block, push it forward until you can see the marks where the screw originally held the barrel locking bolt straddle block to the barrel locking bolt and tighten the screw securely. Use thread locker here as you don’t want this screw to come loose ever. When reinstalling the trigger plate assembly, align the trigger

plate to the receiver before mating it to the buttstock. Make sure the sear springs are directly under each sear leg correctly. Align the safety slide leg that fits into the safety slide button U-shaped opening as this will ensure proper seating of the safety. Once everything aligns properly, separate the trigger plate from the receiver and install the receiver into the buttstock by angling the rear of receiver downward to slip it into the front of the buttstock. Fully seat the receiver into the wood.

Move the top lever over to the right a tad and install the wood screw under the top lever—just don’t tighten it fully yet. Turn the receiver back over, make sure the barrel lock retaining coil spring and barrel lock retaining button are installed in the bottom of the receiver, then seat the trigger plate over the bottom of the receiver. Make sure that the safety slide arm fits into the safety slide button Ushaped opening on the tang again. It might help to move the safety slide button while seating it into place.

Once that is inserted properly, press downward on the trigger plate and install the trigger plate large headed, albeit short, screw. Snug this screw up and then install the rear trigger plate (machine) screw that screws into the top tang of the receiver. Once everything is in proper place, tighten the two trigger plate screws and then turn the receiver back over and tighten the wood screw under the top lever. Install the trigger guard and both wood screws that secure it to the buttstock.

Perform a function test at this point to make sure the action is working properly. Use a block of wood to protect the firing pins if you decide to dry fire it. Once the shotgun is reassembled, always use quality snap caps when dry firing as the firing pins are fragile and can break easily. Furthermore, when storing these old shotguns, it is best to drop the hammers on snap caps, remove the forend wood and barrels to get the snap caps out, and then put the barrels and forend back on the receiver.

This takes the mainspring tension off of the hammer springs during long-term storage. As mentioned previously, this shotgun was repaired and now works as it should. You should never attempt to take one of these apart without the proper tooling—specifically, hollow ground screwdrivers, long pin punches, clamps, and other tools needed to disassemble it properly—as you risk damaging the soft metal screws, breaking fragile parts, etc.

A check online with Numrich (GunPartsCorp.com) revealed they carry many of the parts needed for this particular model shotgun, but not all. And some of those parts are VERY hard to find, if even possible. So keep this in mind before getting out the tool chest and cracking one open. You could end up with a cigar box full of parts in the end. In closing, I looked high and low for a detailed schematic for this model shotgun, without success.

I did, however, use the same parts naming conventions as those listed on the Numrich website, so when referring to each part in this article, you will find it by name and photograph on their website under Ithaca Flues model shotguns. I had to be the bad guy and tell my customer that he should never fire around from this shotgun again, ever.

I couldn’t even tell him that it would be OK to order in some 2 1/2" black powder, low pressure shotshells due to the short chambers in his gun and deep rust pitting in the bores. In this case, I made my point clear and had my customer sign a document stating that the shotgun was unsafe to use, keeping the original with me and giving him a copy. Just a little security for my liability insurance policy. After all, the last document he had (before that) was a receipt for services performed—with my shop name on it!

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