As a Gunsmith, customers will bring me firearms of various makes, age and conditions. Some are fixable, some not so much. On this occasion, a young man brought me an old Ithaca Flues double side by side shotgun in 12 gauge.

The young man, in his twenties, was holding this gun reverently with the breach open. At first glance, I’m thinking that there is no way I’m going to be able to fix this gun. It’s ancient and there are relatively no parts available. I had just turned down a restoration for a similar gun a couple weeks before.

He tells me that the shotgun was his late Grandfather’s, who taught him how to hunt. The shotgun was stuck open and could not be closed. The young man asked me if I could fix it. I explained, that it would depend and how much he is willing to put into the gun. He then mentioned that before his Grandfather passed he told him he had left a message for him on the shotgun. With a quick look, there was no obvious markings anywhere to be found.

Now the young man was a little concerned of how much it would cost to get the old shotgun working again. He wasn’t looking to restore the gun, just get it safely working. He wanted to take it turkey hunting one last time. He convinced me to take a quick look and see if it would be possible to repair and give him a quote.

I looked at it and started to figure where this is going to go. I started to remove the barrels and foregrip. It didn’t come apart very easily. Out of habit, I removed the butt plate to gain access to the bolt holding the stock on.  I estimated the age of the gun to be manufactured in the early 1900’s. It had steel barrels, thankfully not Damascus. Stamped on the barrels was “smokeless powder steel”. I think Ithaca stopped making this shotgun before the 1930’s. Back then, some stocks where attached by the receiver tangs rather than through the stock with a bolt.

I removed the screws to the butt plate and there, plain as day, was some writing on the stock. In the cavity of the stock was an old Polaroid picture. I didn’t even look, I removed the picture and handed it directly to the young man.  With amazement, he looked at the picture and got choked up. With a thoughtful smile and a sniffle, he explained to me that it was a picture of his grandfather. He estimated it was taken back in the 1980’s or 90’s, before he was born. I showed him the writing on the inside of the stock. Written, in what looked like ball point pen, was a personal message for the him.

At this point, I was sold. I was so touched by the sentiment, I was going to do what I could to fix this gun. I have heard stories about this kind of stuff over the years, but never experienced it.

After I got the stock off and saw the damage and worn parts, I got down to business. I discussed with the young man that it could get expensive to repair. It would depend on whether I could find parts and how much they would cost. I asked him for a budget to work with. He said $300 was the best he could do. I felt convinced to help him. I agreed and he left me with the shotgun.

I finished taking the shotgun apart. It had double triggers for both barrels and a safety. One of the trigger springs broke on disassembly and both cocking levers were bent and cracked. The hammers and firing pins seemed to be in good shape. Firing pin protrusion was good and the hammer springs were still strong.  The barrel locking mechanism was gunked up with dirt and dried grease. It was out of adjustment too. The misadjustment looked to be the primary reason for the damage.

I went looking for parts. I actually did find the parts readily available. Not cheap, but available. I maxed out the budget just on the cost of the parts. I was doing this labor for free at this point.  I ordered the parts.

Between other jobs, I clean and touched up the bluing on the barrels. There was a little pitting on the barrels, but the bores were bright and shinny. I cleaned the rest of the parts and preserved them. The furniture, for its age, was in sound shape. The stock had a crack and I repaired it.

The new/old parts arrived during the week. I fitted in the replacement parts and double checked that everything was in place and adjusted correctly. I reassembled the shotgun. I took it through a functions check. Everything was working smoothly with snap caps. Now came the test fire.

I grabbed two 2 3/4″ rounds from the ammo shelf and walked out to the range. In my excitement, I remembered how old this gun was. I paused. This gun probably hasn’t been fired in at least 40 some years.  I loaded it.  The breach was tight and solid. I took the 100+ year old double barrel shotgun in my left hand. I’m right handed. I flicked the safety off.  I turned my face away from the shotgun and I stretched my left arm out to pulled the front trigger.

The shotgun discharged. My arm took the recoil. I looked back at the shotgun for any foreseeable damage. None. Taking the same measures previously, I fired the other barrel. It worked. I flicked the breach lever and opened the shotgun. The spent shells were ejected. I inspected the primer hits on the shells and find they were center and at depth. I was giddy. Further inspection showed no stress to the chamber or barrels. I was relieved. I got two more rounds and fired them with my right hand and properly from my shoulder. This shotgun would hunt one more time.

I called the young man and let him know that his Grandfather’s shotgun is ready. Total would come to $300. When he arrived, he was excited. I showed him the shotgun and he was amazed of how well it looked. I offered to let him shoot it and he accepted. I assured him that the shotgun would be good to turkey hunt one last time. I also recommended that it got hung up and retired afterwards. He agreed, thanked me and paid.

I haven’t heard from the young man since. I hope he got his turkey. I hope that his Grandfather is smiling down on him too.

Thanks for reading,

Rod Rice

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