WESTERN ARMS MODEL LONG RANGE DOUBLE GUNS
MODELS, SERIAL NUMBERS AND MANUFACTURING DATES FOR ITHACA DOUBLE GUNS MANUFACTURED FROM 1883 TO 1948 © All rights reserved, copyrighted, no material within this document may be copied or distributed in any way without the express written permission of the author, Walter Claude Snyder. Reprinted with express written permission from Walter Claude Snyder’s books “ The Ithaca Gun Company From The Beginning” and “ Ithaca Featherlight Repeaters: The Best Gun Going: A Complete History of the Ithaca Model 37 and the Model 87”. Such term shall not include a pistol or revolver having a rifled bore, or rifled bores, or weapons designed, made, or intended to be fired from the shoulder and not capable of firing fixed ammunition.MODELS, SERIAL NUMBERS AND MANUFACTURING DATES FOR ITHACA GUNS
^ "Any Other Weapon," as defined in 26 U.S.C., § 5845(e), means any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell, weapons with combination shotgun and rifle barrels 12 inches or more, less than 18 inches in length, from which only a single discharge can be made from either barrel without manual reloading, and shall include any such weapon which may be readily restored to fire.Iola, WI: Krause Publications, pages 605-607. ^ 2004 Standard Catalog of Firearms: The Collector's Price & Reference Guide, by Ned Schwing.^ "The Ithaca Auto and Burglar Gun," in The World's Fighting Shotguns, by Thomas F.The "auto" in its name referred to "automobile" it was intended as a self-defense weapon which could easily be carried in an automobile, but it was taken up by bank guards, police departments, watchmen and messengers. The penalties for illegal possession include up to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison. Auto & Burglar Guns that are not currently registered are contraband, and cannot be legally possessed or registered. While it is sometimes incorrectly identified as a " sawed-off shotgun," the Ithaca Auto & Burglar Gun is a smooth bore pistol which since 1934 has been classified as an "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) under the NFA, and it must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The earliest known Ithaca Auto & Burglar Gun was manufactured about 1921, possibly as a prototype it bears serial number 354442 is in 28 gauge with 12" barrels "Auto & Burglar Gun" is hand-engraved on each side and the gun is listed separately in the Firearms Curios or Relics List published by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 410 bore, 28 gauge, and 16 gauge, only 11 of which have been reliably documented, and all these guns are extremely rare. Approximately 20 Auto & Burglar Guns were specially manufactured, representing.
Relatively few Auto & Burglar Guns were manufactured, and they are today highly prized as collector's items.
Ithaca stopped manufacturing the Auto & Burglar Gun when it became subject to registration and a $200 transfer tax under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 (the transfer tax was reduced to $5 in 1960).
Model A and Model B are not formal factory designations. Sometimes referred to as "Model B," about 1,500 were manufactured. Ithaca redesigned the gun in 1925 using its New Improved Double (NID) model shotgun, which fires 2¾" shells the barrels were lengthened to about 12.2" and the grip was redesigned without the spur. The Flues model was designed with a "saw handle" style grip featuring a large spur at the top to absorb recoil. These guns should only be fired with 2½" shells firing longer shells will "bulge" the barrels. Sometimes referred to as "Model A", its barrels were about 10" in length.
Approximately 2,500 of the original variation were manufactured from 1921 to 1925 using Ithaca's standard 20 gauge Flues model shotgun, and designed to fire 2½" shells. The Auto & Burglar Gun was manufactured in two variations.