Again? So soon? (Ithica .22 rifle and Steven's 87A)

[Catt57]

So....

Not 1, but 2 rifles follwed me home again. I went to get a Stevens 87A but for another $20 got another rifle to tag along with me.

I won't bore you all with more pics of another Gill-gun, however, I ended up also getting something I never knew existed.

An Ithica .22 rifle. I thought they only ever made shotguns.

I present the Ithica X5 Lightning. My Googlefu says these were made from Dec 1957 to early 1963. The receiver on this thing is built like a tank and has a very different style charging handle that is just a push rod and not attached to the bolt. This one is missing the magazine but I already found a place to order one from.

We did manage to load it as a single shot ( not easy though) and test fire it a bit. This thing is dead on accurate.

And now the pics.

The Ithica and Stevens side by side

Close up of the Ithica

Note the size of the reciever

And the unusual charging handle

The youngest shooting the Ithica

 

[MR.T.]

Can someone say
"LUCKY"

 

[rawhide]

Nice find. Didn't Ithaca also make a single shot lever action in .22?

 

[Catt57]

Nice find. Didn't Ithaca also make a single shot lever action in .22?

I did find this on the interwebs.

Seems it would be the equivalent of about $500 today adjusted for inflation.

“The Ithaca Gun Company of Ithica, N.Y., is best remembered for the double barreled shotguns they once manufactured. If your father or grandfather was a waterfowl or upland bird hunter he might have used one. If he also enjoyed the sport of trap shooting he might have started the game with an Ithaca single-barrel trap gun. … Up until about 1958 Ithaca never bothered with a rifle, but in that year they introduced the Model X5 Lightning, a semi-automoatic 22 rimfire … .Then they introduced the Model 49 single shot 22, and after that the Model 72 lever action repeater. But the Ithaca rifle that interested me most was the LSA-55, a centerfire bolt action.” Frank de Haas, from the Gun Digest/Krause Publications book “Bolt Action Rifles 4th Edition,” by Frank de Haas and Wayne van Zwoll

 

[Timmy59]

$20 dollars well spent,Nice find.. Somewhere between 72-76 I bought an Ithaca single shot 20g for $15 with about 100 shells, I shot all the shells and sold it for $20.. Now I wish I still had it..

 

[MacFromOK]

An Ithica .22 rifle. I thought they only ever made shotguns.

Didn't Ithaca also make a single shot lever action in .22?

They made one in .22 magnum. My Dad bought one for $19.95 (or maybe $19.99?) when I was a kid.

Unfortunately, the half-cock safety isn't safe. You pull the trigger and the hammer snaps down. He took it back to the store, and every one they had did the same thing.

Never tried it with a live round, so I dunno if it would fire or not.

 

[1mathom1]

Nice find. Didn't Ithaca also make a single shot lever action in .22?

Yes, they did. Actually about three different versions.
We have a model 49. Single shot lever. Falling block action. Great little gun for learners.

The model 72 was a lever repeater .22lr made in Germany by Erma for Ithaca. Have handled a couple but never owned. I've read where it was designed by the older Imperato who also designed the current Henry and that they are VERY similar.

They did make (or more likely imported) a lever .22 mag but I do not recall the model number.

 

[Catt57]

So, $30 for a Marlin 10 rd magazine (appears this uses the same mag as the Marlin 89c) and $5 for set of new recoil springs.

I have learned a few things about this rifle from researching it, fixing it, and shooting it.

1. It was designed by Marlin for Ithaca. Hence the compatibility with the Marlin magazine.
2. It is a royal PITA to take apart. This explains why when I did get it broke down to clean, it was full of decades worth of gunk, oil, and residue.
3. It not only has a receiver built like a tank, but a super massive bolt and 2 recoil springs. See pics below.
4. Recoil. What recoil? This thing is so heavy and beefy that being a .22, there is no recoil. None, nada, zip, zero.
5. It runs like a champ. It will do a mag dump without a hiccup. I tried to make it jam and it never did.

So now the question:
Do I leave it the way it is? Or do I refinish the stock and clean it up a bit?

 

[okierider]

Steam that barrel to stop the decay and clean the wood and reseal it!! Very cool looking 22 and the rough adds to the looks, just my opinion!! Either way you go it will be excellent ............ I have seen your work!

 

[aarondhgraham]

An Ithica .22 rifle. I thought they only ever made shotguns.

I used to own a WW-II era 1911 that was made by Ithaca,,,
I was hoping it was ultra-valuable but it wasn't.

Aarond

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