Once again, "Different Strokes"! 

Tony

I was recently given a postwar Model 37 16 gauge by a declining friend. I have no immediate need for it but it has been very well cared for and will make a fine teaching tool for somebody some day.

The original plastic buttplate is gone and a deteriorated aftermarket pad had been screwed on. The stock was never cut square and I have the correct buttplate that I need to install and sand to size. 

On the other hand, it would make a better teaching tool if it had a modest soft pad. 

James Hollander said
picked up a model 37 shotgun in 28 gauge  red letter used great shape.
how rare are these  1st one i every came across in wyoming.thanks. the millbilly.
  

I know very little about these sturdy little shotguns and suspect the low value may have an effect on collector interest. The single shot shotgun was the unsung hero of the American frontier but the Model 37 missed that by a few decades. I think the Model 37 may have been used to put a few rabbits and game birds on the table or may have defended garden plots. I think they were competing with "hardware store" shotguns and then as now, the price tag influenced most decisions during this time period. 

Mike

tionesta1 said
James,
I don't know how many model 37's were made in 28 gauge but from what I understand, it's very rare. Maybe Bert, or someone here will have an idea or estimate as to how many 28 gauges were made compared to other gauges.  We'd love to see pictures of it.
Al  
  

Because the Model 37 was never serialized, and there are zero production records for it, there is no way to even estimate how many 28-ga Model 37 shotguns were manufactured.  All that can be stated with any assurity, is that the production was significantly less than the garden variety 12-ga.

Bert

I don't know how many model 37's were made in 28 gauge but from what I understand, it's very rare. Maybe Bert, or someone here will have an idea or estimate as to how many 28 gauges were made compared to other gauges.  We'd love to see pictures of it.

Al  

how rare are these  1st one i every came across in wyoming.thanks. the millbilly.

Combat Shotguns by Canfield states that 5,400 Model 37 shotguns were purchased from Winchester between 1941 and 1942.  A small amount of Model 24's  were also purchased. 

The only reference info he states.  1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 Tables of Government Contracts Winchester Arms Collection Archives.  World War II Files.  Harold McCracken Research Library , Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  Courtesy Herbert Houze. 

I do not know if there is a way to look up the Government sales.  You might try and contact Bruce Canfield.  He somehow obtained the information on the M37 acquisitions and may be able to help.  Last known contact I have for him is below.

collect@brucecanfield.com

Speaking of ordnance records...  Do you know if there is a way (publicly accessible database) to look up these US Government sales from the purchaser's side based on the Contract Number given in the Quotations and Orders ledgers?  For example, DA-W-478-ORD-535-42-2361  714X  1942 in the above excerpt.

Reason I ask is that I'd like to track down military (USMC and SOD) purchases of Model 70s from the Government side.  There are similar contract numbers on those entries, but it there a record of receipt?  The USMC rifles are well documented, both in the ledger and in a follow-up letter from Edwin Pugsly to USMC that confirms the number purchased/shipped (he was trying - unsuccessfully - to solicit further sales so he also tells them what Winchester's warehouse inventory of 30-06 M70s was at the time).  But there was another big order from SOD (a couple thousand M70s) and I've never seen anything about it...  They were "quoted" and an order was placed (there is a Contract Number), but was the order actually filled?

Thanks,

Lou

Tom D said
Lou is correct.  There are ordnance records that show over 5,400 M37s were acquired, many sent to the Springfield Ordnance District.  No one knows if they were martially marked.
  

The odds are very high that they were not ordnance marked... if they had been, at least a few hundred of them would have been found by now.

I also do not believe that the Government would have put serial numbers on them.  Rack or inventory numbers would have been much more likely.

Bert

Bert H. said
Somewhere in the cobwebs occupying space inside of my head, I seem to remember that Winchester Model 37s were purchased by the DOD for use as Line Throwing Guns (US Navy & Coast Guard).  There are no documented cases of use by regular troops (Army).
Bert
  

I don't doubt that Uncle Sugar bought a few Model 37's but I feel pretty sure they would have been serialized as part of the contract or would have some type of inventory number applied. I've read of other Winchester models normally not serialized that were serialized when part of a government contract. I have cobweb issues as well but I'd be more inclined to believe the ordnance markings if it had some type of serial number or something similar. 

Mike