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

Bert

I am NOT saying that the markings on the RIA Model 37 are genuine, but I do take exception with Zeb’s AI advisor…

Lou,

I am in agreement with you, and can understand you're take. I can't tell you how many times, as I've stated in the past, that I've corrected Chat GPT, with documented facts, and they agreed, verifying my information, and then correcting it, when another family member asked the same question as I did a few days later as a bonafide test on my part. These AI sources are only as good as what's fed into them from the beginning, and from past written articles of information, which we have proven here on more than one occasion, that new information based on facts and re search, can change some thoughts of information. IMHO!

Tony

"While you, yourself, Watson, are not luminous, you are a conductor of light."

[ n,.b. The quote is approximate because the text is not in front of me as I write.]

This is a clip from the WINCHESTER (not Ithaca) 1942 Quotations and Orders ledger.  It shows a quotation made to the U.S. Department of War on 5-12-42 for (2090) Model 37 shotguns (G3701S, G3702S and G3703S) as well as (1700) Model 24 shotguns.  The red pencil below indicates that the ORDER was received on 7-8-42.  IF Winchester filled the order (which presumably they would want to do, since they issued the quote), then there were a couple thousand M37s sold to Department of War in 1942.

This isn't the only quotation/order for M37s (or M24s) in the 1942-1944 ledgers, but it is the largest... Would they be ordnance marked?  I dunno... But they didn't "come off retail or distributor shelves"...  They came from the Winchester's factory and were sold to the Department of War...

FWIW... There is some really good information in these ledgers for the WWII shotgun collector, as they record all of the quotations issued for M12 and M97 shotguns (actually all firearms) to Government agencies.  Scans of the complete ledgers (including all the ammunition, flashlight batteries, lubricants, etc. sold) can be downloaded from the McCracken Library archives.

Best,

Lou

P.S.  My Birthday is June 15th, so that makes ME a "Gemini"...