A friend has an old Ithaca that he wants me to help him with. It's a c.1950 model 37, run of the mill vintage pump 12 gauge, with a stock that needs refinishing and thinning blue.
He wants to make a home-defense gun out of it. I personally have mixed feelings about that because I like these old guns the way they are, but whatever.
I understand that barrel length is measured from the bolt face, correct? I told him minimum 18 1/2" barrel, as I want to stay well clear of any possible legal issues.
He also wants to shorten the stock a little. How short is too short on such a gun, for any sort of comfort? I understand this is measured from trigger to end of stock?
I don't have a lathe, so my thought was to cut with a hacksaw, face with a file (draw filing) as square as possible, then drill and tap for the sight bead, assuming I have the right tap size.
It hurts me a little to start hacking on a neat old gun, but it's far from pristine and they are pretty common.