Ithaca

[Mescalero]

Anybody have any idea what a Ithaca 49R ( the repeater version is worth?)
good shape, no rust, wear.

[Pete44ru]

$250-$300.

[Mescalero]

I would not have thought that much.

[Hobie]

The 49R was a predecessor to the current Henry... IIRC it was made by Erma. I don't think I'd assign that much value either except that guns of all types sell for more than I think they should.

[Jeff H]

I saw a 49 (no"R") in a shop maybe a year ago with virtually no finish left and he had $200 on it.

I wanted to buy it but I figured he'd have $75 on it and I would talk him down to $50. I thought $200 was very high myself.

What is actually reasonable today, I don't know, but the one I had from the mid-sixties to the late seventies shot better than several more sophisticated (and more expensive) .22s I have owned since. If the market has caught on, maybe they really are at those prices now, but they have always been under-priced (under-appreciated) over the years because the 49 was specifically designed to compete based on price.

[airedaleman]

Ithaca marketed the Erma design as the Model 72. There was a Model 49R (R for Repeater) which bears an external resemblance to the single shot, but has a reciprocating bolt rather than the single shot's Martini-style dropping block.
There's a schematic of the 49R at Ithaca's website.

[765x53]

I believe the 49R hammer had to be manually cocked for each shot.

[Hobie]

There were, IIRC, TWO (2) 49Rs. The last was the Erma gun which design became the Henry. The 49Rs were BOTH repeaters.

The 49s (not the Rs) have a cult following due to the Peabody type action. It is a nostalgia thing. Remember the ads in all the kids magazines back in the 1960s? Anyway, this drives the price up. They are cheaply made but bring better money than Remington 510s and such. Go figger...

[airedaleman]

Beg to differ, Hobie. There was ONE (1) 49R, a very problematic product. I came across a good series of pictures of one and it appears that it retained the dropping block of the Model 49. I expect 765X53 is correct about the Spencer-like operation of the 49R. Again, the Erma design was marketed as the Model 72.

For some reason or other, I have in my possession a Model 49 that I bought for my oldest boy for Christmas 40 years ago.(Box and paperwork still with i.) They are nice little single shots. With a manually cocked hammer, they are an ideal starter gun for a kid. I hope he remembers to take it home some day.

[Pete44ru]

FWIW, besides the lever-actuated, break-open, single-shot shotguns (12, 16, 20 ga & .410), there were only three (3) Ithaca .22's with an underlever - a single-shot ( M-49) and two (2) repeaters with tube magazines ( first the M-49R, then the Erma/Henry M-72).

Ithaca named all three "Saddlegun".

The Model 49 & 49R have a solid/cast (zinc ?) receiver, sans cover, etc, painted black.

The Model 72 has a steel inner receiver just like the current Henry .22's, covered with a painted alloy ( or plated) receiver cover.

.

[Mescalero]

Pete44ru,
What is the skinney on reliability of the 49r?

[airedaleman]

Pete44ru,
What is the skinney on reliability of the 49r?

Not Pete, but all indications are not good. Buy a Henry.

[Mescalero]

Need to find a collector that wants it, then buy a Henry; then give it away as a Christmas gift.

[Pete44ru]

Pete44ru,
What is the skinney on reliability of the 49r?

Not Pete, but all indications are not good. Buy a Henry.

Amen, + what Mescalero said - they're all the rage for collectors, because they're rare, due to being quickly phased out in favor of the Erma-based M72, on account of reliability/wear probs.

Buy a non-GoldenBoy Henry, a Standard or Frontier - $250/$350, and 5x the gun WITH a lifetime warranty.

I have two Henry's a H001 Standard, and a M001T Octagun Frontier, and can truthfully attest that I like the lighter/handier H001 better (I peeped it). than the heavier but prettier Frontier. YMMV.

.

[Hagler]

Alright, good people, it can be difficult to keep the Ithaca 49/ 49R, and Ithaca/ Erma/ Iver Johnson/ Henry rifles straight.

Here is the Ithaca 49 (single-shot):

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =274178756







Here is the Ithaca 49R (repeater):

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =274059077







Here is the Ithaca 72, which was made by Erma:

http://www.gunauction.com/search/displa ... um=8676671







http://www.gunauction.com/search/displa ... um=9228892





Shawn

[airedaleman]

Hagler, thanks for the pictures, especially of the 49R. It confirms what I originally thought after seeing the schematic at Ithaca's website - that the repeater had a reciprocating bolt and self-cocking hammer. I went off on a tangent when the only pictures I found of the 49R showed it with the action closed.

[bdhold]

When my daughter and I were gun-shopping before Christmas, one of the larger local shops had new tagged Ithaca 72 repeater they wanted $450 for. Part of what sold us on the H001

[Mescalero]

I can see why.

[airedaleman]

Bought myself a basic Henry for my 70th birthday back in '09. First "my own" 22 since my Model 62 Winchester was stolen back in 1975. While it's not the Winchester, it's a heck of a good gun for the money (the wood puts most
other manufacturers' walnut to shame), and I've put about 4,000 rounds through it with exactly two failures to feed! Since I've had it, I've brushed the bolt face, the chamber mouth, and the action accessible through the ejection port once. I like it so much, I'm going to buy a Henry pump gun...

[Pete44ru]

[I'm going to buy a Henry pump gun...]

IMHO, that's contra-indicated.

While I luv the Henry leverguns, the pumpguns have been problematic for Henry - the magnum version so much, that it's been diecontinued.

If ya GOTTA have a pump .22, and can't lay yer paws on a Winchester, I think about a Taurus clone of the Winchester 90/06.

.

[airedaleman]

[I'm going to buy a Henry pump gun...]

IMHO, that's contra-indicated.

While I luv the Henry leverguns, the pumpguns have been problematic for Henry - the magnum version so much, that it's been diecontinued.

If ya GOTTA have a pump .22, and can't lay yer paws on a Winchester, I think about a Taurus clone of the Winchester 90/06.

.

Pete, both Henry pumps are still cataloged (albeit kind of expensive for this retired cop.) Appears that some tweaking has been done to these, and new production is just getting into distribution now... Be a while before I make a move. Some years ago, I did manage to find an early 62A that was only 140 bucks. Was missing the inner magazine tube
which I replaced quite easily. Gun was kind of tired looking and had occasional extraction problems so I sold it to someone who really wanted it. Taurus pumps have been discontinued, and I'm not sure I'd get involved with a Taurus product in any event. Bought a Gaucho (also discontinued) new and was never satisfied with it. Impulse purchases ofttimes result in buyer remorse. Did buy my youngest son a new Rossi pump 22 with octagonal barrel
for his 16th birthday back in '86. It was a little rough around the edges fit/finish-wise, but I think he's had a good time with it.
One of my grandsons will graduate from West Point in May. He got a Henry pump gun - on my recommendation -for Christmas 2001. It did have to go back for feeding problems, but once addressed it's been ticking along without a hitch.

Too long-winded. But I do like Henry 22's...

[Slick]

I’ve handled an Ithaca 49 lever single shot. I thought it was pretty junky and poorly made. This particular gun was priced at ~$80 and didn’t ever move.

I own an Ithaca 72 “Saddlegun” and it is very nicely made in West Germany.