Snapshots

The famous Ithaca Model 37 bottom-ejecting pump shotgun was reborn with the December purchase of the remains of the bankrupt Ithaca Gun Co. by an Ohio-based manufacturer. What's more, the new owners say they want to bring back the New Ithaca Double.

Craig Marshall has converted his family-owned business making plastic molds and related tools and set off on a bold new course to manufacture shotguns in Upper Sandusky after purchasing Ithaca Gun and moving much of the existing plans, stock and equipment from New York. Marshall told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that much of the manufacturing equipment was obsolete and that the new company, Ithaca Guns USA, will build guns using new technologies and equipment.

An assistant said that Marshall is busy overseeing assembly of new Model 37s from old stock and getting the manufacturing line up and running. The president also is reluctant to talk much about the company's plans until the factory is producing guns. However, in an interview posted on the company's Website, Marshall speaks of his hopes to reintroduce the NID. "Initially, we're going to have to focus on the 37 and the [Model] 51s to get everybody back in business," he says. "My real interest is in building some of the New Ithaca Doubles and an updated Knickerbocker. It deserves to be more than a one-gun company."

For now, the firm is selling Model 37s and parts directly to consumers while reestablishing distribution channels. For more information, contact Ithaca Guns USA, 419-294-4113; www.ithacagunsusa.com.


In February Bill Kempffer, owner and manager of Deep River Sporting Clays and Shooting School, in Sanford, North Carolina, and host of the Southern Side by Side Championship & Exhibition, was elected vice-president of the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR). Kempffer opened Deep River-an NASR Four Star-rated range-in 1989, and he has served on NASR's executive committee for five years. He is a National Sporting Clays Association Certified Level III Instructor and a member of the Institute of Clay Shooting Instructors in the UK.


C.C. Filson Co., the Seattle-based premium clothing outfitter, has become the title sponsor of the Great Eastern Lobster Classic, the longest-running sporting clays shoot in the country and a Team USA selection event. This year the tournament, now known as the Filson Great Eastern Lobster Classic, will run from August 11 to 13 at Addieville East Farm, in Mapleville, Rhode Island. The Classic typically draws more than 350 shooters from across the country.

In conjunction with the main event, Addieville East owner and event organizer Geoff Gaebe has developed the Silver Cup Veteran's World Sporting Clays Championship. Last year participation in the Veteran and Super-Veteran categories was up more than 25 percent from 2004.

This fall marks Filson's move into the sporting clays market with a line of clothing focused on target shooters in addition to upland and waterfowl hunters. The company also has partnered with HiDefSpex Performance Optics, which has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the Lobster Classic.

For more information on the Filson Great Eastern Lobster Classic, contact Addieville East Farm, 401-568-3185; www. addieville.com.


In March outgoing Interior Secretary Gail Norton announced the creation of the Sporting Conservation Council. Council membership will include representatives from gamebird and big-game hunting organizations, recreational shooting organizations, wildlife conservation organizations, and the hunting community, and it will have the ear of future heads of the Interior Department. The Council will advise on wildlife conservation endeavors that benefit recreational hunting.

The dozen individuals named to the first Council include representatives of Ducks Unlimited, the Ruffed Grouse Society, the North American Grouse Partnership, Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association.

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