Below are a couple of take down instructions for the Ithaca 49. One has and one doesnt have pictures.

Tom 2Typewritten TextParts can be found at Numrich at: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ for all types of guns. For the Ithaca rifle go here: http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/IthacaSKB-33316.htm

Ithaca 49 Disassembly

IF YOU COPY AND SEND THESE DIRECTIONS TO PEOPLE THEN PLEASE GIVE ME CREDIT FOR WRITING THEM. CORRECT MY SPELLING IF YOU FEEL THE NEED. -rustymaggot-

Make sure you remove the pins in the correct direction: Drive from the side without the 3 little chisel like marks or you will enlarge the holes more than needed.

1 - First remove the pin securing the lever

2 - Remove lever and make sure you dont lose parts. There is one rounded spring loaded pin pointed toward the trigger, and one spring loaded pin up in the hole in the falling block. Rattle the bolt/block thingie until the spring and small retaining pin fall out.

3 - The bolt pivot pin should come out now. If it doesnt, then the pin up in the little hole didnt fall out yet. mess with it until it falls out and the pivot pin just glides out.

4 - You can now remove the bolt/block thingie. DONT LOSE PARTS, THEY FLY OUT OF THE BOLT.

5 - Now unscrew the hex screw under the receiver. That releases tension on the extractor trip. Once tension is released you can drive out the really small long retaining pin at the farthest most part of the receiver.

6 - Remove the extractor trip lever.

7 - Now the extractor retaining pin, which also is the barrel retaining pin can be removed. Dont lose parts, the extractor can fly out when you remove the pin.

8 - To remove barrel, remove front sight via screw under it. the fake tube is attached to the wood.

9 - Remove barrel band and the wood slides right away.

10 - Barrel removes with lots of work. Dont eff with it unless you have a reason to remove the barrel, its a lot of work for nothing.

11 - Trigger and hammer remove by driving out the pins. Hammer spring is located in the stock bolt area. Remove buttpad and remove stock, unscrew metal thingie to release hammer spring tension. Do that before removing hammer.

Reassemble in reverse order.

TIPS

Loose sight/Barrel band/Fore end: Shim the wood foregrip with paper, and use jb weld to fill in the wood at the irregular shaped D looking peg at the front of the reciever. The paper goes between wood and barrel to snug up the barrel band and the jbweld snugs up the peg so it cant wobble as much. the front sight barrel band is set better by making a divet in the barrel for the set screw to sit in. You will get a firmer forend and pretty near rock solid sightpost that wont deviate. File a small notch for the set screw to sit in.. also, if you are careful and cut the divet slightly rearward for the sight set screw you can make the band want to walk backwards so if it does slip it can only slip rearward and make the D peg area tighter and more secure. that way if it gets a tiny bit loose you tighten the set screw at the front sight and it wedges everything in tightly.

I admit I am slightly obsessive and one gun I love, even though I am a 63 year kid, is the Ithaca 49 .22 Saddlegun which was sold from late 1961 to about 1979.

To add a bit of information about this firearm I can confirm from ads in two different guns related mazazines that the Ithaca 49 first came out in late 1961 and the MSRP was $19.95. It was originally made with walnut stock and forearm but at some point the walnut furniture was dropped in favor of some very blonde wood. I was told by a gunsmith, via email, in Ithaca New York that he was a gunsmith for Ithaca for 28 years and that the blonde wood was elm wood as he remembers from what was marked on the boxes of wood coming in to the plant.

Tthe 49 was completely made in the USA but the Ithaca Model 72 Lever repeater was made by Erma Werke with the wood put on in USA.

I have seen a lot of mistakes made regarding the information about the receiver/frame of the Ithaca 49. Someone on the internet referred to it as a zinc alloy. Anyway, the frame is anodized aluminum. That is why it has a look and texture different from the blued steel barrel.

Stevens made, or at least sold, an identical gun as the Stevens Model 89 for a few years after Ithaca discontinued their model. I wonder if perhaps there was some sort of agreement between the two companies in which Stevens perhaps put their name on a gun that they paid Ithaca to manufacture.

Ithaca came out a few years after the 49 started being sold with a Model 49R which was a lever repeater. This was only made about three years. I read in a circa 1971 magazine a report on the 49R by a gun editor tested it. He remarked that it was not a bad gun except that the tubular magazine was made of PLASTIC and each time the loading rod was pushed down some plastic was shaved from the tube. I also saw an entry somewhere on the internet that the 49R was a piece of junk. This opinion seems to have some credibility because Ithaca stopped selling the 49R and promptly replaced it with the Ithaca 72 which, as stated above, was made in Germany with wood put on in USA.

There were apparently two variants of the 49, not including the different types of wood used. The variants seem to be that one type has the phony tube magazine extending virtually to the end of the barrel so that that the forward barrel band is a one-piece unit which also includes the front sight. Then a second variant, which I have not seen, but have seen pictures are a 49 with a barrel that extends beyond the end of the phony magazine about 2-3 inches and may have a dove-tail of some type in the front of the barrel for a sight.

I am also interested in compiling serial numbers on the 49 so I can try to ascertain dates of manufacture of various ones. Thank you again. I am Moe Wadle email me at moewadle@yahoo. com -

Ithaca Model 49 .22 caliber The M 49 was sold as a tube magazine fed repeater (M-49R) or a single shot(M-49) with a false tube magazine.

Features: Hardwood stock with pressed checkering and hard plastic butt plate. Aluminum Alloy receiver. Dove tail notch rear sight, stepped wedge adjustable for elevation. Chambered for .22 short, long, and long rifle. Length of pull 13 7/8. Barrel length 18. Over all length 35.

Here are some corrections to the information above. These corrections are by the author of this of this entire publication. First the Ithaca M-49R (.22 Lever Action Repeater) was built 1968 to 1972 four years. The receiver is an Aluminum steel alloy for a magnet will stick to it but is quick week. The 49R was discontinued because of a defect that some had. This was told to me by a former gunsmith from Ithaca. The rifle is a very nice gun. It is well built with a dependable action. The defect happened to the last batches and was repaired by Ithaca. Then Ithaca changed to the model 72 and discontinued the 49R. These rifles have become a rare find. The tubular magazine is not plastic. Where the cartridge meets the action inside the receiver there is a sleeve that is plastic but no way is any of it is shaved off when loaded. The 49R was built in the USA and has a walnut stock and sold for $60 in 1969.

CARE and CLEANING of the Ithaca M-49 & M49R

CARE: Keep the outside and the internal parts covered with a good quality light household or light gun oil. The action can be lubed with gun grease. I like to use a white lithium grease w/Teflon on my Ithaca M-49R. (You can get a 1oz. jar for $5.00 on eBay)

CLEANING: For barrel cleaning open the action first then take a .22 rifle cleaning rod and insert a cleaning patch into the end. Apply an action cleaner or gun scrub to the patch and insert it into the barrel from the muzzle end with the rifle upside down over a paper towel. Run the cleaning patch all the way into the opened action and remove. The patch will come out looking black. Repeat the process until the patch comes out as clean as it went in. Now use a copper remover on the cleaning patch and run it through the barrel a few times. Run a clean patch dry through the barrel a few times. Lastly put a few drops of light oil on a new patch and run it through the barrel. All residues will have come out of the opened action and fall onto the paper towel. Clean the receiver and action with the same cleaners flushing out the receiver. You can use lighter fluid if needed. Operate the action as you spray in the cleaner. Once this is all clean apply a light coat of oil to cover all moving parts and action. On the 49R you can use gun or lithium grease instead of oil if you wish. There is no need to disassemble any of the rifle to clean it. On the Ithaca M-49R the bolt is easily removed by taking out the screw closest to the hammer one on either side of the receiver. This will give you full access to the action for cleaning and lubing. Before storing the gun place a few drops of oil on a cloth rag and wipe down the outside of the rifle.

Take down manual for the Ithaca M-49R - lever action repeater is available from tamason2@sbcglobal.net.