Based on a 1915 patent by firearms designer John Browning for a shotgun initially marketed as the Remington Model 17, it utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements.

Following the First World War, the Ithaca Gun Company sought to produce a pump-action shotgun to compete with the ubiquitous Winchester Model 1912.

With the depression dragging on and another war looming on the horizon, the Ithaca M37 suffered the fate as other sporting arms within that period, ceasing production entirely.

Loading the Ithaca 37 involves inserting shotshells of the proper gauge through the loading/ejection port in the bottom of the receiver and pushing them forward into the magazine until retained by the shell stop.

The NYPD used 2 versions of the Model 37: one with a 13-inch (33 cm) barrel with forend hand-strap for its Emergency Service Unit and one with an 18-inch (46 cm) barrel for its Highway Patrol and solo patrol officers of designated low-crime precincts through a short-lived program spanning from the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Other users include the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and various military, police, and security agencies and prisons around the world.