The firearm in query is a gas-operated, autoloading shotgun produced by the Ithaca Gun Firm. Designated the “Mannequin 51,” this explicit design represents an effort to offer a dependable and comparatively soft-recoiling choice for hunters and sport shooters. Key options usually embrace a metal receiver, a rotating bolt locking system, and {a magazine} tube beneath the barrel for ammunition storage.
Its historic significance stems from Ithaca’s established popularity within the firearms business and their try to compete within the burgeoning semi-automatic shotgun market. Advantages of any such firearm embrace its potential to cycle rounds rapidly, permitting for sooner follow-up photographs in comparison with pump-action or break-action shotguns. This may be advantageous in looking situations or aggressive taking pictures occasions. The Mannequin 51 was meant to supply a sturdy and reliable various inside the semi-automatic shotgun class.