doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Meriden Firearms

I came across a double hammergun today made by Meriden Firearms. It looked pretty nice, fluid steel barrels, 2-3/4 chambers, no rust, mechanically sound, but I've never heard of this company... anyone have any experience with one of these.

An excellent article on the in DGJ of about ?18 months ago. Anyway Meriden was a wholly owned subsidary of Sears and Roebuck to supply them with sxs's when the big boys acused them of "unfair pricing". Made some very nice guns but most were "trade" guns. Alledgly some of the Parker employees moonlighted working there. WWI did them in.

Bill:
I have heard that Meridan felt itself a proper competitor to Parker. Seem to remember that there was some sort of law suit by Parker against them.
I would be surprised to find that Parker employees moonlighted at Meriden.
True that most were low end trade guns but there were some that were of better quality. I think that Researcher has a great canned piece on the company/guns.
Most think that they were a step above Crescent but below most other side locks.
Whatever: They could be very good shooters, if sound. The price is usually in the low/middle hundreds for a 12 gauge.
Best,
John

Interesting thread from another Forum
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-45292.html

This from G&A
The Meriden Firearms Company was formed when Sears Roebuck purchased the Andrew Fryberg & Sons firearms manufacturing plant in 1903 and moved the plant and machinery to Meriden, Connecticut, circa 1904. The company started manufacturing firearms circa early 1905. Around 1906 Sears acquired a Savage-held patent for the Model 15 slide-action .22 rifle that was not introduced until 1913. During 1918 Sears announced that the Meriden Firearms Company would discontinue the manufacture of sporting firearms.

In the early 1900's, Winchester stopped selling firearms to Sears and Roebuck's discount mail order house because they considered Sears discounting of prices to be demoralizing all firearms prices and causing general discontent in the trade. Most firearm manufacturing companies at the time agreed with Winchester, but only Winchester took any type of action. In November of 1904, Winchester announced that it would no longer sell to the Sears and Roebuck Company and they cancelled all unfilled orders. The Meriden Fire Arms Company was started by Sears and Roebuck's because of the Winchester's refusal to sell firearms to them.

From http://oldguns.net/q&a9_01.htm
The Meriden Model 10 was first listed in the Sears and Roebuck Spring 1910 catalog priced at $2.19. The Model 10 was made on a rolling block action with a color case hardened frame of malleable iron, a 22" barrel, and a walnut forearm and butt stock. The Meriden Model 10 was discontinued in 1917.

And from the Sears Archives
http://www.searsarchives.com/products/questions/firearms/meriden_shotgun.htm

CParker-

I own and shoot a Meriden hammer gun and I really like it. Mine has twist barrels. It is a bit heavy at 8 1/4 pounds. It functions flawlessly, is in perfect regulation and throws very nice (but tight) patterns.

There is very little (read no) similarity between the Meriden side lock and the Parker box locks made in the same town of Meriden Conn., although the Belgian made twist barrels do look very similar to those found on Parkers. As stated previously, Meriden manufactured a number of firearms. I own a Meriden nickel-plated top break pocket revolver (much like the H&R of the day) and while it is serviceable, the quality of manufacture is nowhere near that of the Meriden shotgun. Sears stated objective in starting the Meriden Firearms Company was deliver more value to the customer by removing the middle man (in this case the manufacturer/importer) by owning its own factory.

The quality of materials and manufacture of my specimen are very good and the design excellent (I would say the wood, fit, checkering and finish are very comparable to that of my 1920s Fox Sterlingworth). The action has three locking surfaces two large lugs underneath and a smaller lug on top. I have heard it suggested by some that Meriden shotguns are prone to shooting loose, but I doubt this is any more true in the case of the Meriden than in the case of any other shotgun of that era designed to shoot lower pressure black powder and smokeless loads of the day. Finding mint examples of a Meriden shotgun can be a real challenge because these guns were priced to sell to the masses and they saw lots of hard use by several generations of shooters.

In 1908 the fluid steel barrel Meriden hammer gun (marketed as the AJ Aubrey at that time) sold for $12.59, $1.00 more for twist barrels. A hammerless LC Smith with fluid steel barrels, sold by Sears that same year was priced at $25.00 compared to the $13.85 for hammerless Meriden made gun. To further sweeten the bargain, the Meriden made shotgun came with a 60-day free trial and a 20-year guarantee.

Doug

Going off what the esteemed Mr. Mann had to say, most of the Meridens I have seen do seem to be lower grade guns, although I have seen a few that were nicer guns. One in particular comes to mind. I'll see if I can't find a picture or two of it.

Thanks everyone this is a great forum. I think I'll go back and buy that gun. It is very plain and a bit short for me (LOP) but it is very tight and I've never owned a breach-loading hammer gun. If I get it I will post pic.s here tomorrow.

How long did the "Winchester Boycot" of Sears last. The 1908 catalog lists their model 97 pump shotgun as well as severl models of rifles from the lowly little 1902 .22rf single, on up.

Can you imagine Wall Mart offering a 20 day guarantee?

CParker-

Below are some photos of my Meriden. Since you are considering purchasing a Meriden, here are a few pointers. One nice thing about the Meriden shotgun is that the company stamped the barrel type (T for Twist as is the case with my shotgun) and barrel length (30 for 30" as is the case with my shotgun) above the serial number on the water table. You don't have to break the shotgun apart to see it, simply open up the action and look on the left side (where the chamber flat meets the receiver flat (i.e., "water table")). So check that number and measure the barrels to make sure they have not been cut back if that is important to you.

You can check the condition of the locks easily by removing a single screw on the left side lock. While tightly fit into the metal of the receiver and wood of the stock, I found they came off easily with a bit of care and wiggle, and went back in easier than they came off. If the seller permits, it might be a good idea to take a look at them to make sure everything is clean and in order.

The other suggestions I would make, you probably already know. Action tightness is best checked with the fore-end off the shotgun and you can use a bit of cellophane from a cigarette package. Placing the cellophane between the barrels and breach face, close the action. If you can't pull it out without tearing it, you have a tight action. My Meriden passes the test with no signs of loosening after over 600 rounds.

If you do buy the shotgun, you should use low-pressure loads. I have had great luck with the Federal 5,000psi load available exclusively from Midway.

By the way, I found the length of pull was a bit short for me as well and I did not care for the pitch, so I added a pitch spacer (Brownells) and recoil pad to my shotgun. On a two trigger shotgun, most folks will recommend a bit more length of pull so that your thumb isn't hitting your nose when you are pulling the back trigger. I managed to get a pretty good fit for me. Last time out on trap I shot a 21/25, which is about the best I can do with any shotgun.

Good luck, do let us know how it goes-

Doug