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
