doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Nice old Meriden double

Tom: Very interesting as that serial number is in the lower range of what we've found for the Sears catalog Meridens (not Meriden Fire Arms Co. high grade guns catalog), but the 'flying turnip' engraving looks like other 52/53s. My 1909 repro catalog shows the 'A.J. Aubrey engraved hammerless A.D.E. with 2 blade damascus' available only in 12g as Model 34 for $18.85. Anyone out there with a repro Sears catalog after 1910 showing Krupps barrels available?

Doc-

Not a catalogue but a recollection of this posting some months ago regarding a Meriden pump shotgun that was made in or after 1912:

"I have a Meriden Arms Co pump shotgun. 12ga hammerless takedown. Top tang safety. Serial number 6xx. 30" plain Bbl, Full choke. Extra BBl assembly #'d 5xx. Rounded pistol grip stock with small side panels. The only markings on the gun are on the top of the barrel is -Fluid Steel Krupp Essen-. On the op-rod is 'Meriden Fire Arms Co. Meriden Conn. USA / Savage Patents Granted, Mar. 5, 1912'. Unfortunetly the stock is missing the butt plate and is cracked and missing a piece of wood at the head. The metal, at least the barrels, have been reblued. It does still shoot nicely though! Anyone have any info on a Meriden Arms Co pump shotgun?? I thought the KRUPP-ESSEN marking was interesting."

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...=true#Post50257

Thanks Doug-interesting that Sears acquired steel brls from Krupp rather than a Belgian maker. Acier Cockerill Liege/ Cockerill Sambre was making Bessemer steel by 1865.

Tom,

We already had that one. However, it was not recorded as Krupp. Now it is.

Thanks,

Pete

Doc-

Indeed and more interesting still that US steel was not used in light of the fact Meriden was so close to US steel manufacturing. I suspect that the Krupp Co. offered the best fluid steel for the money, just as the Belgians offered the best damascus for the money. The outbreak of hostilities in Europe shortly thereafter would have crippled Meriden and put them out of business if in fact Meriden did not go out of business for this reason.


Doug

Doug,

That is a good observation. I bet it applies to more than just Meriden. I know that in Belgium, workers were forced to participate in work gangs during the war. I would think most of Krupp's production was shifted to the war effort.

It is one of those issues that I am surprised no one has written much about.


treblig1958,

Check your PM's. A Christmas present for your uncle.

Pete

Thanks for the Christmas present PeteM you are definitely a gentlemen and a scholar!!!!!
All the best

The trouble lies here in that my Uncle said that my Grandmother told him while describing my Grandfather's shotgun, a Meriden, "Oh, you mean that old black thing in the basement"
Well used, broken, then repaired and then broken again they were worn out, still priceless under layer upon layer of grease and dirt but used and used hard by men just trying to put food on the table.
Then their widows not knowing put them out for Tuesday's garbage pick up.
All the best

Pete, I don't know any details on what Meridan/Aubrey offered, all I ever saw on paper, is in the old Sears catalogs, and they are pretty vague. I thought someone posted info on dates and bbl. mat'l recently?(probably Reasearcher?)