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

I’ll admit it, my first hammer gun isn’t very fancy, but it is in fantastic mechanical condition and it appears to have been very lightly used (tight and on face as new and bores bright). My research on this shotgun is from the 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue. This gun, a “Meriden Special”, appears to be identical to the gun listed in the 1908 Catalogue as the “AJ Aubrey.” I suspect mine may be a later vintage by a few years.

Interestingly, the customer had the choice of three different types of steel barrels from lowest to highest cost: “Crystal Gun Barrel Steel,” “Genuine Improved Liege Full Finished Twist Steel,” or “Genuine Improved Liege Double Blade Damascus Steel”. The hammer gun cost only $12.59 (mine I think is the one with the twist barrels and thus, it cost $1 more), when the hammerless side plate gun cost $13.89. To put this into perspective, in that same catalogue, the LC Smith with Armor Steel was $25 (if you wanted Damascus it was $32.90). So this Meriden Firearms Co., made hammer gun represented a significant value to the budget minded. The customer was given a 60 day free trial and the guns carried a twenty year guarantee.

While there were three choices in barrel steel and many choices in grades, there were only two barrel lengths (30” or 32”) and you could get any gauge and choke you wanted so long as it was 12 gauge and F/F! The barrels were described as "choke bored by the Taper system, so bored that the choking will never shoot out, reinforced at the breech, reinforced matted top rib, reinforced bottom rib, double lugs, four bolt construction." In an illustration of the lock up on the barrels (#6), all of this reinforcement was with a view to make the use of "white, smokeless, or other high explosive powders perfectly safe, to give the very minimum of recoil or kick... ."

Other interesting information to the customer:

"Shooting qualities- As before explained, the shooting qualities of these guns are unequaled for long distance killing, long range shooting, for penetration, pattern or target. Both barrels are full choke bore, so firmly constructed that unlike other guns, there is no recoil or kicking. That which in other guns goes into recoil in the A J Aubrey gun goes to give greater force to the shot."

Imagine...no recoil...all that force is directed out the barrels...I wonder why that never caught on?

Tomorrow my Meriden Special and I are going to shoot some trap (Federal 7/8 oz low pressure)...what's a fellow to do with two full chokes in a damascus barreled gun but shoot trap?

A.J. Aubrey -- Albert James Aubrey (Feb 23, 1862 to Dec. 3, 1947) was born in Meriden, CT., and by the 1880 "U.S. Census was, at age 17, listed as working in the gun factory, likely Parker Bros. (My math says he should have been 18, but the census says 17?!?) On Nov 25, 1891, Albert married Miss Blanche Boomer of Wilkes-Barre, PA. in Fulton, New York. Maybe he was working at Hunter Arms at that time. The 1893 Wilkes-Barre City directory listed Albert as plant superintendent for the Wilkes-Barre Gun Co. When Wilkes-Barre Gun Co. folded the 1895 WB City directory lists Albert as removed to Elmira, NY.

Albert became manager of production for Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 1904. He convinced Sears it would be more profitable to make their own guns then contract out. In 1905 they bought a factory in Meriden, and with Albert J. Aubrey as vice president formed the Meriden Firearms Co.

As I understand it the guns sold by Sears were marked A.J. Aubrey and the guns sold outside the Sears chain were marked Meriden Firearms Co.

July 9, 1907, relates to A.J. Aubrey Patent No. 859477, which applies to improvements to the safety on hammerless guns, and should really have no application to a hammer gun!?! Guess they only had one roll stamp for rib markings?!?

Wow do we miss Russ Ruppel when questions about these guns come up!!!!

Let us know how the trap session goes. Jake

Russ wrote an article about Aubrey/Meridian in a DGJ titled a Very Special Aubrey. I will look up the issue.

Jeff g.

Obviously you haven't been listening to the overbore/long forcing cone boys.
Wild "claims with no facts involved", still sells.

I don't know when I have had so much fun missing! The shotgun was not a natural fit for me, but after one and a half very poor rounds of trap, I eventually started to get the hang of the gun's ergonomics (this particular gun really wanted me to get my eye right down on the rib) and once I started doing that I managed one string of 9 out of 10). I was using the right barrel- then when I went to the left barrel, I wasn't shooting so well...that could have been me, but in any case, my next time out with the shotgun I will be shooting paper.

Not because of the "snake oil salesman" advertising hype, but rather due to this shotgun's 8 1/4 pound heft (coupled with the Federal low pressure 7/8oz loads) I thought this shotgun would have low recoil. It was surprisingly not so.

The only mechanical problems I had were even though I had tightened up both hammers last night, they both shot loose. I put some clear nail polish on the threads and gave them both an extra good snug fit. Hopefully that will cure that.

Doug

Charles Carder had a two-page article on Meriden/Aubrey in The Double Gun Journal, Volume One, Issue 4, pages 42 and 43.

Charles Carder had a two-page article on Meriden/Aubrey in The Double Gun Journal, Volume One, Issue 4, pages 42 and 43.

Jeff and Researcher- Thanks so much for the additional reference materials---I'll have to see if I can find those articles. In the Sears catalogue there is quite a bit of sales pitch type information on the Sears owned factory and Mr. Aubrey but not much of the "behind the scenes" information.

From what I gather, the Meriden Firearms Co had a relatively short life span. I would be curious to know the production numbers and why, notwithstanding the logic behind the company, these domestically produced shotguns by Sears priced to compete with the Belgian imports of the day, ultimately proved nonviable..

One might also assume, given the venue of production that many of the craftsmen were experienced hands and that the company used materials employed provided by the same suppliers to the other American makers. The twist barrel of my Meriden Special bears a striking resemblance to that of the Parkers of the day.

The quality of fit and finish of the Meriden Special compares very favorably to my 1922 Fox Sterlingworth and the wood, if anything, is a bit nicer on the Meriden. The Meriden has a similar balance to my 28" Sterlingworth, but the Meriden is quite a bit heavier (at least by a 1 1/4 pounds). If yesterday’s range session is any indication, I do not shoot the Meriden nearly as well as my Sterlingworth (there is something magical about how well my Sterlingworth suites me).

As for shotgun recoil, it seems reasonable that certain features might reduce recoil, but the claim of "no recoil" is indeed a wild one and I wonder how many of these Sears shotguns were returned under the 60 trial period because the shotgun kicked pretty much like any other gun.

Doug

Hi Doug,

The Article was in vol. 6 issue 3 1995.

I have a couple of hammerguns and the hammers always seem to shoot loose, locktite or nail polish should do the trick.

Jeff