Meriden Fire Arms Co. - revolver

abiggs

abiggs

Joined
Jan 6, 2007
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My grandmother has an old revolver that she is going to give me once I get to City Hall and pick up my permit to aquire. Does anyone know anything about Merden Fire Arms? From what I have found, they existed from about 1895-1915. The revolver itself is only marked with the manufactuer and the serial number. How do I find out what caliber this is? If anyone has any info or opinions, I would appreciate it. Thanks
 
Have a gunsmith look at it. It's not just a question of what caliber will fit in it, it's also a question of whether it's safe to fire, especially with modern ammunition. It might be, that's all I can tell you at this point -- there might be modern ammunition available that is safe to fire in that gun.
 
Someone may be able to help you at the Smith+Wesson forum or perhaps 1911.org forums.

Usually the caliber is on the firearm somewhere, usually on the barrel. If the item is foreign the caliber may be stated in metric measurements.

Don't alter it or polish it in any way until you discover what you have and its value.

Good luck!

F
 
There is a Meriden in the Midlands UK. It is the geographical dead centre of Britain. Not that far from Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) and Webley.
 
If she has shells for it, read the box. If there is no box, read the stamping on the base of the shell.

It is probably an obsolete .32 Long cartridge -- possibly .32 S&W Long (SNL) which is available from Federal. .32 Colt -- which is slightly narrower -- can be obtained from "Old Western Scrounger."

Have someone who knows what they're doing ascertain the proper caliber and check the timing before attempting to fire it -- which should probably be done by duct taping the handle to a fencepost and tying a length of fishing line to the trigger. If you wish to store it loaded, keep the hammer down on an empty chamber, as these guns have no firing pin (it uses a spike on the hammer) and may discharge if dropped.

.32 Long has less stopping power than a .32 ACP or a .22 WMR -- it is a very poor choice for CCW -- if you shoot someone with it they may become rather cross with you. I have seen bullets in this caliber bounce off boards, fenceposts, and trees. They will not penetrate a leather jacket. If you put it to your temple and pull the trigger, you've got a 50/50 chance of turning yourself into a vegetable. Gramma's gun is garbage . . . sorry.

Meridian .32 revolver in excellent condition may be worth about $75 -- see if you can trade it in for credit towards a NAA Black Widow in .22 WMR or a KelTec in .380.
 
I agree with Tyr and Cougar. It was a fairly cheap revolver (cheaper than the H&R's of the day and that says something) made in Meriden CT. I have seen them. Never saw one that I would fire, at least not in my hand. It was what we called a tire gun. You tied it to a tire and pulled the trigger with a string while hiding behind a tree. :eek: It is either (probably) 32 long or possibly .32 short. There were lots of 32's in that era. 32 long and short colt, 32 S&W. 32 New police and 32 Colt police positive and these are just the 32 revolver rounds. Lots of the guns I remember seeing didn't even lock properly and had timing issues. Some were blued, many were chromed (cheaply) and the chrome would usually be flaking off. They did make several type. Pictures might also help jog my memory. I assume this had the cylinder that swung out like S&W. I think they made a few models that also had a break top like lots of the H&Rs. Even if it worked It is certainly useless as a defense gun or hunting gun, unless you are shooting mice and rats. You probably don't actualy want to use it on rats. They can be pretty mean when wounded. ;) :p

I just read all of what Tyr said. He has already said most of what I have said. I'm a day late and a dollar short as usual.

KR
 
Thanks fellas. I am going to take it to my local gun shop and have them take a peek at it for me. The revolver is weird. It is a break-action, but it does not have a hammer. ??? I'm clueless. It also says nothing about calibur. It only states that it was made by Meriden in CT, and a serial number that I can barely read because most of it is worn down. I'm just hoping that it may be worth a few bucks that I can use towards something I can actually use. I don't plan on using anything for CCW, it would mainly be for home defense and target shooting for fun. Thanks again.
 
Meriden Firearms was a company owned by Sears and Roebuck and operated from 1895-1915. They started the outfit because Winchester refused to sell them anymore firearms because Sears offered them at discount prices. They made good shot guns but their hand guns were low grade saturday night specials. Old guns are like old knives, there are lots of them around. They have to in near perfect condition or something real special to be worth more than a few dollars. Stinks but thats why they're called curios and relics. Good luck with it!!!
 
http://www.searsarchives.com/products/questions/firearms/meriden_shotgun.htm

Welcome to Meriden, Connecticut

Connecticut's silver city, Meriden is a city rich with heritage and pride. Once a community dominated by manufacturing, Meriden is now thriving with a new era of business and industry. Residents, business leaders and tourists alike benefit from Meriden's ideal location. Situated midway between Hartford and New Haven, Meriden boasts convenient access to major interstates and travel routes throughout New England.

http://www.cityofmeriden.org/messageBoard/?TopicID=392
 
If it's a break open concealed hammer in something like 32 S&W or 38S&W it's probably not worth much at all .Many poorly made break top revolvers were on the market and some were not very safe either !
 
kr1 said:
It was a fairly cheap revolver (cheaper than the H&R's of the day and that says something). . .
Click to expand...

I once owned a Harrington & Richardson top break revolver in .32 S&W Long. It was a beautiful gun with quality nickel plate, checkered walnut grips, auto extractor, and a hair trigger (about 2# D/A). With a 2.5" barrel, it would put 6 rounds through a playing card from 10 feet away -- in about 2 seconds, as it had practically zero recoil. It was rather disconcerting, however, when the rounds would occasionally bounce off the tree. Later I read that the "stopping power" is just a little more than that of a common .22 LR.

Eventually swapped it for an old Sauer .32 ACP. Both were good guns, but the caliber sucks.
 
i would not fire it, even if it is in fuctional condition and is chambered in a round you can still get today moderen rounds are going to be hotter than what they had back then.

if you want a good wheel gun for cheap check in to the model 10 S&W police trade ins. new there 630ish, i picked up one from the 60s that was alittle rough around the edges for 200 bucks. a few hours of work the gun looks and fuctions great.
 
You have to go to City Hall and get some kind of license to even acquire the old revolver?!?!? What kind of totalitarian regime do you live under?!?!?

I think it's very nice that she's going to give you the revolver, but it's surely an antique and a family heirloom. I would be very, very cautious about firing it if you do plan to do that. Have it looked at by a qualified gunsmith first and check to be sure it's safe to fire. Then it might be nice to have a fresh box of ammo for it "just in case."
 
ABIGGS

I see that the .32 Meriden has gotten a very bad review. So big deal, it's not a gun to carry for protection and the thing won't blow up in your hand either. It is probably a .32 Short and there is plenty of ammo available if you chose to try to put a few rounds through it for the fun of it.
Just clean it up and save it as a curio/relic and enjoy a piece of history. Go on Google and search for the Meriden Firearm Co. and get a history of the gun and company. Don't let the Naysayers discourage you.
 
Meriden made inexpensive double action hammer and hammerless top break revolvers in .32 S&W and .38 S&W. While cheap, they were good guns. They were not "poorly made" as implied earlier in the thread. If it were properly stored and maintained, I'd fire it. You can tell its chambering just by looking at the cylinder. If not comfortable with that, calipers will tell you for which cartridge yours is chambered.
 
Last edited:
Jimmon said:
ABIGGS

I see that the .32 Meriden has gotten a very bad review. So big deal, it's not a gun to carry for protection and the thing won't blow up in your hand either. It is probably a .32 Short and there is plenty of ammo available if you chose to try to put a few rounds through it for the fun of it.
Just clean it up and save it as a curio/relic and enjoy a piece of history. Go on Google and search for the Meriden Firearm Co. and get a history of the gun and company. Don't let the Naysayers discourage you.
Click to expand...

By reputation, these were sturdy enough for the intend ammo. But, of course, we know nothing about its condition and, thus, next to nothing about how safe it is to shoot.

And if it fails in his hand, you pay for any injuries?

A gunsmith should examine it before use. Or there's the tire.
 
These are pretty common around here, as others have said they were part of a wave of cheap .32 revolvers that were popular at the time. I've never seen one of the Meriden arms in very good shape, most are at best all gummed up from old oil and spending 100 years sitting in a drawer. I'd clean it up and have some fun plinking with it after getting it checked out. At least around here you might be able to get a shop to trade you a box or two of ammo for it but not much more. I've had good luck with Cabelas paying more than expected for old cheap firearms but crap for newer ones, no idea why and it might just be the CT location.
 
This is an old thread from 2007.
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