Is the modern Merwin & Hulbert still operating?

The Tourist · February 25, 2010, 02:04 AM

One "old timey" handgun I'd love to have is a nickel-plated, short barreled 44-40 M&H. I heard rumors that a modern company was turning out revolvers.

I see their website is still up, and it is marked 2010. It did seem like the forum only had dates of 2006.

Are they running? Or have they closed? Is there a dealer still selling their revolvers?

hickstick_10 · February 25, 2010, 02:26 AM

funny you should ask, I sent an email to the fellas, and I'm sure the wouldnt mind me posting it to clear some stuff up.

here it is there reply:

Ahhh the forums, a mix of quite reasonable questions and odd skepticisms/dismissals.

Yours are quite reasonable by the way. 1. Everything but the elephant ivory for those custom grips is U.S. made. That's extremely important to us but also why these aren't $400 retail revolvers. 2. We're making most of the parts in Montana, doing final assembly at our rifle factory in Glenrock, Wyoming, and getting some steps/parts back East like nickel-plating and barrel rifling. We've picked shops for excellence rather than price. 3. Pretty exact. We found so much variation inside and outside our original 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th model Frontiers, the Pocket Armies, and the later small and medium frame Merwins that exact isn't the right word. We laser-scanned originals and hand-measured each component but also looked at the later generations of Merwins to see what was the best solution they came up with and standardized on those. We also strengthened the main spring, some screws, springs, and added a full half-cock notch onto the hammers-some had it, some didn't, but haven't added a transfer safety bar. So the external dimensions are identical, everything else is identical or very close, and the functionality/durability is better but still relying on Merwins' many designers, engineers, and original customers' decisions rather than our brilliance (although we're certainly applying hindsight to the metallurgy, heat treating, force analysis, rifling, etc. as we expect effective and reliable functionality...just making a purty wallhanger would be far easier. A lot of folks wonder why we don't have finished models on the website. If we did, we wouldn't be gearing up for production, and starting marketing after one has finished inventory piling up in the warehouse with cash melting away is how gun companies reliably go bankrupt (i.e. Colt, Winchester, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Sharps, Spencer, Marlin, Savage, Dakota, etc. and repeatedly over their histories.) The point of the deposits was to get clear, real specifics for planning parts runs from actual customers rather than basing it on folks who were interested but lacked the will or money to ever buy (one of the great traps in market research about "intent to buy" since actual behavior varies at least 30% from that.) I'm extremely glad we did that and also accumulated orders over 2 years before starting on production as our guesses that the open-top frontier army would be the dominant seller were quite wrong. We're also focused on selling from our own website since at this price, few dealers can or will stock them so giving up what can otherwise be used for several hours of polishing labor seemed like a poor bargain. This is a new division of our company, we make long guns and ammunition, something many skeptics assume this is our sole product and hence unsustainable (it would be as the single focus of a start-up as this will be a low-volume, high cost product for years to come and never reach mass-market price points in that magic $350-650 retail price point.) Long answers, hope they help. We're all in our 40's-60's throughout the supply chain and management team/owners so we'd rather do it right than fast and

and my email i sent them

I was refered to your website from a web forum and was hoping you could> answer a couple questions of mine.> > Are you firearms being made in the united states?> What state is your factory located in?> Are these pistols exact reproductions? Or are they re-engineered?> > I admire the shape, fit and finish of the merwin and hulberts, and would> consider purchasing one, but to lay down 20 percent cost on a firearm from a> company that I know so little about, and does not show any finished modles> on the website caused me to ask these questions.> > thank you for your time> > Respecfully> > Mike

The Tourist · February 25, 2010, 03:14 AM

Thanks for the quick response. I've had my heart broken before.

For example, I owned one of the first Bren Tens. They escalated in price so fast I was afraid to shoot mine. That pistol and all of my spare parts and magazines went to a well-heeled collector.

Numerous times I heard that the tooling from Dornaus & Dixon was being sold and new pistols were forthcoming. Yada, yada.

I wanted a Semmerling, and I heard that American Derringer was taking orders. There was a very stiff price, a large down payment, and production would not begin until funds were secured. Yada, yada.

Now the M&H. I don't know what to think, actually. I really like all of these firearms, and so do a lot of people. Production just doesn't seem to ever get any traction.

The Tourist · February 25, 2010, 12:12 PM

Sorry to belabor the point, but does anyone know of a contact person or telephone number I can call to get some up-to-the-date information?

hickstick_10 · February 25, 2010, 08:06 PM

drop them an email and ask for a number to speak to someone.

If you get the chance, ask for some photos of finished pistols (it sounds like there in the PROCESS of making guns, but I cant be sure), I wish em the best of luck and look forward to seeing some examples of there work, because contemporary revolvers today lack ALOT of class.

There pretty good about responding quickly.

doncameron · February 25, 2010, 08:51 PM

www.merwinhulbertco.com or contact al at
[email protected]

The Tourist · February 25, 2010, 09:30 PM

Thanks, guys. If I have have any "chrome money" left after a few weeks, I just might buy myself a smoke-pole.

February 25, 2010, 02:04 AM	#1
The Tourist Junior member Join Date: June 20, 2005 Posts: 2,348	Is the modern Merwin & Hulbert still operating? One "old timey" handgun I'd love to have is a nickel-plated, short barreled 44-40 M&H. I heard rumors that a modern company was turning out revolvers. I see their website is still up, and it is marked 2010. It did seem like the forum only had dates of 2006. Are they running? Or have they closed? Is there a dealer still selling their revolvers?

February 25, 2010, 02:26 AM	#2
hickstick_10 Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2009 Posts: 477	funny you should ask, I sent an email to the fellas, and I'm sure the wouldnt mind me posting it to clear some stuff up. here it is there reply: Ahhh the forums, a mix of quite reasonable questions and odd skepticisms/dismissals. Yours are quite reasonable by the way. 1. Everything but the elephant ivory for those custom grips is U.S. made. That's extremely important to us but also why these aren't $400 retail revolvers. 2. We're making most of the parts in Montana, doing final assembly at our rifle factory in Glenrock, Wyoming, and getting some steps/parts back East like nickel-plating and barrel rifling. We've picked shops for excellence rather than price. 3. Pretty exact. We found so much variation inside and outside our original 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th model Frontiers, the Pocket Armies, and the later small and medium frame Merwins that exact isn't the right word. We laser-scanned originals and hand-measured each component but also looked at the later generations of Merwins to see what was the best solution they came up with and standardized on those. We also strengthened the main spring, some screws, springs, and added a full half-cock notch onto the hammers-some had it, some didn't, but haven't added a transfer safety bar. So the external dimensions are identical, everything else is identical or very close, and the functionality/durability is better but still relying on Merwins' many designers, engineers, and original customers' decisions rather than our brilliance (although we're certainly applying hindsight to the metallurgy, heat treating, force analysis, rifling, etc. as we expect effective and reliable functionality...just making a purty wallhanger would be far easier. A lot of folks wonder why we don't have finished models on the website. If we did, we wouldn't be gearing up for production, and starting marketing after one has finished inventory piling up in the warehouse with cash melting away is how gun companies reliably go bankrupt (i.e. Colt, Winchester, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Sharps, Spencer, Marlin, Savage, Dakota, etc. and repeatedly over their histories.) The point of the deposits was to get clear, real specifics for planning parts runs from actual customers rather than basing it on folks who were interested but lacked the will or money to ever buy (one of the great traps in market research about "intent to buy" since actual behavior varies at least 30% from that.) I'm extremely glad we did that and also accumulated orders over 2 years before starting on production as our guesses that the open-top frontier army would be the dominant seller were quite wrong. We're also focused on selling from our own website since at this price, few dealers can or will stock them so giving up what can otherwise be used for several hours of polishing labor seemed like a poor bargain. This is a new division of our company, we make long guns and ammunition, something many skeptics assume this is our sole product and hence unsustainable (it would be as the single focus of a start-up as this will be a low-volume, high cost product for years to come and never reach mass-market price points in that magic $350-650 retail price point.) Long answers, hope they help. We're all in our 40's-60's throughout the supply chain and management team/owners so we'd rather do it right than fast and and my email i sent them I was refered to your website from a web forum and was hoping you could> answer a couple questions of mine.> > Are you firearms being made in the united states?> What state is your factory located in?> Are these pistols exact reproductions? Or are they re-engineered?> > I admire the shape, fit and finish of the merwin and hulberts, and would> consider purchasing one, but to lay down 20 percent cost on a firearm from a> company that I know so little about, and does not show any finished modles> on the website caused me to ask these questions.> > thank you for your time> > Respecfully> > Mike

February 25, 2010, 03:14 AM	#3
The Tourist Junior member Join Date: June 20, 2005 Posts: 2,348	Thanks for the quick response. I've had my heart broken before. For example, I owned one of the first Bren Tens. They escalated in price so fast I was afraid to shoot mine. That pistol and all of my spare parts and magazines went to a well-heeled collector. *Numerous times* I heard that the tooling from Dornaus & Dixon was being sold and new pistols were forthcoming. Yada, yada. I wanted a Semmerling, and I heard that American Derringer was taking orders. There was a very stiff price, a large down payment, and production would not begin until funds were secured. Yada, yada. Now the M&H. I don't know what to think, actually. I really like all of these firearms, and so do a lot of people. Production just doesn't seem to ever get any traction.

February 25, 2010, 12:12 PM	#4
The Tourist Junior member Join Date: June 20, 2005 Posts: 2,348	Sorry to belabor the point, but does anyone know of a contact person or telephone number I can call to get some up-to-the-date information?

February 25, 2010, 08:06 PM	#5
hickstick_10 Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2009 Posts: 477	drop them an email and ask for a number to speak to someone. If you get the chance, ask for some photos of finished pistols (it sounds like there in the PROCESS of making guns, but I cant be sure), I wish em the best of luck and look forward to seeing some examples of there work, because contemporary revolvers today lack ALOT of class. There pretty good about responding quickly.

February 25, 2010, 08:51 PM	#6
doncameron Senior Member Join Date: September 25, 2005 Location: Upstate S.C. Posts: 144	www.merwinhulbertco.com or contact al at [email protected]

February 25, 2010, 09:30 PM	#7
The Tourist Junior member Join Date: June 20, 2005 Posts: 2,348	Thanks, guys. If I have have any "chrome money" left after a few weeks, I just might buy myself a smoke-pole.