Merkel double rifles

I bought one a few years back in .470 NE, It has doubled on me once maybe twice in about 500 rounds. I've heard quality control has decreased in the past few years but haven't seen any new ones lately. Mine will put 2 rights and 2 lefts into less than an inch at 50 mtrs using handloads, when I do my part, with the factory sights. The gun balances well and points well and has enough weight to effectively mitigate recoil @ 10.25 lbs.
I bought the 140 AE as I wanted ejectors and they will truly pop the empties over your shoulder and out of the way behind you.
It ain't a Holland & Holland, but it is a good functioning double that shoots well and fits me well and compares favorably to the Heym a friend of mine has.
 
c-fbmi said:
I bought one a few years back in .470 NE, It has doubled on me once maybe twice in about 500 rounds. I've heard quality control has decreased in the past few years but haven't seen any new ones lately. Mine will put 2 rights and 2 lefts into less than an inch at 50 mtrs using handloads, when I do my part, with the factory sights. The gun balances well and points well and has enough weight to effectively mitigate recoil @ 10.25 lbs.
I bought the 140 AE as I wanted ejectors and they will truly pop the empties over your shoulder and out of the way behind you.
It ain't a Holland & Holland, but it is a good functioning double that shoots well and fits me well and compares favorably to the Heym a friend of mine has.
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Doug's .470 in full song
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John Wilkes .500 NE
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When I was shooting Doug's rifle, I found the recoil about as I remembered the .500 Nitro, so perhaps the Merkle is a bit lighter than the John Wikes .500 I used in Tanzania; the .500 shoots a 580 gr bullet at the same velocity as the .470 shoots a 500, so in equal rifles should kick harder. The cases have the same length and head size, but the .470 is necked down; without looking it up I'm not sure how this affects powder capacity. IIRC, the .500 was loaded with 89 grs of 3031 under a 580 gr X bullet for 2150 fps. I don't recall Doug's .470 load, but I would put it in the same class as my .458. Frequently the .500 tied up and was difficult (for me) to break, this didn't happen with the .470. Because I'm more familiar with bolt guns, and not much of a double fancier myself, I have a greater comfort level with my M-70. I had trouble with the front trigger, which is no fault of the rifle, its me, as the same issue arose with the .500, I dislike not having the trigger in the same position with the same feel for each shot. I did find that the .470's barrels heated quickly, and that if long strings are fired, a gloved hand is beneficial.

Here's a video of my shooting the .500 for the first time. The video starts with our pal checking the zero of his .375. Don't pay attention to the number of gun shot sounds, as the audio somehow at one point got to thinking I had a 3 shooter. The last shot I harped the triggers and doubled it.
 
That is quite odd how the video seems have have an extra shot sound BEFORE you fired!

I enjoyed the video though! Wish I was there....
 
My load for the .470 is right off a forum on loading the big stuff and is 110 gns IMR 4831 behind a 500 gn Woodleigh soft. It chronographs at exactly 2160 fps and regulates perfectly with this load. I have used foam fillers and not used them and could find no difference, it appears to be a load density of greater than 95% so a filler really isn't required but the data I got said a foam filler was used, so I did initially.
 
Nope the rifle doubled, not me. It was early on and I called the vendor, he said to keep shooting it and if it did it again (which now that I think back it was only once) return it and it would go back to Merkel for adjustments. It has never done an honest double again. When a double rifle double fires both barrels go at once, making it somewhat hard to hang onto. When a shooter doubles (unless both triggers are pulled intentionally with two fingers) there is a distinct 2 bangs.
 
c-fbmi said:
My load for the .470 is right off a forum on loading the big stuff and is 110 gns IMR 4831 behind a 500 gn Woodleigh soft. It chronographs at exactly 2160 fps and regulates perfectly with this load. I have used foam fillers and not used them and could find no difference, it appears to be a load density of greater than 95% so a filler really isn't required but the data I got said a foam filler was used, so I did initially.
Click to expand...

I think that my load for the same rifle is pretty much the same. I found load development more arduous than with anything else simply because I didn't have access to a decent bench set and did all my shooting sitting off cross sticks. They're an entirely different breed of cat to handload for. But I love mine. If it wasn't for the arms restriction I would have used it in 2010 in Zimbabwe along with my 416 Rigby. Need to find a 318 WR to complete the Ruark hat-trick!
 
I have a 140 non ejector in 470. It worked perfectly for a year or so and then it started to double if I pulled the rear trigger first.

Yes, I was told it was operator error but I knew better. I used one loaded and one primed shell to test over and over.

After much effort by a couple of very experienced smiths, a small burr on a sear was found to be the problem.

I put a longer pad on and my rifle fits like none other. I point it and it goes where it points.

I trust it with my life. Is that good enough for a rifle?
 
I have a Merkel 140AE in 450/400 for sale on the EE now. If you read my ad, you will see that there were a couple of things that I didn't like about the rifle when I first got it. When you are going to hunt an animal that may have killing you near the top of his priority list, I think auto safeties are downright dangerous. I had a gunsmith in BC disable the auto feature on my rifle so the safety must be manually applied. Also, the original sights were off, by about 6" at 50 yds. I already had a trip to Africa booked, so I had no time to return the rifle to Merkel. The same gunsmith that did the safety also made a new front bead and a new rear leaf, so now the rifle is dead on at 50 yds.

With regard to load development, as stated above, it can be problematic. Unless one is very lucky it may take a lot of shooting to come up with a load that works well in your rifle. It takes a lot of ammo and for factory loads you're talking over $5 per round, so several hundred dollars goes down the tube pretty fast. I don't handle heavy recoil very well which is why I chose the 450/400. When working up loads and "breaking in" the rifle, I was shooting about 20 rounds per week because that was all my body could stand. This too, then, added to the time and frustration of load development. If Africa is in your plan, you also need to come up with loads for both softs and solids that shoot to the same POI, and this can complicate matters further.

I have vever had a functional failure of any kind with my Merkel. If you want to spend the big dollars, you can buy a better rifle, but for what they cost, I think the Merkel is a reasonable value. Based on my experience, if you buy a new one, you can expect to have to spend some money on mods and ammo, but you will end up with a pretty good double rifle.

FWIW, I bought mine from John Hipwell at Wolverine Sports.

What ever you decide, good luck with your double. I can almost guarantee that you'll be bitten by the bug.

Hugh
 
458lott said:
anyone here have a merkel double rifle? thinking of a 500 nitro. was wondering of their quality,and if there is any issues to be concerned about?
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Give a thought to Varney Carron & Chapuis Armes, both are excellent quality guns & their after sale service is issueless.
I've one Chapuis Armes in 9.3X74R which had some issues (nothing wrong with the gun at all just the scope mounting issues) the gun was sent back by the dealer to the Chapuis Armes in France. The job was satisfactorily done & gun returned in about 6 weeks time. It came with a new target the gun was tested at 50 meters with a new load. No extra cost was paid for shipping to & fro.
 
The issue I have with the Varney Carron, Chapuis and Kreigoff is that they are all too light when you get into the .450, .470 and .500 NEs. These guns need to be 10+ lbs but are barely 8 IIRC. These light weight doubles completely negate the whole reason for a double rifle. Faster follow up shot than a bolt gun, doesn't happen when you shoot an 8lb .500 NE !! The Merkels are plainer, heavier, and pure function, which is exactly what I want in a double. I've heard a lot of complaints about the auto safety when the action is opened, however this is no issue to me as all my early day shotgunning was done with a double shotgun with auto safety, so it is second nature to me to slide safety forward as it comes to my shoulder.
 
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