Merkel Model 8
Merkel shotguns, although well known and highly prized throughout the world, have been rather uncommon in the United States until recently. The Merkel Model 8 side by side shotgun was imported for a very short time by GSI Inc. and looks basically like a Model 47E without ejectors. According to a 1992 GSI pamphlet I have, both guns use Anson & Deeley boxlock actions and the Model 8 came with either single or double triggers, case hardened receiver, straight English style stock or pistol grip, solid rib and demibloc barrels. The barrels have two locking lugs, held fast by a sliding bolt in the action, along with a Greener crossbolt for extra reinforcement making for a good, strong design. This particular Model 8 is a 12 gauge but the same pamphlet shows that it was also offered in 16 and 20 gauges. The stock does not have the typical, Germanic style cheekpiece so prevalent on German and Central European guns and I must admit that when I first saw it, I was somewhat surprised it didn’t have one. Which is not a bad thing as I never got used to seeing them on shotguns, not to mention that being an American I am conditioned to accept them as strictly for use on rifles. The engraving on the Model 8 is minimal, which suits the utilitarian nature of the gun and is unlike the heavy, Germanic relief hunting scene usually found on higher grade German guns. The receiver has a set of cocking indicators on either side that provide both a visual and tactile method of checking the readiness of the gun and the forend has a Deeley & Edge style latch to fasten it to the barrels. The workmanship overall is very good for a gun in this price range. My first exposure to the Model 8 was when I had a chance to try one on some clay birds. I managed to absolutely pulverize the targets and after the first ten shots were fired with nary a miss, I decided I had to buy one and I haven’t regretted it since. The gun fits me very well indeed and is a joy to handle.
English shotgun enthusiasts will sniff that German shotguns are unnecessarily heavy and the deep engraving so often seen on them detracts from their esthetic qualities. That may be true in the eyes of many but I don’t feel that way. I’ve handled English shotguns and had the privilege to visit the great London gunmakers such as Purdey and Holland and Holland. I even had the opportunity to visit Purdey’s factory in Hammersmith many years ago and you will not find a finer gun made anywhere else in the world. The same can be said for the Dickson round action made in Scotland or the guns made by Ivo Fabbri and Beretta in Italy. However, that does not detract from my fondness for German guns. It is true that German shotguns tend to be heavy in comparison to their English, Scottish or Italian counterparts but I think that is a reflection of the penchant for Germans to overengineer everything they make. After all, this is a country that builds their highways to allow speeds in excess of 150 mph and produces cars that are meant to make use of those highways on a regular basis. Look at any BMW or Porsche and you will soon realize they are some of the strongest and best built cars in the world, hence their popularity the world over. I look at German guns in the same way. A bit heavy but extremely strong and built for a lifetime’s service, if not two or three.
One of the first things I noticed after bringing my Merkel home is the extra reinforcement the receiver has around the water table and action fences. It actually reminds me of a Jeffery double rifle I once saw that was chambered in one of the old British Nitro Express cartridges. I don’t remember the caliber but it was obviously meant for elephant and it probably needed the extra reinforcement. Since my Model 8 is chambered for the standard 12 gauge 3” cartridge, it is doubtful that Merkel really needed to leave so much extra metal on the receiver but it is reassuring to me that the gun is unlikely to wear out due to excessive use. It has an automatic safety which is a must on a hunting gun and Merkel thoughtfully checkered the left side of the toplever, making it perfect for right handed shooters like me. The stock has just enough cast off to make it fit well and typical of so many fine shotguns, the long lower tang is bent in the same direction. The double triggers make it easy to choose which barrel to fire, although I almost always fire the right barrel first when I am hunting California quail since it has the more open choke. The solid, elevated rib was something I initially thought I wouldn’t like since I prefer a game rib that, with its deep, concave profile, sits low on the barrels but it hasn’t stopped me from shooting well with it so I have come to accept it. One thing I am very happy about is the single bead at the muzzle. In my somewhat biased opinion, unless it is used for hunting turkeys, I see no point in having 2 beads on a shotgun although there are many who will disagree with me. I’ve never gone turkey hunting but it seems to me that one of the current generation of optical, red dot sights such as those made by Burris or Aimpoint would be a better choice for that kind of scenario anyway.
Although this is the first Merkel I have owned, it is not the only one I have seen and the main thing that strikes me after examining a few of them is the major difference in workmanship between guns made during the communist era and their prewar and post-communist brethren. I saw two communist era guns while I was working as a gun salesman over 20 years ago and both had parts that broke shortly after they were taken out of the box. Fredrik Franzen wrote an article for the Autumn 2009 issue of The Double Gun & Single Shot Journal about the Merkel company where he mentions the problems the firm had during the communist era in sourcing good barrel steel and in keeping the machinery used to make their guns in good working order. He also points out the resultant lack of quality control and believe me, with some of the guns I’ve seen, he is not far off the mark when he says that about communist era Merkels. Needless to say, I wasn’t very impressed initially and I assumed they were all that way until I saw a prewar Merkel over and under shotgun at the Antique Arms Show in Las Vegas, NV. The fit of the metal and wood was absolutely superb and, with apologies to British shotgun enthusiasts, the heavy engraving was very well done. That event sparked my interest in Merkels and led to my desire to learn more about them. My fascination hasn’t ended since although my limited pocketbook has kept me from buying more of them, at least for now. One thing I have noticed about this Merkel is that it seems to be very tightly choked. I expected that anyway since it came from the factory with the right barrel set at 1/2 and the left barrel at 1/1, which equates to modified/full chokes respectively, but my subjective impression is that both barrels are shooting about half a choke tighter. Part of it may be the ammo I use, which is loaded with hard, high antimony, lead shot. Since it hasn’t hurt my ability to hit birds with it, I have no complaints whatsoever but if I were going to hunt quail or grouse in close cover, I would definitely consider using a spreader load to open up the patterns a bit. I will eventually put the gun through its paces on a pattern board but inertia and a lack of time have prevented me from doing so. Another thing I noticed was how stiff the gun was when I first brought it home. Just opening the action took what I thought was an unusual amount of effort but they are apparently fitted very tightly by the gunsmiths that build them. It took several hundred rounds to loosen it up to the point where everything worked smoothly but the gun has given me no problems at all and I am very happy with it.
I’m not sure why Merkel shotguns have never been accepted by American hunters but I suspect a lot of it has to do with the way Americans shoot their shotguns. I had an interesting conversation with my friend Dick and he made a good point when he mentioned that most Americans are conditioned to shoot a shotgun the same way they would a rifle. That is to say they actually use the sights on their shotguns to aim the gun and they expect it to have a point of impact that is very close to where the front bead is in their vision. Most of the shotguns I have used that are made in Europe are meant to be shot instinctively with the shooter keeping their eye on the target and little, if any, notice taken of the sights at all. The guns usually place their patterns a bit above the line of sight of the barrel and that helps instinctive shooters hit their birds. Dick has tried to shoot my Merkel with little success but he once had a little Stevens 311 side by side shotgun in 20 gauge that he was very good with, notwithstanding its crude construction and what were, to my eyes at least, very ungainly lines. He once said to me that after he made some alterations to the stock, it put the patterns right to point of aim and since much of the shotgunning I have seen him engaged in over the last 20 years or so has been with a Browning Auto-5 that patterns in a similar fashion, it makes sense that he would shy away from guns like my Merkel. I shoot my shotguns instinctively so I don’t have the problems a lot of American shooters seem to have and although I still own a pump action shotgun, I prefer a good quality American, European or English double. One exception I would make would be the various Benelli semiautomatic shotguns such as the Cordoba for upland game or perhaps the Super Black Eagle for duck and geese. A quick look at some of the most popular shotguns for dove shooting in Argentina or duck hunting in the U.S. will show a large number of them being semiautos made by Benelli and Beretta so if you are planning to do some high volume shooting, they are worth considering.
Although there has been a resurgence of interest in double guns in America, it’s still not often that you will see the average American hunter carrying one in the field. I’ve been looking over the Cabela’s website lately and the various Gun Library listings show a large number of Merkels available for sale, both new and used. I don’t know how many they actually sell but I suspect it is nowhere near the number of Remington 870s that find a new home. Merkels, like all good quality double guns, are considerably more expensive than the average pump or semiauto shotgun so their potential market is somewhat limited in comparison. Merkels are still quite a bargain compared to their competition though so if you are interested in buying a good double, they are worth a look. Brand new English doubles such as a Purdey self opener or a Holland and Holland sidelock ejector can easily cost $200,000 and Italian guns such as those made by Ivo Fabbri are in a similar price range. They are the kind of guns that royalty and movie stars buy with such well known actors as Tom Selleck and entertainment moguls like Steven Spielberg, Tommy Mottola and his wife Thalia being their typical customers. Eric Clapton recently sold a part of his collection of fine English doubles, presumably to make room for others that are more to his liking. Merkels usually start at about $3,500 although the higher end ones can quickly set you back $10,000 or more. Used ones are a bit cheaper with many of the ones I have seen in excellent condition so if you want to try a double, a Merkel would be a relatively inexpensive way to go.
My advice to anyone looking to buy a Merkel, or any gun for that matter, is that if you want it, can afford it, the gun in question is legal for sale and it is of good quality, then go ahead and buy it. President Obama hasn’t done much in the way of restricting gun rights just yet but he will when he gets the chance, no matter how much he may try to deny it. Regular listeners of radio host George Noory on Coast to Coast AM already know that he is a staunch proponent of gun rights and his March 1, 2010 show featured an interview with John R. Lott, Jr., a well known figure among advocates of concealed carry. Mr. Lott wrote the groundbreaking book More Guns, Less Crime as a result of his studies of gun laws across the nation and their lack of effect on reducing crime. Lott spoke of a brief encounter he had with Barack Obama before Obama’s career as a politician began and it was clear to John Lott that Obama did not believe then in the right of law abiding citizens to own guns. It is also clear, at least to me, that Obama still feels that way since he appointed Eric Holder as attorney general, a man who has already shown his contempt for the Second Amendment and gunowners in general.
I don’t know how much headway Obama and his minions will make this year in restricting American gunowners’ 2nd Amendment rights since it looks like they will be preoccupied with implementing Obama’s newly passed universal health care program and perhaps some sort of amnesty for illegal aliens, no matter how much the American citizenry are against both. Obama’s negative reaction to Arizona’s attempt to crack down on illegal aliens will show anyone just how out of touch he is with the rest of the country. That does not mean they have forgotten about destroying the 2nd Amendment and anyone that thinks they have is mistaken. It should be fairly clear by now that Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats are determined to make The United States of America a socialist country, with all the misery such a political system can bring. However, that does not mean we should sit idly by and let our country head down this path. If our 2nd Amendment rights can be taken away, then all of our other rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are vulnerable, especially our property rights. Lest you think I am being paranoid, please remember the comments the current administration and their supporters have made about redistributing the wealth of our great and bountiful country. It’s the same kind of talk that would come from the likes of Marx and Lenin and I do not ever want to see our country go through what Russia had to go through after the Bolsheviks took and kept power for most of the 20th century. The least we as gunowners can do is join the NRA and help other gun rights groups such as The Firearms Coalition continue their mission of protecting our God given rights. The tea party movement is still going strong and if you are so inclined, get involved with them and help elect politicians who are sympathetic to our cause. If Obama and his fellow radicals are allowed to implement their insane, twisted vision of a perfect society, we will only have ourselves to blame. -- John Swikart (May 3, 2010)
Copyright ALL ABOUT GUNS May 2010
