Double rifles should NEVER double regardless of load or trigger pulled and Merkels are notorious for doubling.
Well that's a bummer. Especially since I just bought one today. I guess I'll have to run it through the wringer once I get it and make it happen if it's going to.
I shot a .470 Heym enough to get to really like the .470 NE round. The Heym fit me well enough, until I picked up a Merkel which fit me much better, and is why I bought a Merkel.
I certainly hope I didn't buy a two barrel single shot.
OK, for the follow up.
Jorge, you will be delighted to know you can now count
10 Merkels that you know of that doubled.
I finally received my used Merkel that had been purchased new several years earlier by the previous owner but had remained unfired. I immediately went about rectifying the situation by shooting various loads with 515 gr. LBT WFNGC bullets.
All was going splendidly until I went one day to try yet another load. Upon gently squeezing the trigger while waiting for the hammer to drop until I thought the safety must be on, I lowered the rifle to check. The safety was off, so I shouldered the rifle again, but this time jerked the trigger unintentionally. The rifle still didn't fire, so I lowered it again, opened the action to check as if I would be able to see some cause for the difficulty in releasing the hammer. Seeing nothing obvious, I once again shouldered the rifle and again began squeezing the front trigger until I again thought the safety must be on when the rifle finally fired.
I had shot a similar load previously but it had been a few days and I didn't remember the recoil being quite so robust. As I was thinking to myself I should cut the powder charge in half, I noticed the left cocking indicator was down. I opened the rifle and both spent cases jumped from their respective barrels. That of course explained the extra stout recoil.
The first bullet hit about 1-1/2" to the right of the bull and a half inch low. The second didn't hit the paper, a target printed online on letter size paper.
I shot several more rounds without incident. However, I also let a young fellow shoot who had never shot a large bore rifle before in his life. For him, I used the same bullet with a charge of 5744 for a reduced load. This load shot about 1,650fps, so recoil wasn't too bad. This fellow proceeded to shoot a couple of rounds OK, then he too, had a double.
I happened to video his shot and called his double as soon as he shot as I heard two separate shots. His first shot hit about two feet low in the dirt, indicating his flinch, while the second shot hit about 6 feet above the target in the dirt bank we were shooting against. His finger can't be seen at the start of the video, but during recoil it certainly appears as though his finger is on the rear trigger. I suspect he was the cause of his double.
I called Merkel and explained the situation and my guess on the other fellow hitting the rear trigger accidentally. The fellow I spoke to asked a few questions, one being what I though the front trigger pull was compared to the rear. Seems they like the front trigger to be set at around 3.5# while the rear trigger is set around 4.5#, and recommends the front trigger be pulled first. Not having a pull gauge handy, I guessed at both being around 3#'s.
I was told to send the rifle in and they would have a look, which of course I did. About 10 days later I received a call stating my rifle was finished and they would be returning it to me. I asked what they found wrong, and the answer was "we changed the hammers and trigger sears". When I asked why, it was because "they were the old style".
I've since shot the rifle enough now to satisfy myself all is well and the doubling issue is behind now.
I can't say enough good about the service Merkel provides, taking in a rifle several years old from the second owner and never once a discussion about cost or money. Granted, the rifle was as new and unfired when I received it except of course for regulation purposes but everything was taken care of without ado.
A couple of things I can't understand is why someone would put up with a rifle that doubled. I'm sure some were sent back, but from all I've read it seems to be when a rifle doubles, that's just the way it is and one must live with it.
That being said, I also understand a double rifle should never double in the first place and there is little excuse for any rifle these days to double. Merkel made mind whole without accusations or fanfare of any sort, which is what I expected.
It still sports that hideous plastic grip cap (my words, as I fully and wholeheartedly agree with Jorge that given the price of these rifles, one would think a metal cap would be in order or nothing at all) though, something I asked Merkel about early on but still haven't received a reply about. I've got a plan for that as well.
David
