first Merkle buy

matt koepnick · 07-14-2024, 06:00 PM

I went to the OGCA show on Sat at Wilmington Ohio. The misses and I were amazed at the number of quality doubles we saw at this show. I got to looking at a nice Merkel 47E a fellow collector had for sale.It had beautiful straight grained red toned wood, and handled nicely. It wound up following me home at the Wife's insistence. Came with a nice bonus Emmebi case too.
It is a 12 gauge, 28 inch bbls, PistolGrip with Splinter FA. Has Double triggers and also 3 inch chambers. Weighs 6Lbs 14 oz. 14.5 LOP. The drops are 1 5/8 by 2 5/8 which have become my magic numbers. My only concern was the gun is tightly choked at .018 and .035. I bought the unit and gambled I could make do.
So this am I took the new to me gun out to local gun club and managed to tie my only other 80% score made with the Win 21 I got earlier this year. I shot my new Merkel as nice as that Win which is my magic gun. All in all I was quite pleased with this first foray into the world of Merkel shotguns. May have to look into getting another one...
Life is good.. Mattly

Kevin McCormack · 07-14-2024, 07:27 PM

MERKEL, not Merkle, is the maker.

Rick Roemer · 07-14-2024, 10:27 PM

Hi. I have a 20 gauge straight grip Merkel. It was my first high quality double. I’ve never had an issue with it. The action has always been quite tight. Have fun!

Alfred Houde · 07-15-2024, 06:24 AM

I also have a 47E. 20 gauge; straight grip; open choked barrels. Nice wood. It is built like a tank, carries well, and has become my favorite grouse gun. Installing the forearm can be a little tricky, but I have learned that it is fairly easy with the action slightly open, and you find the sweet spot.

If you write to Merkel with the serial number, they will provide you with the historical info on your gun. Enjoy.

matt koepnick · 07-15-2024, 07:46 AM

As noted in above replies, the action on mine is quite stiff also, and I'm still working on smoothly getting the forearm installed. Ha Ha. Thanks Alfred for the tip. The install worked much better this AM when I tried it with action partially open. Gonna be a work in progress I'm sure.
Mattly.

Jim McKee · 07-15-2024, 08:47 PM

Sending an e-mail to Merkel requesting any information they have about the Merkel with ser # that you now own, should speed up any replies vs snail mail.

tom tutwiler · 07-24-2024, 08:14 AM

It should have a date stamp on the water table with the month and year it was made. Well, mine did. They are overbuilt for sure. My buddy has 2 and has had them for 30 years. One 28 gauge, one 16 gauge. The 16 Gauge is like yours except has a round knob. Both guns were ordered for him by me when I was stationed in Germany. They were amazingly cheap. The 47E was less then a grand. The 28 gauge was a model 147E with a round knob and upgraded wood. He ordered the 16 gauge with Skeet and 1/4 chokes for Grouse.

matt koepnick · 07-24-2024, 08:36 AM

If I'm reading the marks correctly, mine was made June of 2001. I also figured out I have cocking indicators too. How cool. Thanks Matt k

John Davis · 07-26-2024, 09:29 PM

Sounds like perfect chokes to me.