I received an email from one of my wholesalers yesterday and wound up ordering two Merkel R15 rifles. They are synthetic stocked in 6.5X55 Swedish and 9.3X62. I know practically nothing about them but they should be an easy sell in those calibers. Had anyone heard about them or seen one?

I saw these mentioned very recently, as well.

From what I can tell, I believe these are re-branded Haenel Jaeger 10 rifles. (Haenel is a division of Merkel.) Have not seen one in person, as the Merkel version has just been released and I have not seen any of the Haenel products here in the U.S. Sounds like they are very well made, accurate, and attractively priced.

Haven't heard anything about these, nor can I find much on a quick google search. Any links?

Both Sauer and Mauser recently introduced down-market offerings, in the Sauer 101 and Mauser M12. With Merkel's recent venture into the straight-pull market with the Helix, could the R15 be a lower-priced version?

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Both Sauer and Mauser recently introduced down-market offerings, in the Sauer 101 and Mauser M12. With Merkel's recent venture into the straight-pull market with the Helix, could the R15 be a lower-priced version?

Could be. The R15 is not a straight pull but has a 60-degree bolt lift. From the pricing I've seen (~ $700 for the basic walnut stocked version), these seem to almost be targeting the Tikka T3. The synthetic stock model may be even less, not sure as of now. One difference I noticed is that the Haenel-branded models all come with iron sights but the Merkel rifles do not.

I found one links that have a pic or two.

http://shop2.gzanders.com/cata...d/32421/image/38704/

I'll reserve any opinions and wait for your review!

PS: greaat choice in calibers. My Helix's are now in 6.5x55 and 9.3x62. Good times!

Does Merkel still sell the KR-1? Maybe an update on that rifle?

looks like a TC venture

They're up on cheaperthandirt now, priced at $683.

Tough to make out the picture...but looks similar to the SHR action.